0:00:05 > 0:00:07This is the House of Commons as you've never seen it before.
0:00:07 > 0:00:09BELL RINGS Wahey!
0:00:11 > 0:00:13With unprecedented access,
0:00:13 > 0:00:15we've been filming behind the scenes for a year.
0:00:17 > 0:00:21That's where our laws are set. These are the people that we're run by.
0:00:21 > 0:00:24- Division, clear the lobby! - Clear the lobby!
0:00:26 > 0:00:29It's been a year of high drama and nasty surprises.
0:00:29 > 0:00:32While I was serving up the sticky toffee pudding and my custard,
0:00:32 > 0:00:33a little mouse ran across.
0:00:35 > 0:00:39In this episode, a storm blows through the Commons
0:00:39 > 0:00:42and the Speaker runs into trouble.
0:00:42 > 0:00:46It isn't possible to make an omelette without breaking eggs.
0:00:46 > 0:00:49The ancient and crumbling palace is up for hire.
0:00:49 > 0:00:52As you can see, it's a slightly more filling effect.
0:00:52 > 0:00:54Fundamentally, we are a legislature.
0:00:54 > 0:00:57We are not a hotel and catering outlet.
0:01:00 > 0:01:02And with a general election looming,
0:01:02 > 0:01:06battles erupt over what kind of Commons we really want.
0:01:06 > 0:01:10It just confirms to me why politics needs a kick up the backside.
0:01:18 > 0:01:24It's July 2014 and in the Commons, the old order is changing.
0:01:26 > 0:01:30Outside the Chamber, staff line up to mark the end of an era.
0:01:32 > 0:01:34At the end of the debate, our Clerk,
0:01:34 > 0:01:37Sir Robert Rogers, will leave the Chamber for the last time.
0:01:40 > 0:01:44Sir Robert is the Commons' top official, with an encyclopaedic
0:01:44 > 0:01:48knowledge of how Parliament works, but he's decided to retire early.
0:01:50 > 0:01:53I would imagine there'll be a few people at the back of the chair
0:01:53 > 0:01:55just to see him safely into the Elysian fields of retirement.
0:01:55 > 0:01:58One for the bath.
0:01:58 > 0:02:00- HE CHUCKLES - Fantastic.
0:02:00 > 0:02:05He's worked here over 40 years, so he'll be very much missed
0:02:05 > 0:02:07and it's sort of the end of a chapter.
0:02:12 > 0:02:14There.
0:02:14 > 0:02:18When I met Robert, he introduced himself to me
0:02:18 > 0:02:21and he immediately said to me, "Would you like a Kir?"
0:02:21 > 0:02:23And here was this larger-than-life character
0:02:23 > 0:02:26offering me a glass of champagne and blackcurrant
0:02:26 > 0:02:29and so I knew then that I'd come to work in the right place.
0:02:35 > 0:02:36At his leaving party,
0:02:36 > 0:02:40Sir Robert doesn't explain why he's decided to step down early.
0:02:40 > 0:02:43When I go, I go.
0:02:43 > 0:02:46I'm not going to speak to the man at the wheel
0:02:46 > 0:02:48and I'm not going to spit on the deck.
0:02:48 > 0:02:52Those shall be my watch words. Thank you.
0:02:52 > 0:02:54APPLAUSE
0:02:54 > 0:02:57On the very same night on the other side of the Commons,
0:02:57 > 0:03:00a rather different party is taking place.
0:03:00 > 0:03:02ROCK MUSIC PLAYS
0:03:02 > 0:03:04I want to see those hands in the air!
0:03:04 > 0:03:08The Commons' Speaker, John Bercow, is hosting a charity rock concert
0:03:08 > 0:03:13with his colourful wife, Sally, in his grand grace-and-favour mansion.
0:03:16 > 0:03:21It's customary for the Commons' Speaker to lay on a farewell event
0:03:21 > 0:03:22for a departing Clerk.
0:03:22 > 0:03:24It didn't happen this time.
0:03:26 > 0:03:28CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:03:28 > 0:03:30And there have been persistent reports that
0:03:30 > 0:03:35John Bercow has been at daggers drawn with Sir Robert Rogers.
0:03:35 > 0:03:37BELL TOLLS
0:03:37 > 0:03:40The Speaker is the only MP with a house in the Commons.
0:03:40 > 0:03:44The job of Speaker goes back nearly seven centuries
0:03:44 > 0:03:47and John Bercow is the first to have a young family here
0:03:47 > 0:03:49and sees himself as a moderniser.
0:03:49 > 0:03:51- Good morning.- Good morning.
0:03:51 > 0:03:56The son of a taxi driver, he's now the highest commoner in the land.
0:03:56 > 0:03:59There is a tradition that the Speaker of the House of Commons
0:03:59 > 0:04:01has a coat of arms.
0:04:01 > 0:04:04My coat of arms is inevitably personal.
0:04:04 > 0:04:09The ladder is intended to represent the concept of opportunity
0:04:09 > 0:04:11and of social mobility.
0:04:11 > 0:04:16I didn't have a huge number of advantages or any wealth to
0:04:16 > 0:04:21propel me, I depended very much upon my own efforts and my own wits.
0:04:21 > 0:04:24Although I revere the traditions and the past, I don't think
0:04:24 > 0:04:28we should live in the past, and there is a lot that needs to change.
0:04:28 > 0:04:31Speaker!
0:04:33 > 0:04:36The Speaker's job is to preside over the Chamber,
0:04:36 > 0:04:38choose who speaks and keep order.
0:04:39 > 0:04:43He describes himself as a referee.
0:04:43 > 0:04:45Be quiet. If you can't be quiet, get out.
0:04:45 > 0:04:48The question will be heard.
0:04:48 > 0:04:52What people think of it is neither here nor there.
0:04:52 > 0:04:56Sit there, be quiet and if you can't do so, leave the Chamber,
0:04:56 > 0:04:59we can manage without you.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02He's hauled ministers into the Commons to answer a record
0:05:02 > 0:05:05number of urgent questions from MPs.
0:05:05 > 0:05:07I think he's being courageous
0:05:07 > 0:05:10and I think he takes positions which are, you know,
0:05:10 > 0:05:13a lot of other Speakers would never dream of granting an urgent
0:05:13 > 0:05:15question, they would have said no automatically.
0:05:15 > 0:05:17I think he's absolutely right.
0:05:17 > 0:05:20"Bloody well get down here and answer that question."
0:05:20 > 0:05:21HECKLING
0:05:21 > 0:05:23- I don't know what they're paying him, Mr Speaker...- Order!
0:05:23 > 0:05:25- Order, order. - But I haven't finished.- Order.
0:05:25 > 0:05:27LAUGHTER AND CHEERING
0:05:27 > 0:05:29The Prime Minister has finished
0:05:29 > 0:05:31and he can take it from me that he's finished.
0:05:31 > 0:05:33LAUGHTER
0:05:34 > 0:05:38But many MPs feel John Bercow is his own worst enemy
0:05:38 > 0:05:40because of his unfortunate manner.
0:05:40 > 0:05:42The outspoken Michael Fabricant
0:05:42 > 0:05:45isn't alone in his view of the Speaker, who's a Marmite figure.
0:05:45 > 0:05:49Some MPs strongly support him, others can't stand him.
0:05:49 > 0:05:54I think John Bercow forgets that the House of Commons is not
0:05:54 > 0:05:58the servant of the Speaker, the Speaker is the servant of the House.
0:05:58 > 0:06:00Some of my critics say that I'm bumptious
0:06:00 > 0:06:04and can be pompous from time to time and, look, none of us
0:06:04 > 0:06:08is perfect and if people say that, there may well be truth in it.
0:06:10 > 0:06:12Got to get to a rally of 20.
0:06:12 > 0:06:15The tennis-mad Speaker has opened up the Commons
0:06:15 > 0:06:17for a charity schools event.
0:06:17 > 0:06:20The greatest sport ever invented.
0:06:20 > 0:06:24And most of the time, players are more polite to each other
0:06:24 > 0:06:28than my colleagues are to each other in the House.
0:06:30 > 0:06:33But the battle to bring radical change to the Commons
0:06:33 > 0:06:35will prove an epic contest.
0:06:35 > 0:06:37Ah, he got it! He's got it!
0:06:42 > 0:06:45The Commons was designed to impress foreigners
0:06:45 > 0:06:48when it was rebuilt in Victorian times,
0:06:48 > 0:06:52but many of its customs, quirks and pageantry
0:06:52 > 0:06:56have even deeper roots, going back 850 years.
0:06:57 > 0:07:00Its longest-serving member, Sir Peter Tapsell,
0:07:00 > 0:07:03the Father of the House, has witnessed at first-hand
0:07:03 > 0:07:07the Commons' struggle to come to terms with the modern age.
0:07:07 > 0:07:09You know he's the principal doorkeeper?
0:07:09 > 0:07:12- I do know he's the principal doorkeeper.- A very important chap.
0:07:12 > 0:07:16I'm the only Member of Parliament who predates him.
0:07:16 > 0:07:20- I arrived just before him. - When did you...?- Well, you beat me.
0:07:20 > 0:07:23- '64, was it?- '59. - '59, I beg your pardon.
0:07:23 > 0:07:26No, I'm a relative newcomer, I'm '69.
