22/06/2011

:00:18. > :00:24.Morning, folks, this is the Daily Politics.

:00:24. > :00:27.It's one year since Boy George unveiled his emergency budget.

:00:27. > :00:30.We'll be looking at how "austerity Britain" is shaping up. The

:00:30. > :00:37.Chancellor is spending more than his predecessor and he's racked up

:00:38. > :00:43.a record deficit for the first two months of the new financial year.

:00:43. > :00:47.You'd better shape up cos you need a loan. Greek jokes aside, things

:00:47. > :00:51.are looking serious in the eurozone. We'll have the latest.

:00:51. > :00:55.Order, order, in the House of Lords! The Upper House is looking

:00:55. > :01:03.for a new speaker. If you want the job, you propbably need to be posh

:01:03. > :01:06.and you have until tomorrow to apply. -- probably.

:01:06. > :01:13.And just how sexist is the beautiful game? We'll be talking to

:01:13. > :01:17.one MP who's not happy with the FA. Maturity and common sense go hand

:01:17. > :01:20.in hand in the adult game, and me playing for the parliamentary

:01:20. > :01:28.football team, or any other lady playing in a park match, should not

:01:28. > :01:32.be caught up in rules designed to Yes, all that and more coming up in

:01:32. > :01:38.the next 90 minutes of cartoon capers. And with us for the

:01:38. > :01:41.duration, Westminster's answer to Statler and Waldorf. They're a

:01:41. > :01:44.couple of Muppets, you know! The former Conservative Leader, Michael

:01:44. > :01:50.Howard - he's now a Lord. And the former Chancellor, Alistair Darling.

:01:50. > :01:54.He's still a humble MP. Welcome to you both. Now first this morning,

:01:54. > :01:57.we're not one to labour a point, but we know a U-turn when we see

:01:57. > :02:02.one. And yesterday, despite bluff to the contrary, the Government

:02:02. > :02:05.announced yet another U-turn, this time over sentencing policy. We

:02:05. > :02:15.covered it on the programme yesterday. This is what the Justice

:02:15. > :02:17.

:02:17. > :02:20.Secretary, Ken Clarke, had to say I have done many U-turns in my time

:02:20. > :02:29.and they should be done with purpose and panache when you have

:02:29. > :02:39.to do them. I actually don't think this is a U-turn at all. I don't.

:02:39. > :02:43.Let me explain. The opposition front bench has taken some sort of

:02:43. > :02:48.tickling powder! I have been listening with bated breath for the

:02:48. > :02:55.best part of 20 years to the Secretary of State. Michael Howard,

:02:56. > :03:00.did you feel a tiny bit sorry for him? Well, I don't think... He

:03:00. > :03:04.doesn't need... Good question! doesn't need people to feel sorry

:03:04. > :03:10.for him, that would be the last thing he wanted. I welcome the

:03:10. > :03:14.changes, I think they are good for the victims and potential victims,

:03:14. > :03:18.and good for the integrity of the criminal justice system. Do we

:03:18. > :03:27.resigned ourselves to having jails that are stuffed to come as a day?

:03:27. > :03:31.It doesn't. A -- stuffed to capacity. When I said prison works,

:03:31. > :03:35.we build more prisons and build more capacity. One of the problems

:03:36. > :03:40.now is that although Labour talked tough on crime and the prison

:03:40. > :03:44.population continued to increase, the capacity was not increased.

:03:44. > :03:50.There seems to be a game going on between the two camps, tougher and

:03:50. > :03:55.tougher, who is the winner at the moment? Crime did fall by the time

:03:56. > :04:00.we left office so that was good. Prison is part of that. I think

:04:00. > :04:04.what matters is what works and Ken Clarke did come up with some

:04:04. > :04:08.interesting ideas when he first announced this policy. If we can

:04:08. > :04:11.stop people going to prison in the first place, there is a lot of

:04:12. > :04:19.evidence that once people start going to prison, they will go back

:04:19. > :04:23.again and again and again. This isn't about -- this is an about

:04:23. > :04:26.turn. David Cameron said yesterday it was a U-turn. What is more

:04:27. > :04:32.interesting in some ways, certainly as we are about to discuss the

:04:32. > :04:36.economy, if I was in the Treasury at the moment, I would say that is

:04:36. > :04:39.�100 million gone. If you add that to what has happened on the NHS,

:04:40. > :04:43.where there has been a spectacular U-turn and we have a dog's

:04:43. > :04:47.breakfast of an administration, or the Forestry sell-off, the Treasury

:04:47. > :04:54.must be worried that the savings they were promised a few months ago

:04:54. > :04:58.will be increasingly difficult to get. I get the sense that you feel

:04:58. > :05:03.it was a missed opportunity, you were quite sympathetic to the

:05:03. > :05:07.points of view put forward by Ken Clarke, am I right? Back in the

:05:07. > :05:11.days when I used to practise law, when you were in the High Court and

:05:11. > :05:14.someone was found guilty and the convictions were read out, you

:05:14. > :05:18.would cost -- often find this person would start defending in

:05:18. > :05:23.their teens, they were sent to young offenders' institution...

:05:23. > :05:27.you bring yourself to say Ken Clarke was right? No, he made a

:05:27. > :05:32.mess of what he was doing in the sense of the way he presented the

:05:32. > :05:36.policy. Substance was fine, presentation was clumsy? If people

:05:36. > :05:44.have offended, if they have done something wrong, they need to go to

:05:44. > :05:47.prison and we need to be tough. There was tough on crime, and also

:05:47. > :05:52.tough on the causes of crime, and trying to divert people out of that

:05:52. > :05:57.prison system makes sense. On the issue of savings, he still has to

:05:57. > :06:03.come up with a substantial saving. Where will he get it from? I think

:06:03. > :06:09.there are things that can be looked at. He is making some changes to

:06:09. > :06:17.the legal-aid system. I think there are certain areas where it would be

:06:18. > :06:24.possible to save more money on legal aid. The practice of giving

:06:24. > :06:28.legal aid for criminal proceedings in Scotland is a bit more stringent

:06:28. > :06:33.than that which exists in England and there are different

:06:33. > :06:38.interpretations... Will that balance the figure? It would help.

:06:38. > :06:45.There would be other efficiency savings that could be produced. I

:06:45. > :06:51.am not sitting with the Justice Department's budget. You know the

:06:51. > :06:54.terrain very well. �100 million is a lot of money. We will leave it

:06:54. > :06:56.there. Now, this time last year, the

:06:56. > :07:01.Chancellor, George Osborne, was dusting down his red box and

:07:01. > :07:04.preparing to deliver his emergency Budget. The economy one year on is

:07:04. > :07:12.the topic of the opposition day debate in the Commons this

:07:12. > :07:15.afternoon. So how is Boy George's austerity plan shaping up? Over to

:07:15. > :07:20.you, Anita. Exactly one year ago today, George

:07:20. > :07:23.Osborne delivered the coalition government's emergency Budget. He

:07:23. > :07:26.warned that it was happening at a moment when "fear about the

:07:26. > :07:32.sustainability of sovereign debt was the greatest risk" to economic

:07:32. > :07:36.recovery. He needed to be "tough" to get the deficit under control.

:07:36. > :07:39.But how strong has he really been? At the time of the emergency Budget,

:07:39. > :07:49.the forecast for public sector borrowing in 2010-11 was �149

:07:49. > :07:49.

:07:49. > :07:54.billion. And the outcome - �143 billion. So on that score the

:07:54. > :07:59.economy looks on track. But what about public borrowing this year? A

:07:59. > :08:09.year ago, the forecast was �116 billion. That was subsequently

:08:09. > :08:09.

:08:09. > :08:12.increased to �122 billion. And with figures for two months of the

:08:12. > :08:17.financial year in so far, it's by no means clear that even the higher

:08:17. > :08:24.figure will be right. Net borrowing in April and May last year was

:08:24. > :08:28.�25.9 billion. And in the same months this year, �27.4 billion. So

:08:28. > :08:30.borrowing is actually higher so far this year than last year. And in

:08:30. > :08:37.the medium term, getting the deficit down requires economic

:08:37. > :08:39.growth. The emergency Budget forecast growth in 2011 of 2.3%.

:08:39. > :08:46.The forecast now, 1.7%, according the Office for Budget

:08:46. > :08:52.Responsibility. And even lower according to some independent

:08:52. > :09:02.forecasters. The Chancellor says he has no Plan B, but is his Plan A

:09:02. > :09:05.

:09:05. > :09:08.Thank you. We have got a former Chancellor and the former Shadow

:09:08. > :09:12.Chancellor with us. Let me start with Michael Howard. Spending is

:09:12. > :09:17.still rising, the deficit is increasing and the national debt is

:09:17. > :09:22.soaring, what is going right? Everyone agrees the cuts have yet

:09:22. > :09:26.to be put into effect and yet to make an impact. I don't think you

:09:26. > :09:30.can make judgments on a month-by- month basis. This is a five-year

:09:30. > :09:34.project and I think you only have to look at the way in which the

:09:34. > :09:41.markets are treating British credibility to see that it is on

:09:41. > :09:45.track. How borrowing rate is 0.25% above Germany's. In terms of

:09:45. > :09:49.credibility in the markets it is working. We have had very good

:09:49. > :09:55.employment figures, half a million extra jobs created in the last year.

:09:55. > :09:58.There is much to be pleased about, but we had the most awful

:09:58. > :10:03.inheritance, as you know, and I think it was necessary to take the

:10:03. > :10:07.action which the Government is taking to deal with that. He has

:10:07. > :10:10.been chancellor for 12 months and every month during that 12 months

:10:10. > :10:15.he has spent more than the preceding year and are Gordon Brown

:10:15. > :10:19.and Alistair Darling. Be Kizzy it takes time for the measures to be

:10:19. > :10:25.put into effect. -- because it takes time. Many require

:10:25. > :10:31.legislation. You can't expect but I ducked the pain is still to come?

