The Year in Politics Review


The Year in Politics

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looks back at all the big political stories of this year. And a warning,

:00:00.:00:00.

there is some flash photography in this film.

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The Christmas holidays among the dreaming spires in Oxford.

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And of course there is a pantomime on at the Playhouse.

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But we are hijacking it to review the events which have made up

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Taking a risk, having a punt, having a go, that pumps me up!

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And even lower lows for a few more...

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If this exit poll is right, Andrew, I will publicly eat my hat

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Please welcome to the stage, erm, me!

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Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, welcome

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I hope you're ready for some spills and thrills, some drama and some

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disaster, because act one is all about the general election.

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As the politicians hit the road after five years of coalition

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So it felt like there was everything to play for.

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The Conservatives' pitch was based on one word - security.

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It shows that we are a government that is on the side of working

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people who want to get on and build a better future for themselves

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Our manifesto will be about securing people's future.

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That manifesto included things like more free childcare

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and extending the right to buy to tenants of housing associations,

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along with the odd dig at their opponents.

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We have already seen with Mr Miliband that he will do

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We saw that when he fought his own brother for the leadership.

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The danger now for Britain is that he will cobble together some

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backstairs deal with the SNP which will result in higher taxes,

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The problem was, it seemed a bit dull.

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So halfway through the campaign, David Cameron rolled up his shirt

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When I get the people who got start-up loans coming

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into Downing Street and telling me what they have done,

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often giving up a well-paid career, taking a risk, having a punt,

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And it is what is changing our country.

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In a quieter moment, James Landale got the Prime Minister

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There comes a time when a fresh pair of eyes and fresh leadership

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And the Conservative Party has got some great people coming

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up, the Theresa Mays and the George Osbornes

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There is plenty of talent there, I am surrounded by it.

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The third term is not something I am contemplating.

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The Labour leader Ed Miliband's kitchen featured as well.

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What did matter was whether he was up to the job of being Prime

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What I am not going to do is repeat the mistakes of the 2003 Iraq war,

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which happened when Labour was in power, which is a rush to war

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without knowing what your strategy is and without being clear

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I am not a pacifist so I did support action in Libya.

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David Cameron talked about how I supported action against Isis.

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Labour promised to be tough on the deficit

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as they unveiled their manifesto on the old Corrie set,

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promising a mansion tax and a cut intuition fees.

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But it did not seem that business was always on their side.

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I have been at a dinner tonight with a number of

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Who? Bill...

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The former chief executive of EDS, who I was just speaking

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Former chief executive of EDS - what was his name?

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To be honest it has just gone from my head, which is a bit

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People took the Mickey even more when Labour unveiled what became

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Crazy photo ops were a speciality of Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg.

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When he wasn't hiding hedgehogs, he pitched himself as an honest

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broker, in case there was a whole Parliament.

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broker, in case there was a hung Parliament.

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I believe more rather than less in the Liberal Democrat mission

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of spreading opportunity across the country, of getting

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the balance right, of creating a stronger economy

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And I passionately believe that no other party is able to put that

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I learned that the name is Liberal Democrats,

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I learned that he is quite an honest person, Nick Clegg,

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I must admit, because he did actually say to me that he does not

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reckon he is going to win this election.

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The Ukip reality TV show sometimes seemed a bit chaotic.

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Their leader focused on getting elected in a seat in Kent,

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There was a little old lady on a stick and she waited very

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patiently for ten minutes to talk to me.

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I went over to her, and dhe said, it is my birthday today.

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And she said 95. I said, happy birthday!

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And she kissed me on the lips and said, are we going out tonight?

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I will never forget that as long as I live!

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The leader of the Greens made waves with a terrible radio interview

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which led to an infamous new phrase - brain fade.

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We are looking at a total spend of 2.7...

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But what is the total cost of 500,000 homes?

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I did not do a great job this morning.

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I am aiming to face up to that and move on.