0:07:26 > 0:07:30The country really is very critical of the House of Commons,
0:07:30 > 0:07:32very critical indeed.
0:07:32 > 0:07:36I hear everywhere I go, in London and in my constituency,
0:07:36 > 0:07:42I hear criticism, not just of the party leaders, but of all of us
0:07:42 > 0:07:45and of the way the House of Commons conducts its business.
0:07:45 > 0:07:48THUNDER RUMBLES
0:07:48 > 0:07:52Above all, it was the expenses scandal in 2009
0:07:52 > 0:07:56that had a major effect on the public's view of MPs.
0:07:56 > 0:07:57It was absolutely toxic.
0:07:59 > 0:08:03And I think, I really do, I think it was appalling and I think
0:08:03 > 0:08:08it did vile, untold damage to Parliament and to an already...
0:08:08 > 0:08:11a perception that was already not brilliant.
0:08:12 > 0:08:16To keep MPs honest, there's a new, highly complex online
0:08:16 > 0:08:21expenses claims system, which adds to their sense of being under siege.
0:08:21 > 0:08:23You've got mileage, miscellaneous, monthly MP mileage -
0:08:23 > 0:08:26why that's different from mileage, I've no idea.
0:08:26 > 0:08:29Own vehicle - bicycle, own vehicle - bicycle dependant,
0:08:29 > 0:08:33own vehicle - MOT cycle. What the hell does that mean?
0:08:33 > 0:08:35We're living in an anti-politics age...
0:08:36 > 0:08:41..where people, you know, resent MPs being paid at all.
0:08:41 > 0:08:43SHOUTING
0:08:43 > 0:08:47Public attitudes to MPs have been shaped by official TV coverage
0:08:47 > 0:08:49of the Commons.
0:08:49 > 0:08:51But our cameras have had unrestricted access
0:08:51 > 0:08:55and shown behaviour to be even rougher than is normally seen.
0:08:55 > 0:09:00HECKLING AND SHOUTING
0:09:02 > 0:09:05Bankers, for a while, were quite useful because they made us
0:09:05 > 0:09:08look a bit more popular, but I think actually, bankers, probably,
0:09:08 > 0:09:11now are back ahead of us even with their massive bonuses, so it's
0:09:11 > 0:09:14just estate agents at the moment who are keeping us off the bottom.
0:09:20 > 0:09:23The Conservative MP Charlotte Leslie arrived in the Commons
0:09:23 > 0:09:26as part of the new broom in 2010.
0:09:26 > 0:09:30She was anxious to do things by the book.
0:09:30 > 0:09:35I'd seen some MPs behave appallingly during the expenses scandal.
0:09:35 > 0:09:37It's terrifying, you constantly have to be thinking,
0:09:37 > 0:09:41"Have I ticked the right box? Have I done the right thing?"
0:09:41 > 0:09:44But Charlotte Leslie failed to tick the right box.
0:09:44 > 0:09:47She made a mistake when it came to registering donations
0:09:47 > 0:09:50to her local party, which was later exposed.
0:09:51 > 0:09:55I just felt like a cannonball had gone through my stomach.
0:09:55 > 0:09:59It was really awful, it was everything that I had most dreaded.
0:09:59 > 0:10:01I'm unspeakably sorry that despite all the efforts
0:10:01 > 0:10:04I made as a new MP to get things right,
0:10:04 > 0:10:08I have nevertheless made this very serious error
0:10:08 > 0:10:11and I want to reiterate my heartfelt apologies to the House
0:10:11 > 0:10:14and have sought the earliest possible opportunity to do so.
0:10:14 > 0:10:17MURMURS OF AGREEMENT
0:10:17 > 0:10:19Charlotte Leslie caught the mood of the House
0:10:19 > 0:10:23and a committee of MPs cleared her of wrongdoing.
0:10:23 > 0:10:26She's now concentrating on the job of trying to hold
0:10:26 > 0:10:27the Government to account.
0:10:29 > 0:10:33She's standing for election to chair the Health Select Committee.
0:10:33 > 0:10:36Amongst the candidates are fellow Tories Phillip Lee
0:10:36 > 0:10:39and Sarah Wollaston, who are both GPs.
0:10:39 > 0:10:43There's three of us running who are the new intake of 2010,
0:10:43 > 0:10:47and I suppose all of us come with a certain freshness.
0:10:47 > 0:10:50She's now canvassing MPs to support her bid.
0:10:50 > 0:10:54Select Committees are where MPs do some of their most important work,
0:10:54 > 0:10:56scrutinising the Government,
0:10:56 > 0:10:59and they've become more powerful in this Parliament
0:10:59 > 0:11:02because the Committee Chair is now elected by their fellow MPs
0:11:02 > 0:11:06rather than recommended by the party whips.
0:11:06 > 0:11:09Hello. Yes, hello, good to see you.
0:11:09 > 0:11:11- You said earlier you might sign a nomination form.- Yes, I will.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14- Would you?- Absolutely.- Oh, Bill, that's absolutely fantastic.
0:11:14 > 0:11:16No doubts at all about that.
0:11:16 > 0:11:18Dropping pens and everything.
0:11:19 > 0:11:22- Off we go.- Onwards. Thanks, Bill, thanks so much.
0:11:24 > 0:11:27With a marginal seat and a general election looming,
0:11:27 > 0:11:29she's had to make tough choices.
0:11:29 > 0:11:32I had to really think about whether I was going
0:11:32 > 0:11:34to have the time to do the job properly, whether I'd be
0:11:34 > 0:11:37abandoning my seat, whether it's something I should be doing.
0:11:44 > 0:11:48From his base in the splendour of the House of Commons Library,
0:11:48 > 0:11:52Tory Zac Goldsmith is another newcomer from the 2010 intake.
0:11:52 > 0:11:55He sees it as his job to shake Westminster up.
0:11:57 > 0:12:00The son of the billionaire businessman Sir Jimmy Goldsmith,
0:12:00 > 0:12:05he was expelled from Eton and is still refusing to play by the rules.
0:12:08 > 0:12:09HE WHISPERS
0:12:28 > 0:12:30In the wake of the expenses scandal,
0:12:30 > 0:12:35Zac Goldsmith believes that MPs must be made more accountable by law.
0:12:35 > 0:12:39The Government wants to introduce a bill that would allow MPs
0:12:39 > 0:12:42who commit offences to be sacked between elections.
0:12:42 > 0:12:46But Zac Goldsmith believes the bill is just window-dressing.
0:12:47 > 0:12:50As an MP, I could join the BNP, I could go on holiday for two years,
0:12:50 > 0:12:52I could refuse to come to Parliament,
0:12:52 > 0:12:54refuse to talk to constituents,
0:12:54 > 0:12:57I could do anything other than engage in serious financial wrongdoing -
0:12:57 > 0:13:00that's the only area in which I would be tripped up.
0:13:00 > 0:13:02And I think people would be appalled by that.
0:13:02 > 0:13:05He wants to amend the bill so that, between elections,
0:13:05 > 0:13:09the voters themselves will have the power to sack their MP.
0:13:09 > 0:13:11It's quite hard to overturn a Government bill
0:13:11 > 0:13:13if you're not the Government.
0:13:13 > 0:13:15It's a long shot, but I think we'll pull it off.
0:13:18 > 0:13:19MPs like Zac Goldsmith
0:13:19 > 0:13:22and Charlotte Leslie are striving to shake up a political system
0:13:22 > 0:13:25which they feel is out of date
0:13:25 > 0:13:28and inadequate for the needs of the 21st-century electorate.
0:13:31 > 0:13:34And they're doing it in a Victorian palace that's becoming
0:13:34 > 0:13:36increasingly dysfunctional.
0:13:36 > 0:13:40We've got mice crawling around the building,
0:13:40 > 0:13:43plates of glass in some cases falling down,
0:13:43 > 0:13:47we had effluent coming into one part of the building.
0:13:47 > 0:13:50Yesterday I was down in the canteen ordering sticky toffee pudding.
0:13:50 > 0:13:54While they were serving it up and my custard, a little mouse
0:13:54 > 0:13:57ran across, and that's not unusual, you see mice all over this place.
0:13:59 > 0:14:04The Lib Dem MP John Thurso has the job of trying to stop the rot.
0:14:04 > 0:14:07He's a Scottish laird who's renovated some
0:14:07 > 0:14:09of Britain's grandest hotels.
0:14:11 > 0:14:17- It is SUCH a beautiful space, really, hidden away.- Absolute gem.- Yeah.
0:14:18 > 0:14:20With the principal doorkeeper Robin Fell,
0:14:20 > 0:14:23he's inspecting Cloister Court,
0:14:23 > 0:14:27a rarely-seen 16th-century treasure at the heart of the Commons.
0:14:27 > 0:14:29First class weeds.
0:14:29 > 0:14:30THEY LAUGH
0:14:30 > 0:14:33This is as close as you can get to how it was probably
0:14:33 > 0:14:35the day it was built.
0:14:35 > 0:14:40It's wonderful, it's scruffy, it's untouched, it's, er, worrying,
0:14:40 > 0:14:42if you're responsible for repairing it.
0:14:43 > 0:14:44It's a gem, to me.
0:14:44 > 0:14:48You would never build anything like this now, would you?
0:14:48 > 0:14:50But you wouldn't throw it away either.
