11/07/2012

:00:44. > :00:49.Good morning. Welcome to the Daily Politics. Will Lords reform be the

:00:49. > :00:52.issue that drives the coalition apart? Senior Lib Dems warn there

:00:52. > :00:57.will be consequences if the bill doesn't get through parliament. MPs

:00:57. > :01:00.voted in favour of Lords reform last night. But 91 Conservatives

:01:00. > :01:03.voted against the plans, the biggest rebellion since the

:01:03. > :01:08.coalition was formed. The government also doesn't have a

:01:08. > :01:11.timetable for getting the bill through. So, is Nick Clegg's dream

:01:11. > :01:15.now dead in the water? We will be talking to the minister responsible.

:01:15. > :01:21.How should we pay for our care when we get old? It's a problem

:01:21. > :01:24.politicians have been wrestling with for years. The government's

:01:24. > :01:29.long awaited white paper on the issue will be published later today

:01:29. > :01:33.but will it answer the big questions?

:01:33. > :01:37.It should be a lively Prime Minister's Questions and we will

:01:37. > :01:42.have all the action live at midday. And do young people know what

:01:42. > :01:45.customer service is? We will be joined by the boss of one of

:01:45. > :01:49.Britain's biggest retailers, who thinks the youth of today have got

:01:50. > :01:55.a lot to learn. All that coming up in the next 90

:01:55. > :02:00.minutes of TV gold, a programme of Olympian proportions. And with us

:02:00. > :02:06.today for this marathon are two of Westminster's most athletic minds.

:02:06. > :02:11.The Constitutional reform minister Mark Harper. Not got much to do

:02:11. > :02:18.these days of course! And we hope to be joined, although there is an

:02:18. > :02:26.empty chair at the moment, by the shadow Olympics minister Dame Tessa

:02:27. > :02:31.Jowell. She is stuck in traffic. With the Olympics, just get used to

:02:31. > :02:36.it! We will let you know when the dame arrives but we don't do titles

:02:36. > :02:42.here. She would just be Tessa Jowell to us.

:02:42. > :02:46.Let's go to that a vote in the Commons. The government did win the

:02:46. > :02:56.vote on the principle of the proposed reform to the Lords, with

:02:56. > :02:56.

:02:56. > :03:00.a handsome majority. But, it is a big but, it suffered its biggest

:03:00. > :03:03.rebellion since it came to power. Yes, 91 Conservative MPs voted

:03:04. > :03:06.against the plans. What's more, the government was forced to drop its

:03:06. > :03:09.timetable for pushing the bill through. That throws the bill's

:03:09. > :03:12.progress through parliament into doubt. In a moment we will be

:03:12. > :03:16.hearing from one of those opponents but first, here's a flavour of the

:03:16. > :03:24.debate yesterday. Mr Speaker, we have listened carefully to the

:03:24. > :03:27.debate so far. LAUGHTER. Confident that we will get a significant

:03:27. > :03:31.majority with a second reading, but for Lords reform to progress it

:03:31. > :03:36.needs those who support reform to vote for reform and to vote for

:03:36. > :03:40.that reform to make progress through this House. It is clear

:03:40. > :03:50.that the opposition are not prepared to do that, so we will

:03:50. > :03:52.

:03:52. > :03:56.not... ALLOW Lord SPEAKING. It is clear that the opposition are not

:03:56. > :04:00.prepared to do that so we will not move the programme to motion

:04:00. > :04:05.tonight. Can I commend the government for the wisdom of its

:04:05. > :04:13.decision? But can I put it to my right honourable friend that

:04:13. > :04:19.whatever moral authority this bill had, it has now lost. The decision

:04:19. > :04:23.to withdraw the programme motion is a victory for parliament. While we

:04:23. > :04:29.support the second reading of the bill, we could not support the

:04:29. > :04:34.government's attempts to curtail the motion and we welcome the fact

:04:34. > :04:38.they have withdrawn the motion today. Can I make it clear that it

:04:38. > :04:41.is the very substantial opposition from within the Conservative Party

:04:41. > :04:46.that is responsible for the withdrawal of this motion and not

:04:46. > :04:51.the Labour Party, and that should be perfectly clear. Shouldn't we

:04:51. > :04:56.just go home? He knows it is all over, they know it is all over, we

:04:56. > :05:06.have more important things to be debating. Let's call the whole

:05:06. > :05:08.

:05:08. > :05:11.shooting match off! The honourable gentleman can go home. LAUGHTER.

:05:11. > :05:21.But the government plans to proceed with his legislative programme.

:05:21. > :05:33.

:05:33. > :05:36.Order! Order! The ayes to the right, 462. The noes to the left, 124.

:05:36. > :05:39.That was yesterday's debate. Joining me now from the central

:05:39. > :05:44.lobby of parliament is one of those Conservative rebels, Eleanor Laing.

:05:44. > :05:48.Welcome to the programme. You must be pretty happy that the government

:05:48. > :05:53.pulled the programme motion. I am pleased that democracy has spoken.

:05:53. > :05:58.Those who want the bill say they want to expand democracy and that

:05:58. > :06:05.is what has happened. The House of Commons has exerted its democratic

:06:05. > :06:09.muscle against the government, that is what they say they want, the

:06:09. > :06:13.government held to account, and that is what happened yesterday.

:06:13. > :06:18.The government did the right thing in pausing the bills so further

:06:18. > :06:23.negotiations can take place. there bill effectively dead or

:06:23. > :06:27.suspended? I don't imagine it is dead but I am sure the minister

:06:27. > :06:31.would enlighten us on that but it ought to be substantially amended

:06:31. > :06:36.and now we have time for that. Those of us who are voting A

:06:36. > :06:42.against the bill and planned to vote against the programme motion

:06:42. > :06:48.simply wanted to have the full debate on this matter in a joint

:06:48. > :06:51.committee report, and the House of Commons has not even debated the

:06:51. > :06:55.Joint Committee report. In the eight months that the joint

:06:55. > :06:59.committee looked at these measures, we realised there was far more to

:06:59. > :07:02.this issue than eight tinkering with the House of Lords. It is

:07:02. > :07:07.fundamental parliamentary reform and it deserves to be properly

:07:07. > :07:15.looked at. Number 10 have said it is still possible to get the first

:07:16. > :07:19.elected Peers imposition by the next election. It might be. The

:07:19. > :07:25.government had a majority in the House of Lords so it might be butts

:07:25. > :07:31.it should not be so until it has been properly considered.

:07:31. > :07:37.Liberal Democrats say you have not kept your side of the bargain. A

:07:37. > :07:41.deal is a deal. The coalition is a compromise, of course it is. It is

:07:41. > :07:45.not be deal. Fundamental constitutional parliamentary reform

:07:45. > :07:51.is not a bargaining chip for short- term political advantage. It should

:07:51. > :07:56.not be used as such. That is an abuse of parliament. The coalition

:07:56. > :08:01.agreement does not give Conservative MPs the right to vote

:08:01. > :08:05.against a key piece of legislation. Every member of parliament has the

:08:06. > :08:11.right to vote with their conscience on any matter. Thank you.

:08:11. > :08:16.Still no sign of Tessa Jowell. I hope she realises now just how bad

:08:16. > :08:21.the traffic is given to be during the Olympics. Clearly she has not

:08:21. > :08:25.been allocated one of those lanes... Those of you not in London do not

:08:26. > :08:32.realise that this city now has lanes that those in Moscow had for

:08:32. > :08:37.the Politburo where only certain cars are allowed to travel. We are

:08:37. > :08:43.joined in the studio by the Liberal Democrat MP Don Foster. I see in

:08:43. > :08:49.the corner of the studio, the Dane has arrived! You might as well come

:08:49. > :08:56.in, it is only television. Come and protect me because we are having

:08:56. > :09:00.the Olympics knocked! I will not come to you first and since you

:09:00. > :09:06.can't answer back I will say, now you know how bad the traffic will

:09:06. > :09:10.be in the Olympics. That is cheap! Cheap but true! As the Prime

:09:10. > :09:14.Minister said, we will take the summer and we will talk to

:09:14. > :09:19.colleagues to see if there is a way to get to a position where we have

:09:19. > :09:23.an agreed way forward. The bill got a very large majority at second

:09:23. > :09:31.reading, son there is a clear sense in the House of Commons over ruled

:09:31. > :09:37.that the principle of getting the first elections in 2015 is

:09:37. > :09:41.supported, so we need to see if there is a way forward. 91 of your

:09:41. > :09:46.colleagues voted against the principle. Probably even more would

:09:46. > :09:49.have voted against the timetable had it come up. What makes you

:09:49. > :09:54.think between now and September you can change the minds of so many

:09:54. > :10:00.Conservatives? That is why we will not rush ahead. What makes you

:10:00. > :10:04.think you can change their mind? All the rebels I have spoken to

:10:04. > :10:10.will not change their mind. The government blinked, they backed

:10:10. > :10:17.down, they have won. The House of Commons have set out support in

:10:17. > :10:21.principle of the bill. I will come back to Labour in a minute... I

:10:21. > :10:26.just want to say, it is a serious question and I don't understand

:10:26. > :10:31.what the answer will be, which is how will you change their mind?

:10:31. > :10:36.sat through days of debate, I met with colleagues myself so there are

:10:36. > :10:40.a number of issues that colleagues have got about the implications of

:10:40. > :10:44.the House of Lords reform. Some do not agree with the principle, some

:10:44. > :10:49.are comfortable but they did not like some issues around the

:10:49. > :10:54.electoral system... So you still think you can win a timetable

:10:54. > :10:57.motion in September? We will speak with colleagues and the plan is to

:10:57. > :11:01.then move forward in September with something we can get agreement on

:11:01. > :11:08.but we do not know the solution until we have had those

:11:08. > :11:12.conversations. We are all learning as we go along, if you fine you

:11:12. > :11:18.don't think you can change your colleagues' mindss, you would bring

:11:19. > :11:23.forward the timetable? You tend to look on the dockside of things, I

:11:23. > :11:28.am a natural optimist -- on the black side of things. You have to

:11:28. > :11:33.be! We will work with colleagues. That is the fourth time you will

:11:33. > :11:43.work with colleagues. Let me speak to Don Foster. And we will make

:11:43. > :11:44.