:10:31. > :10:36.In many respects a package right. It is interesting, isn't it, that

:10:36. > :10:40.what the opposition are saying is borrow more. It will be interesting

:10:40. > :10:45.to see whether Alastair agrees with Ed Balls's latest proposition,

:10:45. > :10:51.which is that the VAT increase should be reversed. Are you taking

:10:51. > :10:58.away my gunpowder? Teeing it up for me. I want to come to that in a

:10:58. > :11:03.minute. If, as we know from the figures, I have them here, as I

:11:03. > :11:07.said to Michael Howard, spending is still rising, up 5%, the deficit is

:11:07. > :11:11.still increasing and the national debt is going through the roof, the

:11:11. > :11:15.Ed Balls criticisms that the economy slowed because we are

:11:15. > :11:19.cutting too fast too soon isn't borne out by the figures. I think

:11:19. > :11:24.there is something bigger at play. Ever since the new government was

:11:24. > :11:30.elected from last May, they have been saying that there will be

:11:30. > :11:35.substantial cuts and it is probably the fear of what is about to happen

:11:35. > :11:37.that is depressing economic activity. Why? If you are a

:11:37. > :11:41.businessman, would you think about taking on more people at the

:11:41. > :11:44.moment? You probably wouldn't because you would say everybody is

:11:44. > :11:48.telling me how bad it is going to be, there will be less spending

:11:48. > :11:52.power in the economy. A lot of commentators have made the point

:11:52. > :11:56.that you can actually talk down activity. Michael is right, when

:11:56. > :12:00.people say one or two commentators uttering the review of what has

:12:00. > :12:05.happened over the last 12 months and they are saying it has not been

:12:05. > :12:11.so bad. A lot of the actual cuts were only supposed to come in from

:12:11. > :12:13.this April and they will gradually build up. I do agree with Michael,

:12:13. > :12:18.and if the figures had been the other way I would make this point,

:12:18. > :12:21.you have to watch month-by-month figures. But there is now a growing

:12:21. > :12:26.consensus that growth will be less than George Osborne said 12 months

:12:26. > :12:31.ago, the IMF has said if this carries on, a Plan B will have to

:12:31. > :12:38.be looked at. If you get low growth, you will get higher borrowing and

:12:38. > :12:44.higher debt and that is now a real possibility. But this year, 2011-

:12:44. > :12:50.2012, George Osborne plans to cut public spending by the 0.6%. How

:12:50. > :12:53.much less... How much less would you have cut it by? As I have said

:12:53. > :12:59.you, it is a matter of judgement as to how fast you bring down the

:12:59. > :13:04.deficit. 0.6% is not fast. Expressing it percentage terms it

:13:04. > :13:08.might not seem that way. Let's go back ticking clock's problem. He

:13:08. > :13:18.has to find another �100 million. He will not find it through getting

:13:18. > :13:21.people out of prisons. A government and it spends on pensions, public

:13:21. > :13:28.services, defence and so on. As anyone who has ever run a

:13:28. > :13:30.department will tell you, �100 million... The big problem is the

:13:30. > :13:33.Government's strategy from the start was to eliminate the

:13:34. > :13:39.structural deficit during the course of this Parliament. The risk

:13:39. > :13:43.is if you go too fast -- too far too fast, you suppress growth and

:13:43. > :13:49.it becomes more difficult to get your borrowing ground -- down.

:13:49. > :13:55.you agree with Ed Balls that VAT should be cut temporarily back to

:13:55. > :13:59.17.5%? What he is doing is simply giving an example of the sort of

:13:59. > :14:03.thing the IMF was talking about. He is talking about tax breaks for

:14:03. > :14:08.people as well as perhaps more quantitative easing if that is

:14:08. > :14:13.necessary. He is not alone in that. Does he have your support been

:14:13. > :14:19.saying VAT should be cut? He has my complete support in saying that

:14:19. > :14:25.George Osborne's approach runs the risk of derailing the recovery.

:14:25. > :14:29.Come on, you're just an MP now, you are not in government. An honest

:14:29. > :14:34.answer would be appreciated. Do you agree with Ed Balls that VAT should

:14:34. > :14:40.be cut to 17.5%? It is a matter of judgement as to what you actually

:14:40. > :14:44.do. I will not second-guess everything Ed Balls does. I am not

:14:44. > :14:49.asking you to second guess, I am asking whether you agree or

:14:49. > :14:53.disagree. I am surprised by your reluctance, it is a simple question.

:14:53. > :14:57.I agree with his analysis that if you take too much money out of the

:14:57. > :15:01.economy, you run the risk of developing the economy. That has

:15:01. > :15:04.always been my position. He is not alone in that, other commentators

:15:04. > :15:11.are making the same point. You seem reluctant to support Ed Balls on

:15:11. > :15:17.this full up I am not. Then support him! I do support him... He he will

:15:17. > :15:23.not saying you support his specific plan to cut VAT to 17 were 5%.

:15:23. > :15:28.is a matter of judgement as to what you do to support the economy. I

:15:28. > :15:33.support the critique he has mounted in relation to that and I will not

:15:33. > :15:43.second-guess the individual judgments. It sounds like a no.

:15:43. > :15:44.

:15:45. > :15:48.It sounds like that to me, but viewers will make up their minds.

:15:48. > :15:53.The Office for Budget Responsibility has downgraded the

:15:53. > :15:57.growth forecasts for this year and next year. One of the main reasons

:15:57. > :16:01.why it is the incredible squeeze on living standards at the moment. The

:16:01. > :16:05.poorer you are, the tighter the squeeze. There is a danger that

:16:05. > :16:09.this is a vicious circle and you won't get the growth that you need.

:16:09. > :16:15.You have to take tough action to deal with the problems we inherited.

:16:15. > :16:21.No doubt you are going to ask about Greece later on in the programme.

:16:22. > :16:26.Greece is an abject lesson in what happens if the Government spends

:16:26. > :16:33.more than it can afford. You then have a horrible consequences, which

:16:34. > :16:37.we can see. Back in 2005, in the 2005 general election, I warned

:16:37. > :16:41.that the Labour Government was spending too much. More than the

:16:41. > :16:50.country could afford. I spelled out exactly what cuts in spending

:16:50. > :16:55.should take place. I want to move on. You mentioned Greece, so let's

:16:55. > :16:59.move to my favourite musical. won't start singing. As you have

:16:59. > :17:05.been hearing, whatever the trials and tribulations have been it for

:17:05. > :17:09.the UK economy, spare a thought for Greece. Last night, George

:17:09. > :17:14.Papandreou won a confidence vote in the Parliament. The struggle has

:17:14. > :17:18.started. He is seeking to push through further unpopular austerity

:17:18. > :17:24.measures to avoid defaulting on a country's debts. As MPs cast their

:17:24. > :17:29.votes, thousands of protesters gathered to show their disquiet,

:17:29. > :17:32.putting it mildly. Tim Willcox is in Athens. He survived that touch

:17:32. > :17:37.and go vote. That does not guarantee that he will be able to

:17:37. > :17:41.pass the austerity measures. are right. Most commentators

:17:41. > :17:45.thought that he would pass the confidence vote last night and in

:17:45. > :17:48.the end he did with the majority of 12. Far more difficult for him and

:17:48. > :17:53.a far more difficult thing politically is to push through the

:17:53. > :17:58.latest austerity package next week. 28 billion euros worth of austerity

:17:58. > :18:04.measures, involving the selling-off of state assets, utilities like

:18:04. > :18:11.electricity and water and this caught behind me. -- Court. There

:18:11. > :18:15.will be more job losses and higher taxes as well. The protesters were

:18:15. > :18:21.accepting that the vote would go his way, but they are adamant that

:18:21. > :18:24.they don't want to sue the state crown jewels being sold off to the

:18:25. > :18:29.highest bidder just to pay the interest on the debts that they

:18:29. > :18:33.blame the eurozone for. normally see protests, and

:18:33. > :18:39.sometimes they are a vocal minority, but does this represent the mood in

:18:39. > :18:42.Greece at the moment? Not entirely. Having been here just a couple of

:18:42. > :18:46.days it is interesting. A lot of private sector workers have taken a

:18:46. > :18:50.lot of pain in the last couple of years. They have been told their

:18:50. > :18:54.salary will be hard, take it or leave it. Many people have suffered

:18:54. > :18:58.a lot. They have looked at the public sector workers and thought

:18:58. > :19:03.they have a cushy number, and that there are too many people doing not

:19:03. > :19:06.quite enough for the country. There is a divide between public sector

:19:06. > :19:13.and private sector workers here. Last night it was interesting. It

:19:13. > :19:18.was not the fat cats of the public sector losing their cushy jobs,

:19:18. > :19:21.paid well with good pensions. There were more middle-class people there,

:19:21. > :19:25.very worried about what the austerity package would mean for

:19:25. > :19:30.them. A real cross-section of people last night. No real violence,

:19:30. > :19:35.none of the anarchy that we have seen in recent weeks. The police to

:19:35. > :19:38.disperse them with tear gas. I think that George Papandreou will

:19:38. > :19:42.have a tough job on his hands to get this through. I have been

:19:42. > :19:47.speaking to the Finance Minister who took Greece into the euro in

:19:47. > :19:50.2001. He said he had no regrets about doing that. He said it was

:19:50. > :19:53.like giving a family first class tickets and I asked if they could

:19:53. > :19:57.afford it and he said they did have bought it for a while with great

:19:57. > :20:02.growth. He said that the bail out package from the IMF and the ECB

:20:02. > :20:06.was too much pitched towards austerity and not growth. That is

:20:06. > :20:13.why he thought the latest austerity package would be good for growth.

:20:13. > :20:21.Thank you very much. Very clear. While Anita was on the line to

:20:21. > :20:25.Athens, the Associated Press have reported that the German Chancellor,

:20:25. > :20:28.of course they will be the ones putting up the money if there is

:20:28. > :20:33.another bail out, Angela Merkel is warning that full-scale

:20:33. > :20:38.restructuring of Greek debt would have an controllable consequences

:20:38. > :20:44.on the financial markets. -- uncontrollable. Berlin are still

:20:44. > :20:48.holding out. We are joined by MEP, Daniel Hannan. We also have our

:20:48. > :20:53.guests of the day. Regardless of what the Chancellor is saying, is

:20:53. > :20:59.there not a widespread expectation that at the end of the day, after a

:20:59. > :21:03.second bail out, or a third, that Greece will default? An almost

:21:03. > :21:08.universal expectation. The only people that deny it, or pretend to

:21:08. > :21:13.deny it, of the eurozone finance ministers. Unbelievably they are on

:21:13. > :21:16.the verge of committing another 80 billion on top of the 110 billion

:21:16. > :21:20.euros committed 13 months ago, which we were told was a one-off to

:21:20. > :21:24.get Greece through the liquidity crisis. Those bail out have not

:21:24. > :21:28.been useless, they have been actively harmful. The result is

:21:28. > :21:31.Greece now owes more money. The debt has been spread from a small

:21:32. > :21:36.number of bankers to the taxpayer is in general. The more we defer

:21:36. > :21:41.this problem, the worse the reckoning when it comes. Greece got

:21:41. > :21:46.a massive bail out last year, 110 billion euros. Since then, the

:21:46. > :21:49.price of Greek debt has been through the roof. Greece still

:21:49. > :21:57.cannot borrow. The only people lending to the Greeks of the

:21:57. > :22:01.European Central Bank and the IMF. The price that they had to pay,

:22:01. > :22:07.cutting the size of the state, not once there was servant has lost a

:22:07. > :22:11.job. The privatisation programme, nothing has been privatised. Is it

:22:11. > :22:15.time to get real and realise we have to bite the bullet? There are

:22:15. > :22:20.two things here. Firstly, Greece has to make fundamental structural

:22:20. > :22:25.changes to the economy. The balance between public and private sector,

:22:25. > :22:29.competition and so on. It is not as simple as saying, OK, let's cast

:22:29. > :22:33.them adrift. Let the eurozone put them out. I was not saying that. I

:22:33. > :22:38.was simply saying they would have to default on the debt. As things

:22:38. > :22:42.are going at the moment, at the likelihood of practical default, in

:22:42. > :22:47.terms of running things over and extending the repayment, that looks

:22:47. > :22:51.inevitable. That is why I think it would be far better... Firstly,

:22:51. > :22:55.Greece have to play their part, but the eurozone in particular has to

:22:55. > :22:59.realise that if you have a single currency, it comes with

:22:59. > :23:02.consequences. The stronger people have to help restructure the weaker.

