11/07/2012 Daily Politics


11/07/2012

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Good morning. Welcome to the Daily Politics. Will Lords reform be the

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issue that drives the coalition apart? Senior Lib Dems warn there

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will be consequences if the bill doesn't get through parliament. MPs

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voted in favour of Lords reform last night. But 91 Conservatives

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voted against the plans, the biggest rebellion since the

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coalition was formed. The government also doesn't have a

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timetable for getting the bill through. So, is Nick Clegg's dream

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now dead in the water? We will be talking to the minister responsible.

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How should we pay for our care when we get old? It's a problem

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politicians have been wrestling with for years. The government's

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long awaited white paper on the issue will be published later today

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but will it answer the big questions?

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It should be a lively Prime Minister's Questions and we will

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have all the action live at midday. And do young people know what

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customer service is? We will be joined by the boss of one of

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Britain's biggest retailers, who thinks the youth of today have got

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a lot to learn. All that coming up in the next 90

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minutes of TV gold, a programme of Olympian proportions. And with us

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today for this marathon are two of Westminster's most athletic minds.

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The Constitutional reform minister Mark Harper. Not got much to do

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these days of course! And we hope to be joined, although there is an

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empty chair at the moment, by the shadow Olympics minister Dame Tessa

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Jowell. She is stuck in traffic. With the Olympics, just get used to

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it! We will let you know when the dame arrives but we don't do titles

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here. She would just be Tessa Jowell to us.

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Let's go to that a vote in the Commons. The government did win the

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vote on the principle of the proposed reform to the Lords, with

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a handsome majority. But, it is a big but, it suffered its biggest

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rebellion since it came to power. Yes, 91 Conservative MPs voted

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against the plans. What's more, the government was forced to drop its

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timetable for pushing the bill through. That throws the bill's

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progress through parliament into doubt. In a moment we will be

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hearing from one of those opponents but first, here's a flavour of the

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debate yesterday. Mr Speaker, we have listened carefully to the

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debate so far. LAUGHTER. Confident that we will get a significant

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majority with a second reading, but for Lords reform to progress it

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needs those who support reform to vote for reform and to vote for

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that reform to make progress through this House. It is clear

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that the opposition are not prepared to do that, so we will

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not... ALLOW Lord SPEAKING. It is clear that the opposition are not

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prepared to do that so we will not move the programme to motion

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tonight. Can I commend the government for the wisdom of its

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decision? But can I put it to my right honourable friend that

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whatever moral authority this bill had, it has now lost. The decision

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to withdraw the programme motion is a victory for parliament. While we

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support the second reading of the bill, we could not support the

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government's attempts to curtail the motion and we welcome the fact

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they have withdrawn the motion today. Can I make it clear that it

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is the very substantial opposition from within the Conservative Party

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that is responsible for the withdrawal of this motion and not

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the Labour Party, and that should be perfectly clear. Shouldn't we

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just go home? He knows it is all over, they know it is all over, we

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have more important things to be debating. Let's call the whole

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shooting match off! The honourable gentleman can go home. LAUGHTER.

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But the government plans to proceed with his legislative programme.

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Order! Order! The ayes to the right, 462. The noes to the left, 124.

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That was yesterday's debate. Joining me now from the central

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lobby of parliament is one of those Conservative rebels, Eleanor Laing.

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Welcome to the programme. You must be pretty happy that the government

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pulled the programme motion. I am pleased that democracy has spoken.

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Those who want the bill say they want to expand democracy and that

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is what has happened. The House of Commons has exerted its democratic

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muscle against the government, that is what they say they want, the

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government held to account, and that is what happened yesterday.

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The government did the right thing in pausing the bills so further

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negotiations can take place. there bill effectively dead or

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suspended? I don't imagine it is dead but I am sure the minister

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would enlighten us on that but it ought to be substantially amended

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and now we have time for that. Those of us who are voting A

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against the bill and planned to vote against the programme motion

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simply wanted to have the full debate on this matter in a joint

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committee report, and the House of Commons has not even debated the

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Joint Committee report. In the eight months that the joint

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committee looked at these measures, we realised there was far more to

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this issue than eight tinkering with the House of Lords. It is

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fundamental parliamentary reform and it deserves to be properly

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looked at. Number 10 have said it is still possible to get the first

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elected Peers imposition by the next election. It might be. The

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government had a majority in the House of Lords so it might be butts

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it should not be so until it has been properly considered.

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Liberal Democrats say you have not kept your side of the bargain. A

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deal is a deal. The coalition is a compromise, of course it is. It is

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not be deal. Fundamental constitutional parliamentary reform

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is not a bargaining chip for short- term political advantage. It should

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not be used as such. That is an abuse of parliament. The coalition

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agreement does not give Conservative MPs the right to vote

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against a key piece of legislation. Every member of parliament has the

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right to vote with their conscience on any matter. Thank you.

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Still no sign of Tessa Jowell. I hope she realises now just how bad

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the traffic is given to be during the Olympics. Clearly she has not

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been allocated one of those lanes... Those of you not in London do not

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realise that this city now has lanes that those in Moscow had for

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the Politburo where only certain cars are allowed to travel. We are

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joined in the studio by the Liberal Democrat MP Don Foster. I see in

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the corner of the studio, the Dane has arrived! You might as well come

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in, it is only television. Come and protect me because we are having

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the Olympics knocked! I will not come to you first and since you

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can't answer back I will say, now you know how bad the traffic will

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be in the Olympics. That is cheap! Cheap but true! As the Prime

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Minister said, we will take the summer and we will talk to

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colleagues to see if there is a way to get to a position where we have

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an agreed way forward. The bill got a very large majority at second

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reading, son there is a clear sense in the House of Commons over ruled

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that the principle of getting the first elections in 2015 is

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supported, so we need to see if there is a way forward. 91 of your

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colleagues voted against the principle. Probably even more would

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have voted against the timetable had it come up. What makes you

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think between now and September you can change the minds of so many

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Conservatives? That is why we will not rush ahead. What makes you

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think you can change their mind? All the rebels I have spoken to

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will not change their mind. The government blinked, they backed

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down, they have won. The House of Commons have set out support in

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principle of the bill. I will come back to Labour in a minute... I

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just want to say, it is a serious question and I don't understand

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what the answer will be, which is how will you change their mind?

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sat through days of debate, I met with colleagues myself so there are

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a number of issues that colleagues have got about the implications of

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the House of Lords reform. Some do not agree with the principle, some

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are comfortable but they did not like some issues around the

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electoral system... So you still think you can win a timetable

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motion in September? We will speak with colleagues and the plan is to

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then move forward in September with something we can get agreement on

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but we do not know the solution until we have had those

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conversations. We are all learning as we go along, if you fine you

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don't think you can change your colleagues' mindss, you would bring

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forward the timetable? You tend to look on the dockside of things, I

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am a natural optimist -- on the black side of things. You have to

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be! We will work with colleagues. That is the fourth time you will

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work with colleagues. Let me speak to Don Foster. And we will make

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progress. We will see. You can have me back in September. These stories,

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Andrew! Honestly! You deputy leader, Simon Hughes, said there will be

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consequences if the Tories do not stick to their side of the deal.

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is very simple. Two opposing political parties came together

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predominantly to solve the economic mess... A what will the

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consequences be? I hope we will continue to work together

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regardless of the outcome of this. The answer to your question is that

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a number of my colleagues will find it more difficult in the future if

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it is not delivered to support some of the more difficult decisions we

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have to make. Time will tell. In English, it means that if

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relationships are a bit more fractious, it makes it more

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difficult to do a deal. A but what will the consequences be? No idea.

