0:00:03 > 0:00:07This is the House of Commons as never seen before.
0:00:07 > 0:00:08Lock in!
0:00:10 > 0:00:11Over the last year,
0:00:11 > 0:00:15we've been filming behind the scenes with unprecedented access.
0:00:15 > 0:00:16That's where our laws are set,
0:00:16 > 0:00:18these are the people that we're run by.
0:00:18 > 0:00:22It's a year that's been one of the most dramatic in its recent history.
0:00:22 > 0:00:26This is a travesty of our parliamentary proceedings.
0:00:26 > 0:00:28There are people sitting next to me
0:00:28 > 0:00:30who have been in the House for, like, decades.
0:00:30 > 0:00:31I've never seen anything like it.
0:00:31 > 0:00:32Oh!
0:00:33 > 0:00:38In this episode, we uncover the hidden secrets of party control.
0:00:38 > 0:00:41There's the whip. It's good, isn't it?
0:00:41 > 0:00:42SHE LAUGHS
0:00:42 > 0:00:46The tactical manoeuvring away from the public eye.
0:00:46 > 0:00:50Basically, democracy lost and the Government won.
0:00:50 > 0:00:53And the human struggles of toeing the party line.
0:00:54 > 0:00:56Good boy! Back in a sec!
0:00:58 > 0:01:02All played out in the ancient palace where new political fault lines
0:01:02 > 0:01:04threaten the old order.
0:01:04 > 0:01:06It's got stuck, I don't believe this.
0:01:14 > 0:01:18As many as are of that opinion say, "aye".
0:01:18 > 0:01:19- MANY VOICES:- Aye!
0:01:19 > 0:01:21Of the contrary, "no".
0:01:21 > 0:01:24- MANY VOICES:- No!
0:01:24 > 0:01:26Division! Clear the lobby!
0:01:26 > 0:01:28Clear the lobby!
0:01:28 > 0:01:29Division!
0:01:32 > 0:01:35BELLS RING
0:01:35 > 0:01:41A vote is underway. 500 division bells ring out across the Commons.
0:01:43 > 0:01:48Almost every day, MPs hurry to the chamber to vote in person, leaving
0:01:48 > 0:01:52meetings and speeches, food and drink abandoned
0:01:52 > 0:01:54as the House divides.
0:01:54 > 0:01:56I left a nice hot cup of tea in my room to come down and vote.
0:01:56 > 0:01:58Forward.
0:01:58 > 0:02:01Well, we've got eight minutes so it's pretty tight.
0:02:01 > 0:02:03But it's tight for everybody
0:02:03 > 0:02:06and I'm fortunate enough that I've got a dog
0:02:06 > 0:02:08that moves pretty smartish.
0:02:14 > 0:02:18Labour's Steve Rotheram has his office at the far end of the Commons
0:02:18 > 0:02:21Estate which gives him one of the longer journeys to the chamber.
0:02:21 > 0:02:23I've got no problems getting there.
0:02:23 > 0:02:25If I've got my cloak on I can probably do it
0:02:25 > 0:02:29in about a Superman time of about three and a half minutes.
0:02:29 > 0:02:32Division, clear the lobbies, and off we go.
0:02:39 > 0:02:42For the Tory, Jacob Rees-Mogg, from his office
0:02:42 > 0:02:46inside the main 19th century palace, it's a cake walk.
0:02:48 > 0:02:50If the division bell goes I can be down in the chamber
0:02:50 > 0:02:52in under two minutes.
0:02:52 > 0:02:54I'm also not very energetic so I don't like running,
0:02:54 > 0:02:56I like to walk at a steady pace.
0:02:59 > 0:03:01It can be quite busy
0:03:01 > 0:03:04and there are loads of different ways to get to where you need
0:03:04 > 0:03:08to get to so you try and find the quickest way through.
0:03:17 > 0:03:20As the clock runs down, MPs flood into two lobbies,
0:03:20 > 0:03:23lining each side of the chamber.
0:03:23 > 0:03:26One for no, and one for aye.
0:03:28 > 0:03:32In a ritual with its roots in the days of Henry VIII,
0:03:32 > 0:03:34MPs vote with their feet.
0:03:36 > 0:03:37Lock the doors!
0:03:42 > 0:03:45For the most part, MPs vote as their party tells them...
0:03:45 > 0:03:47Thomas Docherty.
0:03:47 > 0:03:49..especially if they want promotion.
0:03:49 > 0:03:52184.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55This is where more than one career in the last 180 years
0:03:55 > 0:03:57has crashed to a halt.
0:03:59 > 0:04:02For the last 70 years, British politics has been
0:04:02 > 0:04:06dominated by two parties - Labour and the Conservatives.
0:04:06 > 0:04:10Party loyalty has dictated how the central laws of the land
0:04:10 > 0:04:14are made and unmade, and political careers determined.
0:04:14 > 0:04:18The ayes to the right, 251.
0:04:18 > 0:04:22The noes to the left, 242.
0:04:22 > 0:04:24GASPS
0:04:24 > 0:04:28But recently the old order has come under threat.
0:04:29 > 0:04:33This Parliament has already seen a record number of MPs
0:04:33 > 0:04:36rebel against their own parties.
0:04:36 > 0:04:38One leading member of what's called The Awkward Squad
0:04:38 > 0:04:41is the Tory MP Peter Bone.
0:04:41 > 0:04:42Cab!
0:04:43 > 0:04:45Since the last election,
0:04:45 > 0:04:49he has voted against the Government nearly 150 times.
0:04:50 > 0:04:55When a division bell rings in the House of Commons,
0:04:55 > 0:04:57600 MPs are going to vote.
0:04:57 > 0:05:01Most MPs have no idea what's being debated in the House of Commons
0:05:01 > 0:05:04and they turn up and the whips tell them which lobby to go through.
0:05:04 > 0:05:09The whips are shadowy teams of MPs who enforce party discipline.
0:05:09 > 0:05:13They call MPs like Peter Bone a whip's nightmare.
0:05:13 > 0:05:16The whips, quite regularly, some of them, swear at me,
0:05:16 > 0:05:18but if they swear at you then, hang on a minute,
0:05:18 > 0:05:22won't they want me for another vote later on?
0:05:27 > 0:05:31The whips' job is to keep their MPs united behind the party leader
0:05:31 > 0:05:34and quell rebellions by the independent minded.
0:05:36 > 0:05:40Food labelling, this is our policy, so if a vote is called,
0:05:40 > 0:05:44we expect that everybody will be able to participate in that,
0:05:44 > 0:05:47and if necessary, we'll put tellers in.
0:05:47 > 0:05:51The whips' motto is that whipping, like stripping,
0:05:51 > 0:05:52should be done in private.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57But the Labour Chief Whip Rosie Winterton
0:05:57 > 0:05:59has invited us into her lair.
0:05:59 > 0:06:04So this is the Opposition Chief Whip's office and there's the whip.
0:06:04 > 0:06:05It's good, isn't it?
0:06:05 > 0:06:07SHE LAUGHS
0:06:07 > 0:06:11I only use it on the members when they're especially well behaved.
0:06:11 > 0:06:13I haven't actually murdered anybody yet -
0:06:13 > 0:06:17there are no thumb screws in here as you will have probably noticed.
0:06:17 > 0:06:19Well, I'll get them out later if you want.
0:06:19 > 0:06:23So, you know, the popular image is of rather a sinister operation,
0:06:23 > 0:06:29whereas, actually, what we do like to do is...
0:06:29 > 0:06:30to convince people
0:06:30 > 0:06:34because we think the arguments are right.
0:06:36 > 0:06:38Bearing his wand of office,
0:06:38 > 0:06:42a senior Tory whip, Desmond Swayne MP, heads into the Commons chamber.
0:06:45 > 0:06:50Mr Speaker, Sir, I have a message from Her Majesty the Queen.
0:06:50 > 0:06:53He's performing one of the arcane rituals
0:06:53 > 0:06:55that litters the world of the whips.
0:06:55 > 0:07:00Part of his duty is to act as Her Majesty's mole in the Commons.
0:07:00 > 0:07:05I'm reporting to the House a message from Her Majesty the Queen,
0:07:05 > 0:07:08and then I retreat, walking backwards.
0:07:08 > 0:07:11- Are you good at that? - You'll have to wait and see.
0:07:14 > 0:07:16By ancient tradition,
0:07:16 > 0:07:19he reverses out of the chamber as a royal messenger.
0:07:22 > 0:07:26The more modern means of influencing their MPs is the fact that
0:07:26 > 0:07:31each party's whips decide who gets which room in the House.
0:07:31 > 0:07:32I was once accommodation whip,
0:07:32 > 0:07:35- it's not a job I'd wish on anyone. - Why not?
0:07:35 > 0:07:37Well, it involves exactly that.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40You're a bit of an estate agent to an extent,
0:07:40 > 0:07:43you take someone up to this ghastly room and say,
0:07:43 > 0:07:49"Well, take some of the furniture out, it'll look bigger", you know.
0:07:49 > 0:07:52The whips pride themselves on knowing everything about their
0:07:52 > 0:07:56MPs and until recently the Tory whips kept a dirt book.