:23:02. > :23:08.That has appeared in the United States. Yes, but that is one

:23:08. > :23:11.country. That is right. But we have the fix that was adopted when the

:23:11. > :23:16.euro was put in place. We just about got away with it in the good

:23:16. > :23:19.times, but in bad times it is coming unstuck. That is why I have

:23:19. > :23:23.argued in my article in the Times that the eurozone has to accept

:23:23. > :23:27.that if you want a single currency to last, then you have to do

:23:27. > :23:31.something and play an active part in making the necessary changes in

:23:31. > :23:36.Greece, but not just in Greece, other countries, too. Michael

:23:36. > :23:42.Howard in his article in the Times this morning, at he asked the

:23:42. > :23:46.question of whether the eurozone could survive in its current form.

:23:46. > :23:50.He did not quite answer that but he did raise the question. What is

:23:50. > :23:53.your opinion? When you consider the future of the eurozone, you have to

:23:53. > :23:58.take into account the extent to which there is an almost, and

:23:58. > :24:01.perhaps you can delete the world almost, irrational commitment on

:24:01. > :24:05.the part of political leaders, not on the part of the people living in

:24:05. > :24:10.the eurozone, but on the part of many of their political leaders, to

:24:10. > :24:15.keep the eurozone in being as it is, regardless of the consequences.

:24:15. > :24:21.They see it as an absolute touchstone of their European dream.

:24:21. > :24:24.I fear that their countries, their populations, will play a very heavy

:24:24. > :24:29.price for this. It is the sort of thing that Daniel and I warned

:24:29. > :24:34.about all those years ago, when we were opposing our entry into the

:24:34. > :24:39.euro. One thing I want to say about what Alastair has said, he alighted

:24:39. > :24:45.at the beginning of his response to you. First of all he said EU, then

:24:45. > :24:50.he said the eurozone has to play its part. The eurozone certainly

:24:50. > :24:56.has to but the EU does not. In my article I make it clear this is

:24:56. > :25:00.about the eurozone. I have read it. 12.5 billion and all of the bail

:25:00. > :25:07.out, the European stabilisation mechanisms, which is twice as much

:25:07. > :25:11.as we saved in awe of the cuts. That is true, and also because of

:25:11. > :25:16.our IMF commitment, and as I say in the article, it is in our interests

:25:16. > :25:21.to have a stable euro. It is in our interests that European Union gets

:25:21. > :25:25.through this crisis. It might have been better if we turned the clock

:25:25. > :25:28.back 11 years, if there had been a smaller core of eurozone countries.

:25:28. > :25:34.Then they could have got into a state that others might have wanted

:25:34. > :25:39.to join. That did not happen. The problem now is that we have got

:25:39. > :25:47.Greece on the edge of default, with huge exposures to French and German

:25:47. > :25:54.banks, and other banks in Europe as well. The idea that if Greek --

:25:54. > :25:57.Greece does default, but it will be confined to Greece, and not

:25:57. > :26:03.spreading into Ireland and Portugal, that is like allowing human beings

:26:03. > :26:08.to go bust and hoping for the best. We have drawn that analogy. Let me

:26:08. > :26:12.ask you, Daniel, a lot of people is said that the single currency could

:26:12. > :26:17.not work unless there were fiscal transfers. So a single fiscal

:26:17. > :26:23.policy as well. Some people are now arguing for that. Does that put

:26:23. > :26:32.Europe at a severe Crossroads? puts it at odds with its own

:26:32. > :26:35.population, as Michael said. Rather than saying it has not been

:26:35. > :26:39.successful for European integration increase, instead they are saying

:26:39. > :26:44.it is successful and let's have more. We need fiscal union,

:26:44. > :26:47.economic union. It would be nice to hear some acknowledgement from all

:26:47. > :26:51.of the people in Britain that 10 years ago wanted to take us into

:26:51. > :26:55.the euro, which would have put us into this precise as if not worse,

:26:56. > :26:58.I have yet to hear it from Tony Blair, Nick Clegg, Chris Huhne, any

:26:58. > :27:06.of the people that sat there telling us we would be finished if

:27:06. > :27:09.we did not join. Free advice but don't hold your breath. Are you all

:27:10. > :27:18.Euro-sceptics? I am not in that camp. You were prow not to take us

:27:18. > :27:24.into the euro. -- proud not to take us into the euro. Yes, but I am not

:27:24. > :27:28.in favour of joining it. Have you ever been? No. You were in the

:27:28. > :27:32.Treasury when Gordon Brown said that everybody was in favour.

:27:32. > :27:36.have to go to PMQs and we will talk about it during that. It is time

:27:36. > :27:41.for the Guess The Year quiz. Worryingly, we have some

:27:41. > :27:47.competition. President Obama is getting in on the act. Look at this

:27:47. > :27:53.mug. That should put all of those Birthright doubts to rest. In case

:27:53. > :27:58.it does not, look at the back. That is his birth certificate. What sort

:27:58. > :28:04.of mug would not believe that? You don't want to waste your time

:28:04. > :28:09.spending $20 on one of those. What you want is one of these. I am

:28:09. > :28:13.afraid that my Paisley birth certificate is not on the back, and

:28:13. > :28:19.neither is Anita's London one. We were both born in Inner Mongolia

:28:19. > :28:29.and we will not tell you about it. And we don't want to tell you how

:28:29. > :28:44.

:28:44. > :28:50.old we are! First, can you tell us # The time has come for me to hang

:28:50. > :28:57.my head in shame. Their ashes have been piled up in

:28:57. > :29:07.the amounts of Auschwitz and the fields. Their blood Christ to

:29:07. > :29:25.

:29:25. > :29:30.heaven. But their voice cannot be # Just running scared.

:29:30. > :29:40.# Age place we go. ICN by parachute, the rebels have struck along the

:29:40. > :29:50.

:29:50. > :29:55.coast within Havana. -- by C and by OK, to be in with any chance of

:29:55. > :30:04.winning the mug, please send your answers to this e-mail addressed.

:30:04. > :30:09.For terms and conditions, please go to the website. It is almost no day.

:30:09. > :30:14.Big Ben. That can only mean one thing, Prime Minister's Questions.

:30:14. > :30:19.Kevin Maguire from the Mirror. What does Ed Miliband go on? Which U-

:30:19. > :30:23.turn does he choose? I think you should choose military. Army, navy,

:30:23. > :30:28.air force, all attacking David Cameron. He says you do the

:30:28. > :30:32.fighting and I will do the talking. I would make David talk about

:30:32. > :30:38.defence cuts today. That would be interesting from a Labour

:30:38. > :30:42.opposition leader, arguing Tory weakness from defence. Take the

:30:42. > :30:46.battle to David Cameron. We know there is a lot of unease on the

:30:46. > :30:50.Conservative benches on those cuts. David Davies is saying that Britain

:30:50. > :30:55.is no longer a military power. wonder what has happened to the

:30:55. > :31:03.money, then. How much unease is there on the Labour benches about

:31:03. > :31:06.Miliband's personal poll ratings? His opponents that have never

:31:06. > :31:12.backed him have become more vocal and those that supported him are

:31:12. > :31:17.going quiet. Would you agree with me that whatever happens, well, as

:31:17. > :31:25.things stand at the moment, Ed Miliband will lead his party into

:31:25. > :31:29.the next election? Likely but not I was unaware of that event, but I

:31:29. > :31:33.wish you a happy anniversary. I'm sure the whole House would wish to

:31:33. > :31:38.join me in paying tribute to craftsman Andrew Found that the

:31:38. > :31:41.Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Corporal Lloyd Newell

:31:41. > :31:44.from the Parachute Regiment and private Gareth Bellingham from the

:31:44. > :31:48.3rd Battalion the Mercian Regiment. They were talented, brave and

:31:48. > :31:53.dedicated soldiers who made the bottom at sacrifice overseas for

:31:53. > :31:56.the safety of British people at home. We send out our deepest

:31:56. > :32:00.condolences to their families, friends and colleagues of Dr this

:32:00. > :32:04.morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others

:32:04. > :32:09.and I shall have further such meetings later today. Kerry

:32:09. > :32:13.McCarthy. I thank the prime minister for that response and can

:32:13. > :32:22.I associate myself with the moving tributes he has just paid. A year

:32:22. > :32:27.ago with the Chancellor stood up to deliver his first Budget. Given

:32:27. > :32:32.that on the Government's own assessment, the efforts will have a

:32:32. > :32:35.statistically insignificant impact on child poverty, can I recommend

:32:35. > :32:41.the prime minister watches the BBC documentary bought kits to find out

:32:41. > :32:44.how the other half lives and can I ask him if he regrets allowing his

:32:44. > :32:50.chance that to take money away from families with children rather than

:32:50. > :32:54.the bankers who caused a crisis? High I will look at the programmes

:32:54. > :32:58.each honourable lady mentions, but even at a difficult time, this

:32:58. > :33:02.money put more money into the poorest families, we have frozen

:33:02. > :33:06.council tax and we have taken steps to help working families and the

:33:06. > :33:10.budget and the subsequent Budget, neither of them raised Child

:33:10. > :33:14.poverty because of the steps we took. We inherited a complete mess

:33:14. > :33:19.from the party opposite, but we are dealing with it in a way that

:33:19. > :33:24.protects families. Can the Prime Minister confirm that this country

:33:24. > :33:28.will not be contributing a penny towards the Greek bail-out other

:33:28. > :33:33.than what we contribute to the IMF? The honourable lady is right, we

:33:33. > :33:39.are senior members of the IMF, we sit on the IMF board, we have

:33:40. > :33:43.responsibilities as members ofs of the IMF it. We were not involved in

:33:43. > :33:46.the first Greek bail-out, we are not members of the eurozone and we

:33:46. > :33:50.will not become members of the eurozone as long as I am standing