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What I want to happen is what most people in the House of Commons

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wants to happen. We have a number of Conservative colleagues to agree

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with the principle of Lords reform, they don't like some of the detail,

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we can accommodate that. Colleagues in the Labour Party are a bit

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competes used as to whether they want more time -- a bit confused.

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463 MPs want this to happen and we will find a way of making this

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happen. You are filibustering! You know you are doing it! I can tell

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that you know! No! I want to bring tacit him. Either way, welcome.

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I apologise to your viewers. Congratulations on your Dane had.

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Though as you know, we don't do titles. -- Dame heard. You are

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willing laboured to will the end and not the means. You will

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therefore risk the end. First of all, the end is the problem between

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the coalition parties. That is the first point. We are absolutely

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clear that we support reform. There will obviously be discussions over

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the summer about the possibilities of making progress but so profound

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of the divisions in the Conservative Party... Mark is a

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decent man and an optimist, but how they are going to heal these rifts

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with their coalition partners is very hard to understand. The rift

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would not matter if you back the government on the issue of which

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you agree in principle. The let me answer that question. The risk of

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that is that this very important constitutional legislation is

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denied proper scrutiny. How much time do you want? It is not a

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matter of apportioning and number of days. It is if you ever want it

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to come out of the House of Commons. No, Mark. Just listen. The

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challenge is to make sure that every single bit of the bill is

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properly scrutinised in committee. I understand that. You cannot have

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another 100 days. Can you tell me any major constitutional reform

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that Labour has put through that did not have the timetable motion

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with it? We have always actually gone to a referendum on major

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constitutional change and that is one thing, one of the major

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sticking points. But my point is, Tessa Jowell, every major reform

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labour has proposed of the constitution, you have always

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timetable to the bill so why would you not agree to this one? Because

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we are concerned that proper scrutiny of the legislation will be

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made impossible by filibustering, just a second... No, no. We brought

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forward three sets, five sets of major constitutional change when we

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were in government. Reform to the House of Lords, getting rid of

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their hereditary Peers... The new timetable them all. This is

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:16:18.:16:22.

That is a procedural detail on a failed... I am suitably admonished.

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The principle remains that just as there were a clauses on the

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boundaries built that what walked out and were not subject to proper

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scrutiny, we have to make sure this legislation... What do you say to

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that was back Tessa, please. Miller and says he wants this in

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the House of Lords to be debated. - - Ed Miliband. We have to agree a

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number of days, or we are prepared to have that discussion, but at no

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point to the Labour Party say how many days. It employs you never get

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to the end and you never make progress. Everyone who wants reform

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to happen needs to help... Go to parliament which means there will

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be no scrutiny... While the Lib Dems in such high dudgeon was Mac

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21 Lib Dems voted against tuition fees and another eight abstained.

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Now you're up up an arms because Conservatives of litigants house of

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Lords reform. I am not sure we are in high dudgeon. A little low

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dudgeon. It would have been great if the Conservatives had been able

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to deliver the vote on the timetable motion on that -- in the

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way we delivered on some difficult things. We have confidence that the

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prime minister will work with his colleagues. He all right. Yes or

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note. If you can't say yes or no, don't answer. Will we get Lords

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reform was much on confident we will get some reforms in the House

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of Lords. Some reform. As clear as mud. I think Don Foster goes...

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Musical chairs. You'll have to change chairs. Not until he has

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change chairs. Not until he has How we pay for our care when we get

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old is one of the most pressing issues in politics. Ministers will

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set out their plans later today for the future of social care in

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England. The plans have been beset by delays so will this document

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finally provide answers to the big questions? Jo.

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There are few who would disagree that social care in England is in

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that social care in England is in need of reform. But how you do that,

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and how you pay for it, has been a headache for both Conservative and

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Labour governments. The new White Paper suggests a "universal

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deferred payment" scheme. This would offer a state loan to

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pensioners moving into residential care so they do not have to sell

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their homes immediately. At the moment, anyone with assets of more

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than �23,250 has to pay for their own care. But the loan, with

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interest, would be reclaimed after their death. There are also

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proposals to cap the amount individuals will have to pay

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towards nursing home fees. It's a contentious issue and it's not yet

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clear what the level of the cap would be. Before the last election,

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there were cross-party talks which ultimately broke down acrimoniously.

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An independent review last year recommended that the cap should be

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set at �35,000. Ministers are not yet expected to make specific

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commitments. Here's what the Health Secretary Andrew Lansley had to say

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Secretary Andrew Lansley had to say this morning. They are worried

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about how we will be paid for. We have invested in social care, some

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don't billion pounds through this column and. But in addition, one

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will make clear that we are not only going to give people access to

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loans scheme that means they don't have to sell the home to pay for

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care, but in addition we support the principles which the deal not

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commission set up but would set a cap on care costs, but we need to

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establish, not least with the Spending Review as the basis for

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this, how that is to be paid for in the future. Andrew Lansley.

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We're joined now by the chief executive of the Alzheimer's

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Society, Jeremy Hughes. How confident are you that there is

:20:18.:20:22.

going to be some concrete agreement on how social care is funded quiz

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mag unfortunately I don't think we were there for that any promises

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about the funding. What the Goldman failed to do is make any commitment

:20:35.:20:41.

on the funding. We have waited to years, we have had the commission,

:20:41.:20:45.

on were read it will become but did not commission because the

:20:45.:20:48.

Government doesn't seem to be committed to putting forward the

:20:48.:20:53.

morning. Both parties or at all. There were cross-party talks that

:20:53.:20:56.

were meant have happened in February, but they don't seem to

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have happened. People are paying enormous costs for their own care,

:21:00.:21:05.

nothing has been promised about fixing it. It needs to be addressed

:21:05.:21:08.

urgently are not waiting for the Comprehensive Spending Review. The

:21:08.:21:12.

review can tell us how much money we've got, but we need a discussion

:21:12.:21:17.

on how what is spent. Shame on you box. People still don't know

:21:17.:21:22.

whether they will have to pay for their own care when they're old. Do

:21:22.:21:27.

you support the idea of a cap was much we've made it clear we support

:21:27.:21:31.

the principle, but as soon as you get them to dealing with the

:21:31.:21:36.

details, it is up paying for it what the Secretary of State has set

:21:36.:21:41.

out his it will be dealt with through the Spending Review. We've

:21:41.:21:44.

renounced some fondant in terms of more money from the health budget

:21:44.:21:48.

to help with funding social care. We have announced the universal

:21:48.:21:52.

deferred schemes that everybody will know they don't have to sell

:21:52.:21:55.

their house within the lifetime and we have set up some positive...

:21:55.:22:03.

That stops right to wake us might from 2015. -- that starts at Reuter

:22:03.:22:13.
:22:13.:22:14.

Y equals Mac from 2015. Their relatives will have to sell it.

:22:14.:22:18.

have a bizarre situation that the manger is a disease like cancer.

:22:18.:22:22.

you have cancer at me what we did on the NHS or if you have dementia,

:22:22.:22:25.

you don't have any support and you have to pay for rich deferred

:22:25.:22:30.

payments is an improvement, but people are still paying enormous

:22:30.:22:34.

costs. Tessa Jowell, Labour was in power for a long perk -- on and did

:22:34.:22:39.

nothing at this in a broad sense. Support the idea of a cap at

:22:39.:22:45.

�35,000 was marked we support the principles, but think action has to

:22:45.:22:53.

be taken up. 1.4 million -- 1.4 billion has been returned from the

:22:53.:22:59.