:11:44. > :11:54.progress. We will see. You can have me back in September. These stories,

:11:54. > :11:56.

:11:56. > :12:00.Andrew! Honestly! You deputy leader, Simon Hughes, said there will be

:12:00. > :12:06.consequences if the Tories do not stick to their side of the deal.

:12:06. > :12:09.is very simple. Two opposing political parties came together

:12:09. > :12:14.predominantly to solve the economic mess... A what will the

:12:14. > :12:18.consequences be? I hope we will continue to work together

:12:18. > :12:22.regardless of the outcome of this. The answer to your question is that

:12:22. > :12:25.a number of my colleagues will find it more difficult in the future if

:12:25. > :12:31.it is not delivered to support some of the more difficult decisions we

:12:31. > :12:34.have to make. Time will tell. In English, it means that if

:12:34. > :12:40.relationships are a bit more fractious, it makes it more

:12:40. > :12:44.difficult to do a deal. A but what will the consequences be? No idea.

:12:44. > :12:49.What I want to happen is what most people in the House of Commons

:12:49. > :12:53.wants to happen. We have a number of Conservative colleagues to agree

:12:53. > :12:58.with the principle of Lords reform, they don't like some of the detail,

:12:58. > :13:04.we can accommodate that. Colleagues in the Labour Party are a bit

:13:04. > :13:08.competes used as to whether they want more time -- a bit confused.

:13:08. > :13:14.463 MPs want this to happen and we will find a way of making this

:13:14. > :13:24.happen. You are filibustering! You know you are doing it! I can tell

:13:24. > :13:26.

:13:26. > :13:32.that you know! No! I want to bring tacit him. Either way, welcome.

:13:32. > :13:42.I apologise to your viewers. Congratulations on your Dane had.

:13:42. > :13:46.Though as you know, we don't do titles. -- Dame heard. You are

:13:46. > :13:51.willing laboured to will the end and not the means. You will

:13:51. > :13:57.therefore risk the end. First of all, the end is the problem between

:13:57. > :14:02.the coalition parties. That is the first point. We are absolutely

:14:02. > :14:07.clear that we support reform. There will obviously be discussions over

:14:07. > :14:15.the summer about the possibilities of making progress but so profound

:14:15. > :14:20.of the divisions in the Conservative Party... Mark is a

:14:20. > :14:24.decent man and an optimist, but how they are going to heal these rifts

:14:24. > :14:28.with their coalition partners is very hard to understand. The rift

:14:28. > :14:33.would not matter if you back the government on the issue of which

:14:33. > :14:39.you agree in principle. The let me answer that question. The risk of

:14:39. > :14:44.that is that this very important constitutional legislation is

:14:44. > :14:49.denied proper scrutiny. How much time do you want? It is not a

:14:49. > :14:55.matter of apportioning and number of days. It is if you ever want it

:14:55. > :14:58.to come out of the House of Commons. No, Mark. Just listen. The

:14:58. > :15:05.challenge is to make sure that every single bit of the bill is

:15:05. > :15:09.properly scrutinised in committee. I understand that. You cannot have

:15:09. > :15:12.another 100 days. Can you tell me any major constitutional reform

:15:12. > :15:19.that Labour has put through that did not have the timetable motion

:15:19. > :15:24.with it? We have always actually gone to a referendum on major

:15:24. > :15:29.constitutional change and that is one thing, one of the major

:15:30. > :15:34.sticking points. But my point is, Tessa Jowell, every major reform

:15:34. > :15:39.labour has proposed of the constitution, you have always

:15:39. > :15:43.timetable to the bill so why would you not agree to this one? Because

:15:43. > :15:53.we are concerned that proper scrutiny of the legislation will be

:15:53. > :15:59.made impossible by filibustering, just a second... No, no. We brought

:15:59. > :16:04.forward three sets, five sets of major constitutional change when we

:16:04. > :16:08.were in government. Reform to the House of Lords, getting rid of

:16:08. > :16:18.their hereditary Peers... The new timetable them all. This is

:16:18. > :16:22.

:16:22. > :16:30.That is a procedural detail on a failed... I am suitably admonished.

:16:30. > :16:33.The principle remains that just as there were a clauses on the

:16:33. > :16:38.boundaries built that what walked out and were not subject to proper

:16:38. > :16:45.scrutiny, we have to make sure this legislation... What do you say to

:16:45. > :16:51.that was back Tessa, please. Miller and says he wants this in

:16:51. > :16:56.the House of Lords to be debated. - - Ed Miliband. We have to agree a

:16:56. > :17:00.number of days, or we are prepared to have that discussion, but at no

:17:00. > :17:05.point to the Labour Party say how many days. It employs you never get

:17:05. > :17:10.to the end and you never make progress. Everyone who wants reform

:17:10. > :17:17.to happen needs to help... Go to parliament which means there will

:17:17. > :17:23.be no scrutiny... While the Lib Dems in such high dudgeon was Mac

:17:23. > :17:27.21 Lib Dems voted against tuition fees and another eight abstained.

:17:27. > :17:32.Now you're up up an arms because Conservatives of litigants house of

:17:32. > :17:38.Lords reform. I am not sure we are in high dudgeon. A little low

:17:38. > :17:41.dudgeon. It would have been great if the Conservatives had been able

:17:41. > :17:45.to deliver the vote on the timetable motion on that -- in the

:17:45. > :17:49.way we delivered on some difficult things. We have confidence that the

:17:49. > :17:54.prime minister will work with his colleagues. He all right. Yes or

:17:54. > :17:58.note. If you can't say yes or no, don't answer. Will we get Lords

:17:58. > :18:06.reform was much on confident we will get some reforms in the House

:18:06. > :18:13.of Lords. Some reform. As clear as mud. I think Don Foster goes...

:18:13. > :18:19.Musical chairs. You'll have to change chairs. Not until he has

:18:19. > :18:22.change chairs. Not until he has How we pay for our care when we get

:18:22. > :18:25.old is one of the most pressing issues in politics. Ministers will

:18:25. > :18:28.set out their plans later today for the future of social care in

:18:28. > :18:32.England. The plans have been beset by delays so will this document

:18:32. > :18:35.finally provide answers to the big questions? Jo.

:18:35. > :18:38.There are few who would disagree that social care in England is in

:18:38. > :18:42.that social care in England is in need of reform. But how you do that,

:18:42. > :18:44.and how you pay for it, has been a headache for both Conservative and

:18:44. > :18:48.Labour governments. The new White Paper suggests a "universal

:18:48. > :18:51.deferred payment" scheme. This would offer a state loan to

:18:51. > :18:54.pensioners moving into residential care so they do not have to sell

:18:54. > :18:59.their homes immediately. At the moment, anyone with assets of more

:18:59. > :19:03.than �23,250 has to pay for their own care. But the loan, with

:19:03. > :19:06.interest, would be reclaimed after their death. There are also

:19:06. > :19:10.proposals to cap the amount individuals will have to pay

:19:10. > :19:14.towards nursing home fees. It's a contentious issue and it's not yet

:19:14. > :19:18.clear what the level of the cap would be. Before the last election,

:19:18. > :19:21.there were cross-party talks which ultimately broke down acrimoniously.

:19:21. > :19:27.An independent review last year recommended that the cap should be

:19:27. > :19:30.set at �35,000. Ministers are not yet expected to make specific

:19:30. > :19:36.commitments. Here's what the Health Secretary Andrew Lansley had to say

:19:36. > :19:42.Secretary Andrew Lansley had to say this morning. They are worried

:19:42. > :19:45.about how we will be paid for. We have invested in social care, some

:19:45. > :19:50.don't billion pounds through this column and. But in addition, one

:19:50. > :19:54.will make clear that we are not only going to give people access to

:19:54. > :19:58.loans scheme that means they don't have to sell the home to pay for

:19:58. > :20:03.care, but in addition we support the principles which the deal not

:20:03. > :20:06.commission set up but would set a cap on care costs, but we need to

:20:06. > :20:11.establish, not least with the Spending Review as the basis for

:20:11. > :20:13.this, how that is to be paid for in the future. Andrew Lansley.

:20:13. > :20:18.We're joined now by the chief executive of the Alzheimer's

:20:18. > :20:22.Society, Jeremy Hughes. How confident are you that there is

:20:22. > :20:27.going to be some concrete agreement on how social care is funded quiz

:20:27. > :20:35.mag unfortunately I don't think we were there for that any promises

:20:35. > :20:41.about the funding. What the Goldman failed to do is make any commitment

:20:41. > :20:45.on the funding. We have waited to years, we have had the commission,

:20:45. > :20:48.on were read it will become but did not commission because the

:20:48. > :20:53.Government doesn't seem to be committed to putting forward the

:20:53. > :20:56.morning. Both parties or at all. There were cross-party talks that

:20:56. > :21:00.were meant have happened in February, but they don't seem to

:21:00. > :21:05.have happened. People are paying enormous costs for their own care,

:21:05. > :21:08.nothing has been promised about fixing it. It needs to be addressed

:21:08. > :21:12.urgently are not waiting for the Comprehensive Spending Review. The

:21:12. > :21:17.review can tell us how much money we've got, but we need a discussion

:21:17. > :21:22.on how what is spent. Shame on you box. People still don't know

:21:22. > :21:27.whether they will have to pay for their own care when they're old. Do

:21:27. > :21:31.you support the idea of a cap was much we've made it clear we support

:21:31. > :21:36.the principle, but as soon as you get them to dealing with the

:21:36. > :21:41.details, it is up paying for it what the Secretary of State has set

:21:41. > :21:44.out his it will be dealt with through the Spending Review. We've

:21:44. > :21:48.renounced some fondant in terms of more money from the health budget

:21:48. > :21:52.to help with funding social care. We have announced the universal

:21:52. > :21:55.deferred schemes that everybody will know they don't have to sell

:21:55. > :22:03.their house within the lifetime and we have set up some positive...

:22:03. > :22:13.That stops right to wake us might from 2015. -- that starts at Reuter

:22:13. > :22:14.