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But it did not seem to bother the thousands of new members

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And now, the action moves to the not-so-far away magical

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It is ruled by Nicola, the selfie Queen, who even

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It isn't working. Here it is.

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The SNP lost the independence referendum in 2014, but Sturgeon has

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And she made it clear she wanted her party to hold

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the House of Commons than Tory MPs, then if we work together we can lock

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In terms of the influence that the SNP on Scotland's behalf

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could have, it does not all come down to a Queen's Speech,

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it is about the influence you exert across the lifetime of a parliament.

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With a Fixed Term Parliaments Act now in place, it is possible

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to change the direction of a government on individual issues

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without bringing that government down.

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That puts a party like the SNP into a very, very powerful position.

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Music to the years of the Conservatives,

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who said that a Prime Minister Ed Miliband would be held ransom

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by Scottish nationalists and Alex Salmond.

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They rammed the message home again and again and again.

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The election is coming down to a very clear choice -

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you either stick with the Conservatives, who have got

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a competent, long-term plan to get the country back to work and cut

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people's taxes - or you risk a weak Ed Miliband being pushed around

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It was a nightmare for the Labour leader, who had to rule out a deal

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with the SNP in pretty much every single interview.

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People who are thinking of which way to vote needs to know exactly...

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And I will tell them, a Labour government led by me

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what happens will be decided by me, not by the SNP.

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We are not going to have a coalition with the Scottish National Party.

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I will let other people talking about coalitions,

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I am not getting into that.

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All of our protagonists met for a debate on ITV.

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But it was two supporting characters who stole the show,

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Nigel Farage, with comments like this...

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You can come into Britain from anywhere in the world and get

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diagnosed with HIV and get the retroviral

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drugs which cost up to ?25,000 per year per patient.

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smackdowns like this. of Plaid Cymru, with

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This kind of scaremongering rhetoric is dangerous.

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It divides communities and it creates stigma to people who are ill

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and I think you should be ashamed of yourself.

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I am sorry, we have got to put our own people first.

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Then, on the 7th of May, the nation went out to vote.

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And we all held our breath until 10pm.

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Here it is, ten o'clock, and we are saying the Conservatives

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And here are the figures which we have - quite

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That's up nine since the last election in 2010.

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Ed Miliband for Labour, 77 behind him, at 239,

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I was in that studio when the exit poll was broadcast and it came

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Labour suffered its worst general election result for a generation.

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Let's put down seat number 248, that is a Labour hold in Feltham

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But the real story of the night is here in Scotland -

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The SNP went on to win all but three seats north of the border.

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If this exit poll is anywhere near right, this is beyond

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If this exit poll is right, Andrew, I will publicly eat my hat

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No, but I can get one specially for the occasion.

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Paddy would have to get munching, because the Lib Dems did even worse,

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ending up with just eight members of Parliament.

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Nigel Farage failed to become an MP and Ukip ended up with just one,

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despite getting 4 million votes nationwide.

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And the Tories held on to key seats like Nuneaton,

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David Cameron swept into Downing Street the next day.

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To usher in the first Conservative majority government for 18 years.

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Everything I have seen over the last five years and indeed

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during this election campaign has proved once

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with unrivalled skills and creativeness, a country

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with such good humour and such great compassion.

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And I am convinced that if we draw on all of this,

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then we can take these islands with our pride history and build

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Together, we can make Great Britain greater still.

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What would David Cameron do in his second term as Prime

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And what would it mean for everyone else?

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Well, that cliffhanger is where we are going to leave act one.

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I don't know about you, but I am heading to the bar

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Oh, and we are going to say goodbye to some pretty major characters.

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The morning after the election, Ed Miliband told party workers

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that he was off, triggering a leadership contest.

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I have done my best for nearly five years.

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Now, you need to show your responsibility.