Department of Health to the Treasury. Why can't 700 million

:22:59.:23:01.

offer be directed to local authorities to provide care for

:23:01.:23:05.

frail elderly people in their own homes quotes Max I will come on to

:23:05.:23:15.
:23:15.:23:19.

Does Labour support back �35,000 cap was Mark -- choir's Mac were

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reduced support the principle of a cap. But the second thing is we've

:23:25.:23:32.

got to agree proposals that a sustainable in the long term.

:23:32.:23:41.

talks have been taking place. cross-border talks have broken down.

:23:41.:23:44.

Rhino that Andy Burnham, Liz Kendall, are ready to resume those

:23:44.:23:48.

cross-party talks at any Tonge. Most people watching at home will

:23:48.:23:53.

feel it is ridiculous that we have spent 20 minutes talking to her

:23:53.:23:59.

house will perform while at Houghton, as we do it, the Iraq

:23:59.:24:09.
:24:09.:24:33.

Work we work that ends in his What would you like to see?

:24:33.:24:36.

Presumably you would like to see something that clears up the issue

:24:36.:24:41.

of what people have to do in terms of planning. The other issue is

:24:42.:24:45.

about the health budget and the local authority budget and do you

:24:46.:24:51.

think there should be a single budget that crosses those two, so

:24:51.:24:55.

when an old person read something in their home, the authority

:24:55.:25:01.

doesn't say, that is not us it is another authority. We are expecting

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the white paper to say there will be more personal care budgets

:25:05.:25:11.

provided to individuals. You can't have the same person managing two

:25:11.:25:17.

budgets without proper support. We meet one system that supports

:25:17.:25:22.

people in a joined-up way. -- we meet. The proposals we are

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expecting this afternoon will not make any big difference, they are

:25:25.:25:30.

talking another couple of hundred million pounds. All of the money

:25:30.:25:35.

used so far has just reduced some of the cuts, it has not led to any

:25:36.:25:43.

improvements. Colleagues had an extremely busy

:25:44.:25:50.

week on the Daily Politics. You can see Roger Federer with his hands on

:25:50.:25:57.

the prize there. No wonder Andy Murray was so upset. Also providing

:25:57.:26:06.

comfort to Bob Diamond. All that it must be a boost to him now he is

:26:06.:26:13.

not getting a multi-million pound pay-off. And speaking of France,

:26:13.:26:17.

David Cameron you only one act of diplomacy could restore Anglo-

:26:17.:26:26.

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

:26:26.:26:32.

my little ceramic friend, but it's not over. One of you lucky people

:26:32.:26:36.

can win this well-travelled consumption device. We will remind

:26:36.:26:40.

you of how to enter in a minute, but let's see if you can remember

:26:40.:26:50.
:26:50.:26:52.

This will be the first time that British voters will have been to

:26:52.:26:58.

the polls on their way to school. shall certainly be voting

:26:58.:27:08.
:27:08.:27:43.

Conservative. Every outbreak of There are men walking the streets

:27:43.:27:46.

today with eggs in their pocket on the off-chance they will bump into

:27:46.:27:56.
:27:56.:28:23.

# Just like me, they long to be The day to be me the chance of

:28:23.:28:27.

winning, and a rendition of Karen winning, and a rendition of Karen

:28:27.:28:34.

Carpenter by Andrew Neil, send your answers into us. You can see the

:28:34.:28:42.

full terms of conditions on the website. The music he enjoyed when

:28:42.:28:48.

he became middle-aged! You are very brave! I can hear the voice of Nick

:28:48.:28:53.

Robinson. I thought it was going to be James Landale, but life is full

:28:53.:29:00.

of disappointments. Coming up to midday. Let's take a look at Big

:29:00.:29:06.

Ben before we look at cygnet. Prime Minister's Questions is on its way.

:29:06.:29:11.

The final PMQs before the summer recess. A few things to talk about.

:29:11.:29:16.

I think what will be intriguing is whether Ed Miliband wants to talk

:29:16.:29:20.

about the House of Lords or not. He might calculate it is not the

:29:20.:29:25.

biggest topic at the water cooler today, and maybe talk about social

:29:25.:29:30.

care. Or will he be tempted, as it is the last one, to use it as a

:29:30.:29:34.

theme for the Government being in a mess, for the coalition falling

:29:34.:29:38.

apart? May be tempted to do that rather than talk about House of

:29:38.:29:47.

Lords head on. You can be accused of writing the weekend report.

:29:47.:29:52.

Those big summaries on a Sunday. What Ed Miliband wants is a phrase

:29:52.:29:57.

like on the shambles for the Budget. A phrase or a thought. He has to go

:29:57.:30:01.

wider. And also stick with the Government through the summer.

:30:01.:30:06.

is true that the coalition heads into the summer he in pretty bad

:30:06.:30:10.

shape. It is in chaos over House of Lords reform. The economy has

:30:10.:30:15.

barely grown since 2009. All the time you have been in power it has

:30:15.:30:19.

hardly grown. When you speak to Treasury officials of the record,

:30:19.:30:24.

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

:30:24.:30:30.

grim. Per the economic difficulties, we all know what they are like.

:30:30.:30:33.

That remains the Government's central proposition. It is part of

:30:33.:30:37.

the reason we don't want to spend every day talking about a house of

:30:37.:30:46.

Lords reform. I don't agree about the state of the coalition. But

:30:46.:30:49.

relationships are very good. Of course there are tensions, there

:30:49.:30:53.

are bound to be when you have two parties working together, but the

:30:53.:30:57.

last government, with only one party, there were a lot of

:30:57.:31:00.

attention saying that government, or worse than anything we have as

:31:00.:31:05.

two parties working together to sort out these interests -- issues

:31:05.:31:09.

in the notional interest. Who said it closed list system for electing

:31:09.:31:12.

the House of Lords would be entirely undesirable? It would

:31:12.:31:16.

entrench the powers of the party's? I did and we are not recommending

:31:16.:31:24.

The police said we would not have a closed list. Let's see what is

:31:24.:31:34.
:31:34.:31:37.

I am sure the whole House would wish to join me in paying tribute

:31:37.:31:42.

to PC Ian Dibell who was shot and killed in Clacton-on-Sea on Monday.

:31:42.:31:47.

Even though he was off duty at the time, he acted selflessly when he

:31:47.:31:51.

saw members of the public at risk. This is typical of the behaviour of

:31:51.:31:56.

our brave police force. His death is a reminder of the great debt we

:31:56.:32:00.

owe it everybody in the police force and we send our deep

:32:00.:32:05.

sympathies to his family, friends and colleagues. In addition to

:32:05.:32:15.

duties in this House I shall have further meetings later today.

:32:15.:32:18.

am repeat the remarks that the Prime Minister made to the House

:32:18.:32:22.

about the brave police officer who lost his life. Can the Prime

:32:22.:32:26.