:22:14. > :22:18.Y equals Mac from 2015. Their relatives will have to sell it.

:22:18. > :22:22.have a bizarre situation that the manger is a disease like cancer.

:22:22. > :22:25.you have cancer at me what we did on the NHS or if you have dementia,

:22:25. > :22:30.you don't have any support and you have to pay for rich deferred

:22:30. > :22:34.payments is an improvement, but people are still paying enormous

:22:34. > :22:39.costs. Tessa Jowell, Labour was in power for a long perk -- on and did

:22:39. > :22:45.nothing at this in a broad sense. Support the idea of a cap at

:22:45. > :22:53.�35,000 was marked we support the principles, but think action has to

:22:53. > :22:59.be taken up. 1.4 million -- 1.4 billion has been returned from the

:22:59. > :23:01.Department of Health to the Treasury. Why can't 700 million

:23:01. > :23:05.offer be directed to local authorities to provide care for

:23:05. > :23:15.frail elderly people in their own homes quotes Max I will come on to

:23:15. > :23:19.

:23:19. > :23:25.Does Labour support back �35,000 cap was Mark -- choir's Mac were

:23:25. > :23:32.reduced support the principle of a cap. But the second thing is we've

:23:32. > :23:41.got to agree proposals that a sustainable in the long term.

:23:41. > :23:44.talks have been taking place. cross-border talks have broken down.

:23:44. > :23:48.Rhino that Andy Burnham, Liz Kendall, are ready to resume those

:23:48. > :23:53.cross-party talks at any Tonge. Most people watching at home will

:23:53. > :23:59.feel it is ridiculous that we have spent 20 minutes talking to her

:23:59. > :24:09.house will perform while at Houghton, as we do it, the Iraq

:24:09. > :24:33.

:24:33. > :24:36.Work we work that ends in his What would you like to see?

:24:36. > :24:41.Presumably you would like to see something that clears up the issue

:24:42. > :24:45.of what people have to do in terms of planning. The other issue is

:24:46. > :24:51.about the health budget and the local authority budget and do you

:24:51. > :24:55.think there should be a single budget that crosses those two, so

:24:55. > :25:01.when an old person read something in their home, the authority

:25:01. > :25:05.doesn't say, that is not us it is another authority. We are expecting

:25:05. > :25:11.the white paper to say there will be more personal care budgets

:25:11. > :25:17.provided to individuals. You can't have the same person managing two

:25:17. > :25:22.budgets without proper support. We meet one system that supports

:25:22. > :25:25.people in a joined-up way. -- we meet. The proposals we are

:25:25. > :25:30.expecting this afternoon will not make any big difference, they are

:25:30. > :25:35.talking another couple of hundred million pounds. All of the money

:25:36. > :25:43.used so far has just reduced some of the cuts, it has not led to any

:25:44. > :25:50.improvements. Colleagues had an extremely busy

:25:50. > :25:57.week on the Daily Politics. You can see Roger Federer with his hands on

:25:57. > :26:06.the prize there. No wonder Andy Murray was so upset. Also providing

:26:06. > :26:13.comfort to Bob Diamond. All that it must be a boost to him now he is

:26:13. > :26:17.not getting a multi-million pound pay-off. And speaking of France,

:26:17. > :26:26.David Cameron you only one act of diplomacy could restore Anglo-

:26:26. > :26:32.They do like their coffee in big mugs. It has been a busy week for

:26:32. > :26:36.my little ceramic friend, but it's not over. One of you lucky people

:26:36. > :26:40.can win this well-travelled consumption device. We will remind

:26:40. > :26:50.you of how to enter in a minute, but let's see if you can remember

:26:50. > :26:52.

:26:52. > :26:58.This will be the first time that British voters will have been to

:26:58. > :27:08.the polls on their way to school. shall certainly be voting

:27:08. > :27:43.

:27:43. > :27:46.Conservative. Every outbreak of There are men walking the streets

:27:46. > :27:56.today with eggs in their pocket on the off-chance they will bump into

:27:56. > :28:23.

:28:23. > :28:27.# Just like me, they long to be The day to be me the chance of

:28:27. > :28:34.winning, and a rendition of Karen winning, and a rendition of Karen

:28:34. > :28:42.Carpenter by Andrew Neil, send your answers into us. You can see the

:28:42. > :28:48.full terms of conditions on the website. The music he enjoyed when

:28:48. > :28:53.he became middle-aged! You are very brave! I can hear the voice of Nick

:28:53. > :29:00.Robinson. I thought it was going to be James Landale, but life is full

:29:00. > :29:06.of disappointments. Coming up to midday. Let's take a look at Big

:29:06. > :29:11.Ben before we look at cygnet. Prime Minister's Questions is on its way.

:29:11. > :29:16.The final PMQs before the summer recess. A few things to talk about.

:29:16. > :29:20.I think what will be intriguing is whether Ed Miliband wants to talk

:29:20. > :29:25.about the House of Lords or not. He might calculate it is not the

:29:25. > :29:30.biggest topic at the water cooler today, and maybe talk about social

:29:30. > :29:34.care. Or will he be tempted, as it is the last one, to use it as a

:29:34. > :29:38.theme for the Government being in a mess, for the coalition falling

:29:38. > :29:47.apart? May be tempted to do that rather than talk about House of

:29:47. > :29:52.Lords head on. You can be accused of writing the weekend report.

:29:52. > :29:57.Those big summaries on a Sunday. What Ed Miliband wants is a phrase

:29:57. > :30:01.like on the shambles for the Budget. A phrase or a thought. He has to go

:30:01. > :30:06.wider. And also stick with the Government through the summer.

:30:06. > :30:10.is true that the coalition heads into the summer he in pretty bad

:30:10. > :30:15.shape. It is in chaos over House of Lords reform. The economy has

:30:15. > :30:19.barely grown since 2009. All the time you have been in power it has

:30:19. > :30:24.hardly grown. When you speak to Treasury officials of the record,

:30:24. > :30:30.they now say, we don't expect much growth before 2015. It is pretty

:30:30. > :30:33.grim. Per the economic difficulties, we all know what they are like.

:30:33. > :30:37.That remains the Government's central proposition. It is part of

:30:37. > :30:46.the reason we don't want to spend every day talking about a house of

:30:46. > :30:49.Lords reform. I don't agree about the state of the coalition. But

:30:49. > :30:53.relationships are very good. Of course there are tensions, there

:30:53. > :30:57.are bound to be when you have two parties working together, but the

:30:57. > :31:00.last government, with only one party, there were a lot of

:31:00. > :31:05.attention saying that government, or worse than anything we have as

:31:05. > :31:09.two parties working together to sort out these interests -- issues

:31:09. > :31:12.in the notional interest. Who said it closed list system for electing

:31:12. > :31:16.the House of Lords would be entirely undesirable? It would

:31:16. > :31:24.entrench the powers of the party's? I did and we are not recommending

:31:24. > :31:34.The police said we would not have a closed list. Let's see what is

:31:34. > :31:37.

:31:37. > :31:42.I am sure the whole House would wish to join me in paying tribute

:31:42. > :31:47.to PC Ian Dibell who was shot and killed in Clacton-on-Sea on Monday.

:31:47. > :31:51.Even though he was off duty at the time, he acted selflessly when he

:31:51. > :31:56.saw members of the public at risk. This is typical of the behaviour of

:31:56. > :32:00.our brave police force. His death is a reminder of the great debt we

:32:00. > :32:05.owe it everybody in the police force and we send our deep

:32:05. > :32:15.sympathies to his family, friends and colleagues. In addition to

:32:15. > :32:18.duties in this House I shall have further meetings later today.

:32:18. > :32:22.am repeat the remarks that the Prime Minister made to the House

:32:22. > :32:26.about the brave police officer who lost his life. Can the Prime

:32:26. > :32:33.Minister explained why he is making it easier for corporate law to be

:32:33. > :32:37.amended... So rich, copyright law to be amended by secondary

:32:37. > :32:42.legislation? Does this have anything to do with the 23 meetings

:32:42. > :32:46.that he and his ministers have had with Google? We are following the

:32:46. > :32:50.recommendations of the Hargreaves Report recommissioned. It is

:32:50. > :33:00.important that we update copyright law in this country and that is

:33:00. > :33:02.

:33:02. > :33:10.what we propose to do. A report into the York Hill child heart unit

:33:10. > :33:19.in Glasgow says that the provision of paediatric intensive care may be

:33:19. > :33:24.unsafe if critical issues are not addressed. It is now suggesting

:33:24. > :33:28.that Leeds should be closed while Glasgow is not affected. It is

:33:28. > :33:33.absurd and this review must be thrown out. He quite rightly speaks

:33:33. > :33:38.up for his local hospital, an excellent hospital. My local

:33:38. > :33:42.hospital has also not been selected under the safe and sustainable

:33:42. > :33:47.review. I would say as prime minister and as a parent but we

:33:47. > :33:51.have to recognise the operations that are being carried out are

:33:51. > :33:56.incredibly complex and in the end, this review was led by clinicians

:33:56. > :34:01.and it is about trying to save lives to make sure that we

:34:01. > :34:06.specialise the most difficult work in a number of hospitals around the

:34:06. > :34:09.country. I am sure that what really matters is that more parents don't

:34:10. > :34:15.suffer the agony of losing their children because we do not have the

:34:15. > :34:20.highest standards of care in the hospitals that are chosen. Can I

:34:20. > :34:24.join the Prime Minister in paying tribute to PC Ian Dibell. He

:34:24. > :34:29.demonstrated extraordinary bravery well-being of duty. His selfless

:34:29. > :34:34.act and his tragic death remind us what the police do for us right up

:34:34. > :34:38.and down this country and I am sure there are condolences of the House

:34:38. > :34:41.go to his family and friends. At this last Question Time before

:34:42. > :34:46.the recess, can I remind the Prime Minister what he said before the

:34:46. > :34:52.election when asked why he wanted to be Prime Minister. With

:34:52. > :35:02.characteristic humility, he said: Because I think I'd be good at it.

:35:02. > :35:07.