0:14:50 > 0:14:53So there it is, you can just... Oh, dear-oh-dear.
0:14:53 > 0:14:57Ah! No, not going to touch any more, that's enough for today!
0:14:58 > 0:15:03From dodgy drains, to vermin, to leaking roofs, the total restoration
0:15:03 > 0:15:08and repair bill for Parliament could run to an eye-watering £3 billion.
0:15:09 > 0:15:11Welcome, colleagues, as you will have seen...
0:15:11 > 0:15:13John Thurso and his fellow members
0:15:13 > 0:15:14of the House of Commons Commission,
0:15:14 > 0:15:17along with the House of Lords, will have to work out exactly what
0:15:17 > 0:15:20needs doing and what it will cost the taxpayer.
0:15:24 > 0:15:27The Commons is looking for new ways to help earn its keep
0:15:27 > 0:15:29by monetising its unique assets.
0:15:30 > 0:15:33So it's been hiring out its historic rooms for parties
0:15:33 > 0:15:35and weddings, and even as a film set.
0:15:38 > 0:15:40THROUGH LOUD-HAILER: Action!
0:15:42 > 0:15:44Good afternoon, banqueting and events?
0:15:44 > 0:15:46I've got confirmation from the client.
0:15:46 > 0:15:47Thank you.
0:15:47 > 0:15:51David Purdue is a new recruit trying to pull in the punters.
0:15:52 > 0:15:54Are you ready? Shall we go?
0:15:56 > 0:15:58I'd worked in events before, briefly,
0:15:58 > 0:16:00before that I was a dancer, so a slight change of career.
0:16:00 > 0:16:02But you reach an age where you think,
0:16:02 > 0:16:07"The knees are going slightly, so I should probably do something else."
0:16:07 > 0:16:12Rooms in the old palace cost up to £9,000 to hire for the day.
0:16:12 > 0:16:14This is probably more the "Commons-y" feel.
0:16:14 > 0:16:17It's been used as the members' actual dining room.
0:16:17 > 0:16:19I think it's always nice when you're bringing in external clients
0:16:19 > 0:16:21to show them the full wow factor.
0:16:21 > 0:16:23I was just talking, actually, about this ceiling,
0:16:23 > 0:16:25this has just been finished.
0:16:25 > 0:16:28They've actually put back the original design,
0:16:28 > 0:16:31as you can see, it's a slightly more...
0:16:31 > 0:16:32bling effect, if you will.
0:16:37 > 0:16:39With the financial squeeze on,
0:16:39 > 0:16:43the ancient palace is starting to adopt new management techniques.
0:16:45 > 0:16:47There we are, Members' Lobby, quick look round.
0:16:49 > 0:16:52Everything's as it should be, into the office.
0:16:52 > 0:16:53After 40 years' service,
0:16:53 > 0:16:59the principal doorkeeper Robin Fell has been told to modernise his ways.
0:16:59 > 0:17:01Bit of nonsense I have to do now.
0:17:01 > 0:17:04Have to record the time at which I come in and the time at which
0:17:04 > 0:17:07I go home, because they, er...
0:17:07 > 0:17:11Someone sat in an office somewhere has decided people might not
0:17:11 > 0:17:14be working the number of hours they should.
0:17:14 > 0:17:17I never see these people at quarter past seven in the morning
0:17:17 > 0:17:20or 11 at night, but there we are. It's absolutely potty,
0:17:20 > 0:17:23and all over Parliament, there's people doing the same thing,
0:17:23 > 0:17:27and it's achieving absolutely nothing except upsetting everybody.
0:17:27 > 0:17:30There's nothing that isn't being done,
0:17:30 > 0:17:34but we have to do it because the bean counters seem to rule the world.
0:17:34 > 0:17:39The hunt is on for a new Clerk to replace Sir Robert Rogers.
0:17:39 > 0:17:41Whoever lands the job - which is
0:17:41 > 0:17:44both chief adviser to the House on how laws are made
0:17:44 > 0:17:49AND its chief executive - will shape the future of the Commons.
0:17:49 > 0:17:52Traditionally, the job's been filled by an insider.
0:17:52 > 0:17:55David Natzler is the Acting Clerk.
0:17:55 > 0:17:58He's consulting their Bible - Erskine May.
0:17:58 > 0:18:01'Tis the advice of a learned clerk at the time as to what he thought
0:18:01 > 0:18:04the rules were, because there was no book that people could go to
0:18:04 > 0:18:09and say, "What exactly are the rules and precedents?"
0:18:09 > 0:18:14It is remarkable how often we have to turn back to old precedents,
0:18:14 > 0:18:19which may seem dusty and ancient, but actually speak to us today.
0:18:19 > 0:18:23Constitutional knowledge is only one part of the Chief Clerk's job.
0:18:27 > 0:18:30John Bercow believes that the head of a modern parliament should
0:18:30 > 0:18:32have hands-on management experience.
0:18:34 > 0:18:39And the appointment panel he chairs has chosen an outsider.
0:18:39 > 0:18:42Carol Mills is Director of Parliamentary Services
0:18:42 > 0:18:45in Australia, but has no expertise in Commons procedure.
0:18:46 > 0:18:50The decision sparks a mutiny among MPs.
0:18:50 > 0:18:55When you try to undertake change, although you get support
0:18:55 > 0:18:59in many quarters, there are people who tend to be resistant to it.
0:19:01 > 0:19:04The whole appointment process basically stinks.
0:19:04 > 0:19:09To have a totally unqualified person doing the job is ridiculous.
0:19:09 > 0:19:14Organising the building's maintenance and the catering - however important
0:19:14 > 0:19:18that may be - is entirely secondary to being a constitutional expert.
0:19:20 > 0:19:24Early in September, MPs take sides, for and against the Speaker.
0:19:25 > 0:19:29The appointment process for the next Clerk of this House
0:19:29 > 0:19:31was seriously flawed.
0:19:31 > 0:19:34The personal attacks on Mr Speaker have been unwarranted
0:19:34 > 0:19:36and plain wrong.
0:19:36 > 0:19:38Something seems to have gone badly wrong.
0:19:38 > 0:19:41There are all sorts of personal, political, constitutional
0:19:41 > 0:19:44and administrative questions wrapped up in this
0:19:44 > 0:19:45seemingly innocent little dispute.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48What I'm sure started out as a perfectly sane
0:19:48 > 0:19:51and sensible exercise ended in a disaster.
0:19:51 > 0:19:56You'd have thought the Second World War had started again.
0:19:56 > 0:19:59Under pressure, the Speaker decides to press the pause
0:19:59 > 0:20:02button on the appointment process.
0:20:02 > 0:20:05In the generally successful history of the British Army,
0:20:05 > 0:20:08some of the most celebrated actions, from Corunna to Gallipoli to
0:20:08 > 0:20:12Dunkirk, have involved evacuations from hopeless positions.
0:20:12 > 0:20:13LAUGHTER
0:20:16 > 0:20:20Can I congratulate you on successful disengagement
0:20:20 > 0:20:23from the opposition forces you've run across?
0:20:25 > 0:20:28A new committee of MPs, to be chaired by Jack Straw,
0:20:28 > 0:20:32is set up to untangle the mess of the appointment process,
0:20:32 > 0:20:35leaving the Commons temporarily headless.
0:20:35 > 0:20:39Although who is Clerk doesn't seem very important, it would
0:20:39 > 0:20:43soon seem very important if the House of Commons simply ceased to function.
0:20:43 > 0:20:45It's slightly like the nursery rhyme.
0:20:45 > 0:20:47"For want of a nail, the shoe is lost.
0:20:47 > 0:20:48"For want of a shoe, the horse is lost.
0:20:48 > 0:20:50"For want of a horse, the rider is lost.
0:20:50 > 0:20:52"For want of a rider, the battle is lost.
0:20:52 > 0:20:54"For want of a battle, the kingdom is lost -
0:20:54 > 0:20:55"all for the want of a horseshoe nail."
0:20:55 > 0:20:58And the clerkship is to an extent the horseshoe nail.
0:21:00 > 0:21:02But the Commons has been left without a Chief Clerk
0:21:02 > 0:21:04just when it might need one most.
0:21:06 > 0:21:09It could soon find itself in murky constitutional waters.
0:21:11 > 0:21:14For centuries, it's represented the whole United Kingdom,
0:21:14 > 0:21:16and it's woven into the fabric of the building.
0:21:18 > 0:21:21The four patron saints are at each of the exits.
0:21:21 > 0:21:22Saint George for England,
0:21:22 > 0:21:25above the entrance to the House of Lords - why?
0:21:25 > 0:21:28Because the English are obsessed with the class system
0:21:28 > 0:21:30and getting on.
0:21:30 > 0:21:33Saint Patrick for Ireland, above the exit - why?
0:21:33 > 0:21:36It's obvious, the Irish just want to get out of the whole set-up.
0:21:38 > 0:21:39Saint David for Wales,
0:21:39 > 0:21:42above the entrance to the House of Commons - why?
0:21:42 > 0:21:45Because the Welsh love the sound of their own voice,
0:21:45 > 0:21:47whether it's speaking or singing.
0:21:47 > 0:21:49And guess what?
0:21:49 > 0:21:54Saint Andrew for Scotland, above the entrance to the hospitality area.