Minister explained why he is making it easier for corporate law to be

:32:26.:32:33.

amended... So rich, copyright law to be amended by secondary

:32:33.:32:37.

legislation? Does this have anything to do with the 23 meetings

:32:37.:32:42.

that he and his ministers have had with Google? We are following the

:32:42.:32:46.

recommendations of the Hargreaves Report recommissioned. It is

:32:46.:32:50.

important that we update copyright law in this country and that is

:32:50.:33:00.
:33:00.:33:02.

what we propose to do. A report into the York Hill child heart unit

:33:02.:33:10.

in Glasgow says that the provision of paediatric intensive care may be

:33:10.:33:19.

unsafe if critical issues are not addressed. It is now suggesting

:33:19.:33:24.

that Leeds should be closed while Glasgow is not affected. It is

:33:24.:33:28.

absurd and this review must be thrown out. He quite rightly speaks

:33:28.:33:33.

up for his local hospital, an excellent hospital. My local

:33:33.:33:38.

hospital has also not been selected under the safe and sustainable

:33:38.:33:42.

review. I would say as prime minister and as a parent but we

:33:42.:33:47.

have to recognise the operations that are being carried out are

:33:47.:33:51.

incredibly complex and in the end, this review was led by clinicians

:33:51.:33:56.

and it is about trying to save lives to make sure that we

:33:56.:34:01.

specialise the most difficult work in a number of hospitals around the

:34:01.:34:06.

country. I am sure that what really matters is that more parents don't

:34:06.:34:09.

suffer the agony of losing their children because we do not have the

:34:10.:34:15.

highest standards of care in the hospitals that are chosen. Can I

:34:15.:34:20.

join the Prime Minister in paying tribute to PC Ian Dibell. He

:34:20.:34:24.

demonstrated extraordinary bravery well-being of duty. His selfless

:34:24.:34:29.

act and his tragic death remind us what the police do for us right up

:34:29.:34:34.

and down this country and I am sure there are condolences of the House

:34:34.:34:38.

go to his family and friends. At this last Question Time before

:34:38.:34:41.

the recess, can I remind the Prime Minister what he said before the

:34:42.:34:46.

election when asked why he wanted to be Prime Minister. With

:34:46.:34:52.

characteristic humility, he said: Because I think I'd be good at it.

:34:52.:35:02.
:35:02.:35:07.

LAUGHTER. Mr Speaker, where did it all go wrong? It is this government

:35:07.:35:12.

that has kept benefits, that has capped immigration, that has taken

:35:12.:35:17.

two million out of tax, that has cut taxes for 25 million people,

:35:17.:35:23.

Cup the fuel duty, increased NHS spending and cut the deficit by

:35:23.:35:27.

25%! I cannot read out the list of all the things he got wrong, we

:35:27.:35:34.

haven't got time! They are obviously well with today, it is a

:35:34.:35:42.

shame it didn't happen last night! Last night, he lost control of his

:35:42.:35:49.

party and not for the first time, he lost his temper as well. Because

:35:49.:35:55.

we understand it was fisticuffs in the lobby with the member for

:35:55.:35:59.

Hereford and south Hertfordshire. I notice that the posh boys have

:36:00.:36:07.

ordered him off the estate today! Who does the Prime Minister blame

:36:07.:36:12.

most for the disarray in his government? The Liberal Democrats

:36:12.:36:18.

or his own backbenchers? Is the best he can do today is a bunch of

:36:18.:36:23.

tittle-tattle Andrew Marr... How utterly pathetic! -- tittle-tattle

:36:23.:36:28.

and rumours. On the day we are introducing social reform that will

:36:28.:36:34.

help people up and down the country, we get half-baked gossip. If we

:36:34.:36:39.

want to see House of Lords reform, all of those who support House of

:36:39.:36:43.

Lords reform need to not only vote for House of Lords reform but

:36:43.:36:49.

support to the means to bring that reform about. He came to the House

:36:49.:36:53.

of Commons yesterday determined to vote yes and then vote no. How

:36:53.:37:00.

utterly pathetic! It is the same old story with the Prime Minister.

:37:00.:37:06.

He blames everybody other than himself. The government is a

:37:06.:37:11.

shambles and he blames the leader of the opposition. That is what it

:37:11.:37:15.

has come to. But Mr Speaker, his problems to the start last night.

:37:15.:37:21.

They started months ago with the part-time Chancellor's budget.

:37:21.:37:25.

Because they make the wrongs choices and they stand up for the

:37:25.:37:30.

wrong people. So can he remind us after all of the U-turns when he

:37:30.:37:35.

still thinks it is right to give a banker earning a million pounds a

:37:35.:37:40.

�40,000 income tax cuts next April? It was the Chancellor's budget that

:37:40.:37:46.

cut taxes for 25 million working people! That it two million people

:37:46.:37:53.

out of tax! -- that took it! And has left us with a top rate of tax

:37:53.:37:57.

that was higher than any of the times he and his neighbour were in

:37:57.:38:03.

the Treasury, literally it wrecking the British economy. No answer on

:38:03.:38:10.

his millionaire's tax cuts and we will keep asking the question! If

:38:10.:38:14.

he is raising taxes on ordinary families and pensioners and he is

:38:14.:38:20.

cutting tax on millionaires...! They say they are not raising taxes.

:38:20.:38:26.

Can he therefore explain what has not been explained... He says I am

:38:26.:38:30.

weak. What can be weaker than having 91 people vote against you

:38:30.:38:37.

in the House of Commons!? Can he explain what has not been explained

:38:37.:38:42.

since the Budget. Why it is it fair when you are cutting taxes for

:38:42.:38:46.

millionaires to ask pensioners to pay more?

:38:46.:38:51.

We increased pensioner's weekly income by �5.30, the biggest

:38:51.:38:56.

increase in the pension in the history of the pension! What the

:38:56.:39:00.

Budget did his cut taxes for every working person in the country, take

:39:00.:39:05.

two million people out of tax, the top rate of tax change was paid

:39:05.:39:10.

more than four times over by the richest people, and that compares

:39:10.:39:14.

with what we were left by the party opposite! The most indebted

:39:14.:39:18.

households, the biggest budget deficit in Europe and never wants

:39:18.:39:24.

an apology for the mess they left this country him! No answer on the

:39:24.:39:28.

disarray in his government, no answer on the tax cuts for

:39:28.:39:33.

millionaires, no answer on a tax rise for pensioners. Perhaps he has

:39:33.:39:37.

an odd sock on the biggest issue. He said in the new year, we have

:39:37.:39:42.

got to do more to bring the economy back to health. What has he

:39:42.:39:47.

delivered since then? A double-dip recession made in Downing Street.

:39:47.:39:50.

Isn't the reality of the biggest failure facing the government is

:39:51.:39:54.

not the programme motion on Lords reform, it is their whole economic

:39:54.:40:00.

plan? It is under this government we got 800,000 more private sector

:40:00.:40:05.

jobs, inflation is down, unemployment is down, interest

:40:05.:40:10.

rates are at a record low, we are now a net exporter of cars for the

:40:10.:40:15.

first time since 1976, we completed the biggest construction project in

:40:15.:40:19.

Europe, which is the Olympics, we have started the next biggest

:40:19.:40:24.

project, which is CrossRail, this government set up the enterprise

:40:24.:40:28.

zones, has backed apprenticeships, has seen business rebalance in this

:40:28.:40:33.

country and we will never forget what we were left by the party

:40:33.:40:37.

opposite! They were bailing out eurozone countries with taxpayers'

:40:37.:40:42.

money, they were paying �100,000 for just one family's housing

:40:42.:40:50.

benefit, they had gun-control well- fed, uncontrolled immigration, --

:40:50.:40:54.

UN controlled welfare. Never has so much been borrowed, never has so

:40:54.:40:59.

much been wasted, never have so many people been let down and this

:40:59.:41:09.
:41:09.:41:09.

country will never forgive them for what they did! SHOUTING. The more

:41:09.:41:19.
:41:19.:41:24.

red he gets, the less he convinces people! Order! Order! Order!

:41:24.:41:30.