:35:07. > :35:12.LAUGHTER. Mr Speaker, where did it all go wrong? It is this government

:35:12. > :35:17.that has kept benefits, that has capped immigration, that has taken

:35:17. > :35:23.two million out of tax, that has cut taxes for 25 million people,

:35:23. > :35:27.Cup the fuel duty, increased NHS spending and cut the deficit by

:35:27. > :35:34.25%! I cannot read out the list of all the things he got wrong, we

:35:34. > :35:42.haven't got time! They are obviously well with today, it is a

:35:42. > :35:49.shame it didn't happen last night! Last night, he lost control of his

:35:49. > :35:55.party and not for the first time, he lost his temper as well. Because

:35:55. > :35:59.we understand it was fisticuffs in the lobby with the member for

:36:00. > :36:07.Hereford and south Hertfordshire. I notice that the posh boys have

:36:07. > :36:12.ordered him off the estate today! Who does the Prime Minister blame

:36:12. > :36:18.most for the disarray in his government? The Liberal Democrats

:36:18. > :36:23.or his own backbenchers? Is the best he can do today is a bunch of

:36:23. > :36:28.tittle-tattle Andrew Marr... How utterly pathetic! -- tittle-tattle

:36:28. > :36:34.and rumours. On the day we are introducing social reform that will

:36:34. > :36:39.help people up and down the country, we get half-baked gossip. If we

:36:39. > :36:43.want to see House of Lords reform, all of those who support House of

:36:43. > :36:49.Lords reform need to not only vote for House of Lords reform but

:36:49. > :36:53.support to the means to bring that reform about. He came to the House

:36:53. > :37:00.of Commons yesterday determined to vote yes and then vote no. How

:37:00. > :37:06.utterly pathetic! It is the same old story with the Prime Minister.

:37:06. > :37:11.He blames everybody other than himself. The government is a

:37:11. > :37:15.shambles and he blames the leader of the opposition. That is what it

:37:15. > :37:21.has come to. But Mr Speaker, his problems to the start last night.

:37:21. > :37:25.They started months ago with the part-time Chancellor's budget.

:37:25. > :37:30.Because they make the wrongs choices and they stand up for the

:37:30. > :37:35.wrong people. So can he remind us after all of the U-turns when he

:37:35. > :37:40.still thinks it is right to give a banker earning a million pounds a

:37:40. > :37:46.�40,000 income tax cuts next April? It was the Chancellor's budget that

:37:46. > :37:53.cut taxes for 25 million working people! That it two million people

:37:53. > :37:57.out of tax! -- that took it! And has left us with a top rate of tax

:37:57. > :38:03.that was higher than any of the times he and his neighbour were in

:38:03. > :38:10.the Treasury, literally it wrecking the British economy. No answer on

:38:10. > :38:14.his millionaire's tax cuts and we will keep asking the question! If

:38:14. > :38:20.he is raising taxes on ordinary families and pensioners and he is

:38:20. > :38:26.cutting tax on millionaires...! They say they are not raising taxes.

:38:26. > :38:30.Can he therefore explain what has not been explained... He says I am

:38:30. > :38:37.weak. What can be weaker than having 91 people vote against you

:38:37. > :38:42.in the House of Commons!? Can he explain what has not been explained

:38:42. > :38:46.since the Budget. Why it is it fair when you are cutting taxes for

:38:46. > :38:51.millionaires to ask pensioners to pay more?

:38:51. > :38:56.We increased pensioner's weekly income by �5.30, the biggest

:38:56. > :39:00.increase in the pension in the history of the pension! What the

:39:00. > :39:05.Budget did his cut taxes for every working person in the country, take

:39:05. > :39:10.two million people out of tax, the top rate of tax change was paid

:39:10. > :39:14.more than four times over by the richest people, and that compares

:39:14. > :39:18.with what we were left by the party opposite! The most indebted

:39:18. > :39:24.households, the biggest budget deficit in Europe and never wants

:39:24. > :39:28.an apology for the mess they left this country him! No answer on the

:39:28. > :39:33.disarray in his government, no answer on the tax cuts for

:39:33. > :39:37.millionaires, no answer on a tax rise for pensioners. Perhaps he has

:39:37. > :39:42.an odd sock on the biggest issue. He said in the new year, we have

:39:42. > :39:47.got to do more to bring the economy back to health. What has he

:39:47. > :39:50.delivered since then? A double-dip recession made in Downing Street.

:39:51. > :39:54.Isn't the reality of the biggest failure facing the government is

:39:54. > :40:00.not the programme motion on Lords reform, it is their whole economic

:40:00. > :40:05.plan? It is under this government we got 800,000 more private sector

:40:05. > :40:10.jobs, inflation is down, unemployment is down, interest

:40:10. > :40:15.rates are at a record low, we are now a net exporter of cars for the

:40:15. > :40:19.first time since 1976, we completed the biggest construction project in

:40:19. > :40:24.Europe, which is the Olympics, we have started the next biggest

:40:24. > :40:28.project, which is CrossRail, this government set up the enterprise

:40:28. > :40:33.zones, has backed apprenticeships, has seen business rebalance in this

:40:33. > :40:37.country and we will never forget what we were left by the party

:40:37. > :40:42.opposite! They were bailing out eurozone countries with taxpayers'

:40:42. > :40:50.money, they were paying �100,000 for just one family's housing

:40:50. > :40:54.benefit, they had gun-control well- fed, uncontrolled immigration, --

:40:54. > :40:59.UN controlled welfare. Never has so much been borrowed, never has so

:40:59. > :41:09.much been wasted, never have so many people been let down and this

:41:09. > :41:09.

:41:09. > :41:19.country will never forgive them for what they did! SHOUTING. The more

:41:19. > :41:24.

:41:24. > :41:30.red he gets, the less he convinces people! Order! Order! Order!

:41:30. > :41:36.Members on both sides of the House now need to calm down. That is all

:41:36. > :41:39.there is to it. Ed Miliband. It is the same lecture we have had on the

:41:39. > :41:44.economy for the last two years and things are getting worse, not

:41:44. > :41:49.better, and every time he gets up with that list of statistics you

:41:49. > :41:54.just shows how out of touch he is. Tax cuts for millionaires, double-

:41:54. > :41:59.dip recession, you terms of doing U-turns, isn't the truth is that he

:41:59. > :42:09.did not just lose the confidence of his party last night, he is losing

:42:09. > :42:15.the confidence of the country? -- U-turns of do you. There is only

:42:15. > :42:24.one person going red, and that is read Ed Miliband! Who backed Red

:42:24. > :42:30.Ken Livingstone? Red Len McCluskey? He proposed �30 billion of more

:42:30. > :42:35.spending? Who has given up... Apologies, order. The Prime

:42:35. > :42:42.Minister's answers must, and however long it takes, they will be

:42:42. > :42:45.heard. Let's take what he has done in the last year. He opposed a

:42:45. > :42:53.welfare cap, and immigration cap, a housing benefit cap, he opposed

:42:53. > :42:58.every thing of the government proposed. We know what he is

:42:58. > :43:08.against but when will we find out what he is for? This government has

:43:08. > :43:10.

:43:10. > :43:13.a great record on educational reform! The huge success of the

:43:13. > :43:19.University Technical College initiative! Will the Prime Minister

:43:19. > :43:23.please confirm he will support a further round of abdication as this

:43:23. > :43:33.autumn and that funding is available so that businesses,

:43:33. > :43:38.

:43:38. > :43:44.universities... INAUDIBLE. SHOUTING. Very good to see the honourable

:43:44. > :43:47.lady on such feisty form. She's absolutely right to speak up for

:43:47. > :43:52.university technical colleges. These are a great addition to the

:43:52. > :43:55.schools we have our country. They really are a really high profile

:43:55. > :44:04.way to have proper vocational education so we can give young

:44:04. > :44:07.people the skills they need to have a great career in the future.

:44:07. > :44:11.Monday June 25th, the Health Secretary announced a possibly

:44:11. > :44:14.administration of the NHS Trust that covers Bexley, Bromley and

:44:14. > :44:18.Greenwich and that night he met with the members for Bexley and

:44:18. > :44:22.Bromley. Despite the Greenwich members asking for such a meeting,

:44:22. > :44:27.at this moment in time there's no date in the diary and no date

:44:27. > :44:29.forthcoming. How can the Prime Minister explain to me why the

:44:29. > :44:34.residents of Greenwich are not given the same respect by his

:44:34. > :44:38.minister as the residents of Bexley and Bromley? I think the honourable

:44:38. > :44:43.lady raises the important point. It's a difficult situation that has

:44:43. > :44:46.taken place at his NHS Trust. It is quite right that the Health

:44:46. > :44:50.Secretary is using the powers that were put in place by the last

:44:50. > :44:54.government to deal with these issues. It is partly because of the

:44:54. > :44:58.PFI contracts that are unsustainable. I will take

:44:58. > :45:02.seriously what she says it and see if I can arrange a meeting between

:45:02. > :45:04.her and one of the health ministers to discuss this issue. In my

:45:04. > :45:10.constituency of North West Leicestershire keep the average

:45:10. > :45:13.pre-tax income is just under �25,000 a year. Does my right

:45:13. > :45:18.honourable friend a sense -- share my sense of incredulity that the

:45:18. > :45:22.party opposite still want the benefits cap of �26,000 a year

:45:22. > :45:25.after tax? Doesn't is demonstrate he was really on the side of hard-

:45:25. > :45:28.working families? I think my honourable friend makes an

:45:28. > :45:33.important point. They came to the House of Commons and said they

:45:33. > :45:42.would back a welfare cap, but they opposed a well-fed cat. He is right.

:45:42. > :45:46.It shows he was on the side -- it shows who is on the side of those

:45:46. > :45:56.who want to work hard. We backed the workers, they backed the

:45:56. > :46:01.shirkers. The 2nd Battalion, the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers is to

:46:01. > :46:05.be disbanded. This means 600 soldiers are facing redundancy.