0:07:56 > 0:08:00It contained sensitive information on their members
0:08:00 > 0:08:03which could be used to persuade them to vote the right way.
0:08:03 > 0:08:05The notion that whipping involves torture
0:08:05 > 0:08:09and all sorts of sinister dark arts may have been true in the deep
0:08:09 > 0:08:12distant past but it certainly isn't true these days.
0:08:12 > 0:08:15In the past, the Chief Whip would say,
0:08:15 > 0:08:18"I really don't care about the policy,
0:08:18 > 0:08:20"just get in and do as you're told."
0:08:20 > 0:08:22Now people will come and say,
0:08:22 > 0:08:25"Don, why are we voting this way? I have to know why.
0:08:25 > 0:08:30I have to have negotiated it in advance to make sure that when they
0:08:30 > 0:08:34hear what it is they'll say, "That's fine, I'm happy to go that way".
0:08:34 > 0:08:37Jenny Willott is a Liberal Democrat whip,
0:08:37 > 0:08:39and one of a new breed of party police.
0:08:42 > 0:08:44She's also a mother of two.
0:08:45 > 0:08:48- Why do I go to nursery? - Where?
0:08:48 > 0:08:50No, why do I go to nursery?
0:08:50 > 0:08:53Why? Because it's boring in my office when I'm working, isn't it?
0:08:53 > 0:08:56Does it make you bored?
0:08:56 > 0:08:59- SHE LAUGHS - No.
0:08:59 > 0:09:00Sometimes.
0:09:00 > 0:09:02There's definitely an overlap
0:09:02 > 0:09:05between being a parent and being a whip, I suspect.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08Having to persuade someone who doesn't want to do something
0:09:08 > 0:09:12of exactly the best way to do it, and generally, with my colleagues,
0:09:12 > 0:09:16I have found that I can use much more of the carrot than the stick.
0:09:16 > 0:09:17Westminster!
0:09:20 > 0:09:23She drops her children in the recently established
0:09:23 > 0:09:24Commons nursery...
0:09:24 > 0:09:25How are you?
0:09:25 > 0:09:28..every day that she goes to her office.
0:09:31 > 0:09:33Am I a persuasive person?
0:09:33 > 0:09:36Um... I guess I must be.
0:09:36 > 0:09:40I'm not sure that I conform to the popular image of an MP either,
0:09:40 > 0:09:43let alone the popular image of a whip.
0:09:43 > 0:09:45Lib Dem MPs must apply to Jenny Willott
0:09:45 > 0:09:49if they want to absent themselves from a major vote.
0:09:49 > 0:09:53I do get people sidling up to me if I'm downstairs or in a voting
0:09:53 > 0:09:58lobby, I do get people sidling up to me and saying, "Jenny...
0:09:58 > 0:09:59"Please..."
0:09:59 > 0:10:04I try very, very hard to make sure that I'm completely even-handed,
0:10:04 > 0:10:06and I do... There are some things that I will prioritise.
0:10:06 > 0:10:09I think if someone has a medical appointment
0:10:09 > 0:10:13or if someone wants to go and see their child in a Christmas play,
0:10:13 > 0:10:16that's the sort of thing you never get to do twice.
0:10:16 > 0:10:18So that's kind of important.
0:10:18 > 0:10:21Internal tensions within the coalition are a symptom
0:10:21 > 0:10:26of a wider fracturing across the traditional party system.
0:10:26 > 0:10:29Many MPs are becoming less fearful of the power of the whips
0:10:29 > 0:10:32and more independent minded.
0:10:32 > 0:10:36I can't imagine a more difficult time for whips' offices
0:10:36 > 0:10:39of both the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives
0:10:39 > 0:10:42than the next few months as we lead up to the general election
0:10:42 > 0:10:46because our job is to keep the show on the road,
0:10:46 > 0:10:49the rest of the party are out there trying to defeat each other.
0:10:49 > 0:10:52David Cameron and his whips must juggle working
0:10:52 > 0:10:55with their Lib Dem partners on the one hand,
0:10:55 > 0:11:00and with the awkward squad of Tory Euro-sceptics on the other.
0:11:00 > 0:11:03The battle to project an image of party unity
0:11:03 > 0:11:04becomes increasingly tricky.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10Is it easy? No. Is it getting more difficult? Yes.
0:11:10 > 0:11:11Why's that?
0:11:11 > 0:11:15Well, I think a lot of members of parliament, quite rightly,
0:11:15 > 0:11:18see that their authority comes from the people who elect them
0:11:18 > 0:11:21and they want to stand up for that.
0:11:21 > 0:11:25You have to try and get this balance that politics is a combination,
0:11:25 > 0:11:28it's a team enterprise. I think it's just something
0:11:28 > 0:11:32we have to work harder at trying to understand and manage.
0:11:36 > 0:11:38It's Spring 2014,
0:11:38 > 0:11:42and a year to go until Parliament is dissolved for the general election.
0:11:44 > 0:11:45Across Westminster,
0:11:45 > 0:11:49clocks are put forward to mark the start of British Summer Time.
0:11:53 > 0:11:56The biggest challenge for the Commons' clock makers
0:11:56 > 0:11:59is resetting the world's most iconic clock.
0:12:02 > 0:12:06We're getting ready to advance the hands to 12 o'clock.
0:12:06 > 0:12:09Time is always a key weapon that's used by the Government
0:12:09 > 0:12:13and its opponents in Commons' battles.
0:12:13 > 0:12:15The coming year will see many of the best laid plans
0:12:15 > 0:12:18thwarted by the ticking clock.
0:12:22 > 0:12:24For four hours in the middle of the night,
0:12:24 > 0:12:27the clock that the Luftwaffe couldn't stop...
0:12:27 > 0:12:29is silent.
0:12:32 > 0:12:34That's it, stopped.
0:12:35 > 0:12:39With time on hold in Westminster, it's a rare chance to carry out
0:12:39 > 0:12:43essential maintenance on the 160-year-old mechanism.
0:12:45 > 0:12:49Five minutes before Big Ben is restarted, Paul Robeson,
0:12:49 > 0:12:50a Commons clock maker,
0:12:50 > 0:12:55dials the Speaking Clock to get the right time precisely.
0:12:55 > 0:13:00'At the third stroke, it will be 11:55 precisely.'
0:13:00 > 0:13:03PIP, PIP, PIP
0:13:03 > 0:13:06And the chime is tested to ensure it's within
0:13:06 > 0:13:08a second of Greenwich Mean Time.
0:13:12 > 0:13:18BELLS CHIME WESTMINSTER QUARTERS
0:13:36 > 0:13:39For loyal MPs and rebels alike,
0:13:39 > 0:13:42demands on their time are never ending.
0:13:45 > 0:13:48You've been invited to What's The Point Of The Human Rights Act?
0:13:48 > 0:13:51- with Dinah Rose QC on the 28th October.- No!
0:13:51 > 0:13:52Would you like to celebrate Anglesey,
0:13:52 > 0:13:55- the premier county of Wales? - No!
0:13:55 > 0:13:58- The British Retail Consortium Annual Reception?- No!
0:13:58 > 0:14:00- Institute for Government? - No.
0:14:00 > 0:14:02- Energy Security?- No!
0:14:02 > 0:14:05- And then, we are back to... - Yay, back to the start again.
0:14:05 > 0:14:06All your invites.
0:14:06 > 0:14:09The first thing you have to learn as an MP,
0:14:09 > 0:14:11you come in here and you arrive on the first day
0:14:11 > 0:14:14and there's a full pile. 80% of it, you just say no.
0:14:19 > 0:14:21Peter Bone has spent nine years in the Commons
0:14:21 > 0:14:25where he's seen as a maverick and something of a joker.
0:14:25 > 0:14:30His regular gag is that his wife is the yardstick against which
0:14:30 > 0:14:32everything must be judged.
0:14:32 > 0:14:36Now, I know Mrs Bone is following this very closely today.
0:14:36 > 0:14:37LAUGHTER
0:14:37 > 0:14:39Mrs Bone was saying...
0:14:39 > 0:14:41Mrs Bone and I...
0:14:41 > 0:14:43Mrs Bone wanted to know...
0:14:43 > 0:14:45MPs JEER
0:14:45 > 0:14:49Mrs Bone wants to know what the Prime Minister is going to do about it.
0:14:49 > 0:14:51I do feel now that
0:14:51 > 0:14:55a very big part of my life is trying to give pleasure to Mrs Bone.
0:14:55 > 0:14:56LAUGHTER
0:14:58 > 0:15:01It's not MY feelings. It's what the people are telling me.
0:15:01 > 0:15:03And when we use a Mrs Bone story to the Prime Minister -
0:15:03 > 0:15:06"Mrs Bone is saying, Prime Minister..." -
0:15:06 > 0:15:08it isn't actually Mrs Bone,
0:15:08 > 0:15:11it's the sum of what my constituents are telling Jennie.
0:15:11 > 0:15:13- See you later.- Bye.
0:15:13 > 0:15:16- Cheers, bye.- Au revoir!