:33:50. > :33:53.here. I don't believe the European financial mechanism should be used

:33:53. > :33:59.for Greece and we don't think that is appropriate and I don't believe

:33:59. > :34:03.that should happen. Ed Miliband. Can I join the Prime Minister in

:34:03. > :34:07.paying tribute to craftsman Andrew Found from the Royal Electrical and

:34:07. > :34:10.Mechanical Engineers, Corporal Lloyd Newell from the Parachute

:34:10. > :34:14.Regiment and private Gareth Bellingham from 3rd Battalion the

:34:14. > :34:19.Mercian Regiment. They all served their country with dedication and

:34:19. > :34:23.bravery and our hearts go out to their family and friends. Armed

:34:23. > :34:28.forces date is also coming up this Saturday and that is an opportunity

:34:28. > :34:32.to remind us all of the service that is provided by the armed

:34:32. > :34:34.forces in Afghanistan, Libya and all around the world. It is a

:34:34. > :34:40.moment to recognise the service they provide with honour and

:34:40. > :34:45.courage for our country. We support the mission in Libya, but in the

:34:45. > :34:47.last week both the First Sea Lord and the Commander in Chief Air

:34:47. > :34:52.Command have raised concerns over the prospect of an extended

:34:52. > :34:55.campaign. Can the Prime Minister take this opportunity to assure the

:34:55. > :35:02.House that sufficient resources are in place to maintain Britain's part

:35:02. > :35:06.in the mission at the current rate of engagement? Can I join the right

:35:06. > :35:09.honourable gentleman in paying tribute to our armed forces, I am

:35:09. > :35:13.particularly looking forward to our Armed forces Day on Saturday, when

:35:13. > :35:17.we will celebrate the contribution they make to our national life and

:35:17. > :35:21.the enormous and that they do to keep us safe. In terms of Libya,

:35:21. > :35:25.similar to the mission in Afghanistan, it is funded out of

:35:25. > :35:29.the reserve so it does not put additional pressures on the defence

:35:29. > :35:33.budget. I have sought assurances and received them from the Chief of

:35:33. > :35:36.Defence Staff General Sir David Richards that we are capable of

:35:36. > :35:40.keeping up this operation for as long as it takes. I think that is

:35:41. > :35:45.vital and I would argue that the pressure is building on Gaddafi,

:35:45. > :35:49.time is on our side, not on Gaddafi's side. When you look at

:35:49. > :35:54.what is happening in Libya, you see a strengthening of the revolt in

:35:54. > :35:56.the West, more people deserting Gaddafi's regime, growing

:35:57. > :36:01.unpopularity of his regime and other coalition holding strong,

:36:02. > :36:06.time is on our side, pressure is growing and I believe we will take

:36:06. > :36:09.it to a satisfactory conclusion. am with the Prime Minister that we

:36:09. > :36:13.should keep up the pressure on the Libyan regime and we do provide

:36:13. > :36:18.powerful support for the mission. But don't the concerns that have

:36:18. > :36:22.been expressed by members of our armed forces point to something

:36:22. > :36:26.very important, the need to look again at the Strategic Defence and

:36:26. > :36:30.Security Review precisely to make sure that we have the right

:36:30. > :36:36.capability and we have the right focus. The Foreign Secretary

:36:36. > :36:38.described the Arab Spring as a more important event and 9/11. But the

:36:38. > :36:43.National Security Strategy published last year doesn't mention

:36:43. > :36:48.Libya, Egypt or Tunisia. Isn't it right, in the light of the changes

:36:48. > :36:52.we have seen, to look again at the Strategic Defence and Security

:36:52. > :36:56.Review to make sure we can sustain the conflict in Libya? I am

:36:56. > :37:00.grateful for the question, because it is important. One of the reasons

:37:00. > :37:03.for having a National Security Council that its weekly is all the

:37:03. > :37:08.time to ask if we have the right resources, do we have the right

:37:08. > :37:13.strategy. We have had a review of the national security and Defence

:37:13. > :37:15.Review over the last year. For point I would make is this. That

:37:16. > :37:20.strategic Defence Review did actually put in place mechanisms to

:37:20. > :37:24.say we may well be fighting two conflicts at the same time fault

:37:24. > :37:27.but it also put in place the necessity of having a very flexible

:37:27. > :37:32.armed forces say exactly the sort of operations we are fighting and

:37:32. > :37:37.dealing with in Libya. The point I would also make it as it does seem

:37:37. > :37:41.to be strange, having not had one for 10 years, to then want to have

:37:41. > :37:44.two Strategic Defence Reviews within one year. We have got the

:37:44. > :37:49.right flexibilities in our armed forces, they are performing

:37:49. > :37:52.magnificently in Libya. If anything I would like to speed up the

:37:52. > :37:55.implementation of the strategic Defence Review because so much of

:37:55. > :38:00.the new equipment we are looking to have in terms of drones and things

:38:00. > :38:03.like that, it would be helpful to have them now. Far from being the

:38:03. > :38:09.wrong strategic posture, it is right and it is good we are putting

:38:09. > :38:13.it in place. I think it will come as news to the wider defence and

:38:13. > :38:17.security community that there has been a review of the original

:38:17. > :38:21.Strategic Defence and Security Review. If there has been a review

:38:21. > :38:25.since the Arab Spring took place, why doesn't the Prime Minister

:38:25. > :38:29.publish the results of that review? Let's have a consultation with the

:38:29. > :38:34.experts who know about these issues. There is clear concern across the

:38:34. > :38:43.military about some of these issues. Let me ask the Prime Minister, and

:38:43. > :38:47.let me say this to this in all sincerity. When our military chiefs

:38:47. > :38:50.raised concerns and raised legitimate concerns about the

:38:50. > :38:56.conduct of our operations, surely it is not the right thing to say

:38:56. > :39:02.you did the fighting and I will do the talking. In retrospect, was at

:39:02. > :39:05.that very crass and high-handed? -- wasn't that. I have huge respect

:39:05. > :39:09.for the people that run hour armed services, they do in incredibly

:39:09. > :39:14.good job, they are very professional and they are involved

:39:14. > :39:16.in the National Security Council, they were involved in the drawing

:39:16. > :39:19.up of the National Strategic Defence Review will but the only

:39:19. > :39:24.point I have made is when you are at war, and we are in Afghanistan

:39:24. > :39:27.and Libya, it is very important, whether you are a political or

:39:27. > :39:34.military leader, to think very carefully about what you are about

:39:34. > :39:41.to say. Can I ask the Prime Minister if he is aware of the

:39:41. > :39:45.decision abruptly made to close the Passport Office in which, which has

:39:45. > :39:49.obliged a six year-old boy to make 200 mile round trip to an interview

:39:49. > :39:54.and another constituent to travel to Newcastle. Is this acceptable?

:39:54. > :39:58.will look very closely at the point my honourable friend raises. But in

:39:58. > :40:01.the modern age, we have all sorts of ways of carrying out interviews

:40:01. > :40:05.that don't necessarily involve people having to travel to a

:40:05. > :40:12.passport my office. Her what matters is having an efficient

:40:12. > :40:15.service so people can get the documentation they need. Given the

:40:15. > :40:20.number of U-turn as the prime minister has made, including on

:40:20. > :40:25.sentencing, NHS reform, Forestry sell-off and school reforms, it is

:40:25. > :40:35.a wonder that he knows which way he is facing. But will he now have the

:40:35. > :40:47.

:40:48. > :40:51.Prime minister. I did not get all of that. That is the trouble but a

:40:51. > :40:55.dark it is a reminder of the importance of government

:40:55. > :40:59.backbenchers keeping calm and quiet, not least so that prime minister

:40:59. > :41:04.Count hear properly. It would probably also help if you

:41:04. > :41:07.didn't read out the whip's it at the start of the question. I think

:41:07. > :41:13.the question was about the important point about women and

:41:13. > :41:16.pensions. What I would say is this. I do think it is right to have the

:41:16. > :41:21.equalisation of men's and women's pension age at 65 and that is going

:41:21. > :41:24.ahead. I also think it is important to raise the pension age to 66

:41:24. > :41:28.because the fact is people are living longer and our country, that

:41:28. > :41:31.is a good thing, but we have to make sure we can pay for good

:41:31. > :41:35.pensions for the future. It seems to me the alternative is to stick

:41:35. > :41:38.your head in the sand, end up with a situation where you either end up

:41:39. > :41:42.cutting pensions or building up debts for our children that would

:41:42. > :41:47.frankly irresponsible. This government is taking difficult

:41:48. > :41:51.decisions, but I think they are the right ones. Does the Prime Minister

:41:51. > :41:54.agree there is still too much homophobia in sport, especially

:41:54. > :41:59.football, and the event he is hosting later today in Downing

:41:59. > :42:03.Street will go some way to tackling that prejudice. Her I completely

:42:03. > :42:06.agree with my honourable friend and I am delighted to be hosting a

:42:06. > :42:11.party for Britain's lesbian, gay and Trans ended community in

:42:11. > :42:16.Downing Street today. One of the issues in sport is Hamp few out

:42:16. > :42:20.players there are end all sorts of sports, and I applaud those who are

:42:20. > :42:26.coming tonight, and I hope that will encourage schoolchildren to

:42:26. > :42:29.recognise homophobic bullying is completely unacceptable. If the

:42:29. > :42:32.Prime Minister is serious about tackling the issue of runaway

:42:32. > :42:37.fathers, which he said last week, why is he making it harder for

:42:37. > :42:42.single mothers to get maintenance payments by charging them extra

:42:42. > :42:46.child support? We are going to go on funding a child support a

:42:46. > :42:50.mechanism and it is right that we do. But I don't think it is wrong

:42:50. > :42:53.to ask people to make a contribution to that. Taxpayers

:42:53. > :42:57.currently are putting in a huge amount of money, they will go on

:42:57. > :43:01.putting in money, but to ask people to pay the wharves -- towards the

:43:01. > :43:04.cost does not reduce the impact of what I said. People that walk away

:43:04. > :43:13.from their responsibilities and don't fund their children, that

:43:13. > :43:19.should not be allowed to happen in Britain today. Next year, it is the

:43:20. > :43:24.centenary of the death of Captain Robert Scott on the Antarctic. Does

:43:24. > :43:29.my right honourable friend recognise that this brave, historic

:43:29. > :43:34.son of Plymouth left a significant scientific legacy which is still

:43:34. > :43:38.today helping to form the world's environmental agenda? I thank my

:43:38. > :43:41.honourable friend for raising this issue and it is an important

:43:41. > :43:45.centenary coming up and I am pleased so much is going on across

:43:45. > :43:49.the country to celebrate that, particularly in Plymouth. I would

:43:49. > :43:55.make a point that it is not just the scientific discoveries that are

:43:55. > :43:59.important, it is the inspirational figure, the adventure -- adventurer

:43:59. > :44:03.and and -- explorer, that incredible sense of adventure he

:44:03. > :44:07.had that inspires young people today. The Prime Minister has been

:44:07. > :44:12.forced to abandon his original plans on sentencing. Will he now

:44:12. > :44:20.changed his mind on the proposal to prevent police holding the DNA of

:44:20. > :44:26.those arrested but not charged with Per and he had we will look

:44:26. > :44:31.carefully at the issues of DNA. I have to say to the right honourable

:44:31. > :44:34.gentleman, we inherited an unacceptable situation with a DNA

:44:34. > :44:38.database that had grown out of control and without proper rights

:44:38. > :44:42.for people. We have put in place a better system, there is always room

:44:42. > :44:47.to see if it can be improved, but we made a big step forward from the

:44:47. > :44:51.mess we're at were left by the last government. It is a bit lace --

:44:51. > :44:56.late to be looking at the proposal, it is in the House of Commons. Let

:44:56. > :45:05.me explain his own policy to the Prime Minister. Around 5,000 people

:45:05. > :45:09.each year are arrested on suspicion of rope and not charged. -- rope. I

:45:09. > :45:13.know he wants some help from the Home Secretary. In certain cases,

:45:13. > :45:18.these individuals have gone on to commit further offences and be

:45:18. > :45:22.convicted as a result of the DNA being held on a national database.