0:21:54 > 0:21:57But now Scotland may be heading for the exit.
0:22:01 > 0:22:05The referendum on independence is just a week away, and a surge
0:22:05 > 0:22:10for the Yes vote in opinion polls has sent Westminster into a panic.
0:22:10 > 0:22:15- I think I'm going to Glasgow, aren't I?- Er, Dunfermline. No, Edinburgh.
0:22:15 > 0:22:17Oh, am I? Good job I checked.
0:22:19 > 0:22:23A Yes vote would mean the Commons losing 59 Scottish seats
0:22:23 > 0:22:25and would put David Cameron's job on the line.
0:22:27 > 0:22:31So the three main party leaders have scrambled north
0:22:31 > 0:22:33to try to stem the tide.
0:22:33 > 0:22:37William Hague is left holding the fort at Prime Minster's Questions.
0:22:39 > 0:22:41I have been asked to reply on behalf of my right honourable friend
0:22:41 > 0:22:43the Prime Minister.
0:22:43 > 0:22:46From the people of England, Wales and Northern Ireland,
0:22:46 > 0:22:48we want you to stay in the United Kingdom.
0:22:48 > 0:22:50- BACKBENCHERS:- Hear, hear!
0:22:52 > 0:22:56One of the MPs who's under threat is Labour's Thomas Docherty.
0:22:58 > 0:23:01He's heading back to his Dunfermline constituency
0:23:01 > 0:23:05to fight for a job that he only got in 2010.
0:23:05 > 0:23:08If we lose the referendum,
0:23:08 > 0:23:10then there'll be a strong argument made by many
0:23:10 > 0:23:13that we need to have a snap general election,
0:23:13 > 0:23:17in which case, I think my parliamentary career will be over
0:23:17 > 0:23:19there and then.
0:23:20 > 0:23:23Angus MacNeil is a Scottish National Party MP.
0:23:23 > 0:23:26So, notifications... What's on the go?
0:23:26 > 0:23:29He's working to do himself out of a job.
0:23:29 > 0:23:31Twitter's a hive of creativity
0:23:31 > 0:23:35and I think if the referendum is won, it'll be due to Twitter and Facebook.
0:23:35 > 0:23:37People are disillusioned with Westminster,
0:23:37 > 0:23:40and have been for a number of years, but Westminster usually has debates
0:23:40 > 0:23:43and commissions and does nothing to change it. Right.
0:23:43 > 0:23:44I'm off, Greg. Sorry.
0:23:44 > 0:23:47Angus MacNeil joins the exodus to Scotland,
0:23:47 > 0:23:50where the enthusiasm with which his fellow countrymen
0:23:50 > 0:23:54are rushing to the polls has sent shock waves through Westminster.
0:23:54 > 0:23:56David Natzler, the Acting Clerk,
0:23:56 > 0:23:59is having to start thinking the unthinkable.
0:23:59 > 0:24:01It is, of course, exciting - we'll be near the centre of things.
0:24:01 > 0:24:04But would I like for it to be over,
0:24:04 > 0:24:06and the results to be known? Yes, desperately.
0:24:06 > 0:24:09- NEWS REPORT:- 'Scots are turning out in their millions
0:24:09 > 0:24:11'to cast their votes in the historic referendum
0:24:11 > 0:24:14'on whether or not to become independent of the UK.'
0:24:14 > 0:24:16Because turnout is so incredibly high,
0:24:16 > 0:24:19we can guess as to what we think their voting intentions
0:24:19 > 0:24:21are likely to be on this,
0:24:21 > 0:24:25but we don't know. This is a very, very nervous few hours.
0:24:29 > 0:24:32There's a deathly hush in the House tonight.
0:24:35 > 0:24:39MPs are back in their constituencies waiting for the result,
0:24:39 > 0:24:41that's due in the middle of the night.
0:24:41 > 0:24:44It can be a bit scary, a bit creepy.
0:24:44 > 0:24:47Everywhere you look, there are faces staring down at you.
0:24:47 > 0:24:50I'm sure some of the paintings, the eyes move.
0:24:51 > 0:24:54In the high-security underground car park
0:24:54 > 0:24:57beneath the Commons, which is free to Members,
0:24:57 > 0:24:59only a few cars remain.
0:24:59 > 0:25:03There used to be a Lamborghini down on the fifth floor
0:25:03 > 0:25:05but that's gone now.
0:25:05 > 0:25:07Like everyone tonight,
0:25:07 > 0:25:11the duty engineer Gary Grace is keeping one eye on the job
0:25:11 > 0:25:13and one eye on Scotland.
0:25:13 > 0:25:16We get a couple of guys on the bridge here
0:25:16 > 0:25:19who play their bagpipes
0:25:19 > 0:25:25and they do get a good reception from most of the tourists.
0:25:25 > 0:25:28So, I don't know whether we'll get more coming down
0:25:28 > 0:25:30or they'll all want to go there
0:25:30 > 0:25:34and play their bagpipes there, if they get independence.
0:25:34 > 0:25:39The first news from Scotland is of a remarkably high turnout,
0:25:39 > 0:25:43evidence that not everyone in the kingdom is disengaged from politics.
0:25:43 > 0:25:46I want to get the result!
0:25:48 > 0:25:51The total number of votes cast is as follows...
0:25:53 > 0:25:55It's the morning of 19th September,
0:25:55 > 0:25:58and the Union is safe...for now.
0:26:04 > 0:26:06I got up early in the morning
0:26:06 > 0:26:08to make myself a cup of coffee
0:26:08 > 0:26:11and just be quietly pleased
0:26:11 > 0:26:14and relieved, very relieved,
0:26:14 > 0:26:17that we were not presiding over the break-up of the United Kingdom.
0:26:17 > 0:26:20Is the porridge still on the go?
0:26:20 > 0:26:23We're back after the second-best result in the referendum,
0:26:23 > 0:26:25so we have to make the best of it.
0:26:25 > 0:26:27I hope I don't sound too bitter.
0:26:29 > 0:26:31For the team of Commons clerks,
0:26:31 > 0:26:34there's no immediate constitutional crisis.
0:26:35 > 0:26:39But they know that the genie can't be put back in the whisky bottle.
0:26:40 > 0:26:44I'm not sure if people were expecting the No vote to be the last word.
0:26:44 > 0:26:47We can't just pretend things are ever going to be
0:26:47 > 0:26:49the same as if this had never taken place at all,
0:26:49 > 0:26:52and nor, I imagine, does anybody want to pretend that.
0:26:52 > 0:26:55The tectonic plates of politics are moving in a way
0:26:55 > 0:26:57which nobody could possibly understand -
0:26:57 > 0:26:59what is this going to mean for the Union?
0:26:59 > 0:27:03For Scotland? What will it mean... English votes for English laws?
0:27:03 > 0:27:06How is all that going to fit into a new Parliament?
0:27:06 > 0:27:08I mean, I just don't know.
0:27:09 > 0:27:13With the Parliament of this still-United Kingdom in recess,
0:27:13 > 0:27:17a grim new challenge for the Government has emerged.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20The rise of Islamic State.
0:27:20 > 0:27:23The House is recalled for an emergency vote
0:27:23 > 0:27:26on whether Britain should join American airstrikes
0:27:26 > 0:27:28in Northern Iraq.
0:27:28 > 0:27:30It means I've got to ring a lot of people up
0:27:30 > 0:27:33who thought they were on holiday, and I've got to break the sad news
0:27:33 > 0:27:36that they're going to spend the day in Westminster.
0:27:36 > 0:27:39"No problems, boss. Ready and willing. I'll await your call."
0:27:42 > 0:27:45Wherever they are, MPs have to drop everything.
0:27:45 > 0:27:48I'm just hoping I've packed all the right clothes.
0:27:48 > 0:27:49Posh stuff for London,
0:27:49 > 0:27:51my parliamentary pass.
0:27:51 > 0:27:55Shoes are always in the wrong place. Always got the wrong shoes.
0:27:58 > 0:28:00Massive week for Parliament.
0:28:00 > 0:28:02Not exactly what the public imagines
0:28:02 > 0:28:05our so-called holiday looks like.
0:28:06 > 0:28:08Quite a heavy thing, really, that we're voting on.
0:28:08 > 0:28:11There will be everybody in the world wanting to speak.
0:28:11 > 0:28:14There are more senior people than me
0:28:14 > 0:28:16who will no doubt pull rank, get called first.
0:28:18 > 0:28:21It feels very significant, and voting to go to war
0:28:21 > 0:28:24is something that you always hope you'll never have to do.
0:28:26 > 0:28:30Mr Speaker, there is no more serious an issue
0:28:30 > 0:28:34than asking our Armed Forces to put themselves in harm's way
0:28:34 > 0:28:36to protect our country.
0:28:36 > 0:28:39Protecting our national interest, security
0:28:39 > 0:28:41and the values for which we stand
0:28:41 > 0:28:44is why I will be supporting the motion this afternoon.
0:28:44 > 0:28:46- MPs:- Hear, hear!
0:28:46 > 0:28:49For a change, the crowded Commons doesn't resemble a bear pit
0:28:49 > 0:28:53and dissenters are given a respectful hearing.
0:28:53 > 0:28:57Extremism will spread further and deeper.