:46:05. > :46:10.This is a battalion and a regiment with a proud history of service to

:46:11. > :46:15.this country. Will the prime minister not reconsider the cuts to

:46:15. > :46:19.this Battalion? What I would say to the honourable gentleman, we looked

:46:19. > :46:23.at this issue very carefully and took our time, which many times we

:46:23. > :46:28.are criticised for, to make sure we got this right. I do think the

:46:28. > :46:34.decision to have a smaller regular army of 80,000, but a much larger

:46:34. > :46:36.reserve force, at over 30,000, is the right balance. The Government

:46:36. > :46:40.is putting �1.5 billion into building up those reserves and I

:46:40. > :46:44.hope members across the House will help with the process of

:46:44. > :46:48.encouraging employers to allow territorial army reservists to

:46:48. > :46:53.serve their country. We've made sure no existing regimental names

:46:53. > :46:59.or cap badges will be lost so it is the right package for the future.

:46:59. > :47:02.On Sunday, independent observers hailed the first free elections in

:47:02. > :47:07.Libya for 47 years as broadly free and transparent and offering real

:47:07. > :47:11.hope for the future. Does my right Friend agree -- right honourable

:47:11. > :47:16.friend agree with me that we should congratulate the Libyan people on

:47:16. > :47:20.the progress they have made since the struggle to overthrow with the

:47:20. > :47:24.brutal to state to ship, and the message this sends other, including

:47:24. > :47:28.Aung San Suu Kyi, who yearn for democracy in their own country.

:47:28. > :47:32.sure my honourable friend speaks for the whole house and the country

:47:32. > :47:36.in sending congratulations to the Libyan people for what looked like

:47:36. > :47:39.successful elections. It was a year ago that things did not look as if

:47:40. > :47:43.everything would turn out well in Libya. I'm proud of the fact that

:47:43. > :47:48.the NATO alliance and this country stay true to the course and helped

:47:48. > :47:51.to secure the right outcome in Libya and those people now have the

:47:51. > :47:57.chance of successful democracy and prosperity that is denied to too

:47:57. > :48:02.many in this world. He hit the North West London NHS is currently

:48:02. > :48:04.consulting on the closure of four out of nine accident and emergency

:48:04. > :48:09.units. The medical director has said north-west London would

:48:09. > :48:15.literally run out of money if these closures don't go ahead. What kind

:48:15. > :48:18.of consultation is it that poses a choice between the closure of half

:48:18. > :48:24.of the accident and emergency unit in north-west London and a

:48:24. > :48:28.potential bankrupting of the local NHS? On the issue of money, we have

:48:28. > :48:32.put �12.5 billion extra into the NHS. That is a decision that her

:48:32. > :48:36.party opposes answer is that extra spending for the NHS is

:48:36. > :48:42.irresponsible. We will make sure that all consultations are probably

:48:42. > :48:51.carried out. A patch properly carried out. And we want to make

:48:51. > :48:56.sure we have Kafka access to and Pay has my right honourable

:48:56. > :49:01.friend's attention been drawn to be a's adverse assessment that the

:49:01. > :49:04.regular train service to Stansted Airport takes 47 minutes, which is

:49:04. > :49:09.not universally correct across the timetable and in any case is too

:49:09. > :49:14.long. Will he commit to a major upgrade it -- upgrade of the West

:49:14. > :49:20.Anglia line so airport passengers can get a truly fast service that

:49:20. > :49:24.my constituents deserve? understand why the my honourable

:49:24. > :49:30.friend wants to speak up for people in his constituency who want her to

:49:30. > :49:34.train service. As part of the new rail franchise in East Anglia, he

:49:34. > :49:37.will be asking bidders to propose affordable Investment aimed at

:49:37. > :49:43.improving services and I'm sure they will listen carefully to what

:49:44. > :49:47.he said today. He had the Government rightly donates to

:49:47. > :49:51.billions in overseas aid to developing countries, including

:49:51. > :49:58.India, to eradicate poverty and disease. Despite this, the Canadian

:49:58. > :50:01.government, including the Government of Quebec, are to invest

:50:01. > :50:05.$58 million in asbestos producing mines, not for use in Canada, of

:50:06. > :50:11.course, but to export to developing countries, including India, which

:50:11. > :50:18.will put thousands of poor people at risk from the deadly asbestosis.

:50:18. > :50:21.Will the Prime Minister and the International Development Secretary

:50:21. > :50:25.per encourage international communities, including the World

:50:25. > :50:28.Health Organisation, to oppose this outrageous decision? I will be

:50:29. > :50:34.seeing their head of the World Health Organisation later today so

:50:34. > :50:38.I can raise this issue with him. Asbestos is banned in the UK, the

:50:38. > :50:42.EU and other countries. We are opposed to its use anywhere and

:50:42. > :50:49.would deplore its supply to developing countries. If it does

:50:49. > :50:53.not supply funds and... We are not aware that Dafydd funds have been

:50:53. > :51:02.used in that way at all. I would take urgent action if that were the

:51:02. > :51:08.case. On September fourth, the European Court of Human Rights is

:51:08. > :51:12.hearing the case of the lady who lost her job at British Airways for

:51:13. > :51:17.wearing a crucifix as a mark of her Christianity. The behaviour of

:51:17. > :51:22.British Airways was a disgraceful piece of political correctness. He

:51:22. > :51:27.I was surprised to receive the Government is resisting her appeal.

:51:27. > :51:30.I can't believe that the Government is supporting this suppression of

:51:30. > :51:36.religious freedom in the workplace so what are we going to do about

:51:36. > :51:39.this sad case? For once I can say I wholeheartedly agree with my right

:51:39. > :51:43.honourable friend. I fully support the right of people to wear

:51:43. > :51:47.religious symbols at work. It is absolutely a vital religious

:51:47. > :51:51.freedom. What we will do is if it turns out that the law has the

:51:51. > :51:58.intention, as has come out in this case, we will change the law and

:51:58. > :52:01.make clear that people can wear religious emblems at work. He does

:52:01. > :52:06.the Prime Minister accept the findings of the Independent Action

:52:06. > :52:10.for children report which shows that by 2015, the most vulnerable

:52:10. > :52:14.families with children in this country, including those in

:52:14. > :52:18.employment, will lose up to �3,000 a year because of this Government's

:52:18. > :52:22.policies? At a time when millionaires are getting tax cut of

:52:22. > :52:25.over 40,000 at the year, can he say we really are all in this together?

:52:25. > :52:30.High I know the report he quotes doesn't actually include some of

:52:30. > :52:34.the steps we have taken, like providing more nursery a education

:52:35. > :52:38.for disadvantaged to Urals. If he looks at Universal Credit and the

:52:38. > :52:43.design of Europe reversal credit, we will be helping parents with the

:52:43. > :52:46.most disabled children to make sure they get the help they need. Will

:52:46. > :52:50.the Prime Minister comment on the worrying stand-off between the

:52:50. > :52:55.Egyptian military, who are clearly trying to cling on to power in

:52:55. > :52:59.defiance of the Arab Spring, and as the Mohamed Morsi, who may not be a

:52:59. > :53:03.liberal Catholic report -- liberal or conservative, but his Democratic

:53:03. > :53:07.League elected? I've been very struck by what the president-elect

:53:07. > :53:10.has said about how he wants to govern on behalf of everyone

:53:10. > :53:14.Chinook Egypt, how he wants to respect religious and other

:53:14. > :53:18.freedoms and I hope he the current tension can be resolved. But people

:53:18. > :53:24.have to respect the Derek -- democratic will of the Egyptian

:53:24. > :53:28.people as they expressed it. At the last election the Prime Minister

:53:28. > :53:33.promised the pensioner's bus passes were say. Will he reject calls from

:53:33. > :53:37.the Lib Dems and now from his close ally the honourable member for

:53:37. > :53:41.Grantham and Stamford and categorically rule out means

:53:41. > :53:45.testing of bus passes, including in his manifesto for the next general

:53:45. > :53:49.election? As the honourable lady will know, at the last election I

:53:49. > :53:57.made it clear promise about a bus passes, TV licences, winter fuel

:53:57. > :54:01.payments. We are keeping all of those promises. Paul as Melinda

:54:01. > :54:06.Gates has recently said, women in developing countries want to raise

:54:06. > :54:09.healthy and educated children who can contribute to communities.

:54:09. > :54:12.Would my right honourable friend agree that one of the ways we can

:54:12. > :54:16.support this is to help those who wish to plan their family to do so?

:54:16. > :54:20.I think the honourable lady is absolutely right. Later today I

:54:20. > :54:24.will be speaking at a seminar event with Melinda Gates and a whole

:54:24. > :54:29.range of leaders from across Africa and other parts of the developing

:54:29. > :54:33.world about exactly this issue. We should be doing more to allow

:54:33. > :54:37.mothers access to birth control so they can plan their family size.

:54:37. > :54:40.The evidence shows that as countries develop, family size does

:54:40. > :54:44.reduce and populations become more sustainable, but we should help

:54:44. > :54:47.people plan that process. It is not about telling people what to do, it

:54:47. > :54:53.is about allowing people the choice that in his country we take for

:54:53. > :54:58.granted. Members will know that St Patrick, a Roman Britain, respected

:54:58. > :55:02.by all traditions in Ireland, is a unifying figure. He established his

:55:02. > :55:07.mission in my constituency of South Down, where today many people of

:55:07. > :55:12.all faiths, drawing on his legacy, work unstintingly to build peace

:55:12. > :55:16.across the divide. Will the Prime Minister, when next in Northern

:55:16. > :55:21.Ireland, perhaps during the Olympics, come to San Patrick

:55:21. > :55:25.Stewart country, meet with these people and which this -- witness

:55:25. > :55:31.his unique heritage for himself and where he will not find any rebel

:55:31. > :55:37.Tories? I don't know whether the honourable lady can guarantee that!