0:15:16 > 0:15:18Jennie Bone is her husband's executive secretary
0:15:18 > 0:15:23in the Commons, and now focuses on his work in the constituency.
0:15:23 > 0:15:29I was diagnosed with breast cancer in erm...
0:15:29 > 0:15:31March of this year.
0:15:31 > 0:15:34It's probably the first time in our married life that I can remember
0:15:34 > 0:15:39his jaw dropped, and he was speechless, he could not say anything. Erm...
0:15:39 > 0:15:42So chemotherapy is the cause of my hairstyle at the minute -
0:15:42 > 0:15:44but it will grow back.
0:15:48 > 0:15:53Peter Bone believes passionately that Britain should leave the EU.
0:15:53 > 0:15:57And Europe, as ever, is the toxic issue that splits the Conservatives.
0:16:00 > 0:16:03A surge in support for Ukip in the recent European elections
0:16:03 > 0:16:05heightens the threat to Tory unity.
0:16:07 > 0:16:09The serial rebel Peter Bone
0:16:09 > 0:16:12will go to almost any length to rattle his party's cage.
0:16:14 > 0:16:18With the coalition unable to agree over a referendum on Britain's EU membership,
0:16:18 > 0:16:21he's decided to take action.
0:16:21 > 0:16:23He's holding a referendum of his own
0:16:23 > 0:16:25in his Midlands constituency.
0:16:27 > 0:16:29- PHOTOGRAPHER:- Lovely.- Thank you.
0:16:29 > 0:16:31Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.
0:16:31 > 0:16:34I'm sorry to interrupt Friday afternoon.
0:16:34 > 0:16:39Everyone will get a ballot paper over the next few days
0:16:39 > 0:16:41asking you whether you want to
0:16:41 > 0:16:45stay in or come out of the European Union.
0:16:45 > 0:16:47We want Middle England to vote.
0:16:53 > 0:16:55150 miles further north,
0:16:55 > 0:16:59Labour's Steve Rotheram is another independent-minded MP.
0:16:59 > 0:17:03But he couldn't be further in outlook from Peter Bone.
0:17:04 > 0:17:06A pro-European and former bricklayer,
0:17:06 > 0:17:11he joined the Commons as part of the new intake in 2010.
0:17:11 > 0:17:15It's still a very strange place
0:17:15 > 0:17:19to go on a daily basis to work, Westminster.
0:17:21 > 0:17:24I mean, you see people... When I first went down there,
0:17:24 > 0:17:27I was bumping into people who are now colleagues of mine
0:17:27 > 0:17:29who I'd only ever seen on the telly -
0:17:29 > 0:17:32like, "Oh, my God, that's such and such a one, isn't it?"
0:17:32 > 0:17:35"Isn't that Harriet Harman, isn't that...?"
0:17:35 > 0:17:38Steve Rotheram wants to use Europe
0:17:38 > 0:17:41to improve the wellbeing of his fellow Liverpudlians.
0:17:42 > 0:17:43I think on building sites
0:17:43 > 0:17:47there'll be a huge range of different views on Europe.
0:17:47 > 0:17:51I'm pretty much a pro-European, I've seen the huge benefits
0:17:51 > 0:17:55that Europe can bring to a city like Liverpool.
0:17:55 > 0:17:59Doing the job that we do sometimes, you can go all week
0:17:59 > 0:18:02and not really see any particular progress
0:18:02 > 0:18:05even though you've worked your little cotton socks off all week.
0:18:05 > 0:18:09I quite like building, and it's very cathartic when you're
0:18:09 > 0:18:12doing something physical with your hands and then
0:18:12 > 0:18:16at the end of the day you can see something that you've done, some progress.
0:18:24 > 0:18:26HE GRUNTS
0:18:37 > 0:18:40That was the danger. The crown.
0:18:44 > 0:18:46Agh! Saved it!
0:18:50 > 0:18:54Back in Westminster, another crown lies uneasy.
0:18:55 > 0:18:57A group of Tory Euro-sceptic rebels
0:18:57 > 0:19:01are planning to challenge David Cameron's policy on Europe.
0:19:01 > 0:19:06Among them is the proudly traditional Jacob Rees-Mogg -
0:19:06 > 0:19:09sometimes known as "the member for the 18th century".
0:19:10 > 0:19:13He's an expert on Commons procedure,
0:19:13 > 0:19:15and he's a details obsessive.
0:19:19 > 0:19:22Every time he speaks in the chamber he checks with Hansard,
0:19:22 > 0:19:24the Commons' official reporters,
0:19:24 > 0:19:28to ensure that the written record is correct.
0:19:29 > 0:19:33Thank you. As always you have made my mutterings much better than they were.
0:19:33 > 0:19:34It's just this bit.
0:19:34 > 0:19:37- "..May have had...- "..had SOME truth in it"?- "Some truth."
0:19:38 > 0:19:43- And that makes sense.- Fine. I can do that for you.- Brilliant.
0:19:43 > 0:19:45It is great fun going up there because you see your words
0:19:45 > 0:19:48written out in a way that flows
0:19:48 > 0:19:53mellifluously, without all the "ums" and "ahs" and bits and pieces.
0:19:53 > 0:19:55And they turn fairly ordinary speeches
0:19:55 > 0:19:57into elegant English.
0:19:57 > 0:20:00There is an enormous amount of bluff
0:20:00 > 0:20:03when people tell us what our constitution is,
0:20:03 > 0:20:06and the more authoritatively people say they know what the constitution is
0:20:06 > 0:20:10the more they get away with it. And I know, because it's...
0:20:10 > 0:20:11LAUGHTER
0:20:11 > 0:20:13It's a bluff.
0:20:13 > 0:20:17It's a bluff I'm not ashamed to use myself from time to time.
0:20:18 > 0:20:20His self-deprecating style
0:20:20 > 0:20:22disguises his genuine concern about what he believes
0:20:22 > 0:20:26is happening to Britain's unwritten constitution.
0:20:26 > 0:20:30I'm against the ability of Europe to pass laws
0:20:30 > 0:20:33that my electors and the electors in the country at large do not want.
0:20:33 > 0:20:36That's fundamentally what it is about,
0:20:36 > 0:20:40the rest of it, erm... is essentially flim-flam.
0:20:40 > 0:20:43He's greatly concerned about the Government's plan
0:20:43 > 0:20:45to accept the European Arrest Warrant.
0:20:45 > 0:20:48And from what we know of the contents,
0:20:48 > 0:20:52some of it will mean it will have to be agreed by the EU itself
0:20:52 > 0:20:54including the European Parliament...
0:20:54 > 0:20:57It's intended to catch serious criminals,
0:20:57 > 0:20:59but he fears British citizens
0:20:59 > 0:21:02could be extradited to EU countries for minor offences.
0:21:04 > 0:21:08The dispute will lead to one of the most bitterly contested nights
0:21:08 > 0:21:10the House has seen for years.
0:21:15 > 0:21:19For his part, Steve Rotheram is about to try to use Brussels,
0:21:19 > 0:21:23so often accused of bureaucratic meddling in British affairs,
0:21:23 > 0:21:25to aid his new campaign.
0:21:25 > 0:21:28Hello, darling. How are you?
0:21:28 > 0:21:29He's meeting Frances Molloy,
0:21:29 > 0:21:31the mother of a young man
0:21:31 > 0:21:33who was the victim of a coach accident
0:21:33 > 0:21:36caused by 20-year-old tyres.
0:21:37 > 0:21:41He wants to get a new law passed in Parliament on tyre safety,
0:21:41 > 0:21:46so he's organised a meeting with leading figures in the tyre industry.
0:21:46 > 0:21:49I think it's important that whilst we all have
0:21:49 > 0:21:53an understanding of what happens when something goes wrong,
0:21:53 > 0:21:55nobody has a greater understanding
0:21:55 > 0:22:00than somebody who's had first-hand experience if you like of the devastating effects.
0:22:00 > 0:22:02Michael should have returned home to me,
0:22:02 > 0:22:04with muddy boots, dirty clothes
0:22:04 > 0:22:09and the exhaustion that goes along with an amazing weekend at a music festival.
0:22:09 > 0:22:11He was on the cusp of being signed for a music deal,
0:22:11 > 0:22:14and he was heading home excited at the prospect of this.
0:22:14 > 0:22:15He never made it.
0:22:17 > 0:22:19To lose him is life-changing -
0:22:19 > 0:22:22to find out it was because of a second-hand tyre
0:22:22 > 0:22:26is excruciating to live with, and it'll be my torture for ever.
0:22:27 > 0:22:29Thank you.
0:22:29 > 0:22:32Frances, that's really
0:22:32 > 0:22:37why MPs should get involved in these sort of things.
0:22:37 > 0:22:38Looking back over the last few years,
0:22:38 > 0:22:42there's been some tragic road accidents involving tyres,
0:22:42 > 0:22:45and to pick up Frances' point,
0:22:45 > 0:22:48they were ALL avoidable.
0:22:48 > 0:22:52And every one, alas,
0:22:52 > 0:22:56was a human tragedy like Frances'.