:45:22. > :45:30.But his proposal is that for those arrested and not charge, the DNA

:45:30. > :45:39.will be disposed of straight away. discard the DNA of those arrested

:45:39. > :45:43.but not charged? By Nova mack is some concern -- I know there is

:45:43. > :45:53.some concern. The more noise, the greater the difficulty in getting

:45:53. > :45:55.

:45:55. > :46:04.Order. I understand, Mr Speaker, there is some worry that in this

:46:04. > :46:09.Government we actually talk to each other! This is clearly not the case.

:46:09. > :46:12.The Shadow Chancellor raises this issue. It is perfectly clear that

:46:12. > :46:20.the Shadow Chancellor and the leader of the Labour Party don't

:46:20. > :46:24.speak to each other at all. And I have the proof, Mr Speaker. Because

:46:24. > :46:31.this week he made a huge announcement on a massive VAT cut,

:46:31. > :46:35.and yet it was only... JEERING. us focus on an answer to the

:46:35. > :46:44.question and then we will move on to the next question. Mr Ed

:46:44. > :46:51.Miliband. Mr Speaker, Mr Speaker... Let me give this lesson to the

:46:51. > :46:59.Prime Minister... STEERING. It will be better to talk to his colleagues

:46:59. > :47:04.before they perform the policy, not afterwards. Instead of listening to

:47:04. > :47:08.the Home Secretary, why not listen to the rape crisis representative?

:47:08. > :47:13.With the reporting of rapes on the increase and conviction rates still

:47:13. > :47:19.shockingly low, the evidence this database provides is vital. The

:47:19. > :47:24.more of this data we hold, the more chance we have of catching rapists.

:47:24. > :47:27.Sue says this really is a no- brainer. Mr Speaker, this is

:47:27. > :47:35.another policy on crime that is callous, not thought through and

:47:35. > :47:42.out of touch. Why doesn't he think again? First of all, if he actually

:47:42. > :47:46.understood the policy, he would no... If he understood the policy

:47:46. > :47:52.he would know that the police are allowed to apply to keep DNA on the

:47:52. > :47:56.commuter, not something that he mentioned. -- computer. He comes up

:47:56. > :48:01.with some idea, gets it completely wrong in the House of Commons, and

:48:01. > :48:04.we will find afterwards that he has given us a partial picture. That is

:48:04. > :48:09.what his questions are all about. Not surprising he does not want to

:48:09. > :48:14.talk. The hands of the Prime Minister must be heard. The Prime

:48:14. > :48:18.Minister. -- the answer. I am not surprised that he does not want to

:48:18. > :48:27.talk about the issues that his party has been putting forward this

:48:27. > :48:32.week because I don't suppose his party have talked. Order. We need

:48:32. > :48:38.to simmer down. As a parrot, I am appalled at the party opposite

:48:38. > :48:43.burgeoning our children with ever more unsolicited debts. The party

:48:43. > :48:49.opposite of putting fees for word with their tax cuts and spending

:48:49. > :48:57.commitments, on which the VAT cut is the latest. Order! The

:48:57. > :49:07.honourable gentleman will now resume his seat. Thank you, Mr

:49:07. > :49:11.

:49:11. > :49:15.Speaker. There are 400 avoidable deaths of people with epilepsy and

:49:16. > :49:19.other conditions. I ask for an immediate referral to the tertiary

:49:19. > :49:22.specialist, and in education support for children with an

:49:22. > :49:27.assessment so that they can fulfil their potential. Could the Prime

:49:27. > :49:32.Minister and meet with me, the Joint Epilepsy Council and

:49:32. > :49:37.Professor Helen Cross, to progress these provisions which will not

:49:37. > :49:42.only save costs but also lives? I would be delighted to meet with

:49:42. > :49:44.her and Helen Cross, who I know well. She works at Great Ormond

:49:44. > :49:48.Street and is an absolutely brilliant clinician, and someone

:49:48. > :49:53.that I know well. I am keen to improve the support that we give to

:49:53. > :49:57.people with epilepsy. One of the steps that we are taking is putting

:49:57. > :50:00.in place more personal budgets and more single assessments, which I

:50:00. > :50:04.think will help with epilepsy. My understanding is that there are

:50:04. > :50:07.many good things in her bill, but there is some concern that it could

:50:07. > :50:11.have too much of the medical approach to special educational

:50:11. > :50:21.needs. I have some sympathy with that but I know many professionals

:50:21. > :50:21.

:50:21. > :50:25.have their concerns about we could talk about that when we meet.

:50:26. > :50:29.my honourable friend tell the House what the results have been? What

:50:29. > :50:35.would a proposed cut in VAT do to the British economy at this stage

:50:35. > :50:40.in the cycle? I do think my right honourable friend raises an

:50:40. > :50:50.important point. Making a uncut to VAT right now, when the concerns

:50:50. > :50:54.

:50:54. > :50:58.are about deficit would be insanity. -- unfunded cut. Labour's Plan B

:50:58. > :51:02.stands for bankruptcy. The Prime Minister frequently tells us that

:51:02. > :51:07.we are all in this together. Can he explain why banks are being

:51:07. > :51:12.rewarded with a �2 billion tax cut on their obscene bonuses and

:51:12. > :51:17.parents of disabled children are being penalised with the benefit

:51:18. > :51:22.cut of �1,400 per year? How is that fair? I tell you what this

:51:22. > :51:28.Government has done, which has put in place a �2.5 billion bank Levy,

:51:28. > :51:33.raising more than Labour's bonus tax, every single year. If members

:51:33. > :51:38.opposite want to see irresponsible people are earning a lot of money

:51:38. > :51:40.paying proper taxes, perhaps they can explain this. Why did they

:51:40. > :51:45.voted in as the measures on disguised earnings in the Finance

:51:45. > :51:50.Bill that would raise �800 million from people that are giving loans

:51:50. > :51:58.to themselves to dodge taxes? I think that is probably a detail but

:51:58. > :52:02.the leader of the Labour Party was not really aware of. While of

:52:02. > :52:05.course we should not be making a unilateral contribution to the

:52:05. > :52:08.Greek bail-out, does the Prime Minister not agree that we have

:52:08. > :52:16.something that would help regenerate the Greek economy and

:52:16. > :52:22.put right a 200 year wrong, and that is to give the marbles back?

:52:22. > :52:29.am afraid I don't agree with the honourable gentleman. Order. I want

:52:29. > :52:37.to hear the Prime Minister's views on marbles! The short answer is

:52:37. > :52:42.that we are not going to lose them! Is the Prime Minister aware that

:52:42. > :52:46.670,000 people, two-thirds of home according to his Government

:52:46. > :52:52.equality impact assessment have a disability, will lose up to �13 per

:52:52. > :52:56.week because of his changes in housing benefit and occupancy

:52:56. > :53:01.roles? This is a complete betrayal of his Chancellor's promise not to

:53:01. > :53:06.balance the budget on the backs of the poor. I have looked carefully

:53:06. > :53:13.at this issue and I know there are concerns. The point and make his

:53:13. > :53:17.first. It is right that we Reform Housing Benefit. The cost of got

:53:17. > :53:22.out of control, raising two 22 billion. The cost of housing

:53:22. > :53:25.benefit should reflect the size of the family not the House. But we

:53:25. > :53:29.have made an exception to people that have carers so that an

:53:29. > :53:32.allowance is made in the housing benefit. It is no good saying you

:53:33. > :53:35.are in favour of welfare reform and cutting the costs of welfare but

:53:35. > :53:43.never being able to find a single part of the bill that you agree

:53:43. > :53:50.with. Will the Prime Minister join me in welcoming a new report by the

:53:50. > :53:55.mobility Reform Group? They show how through partnership working

:53:55. > :53:58.they can deliver wheelchairs that transform young people's lives.

:53:58. > :54:03.Will he meet with me and the ambassadors to discuss how the

:54:04. > :54:09.Government can take this forward? know that charity well, they are

:54:09. > :54:16.excellent. I will certainly arrange a meeting for him. The point we

:54:16. > :54:19.want to make on wheelchairs is that we want to the health care reforms

:54:19. > :54:27.to give greater choice for GPs and patients so people can get the

:54:27. > :54:32.wheel chair of their choice, at the time they needed, rather than just

:54:32. > :54:36.having to take what you are given. Over five years there have been no

:54:36. > :54:41.mistakes made in the setting of school examination papers. Since

:54:41. > :54:45.the 16th May this year there have been 10 mistakes made. What does

:54:45. > :54:50.the Prime Minister intend to do for those among the 250,000 young

:54:50. > :54:54.people affected, who lose either the University of choice or the

:54:54. > :55:00.university at all because of this staggering incompetence?

:55:00. > :55:08.honourable gentleman is right and this is not an acceptable situation.