:55:37. > :55:41.We do have an active branch in Northern Ireland and I'm sure... It

:55:41. > :55:45.is an intriguing and very kind invitation. I hope that the

:55:45. > :55:49.Olympics will bring the whole of a United Kingdom together. The torch

:55:49. > :55:54.relay has already helped to achieve that and I was very privileged to

:55:54. > :56:00.see it in my own constituency. She makes an intriguing invitation and

:56:00. > :56:05.if I can take it up, I will. One of the success stories of this

:56:05. > :56:08.government is in its commitment to rural community and farming. Today

:56:08. > :56:14.nearly 2000 dairy farmers are meeting in Westminster to fight

:56:14. > :56:17.drastic reductions of milk prices. Will the Prime Minister join them

:56:18. > :56:21.in their fight to get a fair deal for their product? I think my

:56:21. > :56:25.honourable friend is absolutely right to speak up for British

:56:25. > :56:30.farmers. He does an extremely good job in doing that. This government

:56:30. > :56:34.is investing in our countryside, not least we the rural broadband

:56:34. > :56:37.programme, but we want to see a fairer deal between farmers and

:56:37. > :56:41.supermarkets so we will be legislating. I can also tell him

:56:41. > :56:44.that today we are announcing �5 million extra in additional funds

:56:44. > :56:53.under the rural economy grant scheme and that can help to make

:56:53. > :56:58.our dairy industry more competitive. What will the prime minister say to

:56:59. > :57:02.the 150,000 adults that the Government itself estimates will be

:57:02. > :57:07.denied a second chance for education as a result of their

:57:07. > :57:11.plans to charge full-cost fees to over 24 year-olds studying A-level

:57:11. > :57:18.and equivalent programmes and access courses? There will be a

:57:18. > :57:21.full statement about this issue this week. It is important fact we

:57:21. > :57:25.expand per further education opportunities. If we are going to

:57:25. > :57:30.expand those, we need to adapt fast be clear about how to pay for them.

:57:30. > :57:37.That is what we repeatedly get about Bath from the party opposite.

:57:37. > :57:43.Absolutely no idea how they would pay for any of their policies.

:57:43. > :57:50.government has achieved a great deal and the last two years. --

:57:50. > :57:53.deer last two years. Didn't that new issues are emerging, doesn't

:57:53. > :57:58.the Prime Minister agree with me that now would be a good time for

:57:58. > :58:03.the political parties to review the coalition agreement for the future?

:58:03. > :58:10.He I absolutely agree that in a coalition, you need to keep working

:58:10. > :58:14.out the next set of things you want to achieve. This coalition has

:58:14. > :58:18.achieved cuts to corporation tax, taking people out of income tax, a

:58:18. > :58:21.massive expansion in terms of trust schools, a huge contribution to the

:58:21. > :58:24.health service that is now performing better than at any time

:58:24. > :58:28.and the last decade, and I'm committed to making sure we now

:58:28. > :58:38.look at the next steps we want to take to make our country a better

:58:38. > :58:41.

:58:41. > :58:46.A grandfather from Gwent far has a grandson returning from Afghanistan.

:58:46. > :58:50.20,000 soldiers face losing their jobs. Labour has persuaded big

:58:50. > :58:54.firms like John Lewis to guarantee a job veteran -- veterans a job

:58:54. > :58:57.interview. Will the prime minister get the private sector to do the

:58:57. > :59:00.same? I welcome what the honourable gentleman says. We should do

:59:00. > :59:04.everything we can to work with employers, either in the public or

:59:04. > :59:08.private sector, to help find her ex-service personnel jobs. They are

:59:08. > :59:12.people who have been trained brilliantly and contributed

:59:12. > :59:16.incredibly to our country and I'm sure we can do more to help them.

:59:16. > :59:20.For instance, in the public sector, the education secretary has a

:59:20. > :59:27.programme of troops to teach us to cry to get people who have served

:59:27. > :59:33.our country to inspire further generations. On the prime ministers

:59:34. > :59:38.watch, the army will be reduced to its smallest size since 1750 and

:59:38. > :59:42.half the size it was at the time of the Falklands war. Does he accept

:59:42. > :59:52.that history is not kind to prime ministers who are perceived to have

:59:52. > :59:52.

:59:52. > :59:59.left our country without a strong defence capability? By no per he

:59:59. > :00:04.speaks with great power about military issues. And if you look at

:00:04. > :00:08.the overall balance of what we are doing, 80,000 regular soldiers,

:00:08. > :00:14.30,000 TA, fully funded, will mean the army is a similar size after

:00:14. > :00:19.these reforms to what it was before. Much the most important thing is we

:00:19. > :00:23.inherited a �38 billion deficit in our defence budget. We have closed

:00:23. > :00:27.or deficit, it is now fully funded. We have some huge investments going

:00:27. > :00:32.ahead for the army, the Navy and the air force and this country

:00:32. > :00:36.under this coalition government will always be well-defended.

:00:36. > :00:41.the Prime Minister assist the House and tell us when the Chancellor of

:00:41. > :00:45.the Exchequer is going to take the advice of the member for South

:00:45. > :00:50.Northamptonshire, admit he made false allegations last week and

:00:51. > :00:54.finally apologise? If we look at what might right honourable friend

:00:54. > :01:02.the Chancellor said, he said that the Shadow Chancellor had some

:01:02. > :01:07.questions to answer. I'm not sure there's anyone in this House who

:01:07. > :01:11.doesn't think the Shadow Chancellor has some questions to answer.

:01:11. > :01:17.Perhaps before we break for the summer, we should remember one or

:01:17. > :01:21.two of those questions. Ruud is on the regulatory system that failed?

:01:21. > :01:24.Who go or city minister when Northern Rock was selling 110%

:01:24. > :01:29.mortgages? Who advised the Chancellor and the prime minister

:01:29. > :01:32.that there was no more boom and bust? Who helped create the biggest

:01:32. > :01:42.boom and biggest bust and he has never apologised for the dreadful

:01:42. > :01:42.

:01:42. > :01:47.record he had in Office? Shrewsbury remains the only county town in

:01:47. > :01:51.England without a direct rail service to our capital city. When

:01:51. > :01:55.the new rail franchises are apportioned in August, will the

:01:55. > :01:59.Prime isn't just or use his good office to ensure that government

:01:59. > :02:04.does everything possible to ensure Shrewsbury is connected to London?

:02:04. > :02:09.My honourable friend always speaks up for Shrewsbury. He's right that

:02:09. > :02:12.when these franchises are looked at, there are opportunities to make the

:02:12. > :02:18.case for more investment and for more services and I'm sure the rail

:02:18. > :02:23.operators and others will listen very closely to what he said today.

:02:23. > :02:29.Per my constituent is recovering from cancer. But she has had her

:02:29. > :02:35.ESA's stopped after 365 days. The Government's consultation on

:02:35. > :02:39.changing this rule ended in March. When are we going to see justice

:02:39. > :02:43.for the 7,000 cancer patients in this situation? I have looked

:02:43. > :02:48.carefully at this case and I know she has now had a response from the

:02:49. > :02:52.minister about this issue. There are two types of ESA. 1 Where

:02:52. > :02:56.there's opponents' support and it is not means tested, and another

:02:56. > :02:59.where there's means testing after a year. We are making sure that more

:02:59. > :03:03.people with cancer are getting more help and more treatment and I think

:03:03. > :03:08.that is very important. It is absolutely right there are two

:03:08. > :03:18.forms of allowance for those people who can't work, who did genuinely

:03:18. > :03:22.

:03:22. > :03:32.can't work or prepare for work, get Prime Minister's Questions comes to

:03:32. > :03:34.

:03:34. > :03:38.amend. There will not be another one until the fifth September. The

:03:38. > :03:44.party conference season begins at the end of September. As Nick

:03:44. > :03:47.Robinson said, the leader of the opposition used the coalition's

:03:47. > :03:52.problems over House of Lords reform to paint a wider picture of the

:03:52. > :04:02.general problems of the coalition, particularly of the economy and the

:04:02. > :04:05.

:04:05. > :04:08.fact we are in a double-dip Mark in Dudley says, it strikes me

:04:09. > :04:15.that David Cameron is living in a political parallel universe because

:04:15. > :04:20.he is out-of-touch with reality. Stephen agreed, Ed Miliband clearly

:04:20. > :04:24.won the argument, me keep some rising the government's shambles.

:04:24. > :04:29.But Jaqueline says, if all Ed Miliband can come up with his

:04:29. > :04:35.tittle-tattle, the bottom of the barrel has been found. And David

:04:35. > :04:40.from Bury St Edmonds said, terrible stuff from Ed Miliband. Schoolboy

:04:40. > :04:45.stuff and attempts at pathetic point-scoring totally irrelevant.

:04:45. > :04:51.But quite a few people agreed with Marjorie: I feel depressed with all

:04:51. > :04:58.three parties. If this is democracy at work, it is not very effective.

:04:58. > :05:03.I feel a plague on all your houses. And if no party do is do the right

:05:03. > :05:08.thing on care for the elderly because of a backlash, I fear for

:05:08. > :05:13.the future of. There was a time when the coalition

:05:13. > :05:17.would go to a second round but my understanding is that they will not

:05:17. > :05:23.attempt a second coalition agreement to see them through,

:05:23. > :05:28.which suggests that if they can't get House of Lords reform through,

:05:29. > :05:33.what else can they give Nick Clegg? It is not obvious. One of the

:05:33. > :05:37.reasons I don't think they are in quite the panic they might have

:05:37. > :05:42.been is that it is not pushing him that much legislation. This

:05:42. > :05:44.government does not have a huge legislative agenda. The

:05:44. > :05:49.Conservatives have their mind on bringing back things they believe

:05:49. > :05:55.are popular for them before the election, another Welfare Bill and

:05:56. > :06:00.an education bill, but there is not that sort of legislation being

:06:00. > :06:05.driven through. So we are in this row about the nature of the

:06:05. > :06:08.coalition deal. Wasn't it interesting that a Tory backbencher

:06:08. > :06:13.wanted to embarrass the Prime Minister by asking whether it was

:06:13. > :06:17.time to renegotiate the coalition agreement? The Lib Dems say, there

:06:17. > :06:22.was a deal, we give you what you want and we get House of Lords

:06:22. > :06:27.reform. The Tories say, that is not the deal. We gave you a referendum

:06:27. > :06:32.on changing the voting system. We never promised to Lord's reform.