0:22:56 > 0:22:58The first thing that we're doing is a visit to Brussels,
0:22:58 > 0:23:01and we've got literally the great and the good
0:23:01 > 0:23:02in regard to the European Union
0:23:02 > 0:23:05who are attending a series of meetings over there
0:23:05 > 0:23:09to see whether we can look at this from a European dimension as well.
0:23:09 > 0:23:10But that won't stop us in parallel
0:23:10 > 0:23:14doing what we need to do and pushing this Government.
0:23:14 > 0:23:17- Thanks a lot. - ATTENDEES: Thank you.
0:23:22 > 0:23:24Downing Street, July the 14th.
0:23:25 > 0:23:27Ministers are summoned to Number 10
0:23:27 > 0:23:29for the biggest cabinet reshuffle
0:23:29 > 0:23:31since David Cameron became Prime Minister.
0:23:32 > 0:23:35The aim is to give the cabinet a face-lift,
0:23:35 > 0:23:37and respond to the threat of Ukip.
0:23:41 > 0:23:44William Hague, who's retiring at the next election,
0:23:44 > 0:23:48is moved from the Foreign Office to the job of Leader of the Commons.
0:23:50 > 0:23:52For those who are waiting to hear what's going to happen to them
0:23:52 > 0:23:55in a reshuffle, pretty tense.
0:23:55 > 0:23:57But not at all tense for
0:23:57 > 0:24:01people like me who, in this case, are on the inside of, erm...
0:24:01 > 0:24:04what's going on, and actually asked for the change.
0:24:05 > 0:24:07The Leader of the House of Commons' office.
0:24:07 > 0:24:09But erm...
0:24:09 > 0:24:13nobody said this was anything other than a rather...cruel profession.
0:24:15 > 0:24:17Pro-European ministers like Ken Clarke and others,
0:24:17 > 0:24:21characterised as "pale, male and stale", are given the chop.
0:24:24 > 0:24:25The controversial Michael Gove
0:24:25 > 0:24:28is shifted from Education to become Chief Whip -
0:24:28 > 0:24:32so a passionate Euro-sceptic is now in charge of party discipline.
0:24:38 > 0:24:41And the strongly Euro-sceptic defence minister Philip Hammond
0:24:41 > 0:24:45is given the plum job of Foreign Secretary.
0:24:48 > 0:24:51This is officially the Foreign Secretary's office -
0:24:51 > 0:24:54it's very beautiful, and we are hugely privileged
0:24:54 > 0:24:57to be able to camp in here at least for the next nine months
0:24:57 > 0:25:00until the election, and we may be moving off again somewhere else!
0:25:00 > 0:25:03It's not bad, is it? I wouldn't mind it as my porter's room.
0:25:03 > 0:25:07Somewhere to relax. But, yeah - someone's done all right for theirselves.
0:25:09 > 0:25:12Another of the Euro-sceptics promoted is Desmond Swayne.
0:25:14 > 0:25:16After years working in the Tory Whip's Office,
0:25:16 > 0:25:20he's been made a minister in the Department for International Development.
0:25:20 > 0:25:23They say once a whip, always a whip.
0:25:28 > 0:25:31I know there'll be a lot of people depressed today with the reshuffle.
0:25:32 > 0:25:34Within a week,
0:25:34 > 0:25:36it'll all be forgotten - the new ministers and the ministers
0:25:36 > 0:25:38and everybody will move on.
0:25:38 > 0:25:41I see my role in Parliament - I'm not here
0:25:41 > 0:25:47representing the Government, I'm here to scrutinise the Government.
0:25:48 > 0:25:50And it doesn't matter who's in power -
0:25:50 > 0:25:54the new Chief Whip has been in for about two hours
0:25:54 > 0:25:56and I've already rebelled against him.
0:25:58 > 0:26:01The most eye-catching feature of the reshuffle
0:26:01 > 0:26:03are the new women ministers.
0:26:04 > 0:26:07David Cameron has been stung by criticism
0:26:07 > 0:26:09that he has a problem with female voters,
0:26:09 > 0:26:12and too few women on his front bench.
0:26:13 > 0:26:15People might not believe this,
0:26:15 > 0:26:17but have no idea what you're going to be offered
0:26:17 > 0:26:19before you're offered it.
0:26:20 > 0:26:23He formally asks you to join the Government
0:26:23 > 0:26:24so it's a very formal meeting,
0:26:24 > 0:26:27and I thought about it for about three seconds
0:26:27 > 0:26:30and said, "Thank you very much."
0:26:30 > 0:26:32You don't think there's any tokenism going on, do you?
0:26:32 > 0:26:34No, I don't.
0:26:36 > 0:26:38The new ministers have risen up the greasy pole
0:26:38 > 0:26:41in a House of Commons that's still regarded by many
0:26:41 > 0:26:44as resembling a Victorian gentlemen's club.
0:26:45 > 0:26:47The reality for many female MPs,
0:26:47 > 0:26:51especially those juggling family and a career,
0:26:51 > 0:26:55is a long way from the glamour of the Downing Street catwalk.
0:26:55 > 0:26:58I don't want to go in the broken one...
0:26:58 > 0:27:01Oh, it's not a broken... Goodness me, this is weird.
0:27:01 > 0:27:06I have to take lots of unusual routes - I didn't know half of these places existed until I had kids.
0:27:06 > 0:27:09So there are all sorts of random
0:27:09 > 0:27:11service lifts and things that you end up using.
0:27:11 > 0:27:13Come on, then.
0:27:13 > 0:27:15Come on, in you go.
0:27:15 > 0:27:19A crowded schedule means her Commons office
0:27:19 > 0:27:20becomes the family dining room.
0:27:22 > 0:27:24Right, sit yourself down.
0:27:24 > 0:27:25Going to eat some peas?
0:27:26 > 0:27:29If I was doing a normal job
0:27:29 > 0:27:31that meant that I did normal working hours,
0:27:31 > 0:27:34then we'd be home in the evening and we'd all have supper together.
0:27:34 > 0:27:37And it's quite difficult in this job to have a routine of sorts
0:27:37 > 0:27:42for children, so actually this is kind of our routine really.
0:27:42 > 0:27:44Was that nice? Have you finished?
0:27:44 > 0:27:49If there's a division in the evening when we're all having supper, then the boys stay here with my husband.
0:27:49 > 0:27:52If I'm here on my own with the children that's much more challenging -
0:27:52 > 0:27:58that's the point at which we all just drop everything and run.
0:27:58 > 0:28:02- Sometimes we have to go and run for votes, don't we?- Yes.- Yeah.
0:28:02 > 0:28:05- You're very good at running through the corridors now, aren't you? - I run faster than any boy.
0:28:05 > 0:28:07You do run faster than anyone!
0:28:08 > 0:28:12My choice of job and what I do
0:28:12 > 0:28:16has a huge impact on what...
0:28:16 > 0:28:19on what my children and my husband can do, and
0:28:19 > 0:28:23affects their lives immeasurably, and sometimes
0:28:23 > 0:28:26I do get worried about that.
0:28:34 > 0:28:3724 hours after the reshuffle,
0:28:37 > 0:28:41and Steve Rotheram's campaign on tyre safety is gaining ground.
0:28:42 > 0:28:46He's secured ten minutes on the floor of the House
0:28:46 > 0:28:49to make his case for a change in the law.
0:28:49 > 0:28:53- Right, let's just do it. See what works, see what doesn't work.- OK.
0:28:53 > 0:28:55The purpose of this bill therefore is threefold -
0:28:55 > 0:28:57to raise awareness of...
0:28:57 > 0:29:00With ten minutes to speak, he wants every word to count.
0:29:01 > 0:29:02- LIVERPUDLIAN ACCENT:- "Work",
0:29:02 > 0:29:05things like that, "work" - it's a very Scouse word.
0:29:06 > 0:29:10And even "word", I say W-I-R-D, "wird".
0:29:10 > 0:29:14And I try to say "word" in there.
0:29:14 > 0:29:15"Word".
0:29:15 > 0:29:17And "work".
0:29:17 > 0:29:19If it is rubbish, it was Gavin's fault -
0:29:19 > 0:29:22if it's great, of course, then I take the credit.
0:29:23 > 0:29:25He's not making that up, either.
0:29:25 > 0:29:27- That's politics! - THEY LAUGH
0:29:27 > 0:29:30It is. It's my job to make you look good.
0:29:35 > 0:29:38Steve Rotheram must seek the advice of the Commons clerks
0:29:38 > 0:29:41on the protocol for introducing what's called
0:29:41 > 0:29:43a Ten Minute Rule Bill in the chamber.
0:29:44 > 0:29:46We're up another floor.
0:29:46 > 0:29:49Like many new MPs who came in at the last election,
0:29:49 > 0:29:53he still struggles to find his way round the Commons labyrinth.
0:29:53 > 0:29:54Let's have a look.
0:29:54 > 0:29:57Oh, no, it definitely bends round.
0:29:57 > 0:29:59That's not it.
0:29:59 > 0:30:02Where would I get the Public Bills Office please?