:55:08. > :55:14.We have discussed this and we are taking a strong course to make sure

:55:14. > :55:17.this does not happen again. former Labour Secretary of State

:55:17. > :55:21.Lord Hutton has described current proposals on pension reform as the

:55:21. > :55:25.best chance we have to deliver sustainable system which is fair to

:55:25. > :55:29.both scheme payers and the taxpayer. Does my right honourable friend

:55:29. > :55:33.agree with me that when it comes to these major long-term issues, we

:55:33. > :55:38.should build the broadest possible consensus? Will he seek the support

:55:38. > :55:42.of both sides of the House for the proposals? I thank my honourable

:55:42. > :55:48.friend for the question and for the way that he puts it. The point is

:55:48. > :55:52.this. The Hutton Report is a good report. It is not about attacking

:55:52. > :55:56.and downgrading public sector pensions. It is a way of making a

:55:56. > :55:59.big public sector pension affordable into the long term. It

:55:59. > :56:04.is respecting all of the accrued rights that people have. We need to

:56:04. > :56:08.win the argument here on the basis of fairness. It is right for the

:56:08. > :56:12.taxpayer to put money into public sector pensions, but we do need to

:56:12. > :56:15.know they are affordable for the long term. The steps that Lord

:56:15. > :56:18.Hutton puts forward are absolutely right and I hope the party opposite

:56:18. > :56:24.will take a responsible view and recognise that we need to make this

:56:24. > :56:27.change for the long-term good of our country. 18 months ago one of

:56:27. > :56:32.my constituents required knee surgery and was pleased to hear he

:56:32. > :56:39.only had to wait six weeks. In our needs another operation and has to

:56:39. > :56:42.wait 10 months. He is in agony and unable to walk. He is angry and

:56:42. > :56:47.wants to know if this is what the Prime Minister meant when he said

:56:47. > :56:50.the NHS was safe in his hands. you give me the case, I will look

:56:50. > :56:55.at it. We have not changed the waiting-list targets which have

:56:55. > :57:01.been in place in the NHS for a long time, in particular the two week

:57:01. > :57:06.target which is part of the NHS constitution. -- 18 week target.

:57:06. > :57:10.Waiting times have come down. The lesson is this. If it was not for

:57:10. > :57:16.this Government putting in �11 billion extra, money that the party

:57:16. > :57:19.opposite does not support, all waiting times would go up. On July

:57:20. > :57:24.18th last year, the economic Secretary to the Treasury stated

:57:24. > :57:29.with regard to the decision to sign Britain up to the eurozone bail-out

:57:29. > :57:33.mechanism that, and I quote, where these decisions were taken by the

:57:33. > :57:36.previous Government, this Government judges them to be an

:57:36. > :57:41.appropriate response to the crisis. Does this remained a Government's

:57:41. > :57:50.position? I know my honourable friend is pursuing this issue with

:57:50. > :57:54.his normal boggart tenacity. The facts of this case of very clear. -

:57:54. > :57:57.- are very clear. The Government signed us up to a European

:57:57. > :58:02.financial mechanism which we are having to pay out under. This

:58:02. > :58:10.Government has got us out of it by tougher glaciation in Brussels so

:58:10. > :58:13.that we don't have to contribute after 2015. -- tough negotiations.

:58:13. > :58:17.Can I express condolence for those soldiers that have fallen in

:58:17. > :58:21.Afghanistan? Those that serve are the lines of our country and we

:58:21. > :58:30.must do everything we can to repay the debt of gratitude that we owe

:58:30. > :58:34.them. The October, 2010, STS are has been overtaken by events and

:58:34. > :58:37.the world is a different place. Will he do the right thing for the

:58:37. > :58:43.armed forces and the country and order a new chapter to this

:58:43. > :58:47.outdated review? I respect of the honourable gentleman said, and

:58:47. > :58:52.particularly his fitting tribute to the armed forces. I think the idea

:58:52. > :58:55.of totally re- opening the defence review at a time when our armed

:58:55. > :58:59.forces are engaged and doing such a fantastic job is actually the wrong

:58:59. > :59:03.one. I make this point. What the defence review was all about was

:59:03. > :59:06.making sure that we have flexible armed forces so they can be

:59:06. > :59:10.committed to different parts of the world and they get the backing they

:59:10. > :59:14.need. It was about getting rid of the main battle tanks in Germany

:59:14. > :59:18.and Britain money into the enablers and the forces of the future. That

:59:18. > :59:23.is what the defence review is about. Libya shows that it is working and

:59:23. > :59:27.we should stick with it. Will my right honourable friend welcome the

:59:27. > :59:30.campaign for high-speed rail campaigning outside Parliament

:59:30. > :59:34.today to bring thousands of much- needed jobs to the Midlands and the

:59:34. > :59:39.North, to help address the North- South divide? Will he confirm that

:59:39. > :59:43.it will come to Yorkshire? I can happily confirm all of those things.

:59:43. > :59:47.I do believe if we really are serious about trying to rebalance

:59:47. > :59:50.our economy, make sure we get growth across the country and not

:59:50. > :59:58.just in the South East, then the time for high-speed rail has come

:59:58. > :00:01.and that is why it has my strong support. The Secretary of State for

:00:01. > :00:11.Wales has said she is prepared to be sacked because of opposition on

:00:11. > :00:13.

:00:13. > :00:17.high-speed rail. I prefer to focus on the fact that in one year as

:00:17. > :00:21.Welsh Secretary, she has secured something that 13 years of your

:00:21. > :00:29.Welsh Secretary never achieved, which was the Elettra vocation of

:00:29. > :00:34.the line between Paddington and Cardiff. -- electrification.

:00:34. > :00:38.agoraphobic man from Middlesbrough received so much money from state

:00:38. > :00:44.benefits that he set up his own illegal loans company. He received

:00:44. > :00:48.a staggering amount of money in benefits, according to the judge at

:00:48. > :00:53.his trial. We should reform the benefits system. You are absolutely

:00:53. > :00:57.right. The people that sent us here what us to sort out the welfare

:00:57. > :01:01.system so that it is available for people that genuinely need help,

:01:01. > :01:06.but if you can work and you are offered a job, you should not live

:01:06. > :01:11.your life on welfare. We voted for it but what a pity that the party

:01:11. > :01:18.opposite talked about it but did not have the guts to back it.

:01:18. > :01:22.people know that Rochdale is the home of co-operation. Next year is

:01:22. > :01:28.the United Nations International Year of co-operatives. Will the

:01:28. > :01:36.Prime Minister consider visiting Rochdale to show support for mutual

:01:36. > :01:42.isn't in the 21st century? I know the Prime Minister's record of

:01:43. > :01:46.visiting Rochdale and what can happen when he gets there. I am a

:01:46. > :01:50.strong supporter of co-operatives and mutuals. They have a huge role

:01:50. > :01:53.to play in our economy and in the provision of public services, and

:01:53. > :01:59.we will be making some announcements about that, maybe in

:01:59. > :02:03.Rochdale, in the months to come. Earlier this year, the Prime

:02:03. > :02:07.Minister demonstrated strength of character to talk about the issue

:02:07. > :02:11.of multiculturalism. In view of the fact that I have a Christian first

:02:11. > :02:16.game and seeks surname, I try to combine the best of my traditional

:02:16. > :02:20.Indian values with my English values. We can learn a lot from our

:02:20. > :02:23.Indian partners, many of whom define themselves by their

:02:23. > :02:29.nationality first and foremost, regardless of religious and ethnic

:02:29. > :02:33.background. I pay tribute to my honourable friend and the work that

:02:33. > :02:37.he does on this issue. It is vital as a country that we build a

:02:37. > :02:39.stronger national identity. People clearly feel that of course you can

:02:39. > :02:43.have all sorts of different religious identities and cultural

:02:43. > :02:50.identities, but it is very important that we build a strong

:02:50. > :02:53.British identity and he is living proof of that. Tomorrow the

:02:53. > :02:59.European Parliament will decide whether to reduce the EU carbon

:02:59. > :03:04.reduction target by 30% in 2020. According to reports, the vote will

:03:04. > :03:13.be very close but it will not pass because one Conservative MEP out of

:03:13. > :03:16.25 will vote to for the 30% target alone. Will they honour the

:03:16. > :03:20.agreement and vote for the target tomorrow? We are committed to the

:03:20. > :03:25.30% target and nothing will change that. I will do a deal with the

:03:25. > :03:30.honourable lady. I will work with my MEPs if she works on hers. In

:03:30. > :03:37.recent months that they have voted for a higher its EU budget, you EU

:03:37. > :03:43.taxes, and they even voted against scrapping first class air travel

:03:43. > :03:51.for MEPs. Perhaps she would like to fly over and give them a talking

:03:51. > :03:56.to? Last but not least. With the National Audit Office estimating

:03:56. > :03:59.the cost of criminal reoffending to the economy at �10 billion per year,

:03:59. > :04:02.does my right honourable friend agree with me that the need to

:04:02. > :04:09.reduce offending levels on the unacceptably high rates we

:04:09. > :04:13.inherited from the last Government must be the focus of a penal

:04:13. > :04:17.policy? My honourable friend has considerable experience because of

:04:17. > :04:21.his career before coming to this place. We inherited a system

:04:21. > :04:26.whereby each prison place cost �40,000, half of prisoners reoffend

:04:26. > :04:30.within a year of getting out, half of prisoners are wrong drugs, and

:04:30. > :04:38.10% of foreigners that should not be in this country in any event.

:04:38. > :04:48.The key is to make sure that we reduce costs and reform prisons,

:04:48. > :04:55.

:04:55. > :05:03.He went on the military and the complaints of the top brass in

:05:03. > :05:08.Britain. Then he came back and almost an issue from left field

:05:08. > :05:14.because no one was expecting it, on keeping their DNA of those who have

:05:14. > :05:21.been arrested on rape, but not convicted. We will come back to

:05:21. > :05:25.that issue in a moment. Before we do that, let's hear what you

:05:25. > :05:30.thought. By and large, more positive about

:05:30. > :05:38.Ed Miliband than I can remember for a long time. Last week it was due

:05:38. > :05:43.to a good performance, and this There are tweets from political

:05:43. > :05:47.correspondent and they have been quite positive. As for your

:05:47. > :05:50.comments, very thoughtful. Charles says David Cameron was equivocal

:05:50. > :05:55.about when that Britain would pay for the Greek bail-out, he should

:05:55. > :06:00.be much clearer about whether there is a possibility on Britain being

:06:00. > :06:04.made to contribute. Colin, when our scoring the first question, did

:06:04. > :06:09.Cameron never categorically say the UK would not give money to Greece

:06:09. > :06:13.in future bail-outs? Gym, last week Miliband had to prove he was a

:06:13. > :06:17.bruiser to silence the critics, this week he is using Libya to show

:06:17. > :06:21.he is a statesman and the Tories are not necessarily the natural

:06:21. > :06:25.party of the military. Jacqueline says, I am disgusted at the

:06:25. > :06:30.absolute weakness of the Labour MP talking about U-turns, this

:06:30. > :06:34.government listens. What is the point of having green papers if you

:06:34. > :06:39.don't debate them? Charles, why do the gunman shout and yell if there

:06:39. > :06:43.is an awkward question on new terms and pensions, it is an obvious

:06:43. > :06:47.stage-managing tactic. The Prime Minister stated we were at war with

:06:47. > :06:50.Libya, I thought it was humanitarian action. Was it just a

:06:50. > :06:55.slip or can we expect something else next?