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Your responsibility, not simply to mourn our defeat

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The Shadow Chancellor, Ed Balls, was among the Labour big beasts

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Their Scottish leader, Jim Murphy, quit to spend more time

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And Harriet Harman stood down after eight years as

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28 years on the front bench - are you going to miss it?

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No, I just feel a massive relief, really.

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Because it is such a responsibility and now somebody else can do it

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There were tears among Lib Dems, as Nick Clegg announced his

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Clearly the results have been immeasurably more crushing

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and unkind than I could ever have feared.

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For that of course I must take responsibility and therefore

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I announce that I will be resigning as leader of the Liberal Democrats.

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Tim Farron was elected as his replacement.

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Tributes were paid to another former Lib Dem leader,

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Charles Kennedy, who lost his battle with alcoholism.

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The former Home Secretary Leon Brittan died before the police

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decided not to pursue claims of sexual abuse.

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Labour veteran Denis Healey died at the age of 98.

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And we said goodbye to Geoffrey Howe, the loyal deputy

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It is rather like sending your opening batsman to the crease only

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for them to find the moment the first ball is bowled

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that their bats have been broken before the game by the team captain.

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At the seaside, Nigel Farage announced his resignation

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as Ukip leader. I am a man of my word.

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So I shall be writing to the Ukip national executive in a few minutes

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And in Northern Ireland, Peter Robinson said he was resigning

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Remember, the Conservatives have surprised everybody by winning

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the election and forming a majority government,

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while quite a few characters have left the stage.

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Pardon? He is behind you!

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Oh, no, he isn't. Oh, yes, he is!

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Although Nigel's return sparked a mini meltdown among his team.

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I think he has had people around him who have not only got an American

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tea party type political agenda themselves but are also in talks did

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with the tactics perhaps of the right-wing of

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the American Republican party, which is very much

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And I don't think that works in British politics.

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I don't think British voters are attracted to it.

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And I don't think it allows Nigel to show the best of himself

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Labour had a real leadership contest - which you might

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And that she got her mojo too late in the campaign.

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And none of them could compete with...Jeremy Corbyn.

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An MP since 1983, very left-wing, and fond of home-made jumpers...

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Is that the jumper that your mum made?

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Thousands of new activists paid ?3 to sign up to the polity

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Thousands of new activists paid ?3 to sign up to the party

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During this amazing three months, our party has changed.

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We have grown enormously because of the hopes of so many

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ordinary people for a different Britain, a better Britain,

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a more decent Britain, they are fed up with

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the injustice, the inequality, the unnecessary poverty.

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All of those issues have brought people in, in a spirit

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of hope and optimism. But where to start?

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To assist Comrade Osborne in his dealings with his new-found

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comrades, I have brought him along Mao's Little Red Book.

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His opposition to the police shooting terrorists...

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Because I, along with millions of Labour voters in the country,

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were very concerned by the interview that Jeremy gave.

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Or how about the fact that in Corbyn's Shadow Cabinet,

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it is OK to disagree, even on very big things

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Would you ever push the nuclear button if you were Prime Minister?

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I am opposed to nuclear weapons, I am opposed to the holding

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They are an ultimate weapon of mass destruction.

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They can only kill millions of civilians if ever used.

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I don't think that a potential Prime Minister answering a question

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like that in the way in which he did is helpful.

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If you have got a nuclear deterrent, you have got to be willing to use it

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in extreme circumstances, or it isn't a deterrent.

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You should never say never in politics, because you need

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to look at the circumstances which arise, the evidence before you.

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In the wake of the Paris terror attacks, when MPs debated weather

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In the wake of the Paris terror attacks, when MPs debated

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whether to attack so-called Islamic State in Syria,

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the splits in Labour got serious.

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Jeremy Corbyn was on the side of the anti-war protesters.

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The Shadow Foreign Secretary was in favour of military action.

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Sort of "potential new leader in waiting" in favour...