0:30:04 > 0:30:06Oh, yeah, you'll have to go up to the third floor,
0:30:06 > 0:30:10- I think the easiest way is to... - You've got to get in a lift?
0:30:10 > 0:30:12The lift from the back of the Speaker's chair.
0:30:12 > 0:30:14It's like a rabbit warren this place,
0:30:14 > 0:30:16there's corridors everywhere.
0:30:16 > 0:30:20You would have thought with two lifts, would have...
0:30:20 > 0:30:21ended up in the same place.
0:30:24 > 0:30:26I've found it.
0:30:28 > 0:30:32Finally in the right office, he asks the clerk about the process
0:30:32 > 0:30:35when the Speaker calls him to introduce his bill.
0:30:36 > 0:30:39So he will say "Steve Rotheram,"
0:30:39 > 0:30:43and then you will walk down next to the bar and bow first time.
0:30:43 > 0:30:47- Five small steps, bow.- Bow. - Five small steps, bow.- And then...
0:30:47 > 0:30:49- And then round the left. - Then you're at the mace, yeah.
0:30:49 > 0:30:54Yep, marvellous. OK, I'm sure even I can't screw that one up.
0:30:54 > 0:30:58Order. Ten Minute Rule motion, Mr Steve Rotheram.
0:30:59 > 0:31:03Mr Speaker, I beg to move that leave be given to bring in a bill
0:31:03 > 0:31:08to make it an offence to operate a public service vehicle with tyres
0:31:08 > 0:31:10that are ten or more years old.
0:31:10 > 0:31:13Mr Speaker, there are plenty of other rubber related products
0:31:13 > 0:31:16that people would be rightly cautious about trusting
0:31:16 > 0:31:19if they were decades old.
0:31:19 > 0:31:22So why would anybody trust their safety to a 20-year-old tyre?
0:31:26 > 0:31:28He's passed the first stage
0:31:28 > 0:31:31as he formally presents his draft bill to the House.
0:31:32 > 0:31:34Though it's still a long way from becoming law,
0:31:34 > 0:31:37he hopes the issue will now get media attention.
0:31:39 > 0:31:41You know, if this gets reported, as hopefully it will do,
0:31:41 > 0:31:44people will be aware that when they get onto a coach or a bus,
0:31:44 > 0:31:49potentially they could be on tyres that are 20 years of age.
0:31:49 > 0:31:51So, if anything,
0:31:51 > 0:31:54if the campaign gathers pace,
0:31:54 > 0:31:57the Government might act anyway outside of what I've proposed.
0:32:01 > 0:32:04In late July, MPs leave the Commons
0:32:04 > 0:32:06for the summer recess.
0:32:06 > 0:32:10And it's not just the old political order that's facing upheaval.
0:32:12 > 0:32:14Carpets are uprooted...
0:32:14 > 0:32:16..walls re-papered,
0:32:16 > 0:32:19and the mock Gothic Palace of Westminster is to be given
0:32:19 > 0:32:21a major face-lift.
0:32:22 > 0:32:26Strangers' Dining Room, where MPs can take visitors is
0:32:26 > 0:32:30one of the most ornate of Parliament's numerous eating places.
0:32:30 > 0:32:32Through painstaking historical research,
0:32:32 > 0:32:35it's being restored to its Victorian heyday.
0:32:36 > 0:32:40But the most formidable challenge is the building's cast iron roof,
0:32:40 > 0:32:42one of the biggest in the world.
0:32:42 > 0:32:45Basically it's a cast iron roof,
0:32:45 > 0:32:48and some of the roofs were in a shocking condition.
0:32:48 > 0:32:51But, er, yeah, it's been leaking a long time.
0:32:51 > 0:32:53A long time.
0:32:53 > 0:32:55The roof is being renovated for the first time
0:32:55 > 0:33:00since Hitler's war planes bombed Parliament no fewer than 14 times.
0:33:01 > 0:33:03So this tower in particular is very bad,
0:33:03 > 0:33:06mainly because it got hit during the war.
0:33:06 > 0:33:08So there's a lot of historical repairs on it,
0:33:08 > 0:33:10a lot of the nodes aren't the original nodes.
0:33:10 > 0:33:14They had these repair plates which should sit flushed together.
0:33:14 > 0:33:18But as water gets in, and it jacks and it rusts, they pull apart.
0:33:18 > 0:33:20And that's when you get something like this
0:33:20 > 0:33:23which you can literally fit your hand in.
0:33:24 > 0:33:28The last thing you want to see is a Government building fall apart
0:33:28 > 0:33:30cos that means your Government's falling apart.
0:33:34 > 0:33:38We're standing on top of one of the towers of Westminster.
0:33:39 > 0:33:43And this view won't be seen again for another 150 years
0:33:43 > 0:33:46until another scaffold's built here.
0:33:46 > 0:33:49Probably the most unique view in all of London.
0:33:56 > 0:33:58As construction workers dismantle the roof,
0:33:58 > 0:34:0360 miles away there's a small earthquake in Clacton.
0:34:05 > 0:34:10On August 28th, Douglas Carswell, a Tory Euro-sceptic MP,
0:34:10 > 0:34:11resigns his seat.
0:34:11 > 0:34:13He says he'll fight the resulting by-election
0:34:13 > 0:34:16in his Essex seaside constituency...
0:34:16 > 0:34:19- Thanks for your time. - ..as a Ukip candidate.
0:34:19 > 0:34:21He cites as his reason
0:34:21 > 0:34:24David Cameron's refusal to get serious on Europe.
0:34:29 > 0:34:33Four weeks later, as the leaf falls at Westminster,
0:34:33 > 0:34:36there's further bad news for David Cameron.
0:34:36 > 0:34:39Another Tory MP, Mark Reckless,
0:34:39 > 0:34:42has an announcement to make at the Ukip annual conference,
0:34:42 > 0:34:44in a voice rather like John Major's.
0:34:44 > 0:34:48Today, I am leaving the Conservative party...
0:34:48 > 0:34:50CROWD CHEERS AND APPLAUDS
0:34:50 > 0:34:54First one Tory defector, now another
0:34:54 > 0:34:56on the eve of the Conservative conference,
0:34:56 > 0:34:58he poses the question, how many more could go?
0:35:00 > 0:35:03One of the bookies' favourites to go is Peter Bone,
0:35:03 > 0:35:05once the joker in the Tory pack,
0:35:05 > 0:35:08but now seen as a major threat.
0:35:08 > 0:35:10How long have we been married?
0:35:10 > 0:35:12Too long, far too long.
0:35:14 > 0:35:17Jennie Bone has come for breakfast in the Commons as her husband has
0:35:17 > 0:35:22agreed to appear on the satirical quiz show Have I Got News For You?
0:35:23 > 0:35:25I think you're daft going on it.
0:35:25 > 0:35:29- Well, that is one thing we do agree on.- My advice is not to say anything!
0:35:29 > 0:35:32Now, this is an important decision, do I need my hair cut?
0:35:32 > 0:35:35No, don't, no. It looks fine, Peter.
0:35:35 > 0:35:37Do you really think the hair's all right?
0:35:37 > 0:35:41I think you should be more concerned about what you're going to say.
0:35:42 > 0:35:44I'm going to iron his shirt
0:35:44 > 0:35:46for the Have I Got News For You programme this evening.
0:35:46 > 0:35:49- And how much did that shirt cost? - Cos Peter wouldn't...
0:35:49 > 0:35:52certainly wouldn't know how to iron. £10.
0:35:52 > 0:35:54- Down from?- Reduced from £45.
0:35:54 > 0:35:56There you go, what a good girl she is.
0:35:56 > 0:35:58Let's go and see if we can find somewhere to iron.
0:35:58 > 0:36:00- Is it in the bowels? - It is in the bowels.
0:36:00 > 0:36:03- Is there an iron in there, Peter? - There is, that's right.
0:36:03 > 0:36:09- Are you going to stand guard in case any male naked bodies come in? - No, come on! Don't be daft.
0:36:09 > 0:36:11This is probably against... Oh, God, there is an iron!
0:36:11 > 0:36:14Seriously. Look, somebody's shoes there, though,
0:36:14 > 0:36:16they're probably out running.
0:36:16 > 0:36:21This room is used by members to get changed in and iron,
0:36:21 > 0:36:24and it does say "Gentlemen Members Only" on the door
0:36:24 > 0:36:27but, erm, I'm sure that's from olden days.
0:36:27 > 0:36:29Are there showers here, Peter,
0:36:29 > 0:36:32cos I certainly don't want to see a naked body.
0:36:32 > 0:36:35Come on, then - we've broken enough rules, let's get out of here.
0:36:35 > 0:36:38Thank goodness nobody came in.
0:36:38 > 0:36:42Peter Bone will use the show to fuel speculation about his intentions
0:36:42 > 0:36:44and exasperate the Tory leadership.
0:36:46 > 0:36:48I do media all the time because
0:36:48 > 0:36:52it's a good way of communicating with my constituents.
0:36:52 > 0:36:56Colleagues who won't go on the media, I think, miss a trick.