:06:55. > :07:00.Interesting. He certainly did say we were at war. Two walls. Michael

:07:00. > :07:04.Howard, we have had the First Sea Lord speaking out, we have had the

:07:04. > :07:08.air Chief Marshal speaking out, head of the RAF, and we have had

:07:08. > :07:12.the Chief of the General Staff speaking out, head of the army. As

:07:12. > :07:16.the Telegraph says, that prime minister surely must accept

:07:16. > :07:21.something is going badly awry when such a senior officers feel obliged

:07:21. > :07:26.to vent their so far -- have done their frustrations. It is easy for

:07:26. > :07:34.senior officers to in effect ask for more. That is what they are

:07:34. > :07:39.doing. The challenge for anyone who is saying we ought to redo the

:07:39. > :07:43.Strategic Defence Review is where are you going to find the money? We

:07:43. > :07:49.know we have to tackle the deficit. Every department has to play its

:07:49. > :07:54.part in achieving that objective. The defence department is one such

:07:55. > :08:00.department. As I have heard Liam Fox say many times, if you accept

:08:00. > :08:04.the amount of money which is available for the defence

:08:04. > :08:07.department and you do a strategic Defence Review, you come up with a

:08:07. > :08:12.Defence Review which the Government announced an published and is

:08:12. > :08:17.implementing. That is the challenge for those who seek to criticise,

:08:17. > :08:22.where is the extra money going to come from? As one Labour MP pointed

:08:22. > :08:30.out, not Mr Miliband, the Defence Review did not mention Tunisia or

:08:30. > :08:35.Algeria or Egypt or Libya. Yes, but that doesn't mean we haven't been

:08:35. > :08:38.performing our role in accordance with the limitations imposed by the

:08:38. > :08:41.United Nations Security Council resolution very effectively in

:08:41. > :08:46.Libya in partnership with other countries. We are not doing it on

:08:46. > :08:49.our own and we are doing it pursuant to wait Security Council

:08:49. > :08:55.resolution and we're doing it effectively. The Air Chief Marshal

:08:55. > :09:00.says these huge demands on the RAF and in the morale among MN is

:09:00. > :09:04.fragile. The RAF's ability to conduct future operations will be

:09:04. > :09:09.compromised if the Libyan conflict lasted be on September. Well, let's

:09:09. > :09:13.hope there aren't any unknown future operations. We didn't think

:09:13. > :09:17.there... I remember when the prime minister was Leader of the

:09:17. > :09:24.Opposition, he told us you could not impose democracy from 30,000

:09:24. > :09:28.feet. Within a few months, Eurofighter jets are dropping bombs

:09:28. > :09:33.from over 15,000 feet. Not seeking to impose anything on anybody, we

:09:33. > :09:38.are seeking to protect civilians. I believe that if his action had not

:09:38. > :09:42.been taken and we had seen a bloodbath in Benghazi, as we

:09:42. > :09:45.absolutely would have seen, public opinion would have been horrified

:09:45. > :09:50.and would have said to the Government, what did you do to stop

:09:50. > :09:55.it? It was noteworthy that Ed Miliband, in the course of his

:09:55. > :10:00.questioning of the Prime Minister, maintained his support for the

:10:00. > :10:04.mission in Libya. If you maintain that support, certain consequences

:10:04. > :10:09.flow from it. Alistair Darling, would it be fair to say that if

:10:09. > :10:15.Labour had won the election, and he had remained as Chancellor, as you

:10:15. > :10:19.had agreed he would, Labour would have had to have done a Defence

:10:19. > :10:24.Review which, in strategic terms, would not have been that different

:10:24. > :10:27.from the one the coalition has done. Of course we would. There are long-

:10:27. > :10:32.term problems in the MoD particularly in relation to

:10:32. > :10:36.procurement. Also, successive governments have always anticipated

:10:36. > :10:40.that we would be doing less in defence, not more, but then events

:10:40. > :10:46.come along, whether it was Iraq or Afghanistan, now Lydia, which means

:10:46. > :10:50.we are committing troops and there is a cost to that. Like Michael, I

:10:50. > :10:55.agree that we could not have stood by and let a bloodbath occur in

:10:55. > :11:01.Libya. However, interesting listening to David Cameron, there

:11:01. > :11:05.is no doubt that our policy has moved from that. He was talking

:11:06. > :11:10.about time being on our side and it was only a matter of time before

:11:10. > :11:14.Gaddafi when. We will be pleased when Gaddafi goes, but that

:11:14. > :11:18.suggests we might be in this for quite a long time, which brings me

:11:18. > :11:22.to the Chiefs of Staff, who are saying that if you commit British

:11:22. > :11:27.forces, whether they are unable or air forces, for a long period, that

:11:27. > :11:30.comes that is a - at a cost. There is no saying it comes from the

:11:30. > :11:34.Reserve, that his public expenditure, just as much as if it

:11:35. > :11:39.came out of the MoD Leger. There has been a degree of mission creep.

:11:40. > :11:43.The other thing that worries me is that every time we say we should

:11:43. > :11:48.not be and this alone, if you look at who is engaged in Libya at the

:11:48. > :11:53.moment, it is basically as and the French. We can't carry on becoming

:11:53. > :11:57.engaged that way. That is not to say we stand aside, if we are faced

:11:57. > :12:01.with another similar situation, nobody can put up with that, but I

:12:01. > :12:05.think that chiefs of staff are making good boy. If Gordon Brown

:12:05. > :12:10.had said you did the fighting, I'll do the talking, he would have been

:12:10. > :12:16.pulverised. That was a silly thing of David Cameron to say. The second

:12:16. > :12:21.three questions were on the issue of the DNA samples. Do you think,

:12:21. > :12:25.given that he went on a specific problem with cancer patients last

:12:25. > :12:29.week as a result of the welfare reforms, is it now his tactic to

:12:29. > :12:33.pick something quite particular that involves a detailed knowledge?

:12:33. > :12:38.He is operating on the assumption that the Prime Minister is

:12:38. > :12:43.sometimes not so good on the detail. No, it is David Cameron's Achilles

:12:43. > :12:47.heel. We saw it the previous week with 7,000 cancer victims who would

:12:47. > :12:51.lose money, David Cameron was not on top of it, and he was struggling

:12:51. > :12:56.to date. He is very stylish, but sometimes this substance is more

:12:56. > :13:01.difficult. I think Ed Miliband, who is not always stylish but knows the

:13:01. > :13:10.detail, is going to work away at that. He got under the prime

:13:10. > :13:14.minister's skin. I suspect, before Prime Minister's Questions, David

:13:14. > :13:20.Cameron will be breaking out into cold sweats, worrying about those

:13:20. > :13:26.details. I want to pick up before we left off before PMQs. I said,

:13:26. > :13:30.would you accept that from what we know now, despite the criticisms,

:13:30. > :13:34.it is as certain as it can be that Mr Miliband will lead Labour into

:13:34. > :13:39.the next election? You were not quite as certain, explain what you

:13:39. > :13:43.mean. I think it is likely he will, but I don't think it is certain.

:13:43. > :13:48.There is so much background noise in Parliament about it, right from

:13:48. > :13:55.the beginning. A majority of MPs did not support him. I know some

:13:55. > :14:02.who supported him who now regret it. Some quite senior, some people and

:14:02. > :14:07.the Shadow Cabinet. He is on a kind of Probation, really. The Labour

:14:07. > :14:13.constitution in opposition is very different. In power you need 20% of

:14:14. > :14:17.MPs to sign for somebody else. It is only 12.5%... Let me get

:14:17. > :14:22.Alistair Darling's reaction. I think he will lead us into the next

:14:22. > :14:26.election. I supported his brother, but I have been very clear that

:14:26. > :14:33.once we had the election result, it was elected and he deserves to be

:14:33. > :14:37.backed. As Michael will testify, once a leader is elected, he is

:14:37. > :14:41.entitled to get the support of his whole party. I don't have time for

:14:41. > :14:48.people going around murmuring in the background. It would put us out

:14:48. > :14:51.of a job! I am not necessarily against that! Do you think

:14:51. > :14:56.unemployment is high enough? sure you could get a job somewhere.

:14:56. > :15:02.We need to move on. Kevin Maguire, thank you.

:15:02. > :15:08.Now, here's a question - is the beautiful game sexist?

:15:08. > :15:10.Cricket is not! Up Well, one female MP certainly thinks so. She's been

:15:10. > :15:14.booted off the parliamentry football team because she's of the

:15:14. > :15:24.fairer sex, and she ain't too happy about it. Here's Tracey Crouch, the

:15:24. > :15:33.

:15:33. > :15:38.MP for Chatham and Aylsford, with Today's grassroots football

:15:38. > :15:40.promotion for boys and girls is incredibly successful. Youth

:15:40. > :15:44.development forming a key part of the County FA's development

:15:44. > :15:50.programme so more and more girls than boys are playing organised

:15:50. > :15:55.football every weekend. -- girls and boys. However girls growing up

:15:55. > :15:59.in the 1980s were not supposed to play football. Except I did, I love

:15:59. > :16:03.football, I played it in the garden, in the street and against the shop

:16:03. > :16:07.wall. The only time I did not play it was at school when I was not

:16:07. > :16:12.allowed to play football. At primary I would try to play at

:16:12. > :16:15.break time, but I was told it was not ladylike. Then I went to an all

:16:15. > :16:19.girls' secondary school where it was all hockey and netball. It

:16:19. > :16:22.wasn't until I went to university that I played my first 11 aside

:16:22. > :16:26.match competitive league and then when I graduated I continued to

:16:26. > :16:29.play 11 aside, including, an occasion, for the parliamentary

:16:29. > :16:34.football team. But since I got elected last May, I have been

:16:34. > :16:41.unable to play for the 11th azide team and have been limited to five-

:16:41. > :16:44.a-side. It is still good fun and good exercise, but it is not great.

:16:44. > :16:47.I support age restrictions, the walls are there to protect

:16:47. > :16:51.youngsters. At 13 girls and boys are physically different and they

:16:51. > :16:55.haven't developed the skills to play football maturely. However I

:16:55. > :16:58.do think that once you get over 21 and you are a more mature

:16:58. > :17:08.footballer, the rules should be reviewed, especially for amateur

:17:08. > :17:11.Immaturity and common sense go hand-in-hand in the adult game.

:17:11. > :17:15.Knee playing for the parliamentary football team or any other lady

:17:15. > :17:19.playing in a pub or a charity match should not get caught up in roles

:17:19. > :17:27.that are designed to protect 13- year-old girls. -- and rules.