:06:32. > :06:36.You can see the tension about what to do next. Do you hear more voices

:06:36. > :06:44.saying that they think at some stage the coalition will goad its

:06:44. > :06:47.separate ways in 2014? Not that it would provoke an election, but that

:06:47. > :06:50.they will go their separate ways because both the Conservatives and

:06:50. > :06:56.the Lib Dems want to establish their own identities again and it

:06:56. > :07:03.will be a supply in confidence minority Conservative government.

:07:03. > :07:08.Yes, the question is when. Everybody has agreed there will

:07:08. > :07:15.come a point, and particularly when we know the date of an election.

:07:15. > :07:20.Never forget what a big issue that is. It is made it 2015. There will

:07:20. > :07:25.come at a point when the Lib Dems will say, we give the government if

:07:25. > :07:31.every support so it survives but we are now a certain our separate

:07:31. > :07:35.identity. Sorry to move away but one other thought about what the

:07:35. > :07:43.view was said. Never forget the contrast between where we are now

:07:43. > :07:47.on the eve of this holiday and the eve of the Christmas holiday. I

:07:47. > :07:52.would have said that at Christmas Ed Miliband had a pretty miserable

:07:52. > :07:58.PMQs before Christmas. The opinion polls were bad and the talk around

:07:58. > :08:03.the Labour Party will, what are we going to do? Oh my God. Look at the

:08:03. > :08:07.transformation. It is a total transformation. You know have a

:08:07. > :08:11.leader of the Labour party feeling absolutely confident in PMQs,

:08:11. > :08:16.commanding it in many ways, embarrassing his opponents. He has

:08:16. > :08:20.a significant lead in the polls. He is mocking the government. A

:08:20. > :08:24.coalition that is in trouble not just between themselves but between

:08:24. > :08:28.the Tory backbenchers and the Conservatives. It was almost

:08:28. > :08:32.inconceivable at Christmas that Ed Miliband would be able to have the

:08:32. > :08:36.thought of performance that he did today. He will go into the summer

:08:36. > :08:41.knowing that lots of the was do not much like this but on the other

:08:41. > :08:45.hand, it is the government that is in crisis and not him. If the

:08:45. > :08:50.economy is in for several years of more hard pounding, which everybody

:08:50. > :08:54.from the Chancellor and the Cabinet Secretary downwards suggests that

:08:54. > :08:59.we are, the original coalition plan that living standards would be

:08:59. > :09:07.rising, if that does not happen by 2015 and if you have a coalition

:09:07. > :09:10.increasingly fractious, she did a betting man put money on Labour

:09:10. > :09:18.being at least the largest party at the next election -- shouldn't

:09:18. > :09:21.abetting man? No. The economic situation is tough and we know that.

:09:21. > :09:27.But it is worth remembering that the private sector is doing what we

:09:27. > :09:31.said, it is not growing as fast as we hoped, largely because people

:09:31. > :09:36.are being very disciplined. Companies are being flexible.

:09:36. > :09:43.Unions in the private sector, we have seen that in the car industry,

:09:43. > :09:47.very sensible deals. It is difficult. Mick is right, there is

:09:47. > :09:52.not a massive legislative programme. That comes back to abate we were

:09:52. > :09:57.having yesterday. Government is not just about passing an enormous

:09:57. > :10:01.quantity of bills. It is about using the legislation we have used,

:10:01. > :10:06.delivering one all of those things, not passing more and more and more

:10:06. > :10:10.pills. I understand that but if you could not win an overall majority

:10:10. > :10:14.in the middle of the worst recession since the 1930s and up

:10:14. > :10:19.against the most unpopular prime minister since records began, what

:10:19. > :10:26.makes you think you have any chance of a majority in 2015 after five

:10:26. > :10:30.years of hard, economic times? had fewer than 200 seats. We gained

:10:30. > :10:35.the largest number of scenes that we have gained ever. But we had a

:10:35. > :10:40.massive mountain to climb. What would make cute game more after

:10:40. > :10:46.five years of almost no growth? -- what would make you get more?

:10:46. > :10:50.Because the voters will look at the context, like the eurozone, the

:10:50. > :10:55.difficult decisions we make to deal with the deficit, get finances

:10:55. > :10:59.under control, and they look at what could have been. They are

:10:59. > :11:04.looking at that now and Labour is between 10 and 15 points ahead in

:11:04. > :11:09.the polls. But that often happens in the mid-term. As we get closer

:11:09. > :11:13.to the election, people will ask themselves not just about us but

:11:13. > :11:16.about the alternative and I think they will say they want David

:11:16. > :11:24.Cameron to continue as Prime Minister and we will set out that

:11:24. > :11:29.case. I will ask is personally, not as a politician. -- I will ask this

:11:29. > :11:36.personally. If Labour did end up as the largest party, as the polls

:11:36. > :11:42.suggest, although the elections are a long way away, would it be your

:11:42. > :11:46.view that they should... If they went in with the Lib Dems they

:11:46. > :11:51.would have an overall majority. Do you think they should stay as a

:11:51. > :12:00.minority government, like Harold Wilson in 74, or do a deal with the

:12:00. > :12:06.Lib Dems? It depends on so many things, Andrew. Certainly I think

:12:06. > :12:10.that increasingly people feel that Ed Miliband and Labour is talking

:12:10. > :12:15.the language and talking about the things that matter to them. He

:12:16. > :12:21.seems to have the right priorities. If after the next election, and

:12:21. > :12:24.particularly if the boundary changes go through, we would expect

:12:24. > :12:29.my Meg Munn but seems to be down, of course if we were the largest

:12:29. > :12:37.party it would be crazy not to enter into discussions with other

:12:37. > :12:44.parties -- we would expect our numbers to beat down. But it would

:12:44. > :12:49.be on the basis to carry a legislative programme, not, as this

:12:49. > :12:54.government is, a discredited day-in day-out irrelevance which diverts

:12:54. > :12:58.from the things that really matters in this country. It is the end of

:12:58. > :13:01.term, speculating way ahead, but remember one of the big reasons

:13:01. > :13:06.Gordon Brown could not form a coalition with the Liberal

:13:06. > :13:11.Democrats is that there were used, not weeks and months and even days

:13:11. > :13:17.after the election, there we use of anger of the Liberal Democrats to

:13:17. > :13:21.Gordon Brown. -- there were years. The Lords reform for Labour is

:13:21. > :13:26.quite important. If the perception of the Liberal Democrats is that

:13:26. > :13:31.the Labour Party screwed up the Lord reform, do you think they will

:13:31. > :13:35.be saying, we must give Ed Miliband a parliamentary majority? It is a

:13:35. > :13:40.very interesting calculation in the mind of the Labour leader. On the

:13:40. > :13:45.one hand, any opposition would want to have government and the way to

:13:45. > :13:49.do that is to refuse to co-operate on Lords reform. On the other hand,

:13:49. > :13:53.if you are playing the medium term game, how can you persuade, not

:13:53. > :13:58.Nick Clegg because I don't think Ed Miliband would ever do a deal with

:13:58. > :14:03.Nick Clegg, more likely Vince Cable, how to convince him we are serious

:14:03. > :14:09.about corporate politics in the way the Labour Party are used to be if

:14:09. > :14:12.Labour are now seem to be playing games about Lords reform? My Labour

:14:12. > :14:17.sources tell me they believe that come the election, the Lib Dems

:14:17. > :14:22.will be so diminished in numbers and so toxic as a concept that they

:14:22. > :14:26.would rather form a minority government. Nick is right to say we

:14:26. > :14:31.are talking about circumstances in two-and-a-half years and we do not

:14:31. > :14:36.know. On the point about Lords Reform Bill, that presupposes that

:14:36. > :14:40.the Lords reform holds the degree of importance across the Liberal

:14:40. > :14:47.Democrats that it does on Nick Clegg. It is important not to

:14:47. > :14:53.underestimate -- underestimate the degree to which he is personally

:14:53. > :15:00.invested in this. We have to leave it there. Debut for being with us.

:15:00. > :15:06.See you in September. -- thank you for being with us. It might as well

:15:06. > :15:15.Rain Until September. It will! might have a nice September, that

:15:15. > :15:18.is what they always say. What to do with the youth of today? It's a

:15:18. > :15:21.perennial question, and with youth unemployment at just over a million,

:15:21. > :15:24.a big problem for the government. But what if young people aren't

:15:24. > :15:27.even up to the job and don't have the skills required for the

:15:27. > :15:34.workplace? Well, one business man thinks he has the answer. Here's

:15:34. > :15:39.Colin Smith, chairman of Poundland, To have worked in retell for most

:15:39. > :15:43.of my life. Businesses that have employed tens of thousands and we

:15:44. > :15:49.have sought to employ those who are motivated to work and to learn and

:15:49. > :15:53.who are enthusiastic, confident and with an aspiration to succeed.

:15:53. > :16:03.These are the ideal colleagues for any business, but finding them has

:16:03. > :16:07.

:16:07. > :16:13.Recently, I read about a major supermarket recruiting staff for

:16:13. > :16:17.everyday activities like working on the tail for serving customers. The

:16:17. > :16:23.supermarket reported no problems in filling their positions, but three-

:16:23. > :16:32.quarters of those higher it had to be sent for remedial creed job

:16:32. > :16:38.training before they could start I've experienced similar problems.

:16:38. > :16:41.Over the years, I've become disappointed at the inability of

:16:41. > :16:47.young people to access job opportunities because of their lack

:16:47. > :16:52.of basic but crucial life skills. The ability to communicate with

:16:52. > :16:55.people other than their close friends. The capacity to work

:16:55. > :17:01.together and to co-operate with people they might not have met

:17:01. > :17:11.before. The willingness to listen to the opinions of others. And even

:17:11. > :17:13.

:17:13. > :17:18.the ability to turn up for work on Business leaders must play their

:17:18. > :17:22.part in preparing young people for work. They need to open their doors

:17:22. > :17:27.to young people, even if it is only for a few hours, to give them an

:17:27. > :17:31.insight into what work really is. They need to become involved in

:17:31. > :17:36.schemes in their communities, such as the challenge, to help generate

:17:36. > :17:41.the next generation of business leaders, to give young people a

:17:41. > :17:48.stake in society, and a feeling of self-worth and a chance to succeed

:17:48. > :17:54.in whatever they do. We are joined by Colin Smith. You

:17:54. > :18:01.mentioned the challenge, which is a charity you run. What does it do?