0:36:56 > 0:36:58Not that ones won't put themselves out for the media,
0:36:58 > 0:37:00cos if you put themselves out for the media,
0:37:00 > 0:37:04they'll remember you next time and come and ask you again.
0:37:07 > 0:37:11'As we've got you here, any other Tories going to defect to Ukip?'
0:37:11 > 0:37:13No, cos they've all given me cast iron guarantees
0:37:13 > 0:37:15that they're not going to.
0:37:15 > 0:37:17If I made a list, and we get a close up,
0:37:17 > 0:37:20can we get a close up on, erm, Peter, to see...
0:37:20 > 0:37:22LAUGHTER
0:37:22 > 0:37:24..how you react when I read a list of names.
0:37:24 > 0:37:26Peter Bone MP, what's your reaction?
0:37:28 > 0:37:30Slight nostril flare, I think, there.
0:37:30 > 0:37:32LAUGHTER
0:37:32 > 0:37:34Peter Bone remains a Tory...
0:37:34 > 0:37:36for now.
0:37:36 > 0:37:40But October 13th marks an historic day for the Commons.
0:37:41 > 0:37:44Douglas Carswell has swept to victory in Clacton
0:37:44 > 0:37:47as Ukip's first elected MP.
0:37:47 > 0:37:48Or as Nigel Farage puts it,
0:37:48 > 0:37:52"The Ukip fox has entered the Westminster hen house."
0:37:52 > 0:37:54It's good to be back.
0:37:54 > 0:37:56Even the corridors seem brighter.
0:37:56 > 0:37:58I really do feel invigorated
0:37:58 > 0:38:02and I'm more than happy to stand out as...in a minority of one.
0:38:04 > 0:38:07Escorted by the Father of the House, Sir Peter Tapsell,
0:38:07 > 0:38:12and the young Tory Euro-sceptic MP, Zach Goldsmith,
0:38:12 > 0:38:15a new member prepares to be sworn in.
0:38:15 > 0:38:19Don't forget to bow right at the beginning before you move.
0:38:20 > 0:38:24- Congratulations on your election, Mr Carswell.- Thank you.
0:38:25 > 0:38:28I think we can go forward now.
0:38:28 > 0:38:29Shall we? Go through?
0:38:29 > 0:38:30Yes, let's go forth.
0:38:32 > 0:38:34I swear by Almighty God that I will be faithful
0:38:34 > 0:38:37and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth,
0:38:37 > 0:38:39her heirs and successors, according to the law,
0:38:39 > 0:38:41so help me God.
0:38:42 > 0:38:45Douglas Carswell's first challenge as a new MP in a new party is
0:38:45 > 0:38:48securing an office in the Commons.
0:38:49 > 0:38:52He sees himself as a lone wolf.
0:38:54 > 0:38:57But he hasn't entirely escaped the clutches of the party whips.
0:38:59 > 0:39:01I didn't realise this,
0:39:01 > 0:39:05but there are all sorts of weird things about Westminster,
0:39:05 > 0:39:09and one of the oddities I've just discovered is that Government whips,
0:39:09 > 0:39:11in other words Conservative party whips,
0:39:11 > 0:39:14decide where MPs get offices.
0:39:14 > 0:39:17I had to go into the Whips' Office and drag a whip out
0:39:17 > 0:39:20a couple of evenings ago to get this office,
0:39:20 > 0:39:22but I've got it and I'm delighted.
0:39:22 > 0:39:26When I was a member of the Conservative party, I would get
0:39:26 > 0:39:29a constant stream of e-mails, many of which I just deleted, telling me
0:39:29 > 0:39:34how to vote on certain things and what the line to take was on things.
0:39:34 > 0:39:37And now I have to think for myself.
0:39:37 > 0:39:39Yeah, it's a slightly strange feeling
0:39:39 > 0:39:42because, erm, I guess this is Ukip's...
0:39:43 > 0:39:45..Whips' HQ.
0:39:45 > 0:39:46HE CHUCKLES
0:39:49 > 0:39:52Douglas Carswell's new office is a modern extension
0:39:52 > 0:39:54to the 19th century palace.
0:39:55 > 0:39:57A few metres above his head,
0:39:57 > 0:40:01a battle far removed from the political fray is playing out.
0:40:05 > 0:40:08Angel, the Harris' hawk, is fighting to keep Parliament
0:40:08 > 0:40:11free from pigeons and their droppings.
0:40:12 > 0:40:16I wouldn't say I'm protecting the Members of Parliament here,
0:40:16 > 0:40:20I think this is more of a protecting the fabric of the building
0:40:20 > 0:40:22than protecting the members.
0:40:24 > 0:40:28They might get some benefit because they wouldn't get pooed on.
0:40:42 > 0:40:44I think that was a bit of liver.
0:40:45 > 0:40:46Narrowly missed my mouth,
0:40:46 > 0:40:49which is always nice for the missus.
0:40:55 > 0:40:59Across London, Steve Rotheram is about to set off for Brussels.
0:41:02 > 0:41:06Unlike Ukip and the Euro-sceptics, he thinks the EU can work for MPs.
0:41:08 > 0:41:11Today, he's going on a fact finding mission
0:41:11 > 0:41:15to help inform his Commons campaign on tyre safety.
0:41:15 > 0:41:17What are we? We're eight, aren't we?
0:41:17 > 0:41:19Seven.
0:41:19 > 0:41:21- Seven?- Coach Eight.
0:41:21 > 0:41:24'Well, we're off to Brussels to the European Parliament.'
0:41:24 > 0:41:28Believe it or not, a lot of our legislation
0:41:28 > 0:41:32around tyres is European, so it comes from the European Parliament,
0:41:32 > 0:41:34and laws are obviously, as part...
0:41:34 > 0:41:37Our own Parliament, the UK Parliament,
0:41:37 > 0:41:39enacts the regulations passed down.
0:41:39 > 0:41:43So we want to find out what the plans are in regard to them
0:41:43 > 0:41:46looking to specifically develop some legislation
0:41:46 > 0:41:49and some policies around the age of tyres.
0:41:59 > 0:42:03Once in Brussels Steve Rotheram will discover there are no plans
0:42:03 > 0:42:06to legislate against old tyres.
0:42:06 > 0:42:09So he'll have to try and get it through the Commons.
0:42:12 > 0:42:14It's October 29th,
0:42:14 > 0:42:18three weeks before the Tory defector Mark Reckless is to fight
0:42:18 > 0:42:22a by-election as the new Ukip candidate in the Kent seat of
0:42:22 > 0:42:24Rochester and Strood.
0:42:25 > 0:42:28The Government has promised a vote on the controversial European
0:42:28 > 0:42:32arrest warrant which allows for the rapid extradition of
0:42:32 > 0:42:35criminal suspects between EU member states.
0:42:36 > 0:42:39Ed Miliband supports the Government on the measure
0:42:39 > 0:42:42but he seeks to exploit Tory divisions over Europe.
0:42:43 > 0:42:45Mr Speaker, Mr Speaker,
0:42:45 > 0:42:48a vital tool that has helped to bring murderers,
0:42:48 > 0:42:52rapists and paedophiles to justice is the European Arrest Warrant.
0:42:52 > 0:42:55Why is he delaying having a vote on it?
0:42:55 > 0:42:57It's the by-election in Rochester and Strood!
0:42:59 > 0:43:03He's paralysed by fear of another back bench rebellion on Europe!
0:43:03 > 0:43:06MEMBERS ROAR
0:43:06 > 0:43:09Mr Speaker, there's only one problem with his question, which is
0:43:09 > 0:43:11we are going to have a vote, we're going to have it
0:43:11 > 0:43:15before the Rochester by-election, his questions have just collapsed.
0:43:15 > 0:43:17MEMBERS ROAR
0:43:23 > 0:43:25It's November 10th,
0:43:25 > 0:43:29the day of the planned vote on the European Arrest Warrant.
0:43:32 > 0:43:34The first signs of trouble arrive
0:43:34 > 0:43:37when it's not specifically included in the list of measures
0:43:37 > 0:43:42on European law enforcement coming before the Commons.
0:43:42 > 0:43:47The whips prepared us a brief on the sort of technical details
0:43:47 > 0:43:50of the motion before the House today
0:43:50 > 0:43:53and, erm, the name of the motion
0:43:53 > 0:43:58was trailed as being all about the European Arrest Warrant.
0:43:58 > 0:44:01It doesn't even appear in the wording of the motion.
0:44:01 > 0:44:04The Government has summoned its MPs with a three line whip,
0:44:04 > 0:44:07which means they must come and vote.
0:44:07 > 0:44:10But as the European Arrest Warrant has been excluded from the motion,
0:44:10 > 0:44:14Tory Euro-sceptics are planning to rebel.
0:44:14 > 0:44:18Only a handful of people have paid any attention
0:44:18 > 0:44:20to the details of the motion until today.
0:44:20 > 0:44:23Normally people don't look at parliamentary agenda
0:44:23 > 0:44:25until the day of the agenda.