:17:27. > :17:31.Tracey Crouch is with us now. Without meaning to be dismissive at

:17:31. > :17:35.the marvellous players in Parliament, why have they even

:17:35. > :17:40.registered on the FA's radar? FA provide the opportunity for him

:17:40. > :17:44.pays to plead that play football on a regular basis. A maybe begins

:17:44. > :17:51.legend teams or charity teams. They provide the venues and referees so

:17:51. > :17:55.they have to abide by the FA rules. Has it always just been the boys

:17:55. > :17:59.that les? No. When I was a researcher for Michael Howard, I

:17:59. > :18:09.used to play for the parliamentary football team. It is ironic that

:18:09. > :18:16.

:18:16. > :18:21.now I'm an MP, I am not allowed to Why have they changed it? Do they

:18:21. > :18:25.explain the discrepancy? The rules around mixed football are set by

:18:25. > :18:29.FIFA and the FA have to abide by them. There are rules for mixed

:18:29. > :18:33.football which protect young people playing against each other, and

:18:33. > :18:38.those rules are right. It is right to protect 13 year-old girls and

:18:38. > :18:43.boys. The fiscal differences mean that you have to use those rules.

:18:43. > :18:48.You are not a burly bloke, aren't you worried that they will flatten

:18:48. > :18:57.you? No. It is a competitive game but it is one of skill. You don't

:18:57. > :19:02.need to be burly to play well. know that you are a big football

:19:02. > :19:11.fan. Is this that Raiders of right and proper? At raiders. I am

:19:11. > :19:15.totally on her side. -- outrageous. The don't sit on the fence!

:19:15. > :19:21.there anything you can do about it? Why is that Blatter setting the

:19:21. > :19:25.rules? It was the first time that I heard it was FIFA in charge. That

:19:25. > :19:29.hardly encourages you. The parliamentary football team started

:19:29. > :19:33.off as fun, and now it has reached the situation where it is

:19:33. > :19:42.nonsensical that Tracey cannot play. The ride them to change the rules.

:19:42. > :19:47.That always works. -- bribe them. And you could wear tighter shorts?!

:19:47. > :19:53.Who takes up your position? Where do you normally play? The right

:19:54. > :19:59.wing or centre forward. So you are fast? I used to be. Who does it

:19:59. > :20:03.now? One of the chaps, I suppose. I have not been able to play since I

:20:03. > :20:07.was MP. Since the election I have not been able to. Is there anything

:20:07. > :20:15.you can do apart from coming on the programme and telling us it is

:20:15. > :20:19.rubbish? I hope that the FA see sense. It is not an association

:20:19. > :20:23.football match. It is a charity match or a friendly. I don't think

:20:23. > :20:27.the FA rules should apply to those games. Speaking of FA rules, it

:20:27. > :20:32.stay with us. There is another thing going on at the moment,

:20:32. > :20:36.football-related. What about nationalism? Yesterday they

:20:36. > :20:44.announced that there would be Team GB football teams competing at

:20:44. > :20:53.London 2012. Not greeted with universal pleasure. Phil Pritchard,

:20:53. > :20:57.you are not doing cartwheels? was historic agreement between all

:20:57. > :21:01.of the Football Association's, but nobody had told the Scottish and

:21:01. > :21:06.the Welsh. It would be a disaster. It sets an example that we do not

:21:06. > :21:11.want to be replicated for World Cups and European football. I urge

:21:11. > :21:16.the Olympic Committee to forget this and to leave Team GB alone.

:21:16. > :21:20.When did you last qualify for World Cup? We are going back a few years

:21:20. > :21:23.but we are hopeful for the European Championships. Scotland has not

:21:23. > :21:29.made that bad a start. We are looking forward with positivity

:21:29. > :21:32.with that one. Apart from making you feel sad, at my point is that

:21:32. > :21:37.there could be some Scottish players that would like the chance

:21:37. > :21:42.to play on an international stage. Kenny MacAskill once called England

:21:42. > :21:49.football team the Great Satan. There is fantastic rivalry between

:21:49. > :21:52.four of the home nations of the United Kingdom. I think that most

:21:52. > :21:56.Scottish footballers accept it is all about independence of the

:21:56. > :22:01.football teams. Scotland being able to compete in Europe, that is the

:22:01. > :22:06.pinnacle of our game. Maybe a few administrators and nations care

:22:06. > :22:12.about football at the Olympics. But nobody else really gives a fig.

:22:12. > :22:19.am glad you said fake. Thank you. Let's turn to our Scottish

:22:19. > :22:26.representatives. Team GB? I think there is an important point here.

:22:26. > :22:31.There are people that would like to stop Scotland and Wales and

:22:31. > :22:36.Northern Ireland competing and just to have the British team. There is

:22:36. > :22:39.a philosophical argument. All things British. Listing to the guy

:22:39. > :22:45.from the Olympics this morning, he sounded unconvinced about whether

:22:45. > :22:48.or not there was an agreement to do this. I am Welsh. I have long

:22:48. > :22:52.thought we should have Team GB. There are so many brilliant players

:22:52. > :22:56.from Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland that have never had the

:22:56. > :23:02.chance to play in a European Championship or the World Cup. I

:23:02. > :23:06.think that Team GB could win it. don't think that football should be

:23:06. > :23:11.part of the Olympics, actually. That is another debate. If it is

:23:11. > :23:15.going to be part of the Olympics, it should be Team GB. Hold the

:23:15. > :23:19.front page. The House of Lords is having a busy week this week,

:23:19. > :23:23.believe it or not. Yes, Peers have been debating their own future.

:23:23. > :23:28.They are always interested in that. Nick Clegg wants to turn it into

:23:28. > :23:36.the senate of 300 members. Their rapid hundred at the moment. Peers

:23:36. > :23:42.have also been mulling over who would be the new Speaker. -- there

:23:42. > :23:47.are 800 at the moment. What does the job entail? Tension is rising.

:23:47. > :23:52.No, it is! Did you know there was an election in Westminster soon?

:23:52. > :23:57.You would be forgiven for not having heard of it. It is a done

:23:57. > :24:02.your contest. Nominations close for the post of Lords speak of. What do

:24:03. > :24:08.they do? This is Mr Bercow. We know his job and his famous cry of order.

:24:08. > :24:11.You will not hear much of that from this lady. Baroness Hayman's role

:24:11. > :24:15.as the current Speaker of the House of Lords is rather different to

:24:15. > :24:22.demand that sits in this chair. That is not just because he sits in

:24:22. > :24:28.a chair and she sits on a Woolsack. Yes, a sackful of wall. In the

:24:28. > :24:31.Commons, the Speaker can call members to speak, he can rule on

:24:31. > :24:35.points of order, he can select amendments on bills to be discussed,

:24:35. > :24:41.and he has the power to chop a member out of the chamber. The

:24:41. > :24:45.Lords Speaker can do none of that. The idea being they do not need

:24:45. > :24:49.such robust hand on the tiller. Here, she is limited to chairing

:24:49. > :24:56.debates, offering advice on procedural matters, acting as

:24:56. > :25:00.ambassador to the work of the house. You will not hear her doing this.

:25:00. > :25:04.Or do. The Government Chief Whip as no business what forever shouting

:25:04. > :25:08.from a sedentary position. Order! The Honourable Gentleman will

:25:08. > :25:12.remain in the chamber. That is because in the Lords the Speaker

:25:12. > :25:18.cannot discipline any of the members. I am not entirely sure she

:25:18. > :25:23.is even allowed to wake them up. history teacher used to sound like

:25:23. > :25:33.the Speaker. Rupert Redesdale, Liberal Democrat peer, and

:25:33. > :25:36.crossbench peer Lady de Sousa join us now. I am running but I am not

:25:36. > :25:41.going to vote for myself. I do not believe the Speaker should have any

:25:41. > :25:44.power. I am running to make sure that my fellow peers don't forget

:25:44. > :25:49.that the House of Lords is self- regulated and should remain so.

:25:49. > :25:55.Your campaign is to get no votes. I expect it is going pretty well?

:25:55. > :25:57.can say it is almost 100% successful. I was standing in the

:25:57. > :26:01.lobby and somebody said they were going to vote for me precisely

:26:01. > :26:05.because they are not happy with the idea of a speaker getting power,

:26:05. > :26:12.because that is a route for the executive to get power in the House

:26:12. > :26:15.of Lords. Frances D'Souza, what do you think the job should entail?

:26:15. > :26:19.feel passionately that the job is to do without reach. A lot of

:26:19. > :26:25.people out there don't know what the House of Lords does. I think

:26:25. > :26:31.there is a sterling job to do. An ambassador role, but really a

:26:31. > :26:35.representational role. If you want to talk to Europe, who do you call?

:26:35. > :26:40.That sounds a bit grand, but in the case of the House of Lords and you

:26:40. > :26:44.want to talk to them, who do you call? Actually you need the Speaker

:26:44. > :26:49.because they are the link with the outside world, a link to you, the

:26:49. > :26:54.other parliaments and the House of Commons. I think that is worthwhile.

:26:54. > :26:59.Who would you like to vote for? will not tell you who. I will give

:26:59. > :27:03.you a clue. I am standing. One vote will go to me at least and it may

:27:03. > :27:08.well come from me. Just because you are standing, that is not a clue.

:27:08. > :27:11.It is not a clue with Rupert Redesdale. I have just been trying

:27:11. > :27:18.to persuade my colleagues on my right that what he might be able to

:27:18. > :27:22.do with his second vote is vote for me but he is not that convinced.

:27:23. > :27:29.am clear that I will vote for you if you save that you will not take

:27:29. > :27:32.any further powers as Speaker. house will decide on powers but I

:27:32. > :27:39.have Furness said and I firmly believe that the job is an outward

:27:39. > :27:46.facing one. -- firmly said. Will Nick Clegg get Lords reform?

:27:46. > :27:50.question is whether we will get Lords reform? No. I think that his

:27:50. > :27:56.way will be got in maybe about 10 years' time. I am not saying that

:27:56. > :27:59.he won't get it, but it will take more time, I suspect. He will

:27:59. > :28:09.probably be commissioner in Brussels by them. What do you

:28:09. > :28:14.think? I think they could debated. I will be voting for reform but

:28:14. > :28:20.whether it takes place, I doubt it. That option would not win. You want

:28:20. > :28:23.his vote, don't argue! Thank you to both of you for being such good

:28:23. > :28:29.sports and for joining us from the House of Lords. That is it. Have

:28:29. > :28:36.you got a candidate? I don't know yet. The names are not in until

:28:36. > :28:40.tomorrow. And you have not got a vote. Only a matter of time. Lord

:28:40. > :28:45.Darling, that has got a ring. We will give you the answer to Guess

:28:45. > :28:49.The Year tomorrow because we ran out of time, for a change. Thank