Members on both sides of the House now need to calm down. That is all

:41:30.:41:36.

there is to it. Ed Miliband. It is the same lecture we have had on the

:41:36.:41:39.

economy for the last two years and things are getting worse, not

:41:39.:41:44.

better, and every time he gets up with that list of statistics you

:41:44.:41:49.

just shows how out of touch he is. Tax cuts for millionaires, double-

:41:49.:41:54.

dip recession, you terms of doing U-turns, isn't the truth is that he

:41:54.:41:59.

did not just lose the confidence of his party last night, he is losing

:41:59.:42:09.

the confidence of the country? -- U-turns of do you. There is only

:42:09.:42:15.

one person going red, and that is read Ed Miliband! Who backed Red

:42:15.:42:24.

Ken Livingstone? Red Len McCluskey? He proposed �30 billion of more

:42:24.:42:30.

spending? Who has given up... Apologies, order. The Prime

:42:30.:42:35.

Minister's answers must, and however long it takes, they will be

:42:35.:42:42.

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

:42:42.:42:45.

welfare cap, and immigration cap, a housing benefit cap, he opposed

:42:45.:42:53.

every thing of the government proposed. We know what he is

:42:53.:42:58.

against but when will we find out what he is for? This government has

:42:58.:43:08.
:43:08.:43:10.

a great record on educational reform! The huge success of the

:43:10.:43:13.

University Technical College initiative! Will the Prime Minister

:43:13.:43:19.

please confirm he will support a further round of abdication as this

:43:19.:43:23.

autumn and that funding is available so that businesses,

:43:23.:43:33.
:43:33.:43:38.

universities... INAUDIBLE. SHOUTING. Very good to see the honourable

:43:38.:43:44.

lady on such feisty form. She's absolutely right to speak up for

:43:44.:43:47.

university technical colleges. These are a great addition to the

:43:47.:43:52.

schools we have our country. They really are a really high profile

:43:52.:43:55.

way to have proper vocational education so we can give young

:43:55.:44:04.

people the skills they need to have a great career in the future.

:44:04.:44:07.

Monday June 25th, the Health Secretary announced a possibly

:44:07.:44:11.

administration of the NHS Trust that covers Bexley, Bromley and

:44:11.:44:14.

Greenwich and that night he met with the members for Bexley and

:44:14.:44:18.

Bromley. Despite the Greenwich members asking for such a meeting,

:44:18.:44:22.

at this moment in time there's no date in the diary and no date

:44:22.:44:27.

forthcoming. How can the Prime Minister explain to me why the

:44:27.:44:29.

residents of Greenwich are not given the same respect by his

:44:29.:44:34.

minister as the residents of Bexley and Bromley? I think the honourable

:44:34.:44:38.

lady raises the important point. It's a difficult situation that has

:44:38.:44:43.

taken place at his NHS Trust. It is quite right that the Health

:44:43.:44:46.

Secretary is using the powers that were put in place by the last

:44:46.:44:50.

government to deal with these issues. It is partly because of the

:44:50.:44:54.

PFI contracts that are unsustainable. I will take

:44:54.:44:58.

seriously what she says it and see if I can arrange a meeting between

:44:58.:45:02.

her and one of the health ministers to discuss this issue. In my

:45:02.:45:04.

constituency of North West Leicestershire keep the average

:45:04.:45:10.

pre-tax income is just under �25,000 a year. Does my right

:45:10.:45:13.

honourable friend a sense -- share my sense of incredulity that the

:45:13.:45:18.

party opposite still want the benefits cap of �26,000 a year

:45:18.:45:22.

after tax? Doesn't is demonstrate he was really on the side of hard-

:45:22.:45:25.

working families? I think my honourable friend makes an

:45:25.:45:28.

important point. They came to the House of Commons and said they

:45:28.:45:33.

would back a welfare cap, but they opposed a well-fed cat. He is right.

:45:33.:45:42.

It shows he was on the side -- it shows who is on the side of those

:45:42.:45:46.

who want to work hard. We backed the workers, they backed the

:45:46.:45:56.

shirkers. The 2nd Battalion, the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers is to

:45:56.:46:01.

be disbanded. This means 600 soldiers are facing redundancy.

:46:01.:46:05.

This is a battalion and a regiment with a proud history of service to

:46:05.:46:10.

this country. Will the prime minister not reconsider the cuts to

:46:11.:46:15.

this Battalion? What I would say to the honourable gentleman, we looked

:46:15.:46:19.

at this issue very carefully and took our time, which many times we

:46:19.:46:23.

are criticised for, to make sure we got this right. I do think the

:46:23.:46:28.

decision to have a smaller regular army of 80,000, but a much larger

:46:28.:46:34.

reserve force, at over 30,000, is the right balance. The Government

:46:34.:46:36.

is putting �1.5 billion into building up those reserves and I

:46:36.:46:40.

hope members across the House will help with the process of

:46:40.:46:44.

encouraging employers to allow territorial army reservists to

:46:44.:46:48.

serve their country. We've made sure no existing regimental names

:46:48.:46:53.

or cap badges will be lost so it is the right package for the future.

:46:53.:46:59.

On Sunday, independent observers hailed the first free elections in

:46:59.:47:02.

Libya for 47 years as broadly free and transparent and offering real

:47:02.:47:07.

hope for the future. Does my right Friend agree -- right honourable

:47:07.:47:11.

friend agree with me that we should congratulate the Libyan people on

:47:11.:47:16.

the progress they have made since the struggle to overthrow with the

:47:16.:47:20.

brutal to state to ship, and the message this sends other, including

:47:20.:47:24.

Aung San Suu Kyi, who yearn for democracy in their own country.

:47:24.:47:28.

sure my honourable friend speaks for the whole house and the country

:47:28.:47:32.

in sending congratulations to the Libyan people for what looked like

:47:32.:47:36.

successful elections. It was a year ago that things did not look as if

:47:36.:47:39.

everything would turn out well in Libya. I'm proud of the fact that

:47:40.:47:43.

the NATO alliance and this country stay true to the course and helped

:47:43.:47:48.

to secure the right outcome in Libya and those people now have the

:47:48.:47:51.

chance of successful democracy and prosperity that is denied to too

:47:51.:47:57.

many in this world. He hit the North West London NHS is currently

:47:57.:48:02.

consulting on the closure of four out of nine accident and emergency

:48:02.:48:04.

units. The medical director has said north-west London would

:48:04.:48:09.

literally run out of money if these closures don't go ahead. What kind

:48:09.:48:15.

of consultation is it that poses a choice between the closure of half

:48:15.:48:18.

of the accident and emergency unit in north-west London and a

:48:18.:48:24.

potential bankrupting of the local NHS? On the issue of money, we have

:48:24.:48:28.

put �12.5 billion extra into the NHS. That is a decision that her

:48:28.:48:32.

party opposes answer is that extra spending for the NHS is

:48:32.:48:36.

irresponsible. We will make sure that all consultations are probably

:48:36.:48:42.

carried out. A patch properly carried out. And we want to make

:48:42.:48:51.

sure we have Kafka access to and Pay has my right honourable

:48:51.:48:56.

friend's attention been drawn to be a's adverse assessment that the

:48:56.:49:01.

regular train service to Stansted Airport takes 47 minutes, which is

:49:01.:49:04.

not universally correct across the timetable and in any case is too

:49:04.:49:09.

long. Will he commit to a major upgrade it -- upgrade of the West

:49:09.:49:14.

Anglia line so airport passengers can get a truly fast service that

:49:14.:49:20.

my constituents deserve? understand why the my honourable

:49:20.:49:24.

friend wants to speak up for people in his constituency who want her to

:49:24.:49:30.

train service. As part of the new rail franchise in East Anglia, he

:49:30.:49:34.

will be asking bidders to propose affordable Investment aimed at

:49:34.:49:37.

improving services and I'm sure they will listen carefully to what

:49:37.:49:43.

he said today. He had the Government rightly donates to

:49:44.:49:47.

billions in overseas aid to developing countries, including

:49:47.:49:51.