0:44:25 > 0:44:28I normally don't, I come in and I have a look at it
0:44:28 > 0:44:29and I see what's happening,
0:44:29 > 0:44:32and so I think people will be astonished to discover
0:44:32 > 0:44:35that after the Prime Minister promised a debate
0:44:35 > 0:44:39on the arrest warrant, that is not what is listed on the order paper.
0:44:39 > 0:44:41My guess is it's deliberate,
0:44:41 > 0:44:45that I think the Government wants to minimise the rebellion
0:44:45 > 0:44:47on the Tory benches.
0:44:51 > 0:44:54The Government points out that the European Arrest Warrant
0:44:54 > 0:44:58is already part of UK law, but the home secretary Theresa May
0:44:58 > 0:45:00pledges the Government will treat tonight's vote
0:45:00 > 0:45:03on the other required changes
0:45:03 > 0:45:05as if it included a specific vote on the warrant.
0:45:07 > 0:45:09And her Labour opposite number
0:45:09 > 0:45:13claims she's just playing with words and smells blood.
0:45:13 > 0:45:16But why not let Parliament have the vote that they were promised?
0:45:16 > 0:45:18but the Home Secretary has gone one step further -
0:45:18 > 0:45:20it's a disappearing magic trick.
0:45:20 > 0:45:23One minute the European Arrest Warrant is there,
0:45:23 > 0:45:24the next minute it's gone.
0:45:24 > 0:45:27One minute you see it, the next minute it disappears -
0:45:27 > 0:45:28it's her Paul Daniels act!
0:45:28 > 0:45:31The right honourable lady really doth protest too much
0:45:31 > 0:45:34on this matter.
0:45:34 > 0:45:38The vote on the next motion will be a vote on the regulations.
0:45:38 > 0:45:42The Government is clear that we will be bound by that vote.
0:45:42 > 0:45:44And if this House votes against the regulation,
0:45:44 > 0:45:47then it will be voting against the Government opting in
0:45:47 > 0:45:49to all of the measures,
0:45:49 > 0:45:52including the European Arrest Warrant.
0:45:52 > 0:45:56Tory rebels join the scorn being poured on the Government's position.
0:45:56 > 0:46:01This is a travesty of our parliamentary proceedings,
0:46:01 > 0:46:03and I'm sorry that the Home Secretary is shaking her head
0:46:03 > 0:46:09when I say this, because she knows perfectly well that this is a trick.
0:46:09 > 0:46:13The motion that we have got before us to allocate time
0:46:13 > 0:46:19was allocated on the basis either of error or of falsehood.
0:46:19 > 0:46:21As I look down from here at the Treasury Bench,
0:46:21 > 0:46:24I want to see something that is solid,
0:46:24 > 0:46:28but I am worried that it is made of increasingly crooked wood.
0:46:28 > 0:46:31We want to have it re-solidified, and we want this motion withdrawn.
0:46:33 > 0:46:34I didn't expect everybody to agree with me -
0:46:34 > 0:46:37particularly not those on the Treasury Bench,
0:46:37 > 0:46:40but they've been playing fast and loose with procedures,
0:46:40 > 0:46:43and that is something the Government simply can't be allowed
0:46:43 > 0:46:44to get away with.
0:46:44 > 0:46:46It undermines democracy if they cheat the system.
0:46:46 > 0:46:50So, my over-long time in this House of Commons
0:46:50 > 0:46:52has led me to understand
0:46:52 > 0:46:56that the growth of executive arrogance
0:46:56 > 0:46:58is unsupportable.
0:46:58 > 0:47:00And this is what so angers one,
0:47:00 > 0:47:03this is what brings this chamber into disrepair -
0:47:03 > 0:47:09we are not able to discuss the substance of what we stand for here.
0:47:09 > 0:47:10And that is wrong.
0:47:12 > 0:47:15Amid the Tory rage, the Labour frontbencher Thomas Docherty
0:47:15 > 0:47:17walks across to the Government side
0:47:17 > 0:47:21to confer with the Tory rebel Jacob Rees-Mogg.
0:47:21 > 0:47:24It looks an unlikely alliance,
0:47:24 > 0:47:28but behind the scenes the Labour whips are marshalling their MPs
0:47:28 > 0:47:31for a surprise attack.
0:47:31 > 0:47:34There's an e-mail that we got from the whips -
0:47:34 > 0:47:38they're saying that there might be an early vote today.
0:47:38 > 0:47:40They want bodies in the chamber.
0:47:40 > 0:47:42Labour support the European Arrest Warrant,
0:47:42 > 0:47:45but they've spotted an opportunity to defeat the Government
0:47:45 > 0:47:48on one of the issues where it's most vulnerable.
0:47:48 > 0:47:52We had a message off our party whips saying that a vote is imminent,
0:47:52 > 0:47:54so I'm going to make my way over to the chamber now
0:47:54 > 0:47:57and hopefully we might catch the Tories on the hop.
0:47:59 > 0:48:01At one minute to seven,
0:48:01 > 0:48:03Labour call for a vote not on the issue itself,
0:48:03 > 0:48:07but for the whole debate to be abandoned.
0:48:09 > 0:48:11Government ministers aren't expecting a challenge
0:48:11 > 0:48:12from the opposition -
0:48:12 > 0:48:14they're scattered all over London,
0:48:14 > 0:48:17believing there'll be a routine vote at 10 o'clock.
0:48:20 > 0:48:23Plans are hurriedly changed to get back to the Commons.
0:48:25 > 0:48:27At the Guildhall in the City of London,
0:48:27 > 0:48:30the Prime Minister is at the Lord Mayor's banquet
0:48:30 > 0:48:31when he is brought news
0:48:31 > 0:48:34of Labour and the Tory rebels' surprise attack.
0:48:37 > 0:48:39CLOCK STRIKES
0:48:41 > 0:48:45I say to the right honourable lady, we had time for debate...
0:48:45 > 0:48:47Theresa May keeps on talking
0:48:47 > 0:48:50so that the Tories have time to get more boots on the ground.
0:48:50 > 0:48:51..have been put in place,
0:48:51 > 0:48:54because there is no requirement in legislation
0:48:54 > 0:48:56for any measure to be put in place for the European Arrest Warrant
0:48:56 > 0:48:58for us to remain in the European Arrest Warrant.
0:48:58 > 0:49:01The Government's completely caught by surprise,
0:49:01 > 0:49:04and what Government MPs are now trying to do is filibuster
0:49:04 > 0:49:08till they get all their MPs back from dinner all over Central London
0:49:08 > 0:49:09so they can vote that down.
0:49:09 > 0:49:12So Theresa May did a very long speech
0:49:12 > 0:49:15with lots of helpful interventions from her own backbenchers
0:49:15 > 0:49:16to try and keep the debate going.
0:49:17 > 0:49:20Government whips scuttle back and forth
0:49:20 > 0:49:22as they seek to stave off the rebellion.
0:49:23 > 0:49:25The knives have just come out!
0:49:25 > 0:49:27Well, I thought there was going to be a vote,
0:49:27 > 0:49:29and now it seems that it's being delayed
0:49:29 > 0:49:31to make sure there are enough people back,
0:49:31 > 0:49:35because it was coming much earlier than expected,
0:49:35 > 0:49:36and it seems to be taking a while,
0:49:36 > 0:49:39so I'm going to go and take my son to go and get him into his pyjamas
0:49:39 > 0:49:43so that he's ready for bed when the vote does eventually come.
0:49:43 > 0:49:45It's getting a bit late for him, otherwise.
0:49:46 > 0:49:48The Liberal Democrat Jenny Willott
0:49:48 > 0:49:50will be voting against the Labour motion,
0:49:50 > 0:49:54that the question be not now put.
0:49:54 > 0:49:59So it's a debate on whether the question should not now be put.
0:49:59 > 0:50:02And I will be voting no,
0:50:02 > 0:50:05so that the question should NOT not now be put.
0:50:07 > 0:50:09You can see why people don't really understand the way
0:50:09 > 0:50:11that Parliament works!
0:50:11 > 0:50:13When it's quite as archaic as that.
0:50:13 > 0:50:15In the chamber,
0:50:15 > 0:50:20accusations of parliamentary chicanery fly on both sides.
0:50:20 > 0:50:23This is an example of game-playing on a crucial...
0:50:23 > 0:50:26by the party opposite... HOUSE JEERS
0:50:26 > 0:50:27..on a crucial matter of law...
0:50:29 > 0:50:33At five past eight, the Tories can stall no longer,
0:50:33 > 0:50:35and the Labour motion to abandon the vote
0:50:35 > 0:50:37is finally put before the House.
0:50:37 > 0:50:40- 'The question is...'- Yeah.
0:50:40 > 0:50:44'..that the question be not now put.'
0:50:44 > 0:50:46Right, come on! BELL RINGS
0:50:46 > 0:50:48You can bring your car. HE SQUEALS
0:50:48 > 0:50:50Look, there's a vote, Joshy, we've got to go!
0:50:50 > 0:50:52OK?
0:50:54 > 0:50:55BELL RINGS
0:50:59 > 0:51:02I honestly don't know which way it's going to go today.
0:51:04 > 0:51:07During votes, Jenny Willott must leave her son
0:51:07 > 0:51:09in the Lib Dem Whip's Office.