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And we are here faced by fascists, not just their calculated brutality

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but their belief that they are superior to every single one of us

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in this chamber tonight and all of the people

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They hold us in contempt. They hold our values in contempt.

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They hold our belief in tolerance and decency in contempt.

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They hold our democracy, the means by which we will make our decision

:19:21.:19:23.

The air strikes went ahead, with British forces hitting

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oilfields held by IS in Syria, alongside targets in Iraq.

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When it comes to other weapons, like the ones used at the government

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eavesdropping post, GCHQ, there was new legislation to help

:19:41.:19:42.

If it is Tuesday, it must be Bulgaria.

:19:43.:19:48.

David Cameron continued his never-ending tour of European

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leaders as he tried to convince them that Britain needs a new deal

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It was all happening against the backdrop

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David Cameron promised to take 20,000 Syrian refugees from camps

:20:01.:20:07.

Back at home, his Chancellor carried on trying to build

:20:08.:20:19.

A plan to electrify the railway between London and Sheffield

:20:20.:20:22.

Also shunted into a siding, George Osborne's plan

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to cut tax credits - postponed after a baroness

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Basically what this does is undermine the fair contract

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we had with people when we said, with tax credits, we will

:20:37.:20:39.

And what is going to happen, if there is no delay tonight,

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And at Christmas, families will get letters saying that they will lose

:20:48.:20:53.

Although, at the Conservative government's first budget

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of the summer, Osborne won plaudits with this surprise announcement...

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I am today introducing a new national living wage.

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We will set it to reach ?9 an hour by 2020.

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The new national living wage will be compulsory.

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Working people aged 25 and over will receive it.

:21:18.:21:22.

It will start next April at the rate of ?7.20.

:21:23.:21:24.

The Low Pay Commission will recommend future rises

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and achieve the government's objectives...

:21:31.:21:32.

Elsewhere at Westminster, I had to learn the faces of a lot

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Anne McLoughlin. Nice to meet you.

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How does it feel settling in? It is great.

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All the parliament staff have been fantastic.

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Didn't realise when I got here that you can't use cash on London buses.

:21:58.:22:00.

The SNP newbies got into trouble for breaking rules in the chamber.

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Can I say at the start of the parliament that

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the convention that we don't clap in this chamber is very,

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very, very long established and widely respect, and it would be

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and it would be appreciated if members would show some respect

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The youngest MP for years, Mhairi Black - 20 years

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old when she took up her seat in May.

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Now, the government quite rightly pays for me through taxpayers' money

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to be able to live in London whilst I serve my constituents.

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My housing is subsidised by the taxpayer.

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Now, the Chancellor in his budget said, it is not fair that families

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earning over ?40,000 in London should have their rents paid

:22:52.:22:53.

But it is OK so long as you are an MP.

:22:54.:22:58.

In this budget, the Chancellor also abolished any housing benefit

:22:59.:23:01.

So we are now in the ridiculous situation whereby because I am

:23:02.:23:13.

an MP, not only am I the youngest, but I am now also the only

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20-year-old in the whole of the UK that the Chancellor is prepared

:23:18.:23:19.

And finally, who is the secret Santa in this footage which has

:23:20.:23:28.

Would you like to reveal yourself? Jeremy Corbyn.

:23:29.:23:31.

Well done, I thought it was the real Santa!

:23:32.:23:34.

The man who really has stolen the show this year.

:23:35.:23:46.

There is going to be plenty more in 2016,

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like elections to the Scottish Parliament.

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Will Labour or the Conservatives be the second party north

:23:58.:24:06.

Sir John Chilcot is going to publish his report into the Iraq war,

:24:07.:24:17.

six years after his inquiry first started.

:24:18.:24:19.

And there is a good chance that we will all be voting

:24:20.:24:22.

in a referendum on whether Britain should remain a member

:24:23.:24:25.

of the European Union - possibly one of the biggest

:24:26.:24:27.

political moments, certainly in my lifetime.

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