India, to eradicate poverty and disease. Despite this, the Canadian

:49:51.:49:58.

government, including the Government of Quebec, are to invest

:49:58.:50:01.

$58 million in asbestos producing mines, not for use in Canada, of

:50:01.:50:05.

course, but to export to developing countries, including India, which

:50:06.:50:11.

will put thousands of poor people at risk from the deadly asbestosis.

:50:11.:50:18.

Will the Prime Minister and the International Development Secretary

:50:18.:50:21.

per encourage international communities, including the World

:50:21.:50:25.

Health Organisation, to oppose this outrageous decision? I will be

:50:25.:50:28.

seeing their head of the World Health Organisation later today so

:50:29.:50:34.

I can raise this issue with him. Asbestos is banned in the UK, the

:50:34.:50:38.

EU and other countries. We are opposed to its use anywhere and

:50:38.:50:42.

would deplore its supply to developing countries. If it does

:50:42.:50:49.

not supply funds and... We are not aware that Dafydd funds have been

:50:49.:50:53.

used in that way at all. I would take urgent action if that were the

:50:53.:51:02.

case. On September fourth, the European Court of Human Rights is

:51:02.:51:08.

hearing the case of the lady who lost her job at British Airways for

:51:08.:51:12.

wearing a crucifix as a mark of her Christianity. The behaviour of

:51:13.:51:17.

British Airways was a disgraceful piece of political correctness. He

:51:17.:51:22.

I was surprised to receive the Government is resisting her appeal.

:51:22.:51:27.

I can't believe that the Government is supporting this suppression of

:51:27.:51:30.

religious freedom in the workplace so what are we going to do about

:51:30.:51:36.

this sad case? For once I can say I wholeheartedly agree with my right

:51:36.:51:39.

honourable friend. I fully support the right of people to wear

:51:39.:51:43.

religious symbols at work. It is absolutely a vital religious

:51:43.:51:47.

freedom. What we will do is if it turns out that the law has the

:51:47.:51:51.

intention, as has come out in this case, we will change the law and

:51:51.:51:58.

make clear that people can wear religious emblems at work. He does

:51:58.:52:01.

the Prime Minister accept the findings of the Independent Action

:52:01.:52:06.

for children report which shows that by 2015, the most vulnerable

:52:06.:52:10.

families with children in this country, including those in

:52:10.:52:14.

employment, will lose up to �3,000 a year because of this Government's

:52:14.:52:18.

policies? At a time when millionaires are getting tax cut of

:52:18.:52:22.

over 40,000 at the year, can he say we really are all in this together?

:52:22.:52:25.

High I know the report he quotes doesn't actually include some of

:52:25.:52:30.

the steps we have taken, like providing more nursery a education

:52:30.:52:34.

for disadvantaged to Urals. If he looks at Universal Credit and the

:52:35.:52:38.

design of Europe reversal credit, we will be helping parents with the

:52:38.:52:43.

most disabled children to make sure they get the help they need. Will

:52:43.:52:46.

the Prime Minister comment on the worrying stand-off between the

:52:46.:52:50.

Egyptian military, who are clearly trying to cling on to power in

:52:50.:52:55.

defiance of the Arab Spring, and as the Mohamed Morsi, who may not be a

:52:55.:52:59.

liberal Catholic report -- liberal or conservative, but his Democratic

:52:59.:53:03.

League elected? I've been very struck by what the president-elect

:53:03.:53:07.

has said about how he wants to govern on behalf of everyone

:53:07.:53:10.

Chinook Egypt, how he wants to respect religious and other

:53:10.:53:14.

freedoms and I hope he the current tension can be resolved. But people

:53:14.:53:18.

have to respect the Derek -- democratic will of the Egyptian

:53:18.:53:24.

people as they expressed it. At the last election the Prime Minister

:53:24.:53:28.

promised the pensioner's bus passes were say. Will he reject calls from

:53:28.:53:33.

the Lib Dems and now from his close ally the honourable member for

:53:33.:53:37.

Grantham and Stamford and categorically rule out means

:53:37.:53:41.

testing of bus passes, including in his manifesto for the next general

:53:41.:53:45.

election? As the honourable lady will know, at the last election I

:53:45.:53:49.

made it clear promise about a bus passes, TV licences, winter fuel

:53:49.:53:57.

payments. We are keeping all of those promises. Paul as Melinda

:53:57.:54:01.

Gates has recently said, women in developing countries want to raise

:54:01.:54:06.

healthy and educated children who can contribute to communities.

:54:06.:54:09.

Would my right honourable friend agree that one of the ways we can

:54:09.:54:12.

support this is to help those who wish to plan their family to do so?

:54:12.:54:16.

I think the honourable lady is absolutely right. Later today I

:54:16.:54:20.

will be speaking at a seminar event with Melinda Gates and a whole

:54:20.:54:24.

range of leaders from across Africa and other parts of the developing

:54:24.:54:29.

world about exactly this issue. We should be doing more to allow

:54:29.:54:33.

mothers access to birth control so they can plan their family size.

:54:33.:54:37.

The evidence shows that as countries develop, family size does

:54:37.:54:40.

reduce and populations become more sustainable, but we should help

:54:40.:54:44.

people plan that process. It is not about telling people what to do, it

:54:44.:54:47.

is about allowing people the choice that in his country we take for

:54:47.:54:53.

granted. Members will know that St Patrick, a Roman Britain, respected

:54:53.:54:58.

by all traditions in Ireland, is a unifying figure. He established his

:54:58.:55:02.

mission in my constituency of South Down, where today many people of

:55:02.:55:07.

all faiths, drawing on his legacy, work unstintingly to build peace

:55:07.:55:12.

across the divide. Will the Prime Minister, when next in Northern

:55:12.:55:16.

Ireland, perhaps during the Olympics, come to San Patrick

:55:16.:55:21.

Stewart country, meet with these people and which this -- witness

:55:21.:55:25.

his unique heritage for himself and where he will not find any rebel

:55:25.:55:31.

Tories? I don't know whether the honourable lady can guarantee that!

:55:31.:55:37.

We do have an active branch in Northern Ireland and I'm sure... It

:55:37.:55:41.

is an intriguing and very kind invitation. I hope that the

:55:41.:55:45.

Olympics will bring the whole of a United Kingdom together. The torch

:55:45.:55:49.

relay has already helped to achieve that and I was very privileged to

:55:49.:55:54.

see it in my own constituency. She makes an intriguing invitation and

:55:54.:56:00.

if I can take it up, I will. One of the success stories of this

:56:00.:56:05.

government is in its commitment to rural community and farming. Today

:56:05.:56:08.

nearly 2000 dairy farmers are meeting in Westminster to fight

:56:08.:56:14.

drastic reductions of milk prices. Will the Prime Minister join them

:56:14.:56:17.

in their fight to get a fair deal for their product? I think my

:56:18.:56:21.

honourable friend is absolutely right to speak up for British

:56:21.:56:25.

farmers. He does an extremely good job in doing that. This government

:56:25.:56:30.

is investing in our countryside, not least we the rural broadband

:56:30.:56:34.

programme, but we want to see a fairer deal between farmers and

:56:34.:56:37.

supermarkets so we will be legislating. I can also tell him

:56:37.:56:41.

that today we are announcing �5 million extra in additional funds

:56:41.:56:44.

under the rural economy grant scheme and that can help to make

:56:44.:56:53.

our dairy industry more competitive. What will the prime minister say to

:56:53.:56:58.

the 150,000 adults that the Government itself estimates will be

:56:59.:57:02.

denied a second chance for education as a result of their

:57:02.:57:07.

plans to charge full-cost fees to over 24 year-olds studying A-level

:57:07.:57:11.

and equivalent programmes and access courses? There will be a

:57:11.:57:18.

full statement about this issue this week. It is important fact we

:57:18.:57:21.

expand per further education opportunities. If we are going to

:57:21.:57:25.

expand those, we need to adapt fast be clear about how to pay for them.