0:28:57 > 0:28:59The people outside can see it,
0:28:59 > 0:29:02but the fools in here, who draw a big salary
0:29:02 > 0:29:05and big expenses, cannot!
0:29:05 > 0:29:07MPS SHOUT OUT
0:29:07 > 0:29:11The question is the motion on Iraq.
0:29:11 > 0:29:13As many as are of that opinion say aye.
0:29:13 > 0:29:15MPS SHOUT OUT
0:29:15 > 0:29:17On the contrary - no. MPS SHOUT OUT
0:29:17 > 0:29:19Division, clear the Lobby.
0:29:21 > 0:29:23The House votes by an overwhelming majority...
0:29:23 > 0:29:25for military action.
0:29:25 > 0:29:28It's kind of the House of Commons at its best -
0:29:28 > 0:29:31when everybody does really listen to the debate
0:29:31 > 0:29:34and is principally voting according to their conscience,
0:29:34 > 0:29:38rather than just, you know, rushing in, voting on a party whip, for once.
0:29:38 > 0:29:42It's been a tumultuous few weeks in Westminster.
0:29:42 > 0:29:46The remarkably high turnout in the Scottish referendum
0:29:46 > 0:29:48has been a wake-up call for Parliament,
0:29:48 > 0:29:50showing MPs that they need to think harder about
0:29:50 > 0:29:52how to win the trust of the people.
0:29:56 > 0:29:58But Sonny Yanou and Mick King are
0:29:58 > 0:30:01still able to carry out the same task
0:30:01 > 0:30:04they've regularly completed since the Millennium.
0:30:04 > 0:30:07I think it's THE best flag in the world -
0:30:07 > 0:30:09all the different colours in the nation
0:30:09 > 0:30:12and I don't think there's another flag in the world
0:30:12 > 0:30:14that could touch it.
0:30:16 > 0:30:18OK, Sonny.
0:30:18 > 0:30:21Their job is to swap Parliament's huge summer flag,
0:30:21 > 0:30:24the width of a tennis court, for a smaller winter one,
0:30:24 > 0:30:28but a rising storm blows them off course.
0:30:28 > 0:30:30Keep it coming.
0:30:30 > 0:30:32No, pull it up, Sonny. Pull it up.
0:30:32 > 0:30:36It's got stuck. I don't believe this.
0:30:44 > 0:30:47All right. Do you want to do that, Sonny?
0:30:54 > 0:30:57It's the kind of flag that flew over
0:30:57 > 0:31:00the freedom of democracy all over the world.
0:31:00 > 0:31:04Where you find democracy, you find the Union flag.
0:31:13 > 0:31:17The Commons may have weathered the immediate storms...
0:31:19 > 0:31:22..but opinion polls show the public remain disillusioned
0:31:22 > 0:31:24with what they see as
0:31:24 > 0:31:27an out-of-touch Westminster political class.
0:31:29 > 0:31:32If you're in politics, it's because you think you understand
0:31:32 > 0:31:34the way your electorate thinks.
0:31:34 > 0:31:36I don't know if that's true any more
0:31:36 > 0:31:39and I think a lot of us are scratching our heads
0:31:39 > 0:31:41and wondering what on earth is happening out there.
0:31:41 > 0:31:44The Conservative MP Zac Goldsmith
0:31:44 > 0:31:48believes one answer is to give voters the power to sack
0:31:48 > 0:31:51or recall their MPs at any time,
0:31:51 > 0:31:53not just at an election.
0:31:53 > 0:31:56Parliament has not been doing its job for a very long time.
0:31:56 > 0:31:59People deserve the right to have a referendum
0:31:59 > 0:32:01on whether or not their MP should stay or go.
0:32:01 > 0:32:05He wants to make amendments to the Government's proposed Recall Bill,
0:32:05 > 0:32:08which allows MPs to be dismissed for serious wrongdoing,
0:32:08 > 0:32:11as judged by the House's own Standards Committee or a court.
0:32:11 > 0:32:12OK.
0:32:12 > 0:32:15Zac Goldsmith thinks the bill is toothless
0:32:15 > 0:32:19and he's brought together a mixed bag of MPs from across the parties
0:32:19 > 0:32:20to make his case.
0:32:20 > 0:32:24What the Government is proposing is, effectively, all power
0:32:24 > 0:32:25to parliamentarians.
0:32:25 > 0:32:28People out there, at the very first scandal,
0:32:28 > 0:32:31will realise that they haven't been given any recall powers at all.
0:32:31 > 0:32:33So the question is, are we, as a committee,
0:32:33 > 0:32:36willing to create the real thing? My view is, it's all or nothing.
0:32:36 > 0:32:39We either do this properly or we don't do it at all.
0:32:39 > 0:32:42The Goldsmith team will have an uphill struggle.
0:32:42 > 0:32:46Many MPs feel his proposals would give power to outside lobbying
0:32:46 > 0:32:49and business interests, and make it impossible
0:32:49 > 0:32:52for MPs to take tough and unpopular stances.
0:32:52 > 0:32:55There has never been so much nonsense
0:32:55 > 0:32:56as the idea of recall,
0:32:56 > 0:32:59and what we've lost in this place
0:32:59 > 0:33:01is people who stand up for principle
0:33:01 > 0:33:03and have a difficult moment
0:33:03 > 0:33:06but say, "That's what I believe in, follow me,"
0:33:06 > 0:33:08then they stand again at the next election.
0:33:08 > 0:33:11Everything Zac wants to do would destroy
0:33:11 > 0:33:13the principle of a good parliament.
0:33:15 > 0:33:19The argument about recall is happening at a time when MPs
0:33:19 > 0:33:21are engaged in a larger debate -
0:33:21 > 0:33:24about how the House of Commons should be run.
0:33:24 > 0:33:27What do you think are the most important attributes...
0:33:27 > 0:33:31The committee set up in the wake of the row over the appointment
0:33:31 > 0:33:34of a successor to Sir Robert Rogers is now considering whether
0:33:34 > 0:33:38any one person can continue to combine the jobs of
0:33:38 > 0:33:41scholarly constitutionalist and modern-day chief executive.
0:33:41 > 0:33:43There's a great deal of interest
0:33:43 > 0:33:48amongst MPs as to how our own institution is run,
0:33:48 > 0:33:51and also concern that it is run properly.
0:33:53 > 0:33:56One big question is how far the Commons should aim to help
0:33:56 > 0:33:58pay its own way in the future.
0:33:58 > 0:34:02Some MPs are concerned that staging corporate events
0:34:02 > 0:34:05could interfere with the Commons' primary role.
0:34:05 > 0:34:07OK. This evening, ladies and gentlemen,
0:34:07 > 0:34:09we have a reception for 150 people.
0:34:09 > 0:34:13I would like everybody outside with a drinkie on a tray
0:34:13 > 0:34:15at 6.50 to welcome them here, please.
0:34:15 > 0:34:19Let's go and get on with it, then, guys, OK? Thank you.
0:34:19 > 0:34:21Oliya Owens of the events team
0:34:21 > 0:34:24is in charge of hiring out rooms for functions.
0:34:24 > 0:34:27Let's go and have a look and then you will see...
0:34:27 > 0:34:30She's taking a prospective client to see a room in the Old Palace.
0:34:30 > 0:34:34Oh, no, they're inside.
0:34:34 > 0:34:36A room was available, it was empty,
0:34:36 > 0:34:40and the Members of Parliament just walked in
0:34:40 > 0:34:44and decided to have their boardroom-style meeting in there.
0:34:44 > 0:34:48So now we are allowed only to have a sneaky peek, I'm afraid.
0:34:50 > 0:34:54If a room is double booked for a bill committee deciding
0:34:54 > 0:35:00legislation and a shindig by a private company, it is
0:35:00 > 0:35:03quite obvious that legislation must take priority.
0:35:03 > 0:35:05Good afternoon, this is David,
0:35:05 > 0:35:07calling from the events team in the Commons.
0:35:07 > 0:35:10The pressure of corporate events adds to what was already
0:35:10 > 0:35:12a cramped working environment.
0:35:12 > 0:35:15As well as booking in outside clients,
0:35:15 > 0:35:18the events team also has to bump MPs from room to room
0:35:18 > 0:35:22as formal committee meetings must have priority.
0:35:22 > 0:35:26Unfortunately, the shuffle has taken place for next week.
0:35:26 > 0:35:29One of Ms May's meetings has been bumped.
0:35:29 > 0:35:32- The next one on my list is Theresa May again.- No!
0:35:32 > 0:35:35Now I have got another one for her. Oh!
0:35:35 > 0:35:39Hi, I just previously left you a message because I have had to
0:35:39 > 0:35:42shuffle one of Ms May's meetings for next Wednesday.
0:35:42 > 0:35:45Unfortunately, I have a second meeting on the list.
0:35:45 > 0:35:48I had to jig the times a little bit and I don't know
0:35:48 > 0:35:50if they will be of any use to you.
0:35:50 > 0:35:51Thank you for that.
0:35:51 > 0:35:53Bye-bye.
0:35:55 > 0:35:59Last week I had a meeting that had to be bumped three times successively.
0:35:59 > 0:36:01I had to call them and tell them it was moved again!
0:36:01 > 0:36:03Seriously, it makes you so unpopular.
0:36:07 > 0:36:11With space at a premium, one grand committee room is being
0:36:11 > 0:36:14converted into a makeshift polling station.