:18:01. > :18:07.It runs intensive programmes for young people, 15 and 16 year-olds.

:18:07. > :18:13.It helps them learn how to build relationships, to improve their

:18:13. > :18:18.understanding of other people from a wide variety of backgrounds, and

:18:18. > :18:23.also built the really important soft skills, teamwork, leadership,

:18:23. > :18:27.and building confidence. One of the things we dust -- discussed before

:18:27. > :18:33.is the number of Saturday jobs have diminished over the years for 16

:18:33. > :18:39.year-olds, the really young people. Milk rounds are not there any more.

:18:39. > :18:43.And paper rounds. Just the idea of getting up in the morning and going

:18:43. > :18:47.out to work, even if it is only a couple of days a week. That is a

:18:47. > :18:57.real issue. When I was a youngster, obviously a long time ago, I worked

:18:57. > :19:01.as a petrol pump attendant. That is why I am encouraging businesses

:19:01. > :19:06.across the country to really get involved in opening their doors at

:19:06. > :19:09.young people. Even if it is only for a few hours a week. Her what

:19:09. > :19:14.has at the response been from businesses? Are vague King to take

:19:14. > :19:17.people on in the way Woolworths used to? For I think they are, a

:19:17. > :19:25.young people have to work really hard at opening up those

:19:25. > :19:30.opportunities. They have to learn those skills to do with personal

:19:30. > :19:34.presentation, positive attitude, communication, teamwork. They need

:19:34. > :19:40.to be given the opportunity to learn those skills and learn the

:19:40. > :19:44.worth Beckett -- worth -- work ethic. Has it always been the case

:19:44. > :19:48.that young people don't have much in terms of communication skills?

:19:48. > :19:52.They are not very good with adults and it is just that they have not

:19:52. > :19:56.had the opportunities to practise rather than failures in education

:19:56. > :20:02.or parenting? I don't think we can look at any one issue like failure

:20:02. > :20:06.in education or parenting. This is an issue for everybody. I really do

:20:06. > :20:10.feel that we've all got to work together to create the opportunity

:20:10. > :20:14.to give them the level of experience they are going to need

:20:14. > :20:18.to go into the workplace. What do you think of the idea of some sort

:20:18. > :20:24.of compulsory Voluntary Service for National Service or something that

:20:24. > :20:25.would force young people to give service to the community. We've

:20:25. > :20:32.introduced the National Citizen Service, which is not voluntary,

:20:32. > :20:35.but has had to take up in the areas it has started. VAT is quite good

:20:35. > :20:39.because it helps children meet people from different backgrounds,

:20:39. > :20:44.maybe do things they are not used to doing, it helps with things like

:20:44. > :20:49.teamwork and leadership. You are a supporter of that. Absolutely.

:20:49. > :20:52.other thing we have been trying to encourage is a large number of new

:20:52. > :20:55.a sprinter ships to give people on the job training as well as

:20:55. > :20:59.training in the academic environment. Those are helpful. And

:20:59. > :21:03.encourage young people to go into the workforce. I meet a lot of

:21:03. > :21:11.young people who want to succeed. It is about giving them the

:21:11. > :21:17.opportunities. Thank you. Jesse Norman tweeting that the

:21:17. > :21:27.rumours of his demise are much exaggerating. That is from Mark

:21:27. > :21:29.

:21:29. > :21:35.Twain. For I didn't know what you meant! Military head was not on. --

:21:35. > :21:42.my literary head. PMQs, we have just watched the last one until

:21:42. > :21:44.September. How will we cope? These people are bitterly disappointed

:21:45. > :21:51.they can't watch it from the comfort of the Daily Politics

:21:51. > :22:01.studio until the autumn. We will invite them! Here is Quentin Letts

:22:01. > :22:03.

:22:03. > :22:07.with his guide to the main event of P is for PMQ use, Prime Minister's

:22:07. > :22:10.Questions, held in the House of Commons once a week. This is the

:22:10. > :22:14.chance for the Leader of the Opposition to have a good old go at

:22:14. > :22:20.the Prime Minister and for the PM to have a go back. Both men looking

:22:20. > :22:23.for a one-line singer which will be picked up by the media. The Prime

:22:23. > :22:31.Minister of our country can't even urge his party to support his own

:22:31. > :22:37.position. A weak, weak, weak. grammar-school boy is not going to

:22:37. > :22:45.take any lessons from that public school boy. How I want to talk

:22:45. > :22:48.about the future. He was the future once. Until the 1960s, prime

:22:48. > :22:51.ministers did not have regular a poor month and the House of Commons

:22:51. > :22:57.because they were not responsible for any single government

:22:57. > :23:02.department, but in 1961 comes this important innovation, P&G is. In

:23:02. > :23:06.that very first session, Harold Macmillan says, I am grateful to

:23:06. > :23:09.the honourable member about what he said on the arrangement of

:23:09. > :23:15.questions. This arrangement suits me much better because I know when

:23:15. > :23:18.to come here. Good old Harold! People sometimes alleged that he

:23:18. > :23:22.and Hughes is too rowdy, too raucous, that it means parliament.

:23:22. > :23:27.I don't know about that. It was ever thus. I've been covering the

:23:27. > :23:35.Commons since the last days of Mrs Thatcher and it was noisy then.

:23:35. > :23:39.BBC's radio coverage goes to 1978. Pretty noisy then. And in 1983, Mrs

:23:39. > :23:49.Thatcher, Prime Minister. The right net -- right honourable member is

:23:49. > :23:55.afraid of an election, is he? Frightened. Can't stand it.

:23:55. > :23:59.Frightened! Bakelite headphones like these yielded to the goggle

:23:59. > :24:03.box in the late 1980s when TV coverage started. Viewers watching

:24:03. > :24:06.pm queues could see something rather odd. Backbenchers ball-

:24:06. > :24:11.winning to their feet as if they were on poco States. They were

:24:11. > :24:15.trying to catch the Speaker's eye, trying to say I want to ask the

:24:15. > :24:19.Prime Minister a question. The first 10 minutes or so, the Leader

:24:19. > :24:23.of the Opposition has his go. Once he has spent his bullets, it is the

:24:23. > :24:28.turn of backbenchers, some of whom are guaranteed ago after a weekly

:24:28. > :24:35.ballot, but after that it is everyone to him or herself. This

:24:35. > :24:39.can be a terrible tyrant and PMQs televised is arguably one of the

:24:39. > :24:42.reasons for us so many sound bites. But this weekly scrutiny of the

:24:43. > :24:49.Prime Minister is a good thing. It gets used reviewers interested in

:24:49. > :24:59.what is going on in Parliament. PMQs is still very much a big

:24:59. > :25:02.

:25:02. > :25:06.potato of the House of Commons week. J B potato! -- a big potato!

:25:06. > :25:10.You said you wanted the Prime Minister to renegotiate the

:25:10. > :25:15.coalition agreement, what did you mean by that? Most coalition's mid-

:25:15. > :25:20.term have a review and from a party political point of view, the Lib

:25:20. > :25:26.Dems and the Conservatives need to take a look at it agreement. Times

:25:26. > :25:32.are changing, new issues are emerging. A calm sensible look at

:25:32. > :25:35.it would be useful. After today's PMQs, who heads off to Tuscany with

:25:36. > :25:42.a bigger spring in their step, Labour or the coalition?

:25:42. > :25:45.Undoubtedly Labour are going home more cheerful. As ever, you have an

:25:45. > :25:50.opposition leader looking a bit Blyth, a bit unconcerned about what

:25:50. > :25:53.is happening to the country, but very smooth. A prime minister

:25:53. > :25:56.getting very frustrated that things are not going his way. It was like

:25:56. > :26:03.that today, but we had a spectacular moment on the

:26:03. > :26:13.backbenches. And Mary Morris from Newton Abbot... You may remember

:26:13. > :26:13.

:26:13. > :26:20.this, Andrew. There used to be a lady called Dame Ellen...

:26:20. > :26:24.Terrifically Batty! You may say that! I couldn't possibly comment.

:26:24. > :26:29.Did you know you were going to be called and is as important your

:26:29. > :26:33.profile as an MP to have got that question out? We are talking about

:26:33. > :26:37.it on network television. I think she did a great job asking the

:26:37. > :26:42.question, there was real passion. The chamber was rowdy and raucous,

:26:42. > :26:49.but she did a fantastic job and David landed the question smoothly.

:26:49. > :26:53.-- handled. I had not expected to be called, but I did feel it was

:26:53. > :26:57.important to raise the issue. We are halfway through a coalition now

:26:57. > :27:02.and there are clearly tensions emerge and. It is important,

:27:02. > :27:11.particularly for the Conservatives, to give some input into what

:27:11. > :27:17.happens next. Quentin, you have described our guest here, Mark

:27:17. > :27:23.Harper, as an MP who could pass for it door-to-door Bible salesman! Was

:27:23. > :27:27.there to complement or an insult? You sense with him that he might

:27:27. > :27:30.smell like toothpaste, he is very, very clean. He did very well

:27:30. > :27:35.yesterday, he might have sold a few Bibles yesterday, but it was not

:27:35. > :27:42.good enough for the coalition. you both assure us that the Speaker

:27:42. > :27:47.is losing his campaign to make PMQs less noisy? He has lost it, it was

:27:47. > :27:53.loud and raucous. We could not hear the questions. But he did his best.

:27:53. > :27:59.We thank you both for that. The last PMQs for this parliamentary

:27:59. > :28:03.term. You are not a door-to-door salesman. Only in the sense that

:28:03. > :28:09.all politicians a door-to-door salesman for their own parties. I'm

:28:09. > :28:16.very relaxed. Quinton and I get on very well. Most politicians are

:28:16. > :28:22.pleased to be written about. It is time to put you out of your misery

:28:22. > :28:32.and give you the answer to guess the year. It was 1970. Tessa, press

:28:32. > :28:36.

:28:37. > :28:45.that red button. This is the winner. Sue Middleton from Norfolk. He was