:57:25.:57:30.

That is what we repeatedly get about Bath from the party opposite.

:57:30.:57:37.

Absolutely no idea how they would pay for any of their policies.

:57:37.:57:43.

government has achieved a great deal and the last two years. --

:57:43.:57:50.

deer last two years. Didn't that new issues are emerging, doesn't

:57:50.:57:53.

the Prime Minister agree with me that now would be a good time for

:57:53.:57:58.

the political parties to review the coalition agreement for the future?

:57:58.:58:03.

He I absolutely agree that in a coalition, you need to keep working

:58:03.:58:10.

out the next set of things you want to achieve. This coalition has

:58:10.:58:14.

achieved cuts to corporation tax, taking people out of income tax, a

:58:14.:58:18.

massive expansion in terms of trust schools, a huge contribution to the

:58:18.:58:21.

health service that is now performing better than at any time

:58:21.:58:24.

and the last decade, and I'm committed to making sure we now

:58:24.:58:28.

look at the next steps we want to take to make our country a better

:58:28.:58:38.
:58:38.:58:41.

A grandfather from Gwent far has a grandson returning from Afghanistan.

:58:41.:58:46.

20,000 soldiers face losing their jobs. Labour has persuaded big

:58:46.:58:50.

firms like John Lewis to guarantee a job veteran -- veterans a job

:58:50.:58:54.

interview. Will the prime minister get the private sector to do the

:58:54.:58:57.

same? I welcome what the honourable gentleman says. We should do

:58:57.:59:00.

everything we can to work with employers, either in the public or

:59:00.:59:04.

private sector, to help find her ex-service personnel jobs. They are

:59:04.:59:08.

people who have been trained brilliantly and contributed

:59:08.:59:12.

incredibly to our country and I'm sure we can do more to help them.

:59:12.:59:16.

For instance, in the public sector, the education secretary has a

:59:16.:59:20.

programme of troops to teach us to cry to get people who have served

:59:20.:59:27.

our country to inspire further generations. On the prime ministers

:59:27.:59:33.

watch, the army will be reduced to its smallest size since 1750 and

:59:34.:59:38.

half the size it was at the time of the Falklands war. Does he accept

:59:38.:59:42.

that history is not kind to prime ministers who are perceived to have

:59:42.:59:52.
:59:52.:59:52.

left our country without a strong defence capability? By no per he

:59:52.:59:59.

speaks with great power about military issues. And if you look at

:59:59.:00:04.

the overall balance of what we are doing, 80,000 regular soldiers,

:00:04.:00:08.

30,000 TA, fully funded, will mean the army is a similar size after

:00:08.:00:14.

these reforms to what it was before. Much the most important thing is we

:00:14.:00:19.

inherited a �38 billion deficit in our defence budget. We have closed

:00:19.:00:23.

or deficit, it is now fully funded. We have some huge investments going

:00:23.:00:27.

ahead for the army, the Navy and the air force and this country

:00:27.:00:32.

under this coalition government will always be well-defended.

:00:32.:00:36.

the Prime Minister assist the House and tell us when the Chancellor of

:00:36.:00:41.

the Exchequer is going to take the advice of the member for South

:00:41.:00:45.

Northamptonshire, admit he made false allegations last week and

:00:45.:00:50.

finally apologise? If we look at what might right honourable friend

:00:51.:00:54.

the Chancellor said, he said that the Shadow Chancellor had some

:00:54.:01:02.

questions to answer. I'm not sure there's anyone in this House who

:01:02.:01:07.

doesn't think the Shadow Chancellor has some questions to answer.

:01:07.:01:11.

Perhaps before we break for the summer, we should remember one or

:01:11.:01:17.

two of those questions. Ruud is on the regulatory system that failed?

:01:17.:01:21.

Who go or city minister when Northern Rock was selling 110%

:01:21.:01:24.

mortgages? Who advised the Chancellor and the prime minister

:01:24.:01:29.

that there was no more boom and bust? Who helped create the biggest

:01:29.:01:32.

boom and biggest bust and he has never apologised for the dreadful

:01:32.:01:42.
:01:42.:01:42.

record he had in Office? Shrewsbury remains the only county town in

:01:42.:01:47.

England without a direct rail service to our capital city. When

:01:47.:01:51.

the new rail franchises are apportioned in August, will the

:01:51.:01:55.

Prime isn't just or use his good office to ensure that government

:01:55.:01:59.

does everything possible to ensure Shrewsbury is connected to London?

:01:59.:02:04.

My honourable friend always speaks up for Shrewsbury. He's right that

:02:04.:02:09.

when these franchises are looked at, there are opportunities to make the

:02:09.:02:12.

case for more investment and for more services and I'm sure the rail

:02:12.:02:18.

operators and others will listen very closely to what he said today.

:02:18.:02:23.

Per my constituent is recovering from cancer. But she has had her

:02:23.:02:29.

ESA's stopped after 365 days. The Government's consultation on

:02:29.:02:35.

changing this rule ended in March. When are we going to see justice

:02:35.:02:39.

for the 7,000 cancer patients in this situation? I have looked

:02:39.:02:43.

carefully at this case and I know she has now had a response from the

:02:43.:02:48.

minister about this issue. There are two types of ESA. 1 Where

:02:49.:02:52.

there's opponents' support and it is not means tested, and another

:02:52.:02:56.

where there's means testing after a year. We are making sure that more

:02:56.:02:59.

people with cancer are getting more help and more treatment and I think

:02:59.:03:03.

that is very important. It is absolutely right there are two

:03:03.:03:08.

forms of allowance for those people who can't work, who did genuinely

:03:08.:03:18.
:03:18.:03:22.

can't work or prepare for work, get Prime Minister's Questions comes to

:03:22.:03:32.
:03:32.:03:34.

amend. There will not be another one until the fifth September. The

:03:34.:03:38.

party conference season begins at the end of September. As Nick

:03:38.:03:44.

Robinson said, the leader of the opposition used the coalition's

:03:44.:03:47.

problems over House of Lords reform to paint a wider picture of the

:03:47.:03:52.

general problems of the coalition, particularly of the economy and the

:03:52.:04:02.
:04:02.:04:05.

fact we are in a double-dip Mark in Dudley says, it strikes me

:04:05.:04:08.

that David Cameron is living in a political parallel universe because

:04:09.:04:15.

he is out-of-touch with reality. Stephen agreed, Ed Miliband clearly

:04:15.:04:20.

won the argument, me keep some rising the government's shambles.

:04:20.:04:24.

But Jaqueline says, if all Ed Miliband can come up with his

:04:24.:04:29.

tittle-tattle, the bottom of the barrel has been found. And David

:04:29.:04:35.

from Bury St Edmonds said, terrible stuff from Ed Miliband. Schoolboy

:04:35.:04:40.

stuff and attempts at pathetic point-scoring totally irrelevant.

:04:40.:04:45.

But quite a few people agreed with Marjorie: I feel depressed with all

:04:45.:04:51.

three parties. If this is democracy at work, it is not very effective.

:04:51.:04:58.