0:36:14 > 0:36:17It is the election for the head of the Health Select Committee,
0:36:17 > 0:36:22with the Deputy Serjeant-at-Arms on hand to keep things orderly.
0:36:22 > 0:36:26Whenever we have elections, we have a serjeant here overseeing
0:36:26 > 0:36:28the proceedings, to make sure that things
0:36:28 > 0:36:30are going as they should be.
0:36:31 > 0:36:34Charlotte Leslie has made it on to the ballot,
0:36:34 > 0:36:37along with four other candidates.
0:36:37 > 0:36:39If you have asked people to vote for you,
0:36:39 > 0:36:41it feels right to be there at the time.
0:36:41 > 0:36:43It feels very odd standing outside, loitering.
0:36:43 > 0:36:45You feel somewhere between a bouncer and, I don't know,
0:36:45 > 0:36:47it feels a bit strange.
0:36:48 > 0:36:51Health is one of the select committees which, by agreement
0:36:51 > 0:36:55between the main parties, will have a Tory in the chair.
0:36:55 > 0:36:57I am the one that needs the health care!
0:36:58 > 0:37:00But MPs of all parties across the house,
0:37:00 > 0:37:02from ministers to backbenchers,
0:37:02 > 0:37:03get to vote.
0:37:05 > 0:37:07- Percy.- Yeah.
0:37:07 > 0:37:10It means that independent-minded candidates are likely
0:37:10 > 0:37:11to have a better chance,
0:37:11 > 0:37:15as they may attract votes from across the political divide.
0:37:15 > 0:37:17For some, it is
0:37:17 > 0:37:20an alternative career path to the ministerial ladder.
0:37:20 > 0:37:22The allure, for me at least,
0:37:22 > 0:37:26is that it just gives you more tools to change stuff and do things.
0:37:26 > 0:37:29OK, it is one o'clock. I think we are done.
0:37:33 > 0:37:36As MPs gather in the Chamber to hear the result,
0:37:36 > 0:37:41Charlotte Leslie waits with her friend and rival, Sarah Wollaston.
0:37:41 > 0:37:45Order. I will now announce the result of the ballot held today.
0:37:45 > 0:37:51Sarah Wollaston was elected chair, with 226 votes.
0:37:52 > 0:37:57Charlotte Leslie, a latecomer to the contest, finishes last but one.
0:37:57 > 0:37:59If I didn't have such a marginal seat
0:37:59 > 0:38:01and I was able to spend more time in this place and less
0:38:01 > 0:38:05time in the constituency, perhaps I would have gone for it immediately
0:38:05 > 0:38:07and it would have been a completely different state of affairs.
0:38:07 > 0:38:10Politics is a game where, famously, you always lose.
0:38:14 > 0:38:17Zac Goldsmith, whose father loved a gamble,
0:38:17 > 0:38:20is also playing for high stakes.
0:38:20 > 0:38:22It is two weeks before the Government's Recall Bill
0:38:22 > 0:38:24comes before the House.
0:38:29 > 0:38:32He is canvassing support, both in and outside Parliament,
0:38:32 > 0:38:35for amendments to give the bill more teeth.
0:38:35 > 0:38:37Sounds like a very brainy idea.
0:38:37 > 0:38:39It's a very simple idea, that's the beauty of it,
0:38:39 > 0:38:41- it happens all over the world. - Does it happen all over the world?
0:38:41 > 0:38:43Half the states in America.
0:38:43 > 0:38:47- Schwarzenegger got in on the back of reading it.- Total Recall.
0:38:47 > 0:38:51- Total Recall. - Is anybody arguing against you?
0:38:51 > 0:38:56- The Lib Dems are hostile.- The Lib Dems are totally on your side...
0:38:56 > 0:38:59Zac Goldsmith wants to get as many signatures as possible
0:38:59 > 0:39:01in support of his amendments.
0:39:01 > 0:39:04Andrew Mitchell has signed the amendments, so that is good news.
0:39:04 > 0:39:07But as the big day draws closer,
0:39:07 > 0:39:11he finds some of his supporters are having second thoughts.
0:39:12 > 0:39:16This is bizarre, OK? I have got an e-mail here just come in.
0:39:16 > 0:39:20He signed off on the bill, along with everyone else on the committee.
0:39:20 > 0:39:22The amendments are an exact reflection of what was
0:39:22 > 0:39:25agreed in that bill and he sent me an e-mail saying,
0:39:25 > 0:39:27"Please do not add my name."
0:39:27 > 0:39:31The only possible explanation for that is that he has been whipped.
0:39:31 > 0:39:34But what is the point of being an MP,
0:39:34 > 0:39:37spending time working towards something you believe in,
0:39:37 > 0:39:40only to yield for opportunistic reasons at the last?
0:39:40 > 0:39:41It's just extraordinary.
0:39:41 > 0:39:46Zac Goldsmith fears that behind the scenes, the whips, whose prime
0:39:46 > 0:39:50job is enforcing party discipline, are nobbling his supporters.
0:39:52 > 0:39:54Let's be blunt, the whips hate this.
0:39:54 > 0:39:57The whips, in all three parties, don't want this to happen. Why?
0:39:57 > 0:40:00Because the Executive will no longer be able to control Parliament as its
0:40:00 > 0:40:04trusty little poodle and they will do whatever they can to quash it.
0:40:05 > 0:40:08- SPEAKER:- Order. The question is that the bill be now read a second time.
0:40:08 > 0:40:10As many as are of that opinion, say aye.
0:40:10 > 0:40:12MPs: Aye!
0:40:12 > 0:40:15At what's called the second reading of the Government's Recall Bill,
0:40:15 > 0:40:20Zac Goldsmith hands his rebel amendments to the clerks.
0:40:20 > 0:40:22He now has a week to muster the support he needs
0:40:22 > 0:40:26for his version of recall, before the big vote on his amendments.
0:40:26 > 0:40:29It's a long shot. We are asking for something quite radical,
0:40:29 > 0:40:31am I going to get this thing through Parliament?
0:40:31 > 0:40:32I just don't know.
0:40:35 > 0:40:39While Zac Goldsmith tries to shake up the Commons, there is
0:40:39 > 0:40:41another threat to business as usual.
0:40:41 > 0:40:43Right beneath the feet of MPs.
0:40:48 > 0:40:50The labyrinth of antique plumbing
0:40:50 > 0:40:52and wiring under the Chamber was christened
0:40:52 > 0:40:56the "cathedral of horrors" by the ex-Commons Clerk, Sir Robert Rogers.
0:40:56 > 0:41:00The cables and piping are in desperate need of replacing.
0:41:00 > 0:41:05But it is hard to do while the Chamber is sitting.
0:41:05 > 0:41:08The Chamber is directly above us and they do not tolerate noise.
0:41:08 > 0:41:11The noises, the strange and unusual noises,
0:41:11 > 0:41:15were due to some kind of building works.
0:41:15 > 0:41:18I have made the House's displeasure known
0:41:18 > 0:41:20to those who look after facilities.
0:41:20 > 0:41:23These guys have got the difficult task of carrying out
0:41:23 > 0:41:25a job of work silently.
0:41:27 > 0:41:29You can hear the banging and crashing now.
0:41:32 > 0:41:34The Lib Dem John Thurso,
0:41:34 > 0:41:37one of the senior MPs responsible for the upkeep of the House,
0:41:37 > 0:41:42has joined Philip Sturgeon to see what life is like below stairs.
0:41:43 > 0:41:48What is extraordinary is that for most of my colleagues up there,
0:41:48 > 0:41:51they haven't the slightest idea that this is down here.
0:41:51 > 0:41:54I keep waiting for somebody to shout, "Abandon ship!"
0:41:54 > 0:41:55Yes, that's right.
0:41:55 > 0:41:58We're on our last legs with some of this, we're already at our limit.
0:41:58 > 0:42:01It wouldn't be so good if the Prime Minister was talking to the
0:42:01 > 0:42:03Kremlin or something and down here you went snip.
0:42:03 > 0:42:05"Oh, where's he gone?"
0:42:05 > 0:42:08Just to go and look at it, it really does bring it all home.
0:42:08 > 0:42:11There is an immense amount of work that needs to be done.
0:42:11 > 0:42:14I would find it very difficult to see how you could do
0:42:14 > 0:42:17that in a cost-effective way without being able to shut it down, frankly.
0:42:19 > 0:42:22The sheer scale of the work means that the Commons
0:42:22 > 0:42:26and the Lords might have to do the unimaginable and move
0:42:26 > 0:42:29out of the Palace of Westminster altogether while it is completed.
0:42:29 > 0:42:36If we are to avoid literally sinking into the mud, very important
0:42:36 > 0:42:39and potentially expensive decisions will have to be made.
0:42:39 > 0:42:41There may come a point where we have to bite the bullet
0:42:41 > 0:42:43and move out temporarily.
0:42:43 > 0:42:46But I... I... It would break my heart
0:42:46 > 0:42:48if the Parliament moved out of this building permanently.
0:42:53 > 0:42:58Monday 27th October and it is crunch time for Zac Goldsmith.
0:42:58 > 0:43:01MPs will finally vote on his radical plan to make it
0:43:01 > 0:43:06possible for constituents to sack unpopular MPs between elections.