0:51:10 > 0:51:12Can you show Jack your car?
0:51:12 > 0:51:13Show Jack your car?
0:51:13 > 0:51:16- Good boy. Back in a sec!- Oh, hello!
0:51:18 > 0:51:21- HE CRIES - Ahh.
0:51:23 > 0:51:25What's the matter?
0:51:25 > 0:51:27What's the matter? Do you want to come inside?
0:51:34 > 0:51:36Tory MPs arrive in full evening dress
0:51:36 > 0:51:40having been summoned back before they could even start their starter.
0:51:47 > 0:51:50The Prime Minister is in tails in there,
0:51:50 > 0:51:52he's come straight from the banquet at The Mansion House.
0:51:52 > 0:51:54That photograph, he doesn't like.
0:51:54 > 0:51:57He does look like he's been transported out of the 1800s!
0:51:58 > 0:52:03MPs stream back to the Commons, right up to the voting deadline.
0:52:03 > 0:52:04Order!
0:52:07 > 0:52:11The ayes to the right, 229,
0:52:11 > 0:52:15the noes to the left, 272.
0:52:15 > 0:52:16JEERING
0:52:16 > 0:52:19The Government manages to win by 43 votes
0:52:19 > 0:52:23after one of the biggest Commons fiascos in recent history.
0:52:23 > 0:52:25There were people sitting next to me who've been in the House
0:52:25 > 0:52:28for, like, decades just saying, "I've never seen anything like it."
0:52:28 > 0:52:31It was an absolute shambles, and it was really badly mismanaged -
0:52:31 > 0:52:34but very exciting, actually!
0:52:40 > 0:52:42- See you all later, see you tomorrow. - See you later.- Bye.
0:52:43 > 0:52:46The Government's victory comes at the cost
0:52:46 > 0:52:48of widespread anger on the back benches.
0:52:49 > 0:52:52And it's the Tory Awkward Squad who feel most aggrieved.
0:52:54 > 0:52:57Of course, outside in The Dog And Duck
0:52:57 > 0:52:59nobody will understand what's happened,
0:52:59 > 0:53:04but basically democracy lost and the Government won.
0:53:04 > 0:53:07We were supposed to have a debate on the European Arrest Warrant,
0:53:07 > 0:53:08and a vote on it.
0:53:08 > 0:53:11The Government have promised it, and they...
0:53:11 > 0:53:13Well, they just didn't do what they promised.
0:53:13 > 0:53:15Amidst the political point-scoring,
0:53:15 > 0:53:19the crucial question of how Britain's criminal justice and policing system
0:53:19 > 0:53:23should interact with Europe has scarcely been debated.
0:53:23 > 0:53:27I think, sort of, party politics has got in the way a little bit,
0:53:27 > 0:53:30and I think it means that we haven't had...
0:53:30 > 0:53:33we haven't really had a debate on the merits of the actual motion.
0:53:33 > 0:53:34Which I think is a shame, really.
0:53:36 > 0:53:38THUNDER RUMBLES
0:53:42 > 0:53:46Ten days after the debacle over the European Arrest Warrant,
0:53:46 > 0:53:50Mark Reckless becomes Ukip's second MP.
0:53:50 > 0:53:52HECKLING
0:53:52 > 0:53:54You want me to swear, I understand?
0:53:54 > 0:53:56HECKLING
0:54:02 > 0:54:04On the day of Prime Minister's Questions,
0:54:04 > 0:54:07Mark Reckless arrives early to reserve his seat
0:54:07 > 0:54:10on what is traditionally a Labour bench.
0:54:10 > 0:54:14Douglas and I have sought to sit on this front bench down here
0:54:14 > 0:54:17and make at least part of it the new Ukip bench,
0:54:17 > 0:54:20and it looks like I've got in just in time.
0:54:21 > 0:54:23You've nicked my spot!
0:54:23 > 0:54:24It's always a privilege,
0:54:24 > 0:54:27I hope there'll be more Ukip MPs nicking my spot in future.
0:54:28 > 0:54:30Fearful that someone may take his seat,
0:54:30 > 0:54:34Mark Reckless takes a photograph of his prayer card.
0:54:35 > 0:54:36Sir!
0:54:36 > 0:54:39No photographs in the chamber.
0:54:40 > 0:54:45I don't want Carswell or Reckless sitting in close proximity to me.
0:54:45 > 0:54:48I've got absolutely nothing in common with them two.
0:54:48 > 0:54:50I just wonder what their motives are
0:54:50 > 0:54:54for them two, in particular, to have chosen this particular place
0:54:54 > 0:54:59within the whole side of the House of Commons to sit in.
0:55:05 > 0:55:08With the Liberal Democrats trailing badly in the polls,
0:55:08 > 0:55:12Jenny Willott has decided to return to the back benches.
0:55:12 > 0:55:14She's resigned from the Whip's Office
0:55:14 > 0:55:17to enable her to take a more public role
0:55:17 > 0:55:21as she fights to retain her seat in Wales.
0:55:21 > 0:55:23I'm now going to the chamber to go - for the first time -
0:55:23 > 0:55:25to speak, since I've been a whip.
0:55:25 > 0:55:27As a whip, you're not allowed to speak in the chamber,
0:55:27 > 0:55:29you're not allowed to speak at all.
0:55:29 > 0:55:31So this is going to be the first time that I've spoken
0:55:31 > 0:55:34from the back benches for a few years now.
0:55:34 > 0:55:36I'm going to go and talk in a debate on Wales.
0:55:43 > 0:55:47It's February 2nd, 2015.
0:55:47 > 0:55:49Steve Rotheram is meeting with Frances Molloy,
0:55:49 > 0:55:51who's returned to Parliament
0:55:51 > 0:55:55to receive a printed and bound copy of the bill
0:55:55 > 0:55:57inspired by the death of her son.
0:55:57 > 0:56:01- There are a couple of copies for you, Mr Rotheram.- Thank you so much.
0:56:01 > 0:56:04That looks really good, doesn't it?
0:56:04 > 0:56:05Yeah.
0:56:07 > 0:56:10- It's only taken you 18 months hasn't it?- Yeah.
0:56:12 > 0:56:14I didn't expect to get this emotional.
0:56:14 > 0:56:16SHE SNIFFS
0:56:16 > 0:56:18Perhaps you'll prevent other people going through
0:56:18 > 0:56:20- what you're going through. - Absolutely.
0:56:22 > 0:56:23Thanks.
0:56:23 > 0:56:24Thank you.
0:56:25 > 0:56:28- Aw, thanks for your support and work.- Thank you.
0:56:28 > 0:56:29- It's a pleasure.- Thanks.
0:56:29 > 0:56:31- Thanks a lot, cheers, Kate. - Not at all.
0:56:31 > 0:56:32Ta-ra.
0:56:32 > 0:56:35We still haven't given up hope that we'll get it through
0:56:35 > 0:56:36on second reading,
0:56:36 > 0:56:40but if for some reason that we're not able to do it then,
0:56:40 > 0:56:42this doesn't go to waste.
0:56:42 > 0:56:46This is there, it's on the shelf, and ready for us to push -
0:56:46 > 0:56:49whatever might happen after the 7th of May.
0:56:49 > 0:56:51- I won't give up.- No.
0:56:51 > 0:56:55- I'll wear the Government down before they wear me down.- Mm.
0:56:55 > 0:56:57And your lot, if they get in.
0:56:57 > 0:57:01I'll be there supporting you, I'll be there fighting your corner.
0:57:01 > 0:57:04It's now almost impossible for Steve Rotheram's bill
0:57:04 > 0:57:08to be passed into law before the general election.
0:57:08 > 0:57:11But it may be included in his party's manifesto,
0:57:11 > 0:57:14and could yet be passed in the next Parliament.
0:57:19 > 0:57:22The last year has seen a fracturing of our party system,
0:57:22 > 0:57:26and the loosening of the grip of the whips,
0:57:26 > 0:57:28so voters in the coming election will have to decide
0:57:28 > 0:57:30whether they want as their MPs
0:57:30 > 0:57:35those who play the Commons game by its old rules, or the new ones.
0:57:40 > 0:57:43Next time, in the final instalment of Inside The Commons...
0:57:43 > 0:57:46Speaker!
0:57:46 > 0:57:47HOUSE CHEERS
0:57:47 > 0:57:50..the House is rocked by a battle over its future...
0:57:54 > 0:57:58..the palace seeks new ways to earn its keep.
0:57:58 > 0:58:02As you can see, it's the slightly more, er...bling effect.
0:58:02 > 0:58:05..and the whole Westminster system is challenged.
0:58:05 > 0:58:08Parliament has not been doing its job for a very long time.
0:58:09 > 0:58:11Are you interested in finding out more
0:58:11 > 0:58:13about the topics raised in this series?
0:58:13 > 0:58:15Then go to...
0:58:19 > 0:58:21..and follow the links to the Open University
0:58:21 > 0:58:23where you can watch topical round table discussions
0:58:23 > 0:58:27and get an insight into the making of the series.