0:43:08 > 0:43:10It's been declared a free vote,
0:43:10 > 0:43:13meaning that MPs can vote with their conscience.
0:43:13 > 0:43:16But Zac Goldsmith has heard reports that whips on both
0:43:16 > 0:43:20sides are urging their MPs to vote against him.
0:43:20 > 0:43:22It makes an absolute mockery of the very concept of a free vote.
0:43:22 > 0:43:25For me, I think it is...
0:43:25 > 0:43:29It just confirms to me why politics needs a kick up the backside.
0:43:31 > 0:43:34The Labour frontbencher Thomas Docherty
0:43:34 > 0:43:36will lead tonight's debate for his party.
0:43:36 > 0:43:40He supports the idea of recall but he feels Zac Goldsmith's proposals
0:43:40 > 0:43:45go too far and he has tabled his own amendments to the government bill.
0:43:45 > 0:43:48The danger with the Zac position is that well-funded
0:43:48 > 0:43:53vested interest groups could then start challenging individual MPs on
0:43:53 > 0:43:57individual issues and that, I think, leads to actually weaker democracy.
0:43:57 > 0:44:00So my job from the front bench today is to joust with Zac,
0:44:00 > 0:44:03set out the Labour position and then, in effect, put
0:44:03 > 0:44:05Zac's argument to the sword.
0:44:06 > 0:44:09But as he prepares to duel with Zac, Thomas Docherty has got
0:44:09 > 0:44:11a chink in his own armour.
0:44:12 > 0:44:16I have a... I have a nervous stammer which I have kind of worked over
0:44:16 > 0:44:18the years to try and control.
0:44:18 > 0:44:21It is something I have had to work at since I was nine or 10.
0:44:21 > 0:44:25I have to avoid starting a sentence with a vowel.
0:44:25 > 0:44:26This is a good example. It says,
0:44:26 > 0:44:29"The amendments tabled by the honourable member
0:44:29 > 0:44:30"for Richmond Park and others,
0:44:30 > 0:44:33"and the honourable member for Somerton and Frome and others."
0:44:33 > 0:44:36Straightaway, there are about seven vowels in that.
0:44:37 > 0:44:40"Honourable" gets me going sometimes.
0:44:40 > 0:44:45It's an impediment, but you just have to try and manage it.
0:44:45 > 0:44:50If you stumble over it, then the House is pretty forgiving.
0:44:50 > 0:44:54Provided you have not been a complete prat at other times.
0:45:01 > 0:45:06It's 4.30pm and MPs are making their way to the Chamber.
0:45:09 > 0:45:12Recall of MPs Bill, Committee.
0:45:12 > 0:45:16The ceremonial mace is lowered to show that the whole House is
0:45:16 > 0:45:18now meeting as a committee,
0:45:18 > 0:45:21something that happens for the most contentious bills.
0:45:21 > 0:45:24This is a big, interesting debate. This is good.
0:45:24 > 0:45:27This is democracy, in the home of democracy, discussing the future.
0:45:27 > 0:45:29Zac Goldsmith.
0:45:29 > 0:45:31SHOUTING
0:45:31 > 0:45:34What is at stake now is a matter of principle.
0:45:34 > 0:45:37Do we trust our voters to hold us to account or not?
0:45:37 > 0:45:40I fear that if we play games, voters will see through it
0:45:40 > 0:45:44and will begin seeking more drastic solutions sooner or later.
0:45:44 > 0:45:47Zac Goldsmith is soon facing objections from all
0:45:47 > 0:45:48sides of the House.
0:45:48 > 0:45:53He needs to differentiate between misconduct and wrongdoing
0:45:53 > 0:45:55and policy.
0:45:55 > 0:46:01I would be looking for his assurance that his amendments could not
0:46:01 > 0:46:03be used to blackmail Members of Parliament.
0:46:03 > 0:46:05The problem with his amendment
0:46:05 > 0:46:09is that it works against decent government.
0:46:09 > 0:46:11The Labour front bench is clear.
0:46:11 > 0:46:13These amendments, however well-intentioned,
0:46:13 > 0:46:15do open the door to abuse.
0:46:21 > 0:46:25After five hours, the Speaker's deputy brings the debate to a close.
0:46:25 > 0:46:28As many as are of that opinion, say aye.
0:46:28 > 0:46:30- MPS:- Aye! - On the contrary, no.
0:46:30 > 0:46:33- MPS:- No!
0:46:33 > 0:46:36Division. Clear the lobby.
0:46:45 > 0:46:48Those MPs who want to highlight their abstention
0:46:48 > 0:46:50can vote in both lobbies.
0:46:50 > 0:46:53This is the problem. Sometimes a yes and a no
0:46:53 > 0:46:55isn't subtle enough for what we need to say.
0:46:56 > 0:46:58I also put trainers on because I knew
0:46:58 > 0:47:01I had to run between one lobby and the other and I was a bit anxious.
0:47:01 > 0:47:03- SHE LAUGHS - See you!
0:47:05 > 0:47:08Order! Order!
0:47:08 > 0:47:12Zac Goldsmith's campaign now depends on MPs voting aye.
0:47:12 > 0:47:16The ayes to the right were 166.
0:47:16 > 0:47:19The noes to the left were 340.
0:47:19 > 0:47:22Hear, hear!
0:47:22 > 0:47:24The noes have it.
0:47:24 > 0:47:26The noes have it!
0:47:28 > 0:47:31Zac Goldsmith has failed in his ambition
0:47:31 > 0:47:34to make MPs more accountable to voters.
0:47:34 > 0:47:37I was depressed by some of the things that were said, and I felt
0:47:37 > 0:47:42at that time that this place really, really dramatically needs to change.
0:47:45 > 0:47:507am on Saturday the 29th of November
0:47:50 > 0:47:53and the House of Commons gets its biggest delivery of the year.
0:47:55 > 0:47:59Three Christmas trees from Keilder Forest in Northumberland.
0:47:59 > 0:48:01Oh, we can really flood it with lights.
0:48:01 > 0:48:04The biggest is a 38 feet long beast
0:48:04 > 0:48:07to stand in the middle of New Palace Yard.
0:48:07 > 0:48:09Just went through to bring the star up,
0:48:09 > 0:48:11but shall we check the size of the hole?
0:48:11 > 0:48:14Supervising the job is Terry Cole.
0:48:14 > 0:48:15They all go up today.
0:48:15 > 0:48:19It's traditionally the last weekend in every November for Christmas,
0:48:19 > 0:48:22and we take it down before the Twelfth Night
0:48:22 > 0:48:23because we can't be unlucky.
0:48:26 > 0:48:30Terry Cole has assembled a team of craftsmen from across the Commons,
0:48:30 > 0:48:34from clockmakers to engineers, who give up their Saturday
0:48:34 > 0:48:35to decorate the tree.
0:48:35 > 0:48:37- You got the Sellotape, have you?- Yeah.
0:48:41 > 0:48:44Yeah, it's a good all-round tree. It is a nice tree.
0:48:53 > 0:48:55It is good. Everybody enjoys it.
0:48:55 > 0:48:57When this goes up, Christmas has started.
0:49:01 > 0:49:03# Go tell it on the mountain... #
0:49:03 > 0:49:07In Speaker's House, John Bercow has invited a gospel choir
0:49:07 > 0:49:09for a carol concert.
0:49:09 > 0:49:14# Go tell it on the mountain
0:49:14 > 0:49:18# Over the hills and everywhere... #
0:49:18 > 0:49:21Four months after the Speaker came under pressure
0:49:21 > 0:49:23over the appointment of a new Clerk,
0:49:23 > 0:49:25the committee set up to look into the issue
0:49:25 > 0:49:27is about to deliver its verdict.
0:49:31 > 0:49:33When the report is published,
0:49:33 > 0:49:36it effectively vetoes the appointment of Carol Mills,
0:49:36 > 0:49:39the Australian Parliamentary Services Director,
0:49:39 > 0:49:42who the press has labelled the Canberra Caterer.
0:49:42 > 0:49:45Instead, it recommends that the role be split.
0:49:45 > 0:49:49There will still be a Chief Clerk, who's a constitutional expert,
0:49:49 > 0:49:52and a more junior Director General of Commons Services.
0:49:53 > 0:49:55Fundamentally, we are a legislature.
0:49:55 > 0:49:58We are not a hotel and catering outlet,
0:49:58 > 0:50:01of however grand a kind. Put the Savoy to shame.
0:50:01 > 0:50:03There will be people who will say, and probably do say,
0:50:03 > 0:50:06"Oh, well, the Speaker lost on the subject of Carol Mills."
0:50:06 > 0:50:09Well, that is undeniable. That's a fact.
0:50:09 > 0:50:11She has not been appointed.
0:50:11 > 0:50:12So, of course, it was an uncomfortable
0:50:12 > 0:50:15and a difficult period and it was a period of some turbulence,
0:50:15 > 0:50:18but what seems to me to be important
0:50:18 > 0:50:22is what resulted from the review and investigation process.
0:50:22 > 0:50:25And what resulted from the review and investigation process
0:50:25 > 0:50:30was a judgment that the House management needed to change.
0:50:32 > 0:50:34It's Wednesday the 3rd of December,
0:50:34 > 0:50:37the last political set piece of the year -
0:50:37 > 0:50:41the Autumn Statement, which follows Prime Minister's Questions.
0:50:43 > 0:50:47With the election just months away, party rivalries are heightened,
0:50:47 > 0:50:50and there's a scramble for ringside seats.
0:50:51 > 0:50:56This is the last really big shop window for the Government.
0:50:57 > 0:51:00I think it's likely to be quite rowdy.
0:51:00 > 0:51:03And maybe badly behaved.
0:51:03 > 0:51:05There's always a little frisson to discover
0:51:05 > 0:51:08whether in fact the Chancellor, or the Chief Secretary in my case,
0:51:08 > 0:51:10have been listening to what we've got to say.
0:51:10 > 0:51:13Because my name is particularly long,
0:51:13 > 0:51:14I just put "Fab".
0:51:17 > 0:51:19Everyone in the House is acutely aware
0:51:19 > 0:51:22that an election is only a few months away.
0:51:22 > 0:51:23MPs change.
0:51:23 > 0:51:26I once heard someone say that the MPs are like the oil in the engine.
0:51:26 > 0:51:29It has to be changed regularly.
0:51:29 > 0:51:31But Members probably wouldn't like me to say that.
0:51:31 > 0:51:33In my seat, I think
0:51:33 > 0:51:36one poll had it coming down to 70 votes or something like that.
0:51:36 > 0:51:38I mean, it's really, ridiculously tight.
0:51:38 > 0:51:41And I begin to get butterflies thinking about it now.
0:51:41 > 0:51:44The tension is rising and you can feel people just a bit more...
0:51:44 > 0:51:46you know, politically on edge, as it were.
0:51:46 > 0:51:50I think all of us know we're mortal in political terms.
0:51:50 > 0:51:55There's one MP who definitely won't be here in six months' time.
0:51:55 > 0:51:59After 55 years in the House, I won't be standing again in May.
0:51:59 > 0:52:02I'll be 85 in February.
0:52:02 > 0:52:04And I think that's long enough.
0:52:04 > 0:52:07I shall continue to live in my constituency where I have,
0:52:07 > 0:52:11and I bought graves for myself and my wife next to my house,
0:52:11 > 0:52:15in Lincolnshire. So I shall be there to haunt them after my death.
0:52:20 > 0:52:23Today will see a torrid clash between the Prime Minister...
0:52:23 > 0:52:24Morning.
0:52:24 > 0:52:27..and Ed Balls, Labour's Shadow Chancellor,
0:52:27 > 0:52:31whom Cameron describes as the most annoying man in British politics.
0:52:31 > 0:52:33But I would like to highlight something the Shadow Chancellor
0:52:33 > 0:52:37said this week. He said that he would be tough on the deficit,
0:52:37 > 0:52:39and tough on the causes of the deficit.
0:52:39 > 0:52:43As he is one of the causes of the deficit, I think
0:52:43 > 0:52:48we've just found the first-ever example of political masosadism.
0:52:48 > 0:52:51JEERING
0:52:55 > 0:52:58- WOMAN:- Sadomasochism!
0:52:58 > 0:53:01Order! We all know what the Prime Minister meant.
0:53:01 > 0:53:04If I'm honest with you, I wasn't quite sure what it meant.
0:53:04 > 0:53:07So I'm thinking, "What is a maso...sadist?
0:53:07 > 0:53:11"Did he really mean sadomasochist?" And then a text arrived on my phone
0:53:11 > 0:53:15to say that the definition of a masosadist is someone who, erm...
0:53:15 > 0:53:17likes to have pain inflicted upon themselves
0:53:17 > 0:53:19and inflict pain on others.
0:53:19 > 0:53:23We know the Chancellor's views on the first, Mr Speaker.
0:53:23 > 0:53:25CHEERING
0:53:25 > 0:53:27It rather seems, from the way he smiled
0:53:27 > 0:53:29when he announced the tax credits cuts,
0:53:29 > 0:53:33he's rather enjoying the second as well, Mr Speaker.
0:53:35 > 0:53:38The overcrowded Commons relapses into its default setting
0:53:38 > 0:53:40of Punch and Judy politics.
0:53:42 > 0:53:45CHEERING AND SHOUTING
0:53:45 > 0:53:50In a chamber that was specifically built to encourage confrontation,
0:53:50 > 0:53:52tribal aggression is hardly surprising.
0:53:55 > 0:53:57SHOUTING
0:53:57 > 0:53:59Order, order! Order!
0:53:59 > 0:54:01Order!
0:54:01 > 0:54:05There is far too much noise in the Chamber.
0:54:05 > 0:54:08Behave, or get out, man!
0:54:08 > 0:54:11Churchill said of the Commons,
0:54:11 > 0:54:13"We shape our buildings and they shape us."
0:54:13 > 0:54:15But some MPs believe their colleagues
0:54:15 > 0:54:19are now such repeat offenders in the Chamber,
0:54:19 > 0:54:21that only a move out of their mock-Gothic fantasy palace
0:54:21 > 0:54:24will change the way our democracy works.
0:54:24 > 0:54:27This, to me, is just a high Victorian pastiche
0:54:27 > 0:54:29of what they think power is.
0:54:29 > 0:54:32So, I mean, I'd have it for weddings, conferences and a museum
0:54:32 > 0:54:35and have something that's much more representative of who we are now.
0:54:35 > 0:54:37Really good architecture.
0:54:37 > 0:54:38When people say, "Rebuild it!
0:54:38 > 0:54:41"Have a semi-circular chamber." I would hate that.
0:54:41 > 0:54:43I like the House of Commons looking like it does.
0:54:43 > 0:54:44And I think the sense of history
0:54:44 > 0:54:46and the connection to the past is very important.
0:54:46 > 0:54:50There are lots of things that need to change in our political system,
0:54:50 > 0:54:53but I think this idea that if only we called each other
0:54:53 > 0:54:56Dave and Fred rather than the honourable member for this,
0:54:56 > 0:54:58then everything would be OK in British politics -
0:54:58 > 0:55:00I think that's a fiction.
0:55:00 > 0:55:03Two weeks after his big set piece in the Commons,
0:55:03 > 0:55:07the Shadow Chancellor seems to have mysteriously disappeared.
0:55:07 > 0:55:09Merry Christmas!
0:55:09 > 0:55:12Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas!
0:55:12 > 0:55:15'Many people would see you as an unlikely Father Christmas.'
0:55:15 > 0:55:17Would they?! Well, I mean, possibly,
0:55:17 > 0:55:19because if you want to be the Chancellor,
0:55:19 > 0:55:21you oughtn't to be giving out presents. That might be right.
0:55:21 > 0:55:25MUSIC: Live While We're Young by One Direction
0:55:30 > 0:55:32I must say, I think Father Christmas is very good.
0:55:32 > 0:55:36We're very lucky that he's popped into the House of Commons.
0:55:36 > 0:55:38Come the 26th of December, he'll have given away everything.
0:55:38 > 0:55:40There'll be nothing left. The cupboard will be bare.
0:55:40 > 0:55:43Don't forget to leave me a carrot for my reindeer.
0:55:43 > 0:55:46And a small glass of sherry or cup of tea.
0:55:46 > 0:55:49Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!
0:55:51 > 0:55:54It's the dying minutes of 2014.
0:55:54 > 0:55:56And the eyes of the world are on Westminster.
0:55:58 > 0:55:59At the top of Big Ben,
0:55:59 > 0:56:03the Commons' clock keepers are finessing the ancient mechanism
0:56:03 > 0:56:07so it will strike at the exact second the New Year starts.
0:56:10 > 0:56:13ALL: Four! Three! Two!
0:56:13 > 0:56:16BELL TOLLS
0:56:17 > 0:56:19Spot on!
0:56:19 > 0:56:23The Commons enters 2015 with the old political certainties in flux
0:56:23 > 0:56:26and with MPs facing the most unpredictable election
0:56:26 > 0:56:28of modern times.
0:56:28 > 0:56:31Those who are standing again are hoping to return to what is
0:56:31 > 0:56:36perhaps the most magnificent and maddening institution in Britain.
0:56:38 > 0:56:41One enduring figure who personifies our ancient Parliament
0:56:41 > 0:56:44and its ways is the Principal Doorkeeper, Robin Fell.
0:56:44 > 0:56:48But as the House of Commons embarks on a new chapter,
0:56:48 > 0:56:50a door is closing on its past.
0:56:50 > 0:56:53This time next year, I will be retiring.
0:56:53 > 0:56:56So I've got one more year to do. Hopefully, I'll survive it.
0:56:59 > 0:57:03Everyone's gone. There's no Members left on the benches.
0:57:03 > 0:57:07Everything's put away. It's almost as if there's never been anybody here.
0:57:07 > 0:57:11I'm going to drive home and I'm going to collapse in a chair
0:57:11 > 0:57:14and I shall probably pour myself a glass of sloe gin.
0:57:24 > 0:57:26There we are. Parliament to bed.
0:57:28 > 0:57:30Are you interested in finding out more about the topics
0:57:30 > 0:57:32raised in this series?
0:57:32 > 0:57:37Then go to bbc.co.uk/insidethecommons,
0:57:37 > 0:57:39and follow the links to the Open University,
0:57:39 > 0:57:42where you can watch topical round-table discussions,
0:57:42 > 0:57:45and get an insight into the making of the series.