I feel a plague on all your houses. And if no party do is do the right

:04:58.:05:03.

thing on care for the elderly because of a backlash, I fear for

:05:03.:05:08.

the future of. There was a time when the coalition

:05:08.:05:13.

would go to a second round but my understanding is that they will not

:05:13.:05:17.

attempt a second coalition agreement to see them through,

:05:17.:05:23.

which suggests that if they can't get House of Lords reform through,

:05:23.:05:28.

what else can they give Nick Clegg? It is not obvious. One of the

:05:29.:05:33.

reasons I don't think they are in quite the panic they might have

:05:33.:05:37.

been is that it is not pushing him that much legislation. This

:05:37.:05:42.

government does not have a huge legislative agenda. The

:05:42.:05:44.

Conservatives have their mind on bringing back things they believe

:05:44.:05:49.

are popular for them before the election, another Welfare Bill and

:05:49.:05:55.

an education bill, but there is not that sort of legislation being

:05:56.:06:00.

driven through. So we are in this row about the nature of the

:06:00.:06:05.

coalition deal. Wasn't it interesting that a Tory backbencher

:06:05.:06:08.

wanted to embarrass the Prime Minister by asking whether it was

:06:08.:06:13.

time to renegotiate the coalition agreement? The Lib Dems say, there

:06:13.:06:17.

was a deal, we give you what you want and we get House of Lords

:06:17.:06:22.

reform. The Tories say, that is not the deal. We gave you a referendum

:06:22.:06:27.

on changing the voting system. We never promised to Lord's reform.

:06:27.:06:32.

You can see the tension about what to do next. Do you hear more voices

:06:32.:06:36.

saying that they think at some stage the coalition will goad its

:06:36.:06:44.

separate ways in 2014? Not that it would provoke an election, but that

:06:44.:06:47.

they will go their separate ways because both the Conservatives and

:06:47.:06:50.

the Lib Dems want to establish their own identities again and it

:06:50.:06:56.

will be a supply in confidence minority Conservative government.

:06:56.:07:03.

Yes, the question is when. Everybody has agreed there will

:07:03.:07:08.

come a point, and particularly when we know the date of an election.

:07:08.:07:15.

Never forget what a big issue that is. It is made it 2015. There will

:07:15.:07:20.

come at a point when the Lib Dems will say, we give the government if

:07:20.:07:25.

every support so it survives but we are now a certain our separate

:07:25.:07:31.

identity. Sorry to move away but one other thought about what the

:07:31.:07:35.

view was said. Never forget the contrast between where we are now

:07:35.:07:43.

on the eve of this holiday and the eve of the Christmas holiday. I

:07:43.:07:47.

would have said that at Christmas Ed Miliband had a pretty miserable

:07:47.:07:52.

PMQs before Christmas. The opinion polls were bad and the talk around

:07:52.:07:58.

the Labour Party will, what are we going to do? Oh my God. Look at the

:07:58.:08:03.

transformation. It is a total transformation. You know have a

:08:03.:08:07.

leader of the Labour party feeling absolutely confident in PMQs,

:08:07.:08:11.

commanding it in many ways, embarrassing his opponents. He has

:08:11.:08:16.

a significant lead in the polls. He is mocking the government. A

:08:16.:08:20.

coalition that is in trouble not just between themselves but between

:08:20.:08:24.

the Tory backbenchers and the Conservatives. It was almost

:08:24.:08:28.

inconceivable at Christmas that Ed Miliband would be able to have the

:08:28.:08:32.

thought of performance that he did today. He will go into the summer

:08:32.:08:36.

knowing that lots of the was do not much like this but on the other

:08:36.:08:41.

hand, it is the government that is in crisis and not him. If the

:08:41.:08:45.

economy is in for several years of more hard pounding, which everybody

:08:45.:08:50.

from the Chancellor and the Cabinet Secretary downwards suggests that

:08:50.:08:54.

we are, the original coalition plan that living standards would be

:08:54.:08:59.

rising, if that does not happen by 2015 and if you have a coalition

:08:59.:09:07.

increasingly fractious, she did a betting man put money on Labour

:09:07.:09:10.

being at least the largest party at the next election -- shouldn't

:09:10.:09:18.

abetting man? No. The economic situation is tough and we know that.

:09:18.:09:21.

But it is worth remembering that the private sector is doing what we

:09:21.:09:27.

said, it is not growing as fast as we hoped, largely because people

:09:27.:09:31.

are being very disciplined. Companies are being flexible.

:09:31.:09:36.

Unions in the private sector, we have seen that in the car industry,

:09:36.:09:43.

very sensible deals. It is difficult. Mick is right, there is

:09:43.:09:47.

not a massive legislative programme. That comes back to abate we were

:09:47.:09:52.

having yesterday. Government is not just about passing an enormous

:09:52.:09:57.

quantity of bills. It is about using the legislation we have used,

:09:57.:10:01.

delivering one all of those things, not passing more and more and more

:10:01.:10:06.

pills. I understand that but if you could not win an overall majority

:10:06.:10:10.

in the middle of the worst recession since the 1930s and up

:10:10.:10:14.

against the most unpopular prime minister since records began, what

:10:14.:10:19.

makes you think you have any chance of a majority in 2015 after five

:10:19.:10:26.

years of hard, economic times? had fewer than 200 seats. We gained

:10:26.:10:30.

the largest number of scenes that we have gained ever. But we had a

:10:30.:10:35.

massive mountain to climb. What would make cute game more after

:10:35.:10:40.

five years of almost no growth? -- what would make you get more?

:10:40.:10:46.

Because the voters will look at the context, like the eurozone, the

:10:46.:10:50.

difficult decisions we make to deal with the deficit, get finances

:10:50.:10:55.

under control, and they look at what could have been. They are

:10:55.:10:59.

looking at that now and Labour is between 10 and 15 points ahead in

:10:59.:11:04.

the polls. But that often happens in the mid-term. As we get closer

:11:04.:11:09.

to the election, people will ask themselves not just about us but

:11:09.:11:13.

about the alternative and I think they will say they want David

:11:13.:11:16.

Cameron to continue as Prime Minister and we will set out that

:11:16.:11:24.

case. I will ask is personally, not as a politician. -- I will ask this

:11:24.:11:29.

personally. If Labour did end up as the largest party, as the polls

:11:29.:11:36.

suggest, although the elections are a long way away, would it be your

:11:36.:11:42.

view that they should... If they went in with the Lib Dems they

:11:42.:11:46.

would have an overall majority. Do you think they should stay as a

:11:46.:11:51.

minority government, like Harold Wilson in 74, or do a deal with the

:11:51.:12:00.

Lib Dems? It depends on so many things, Andrew. Certainly I think

:12:00.:12:06.

that increasingly people feel that Ed Miliband and Labour is talking

:12:06.:12:10.

the language and talking about the things that matter to them. He

:12:10.:12:15.

seems to have the right priorities. If after the next election, and

:12:16.:12:21.

particularly if the boundary changes go through, we would expect

:12:21.:12:24.

my Meg Munn but seems to be down, of course if we were the largest

:12:24.:12:29.

party it would be crazy not to enter into discussions with other

:12:29.:12:37.

parties -- we would expect our numbers to beat down. But it would

:12:37.:12:44.

be on the basis to carry a legislative programme, not, as this

:12:44.:12:49.

government is, a discredited day-in day-out irrelevance which diverts

:12:49.:12:54.

from the things that really matters in this country. It is the end of

:12:54.:12:58.

term, speculating way ahead, but remember one of the big reasons

:12:58.:13:01.

Gordon Brown could not form a coalition with the Liberal

:13:01.:13:06.

Democrats is that there were used, not weeks and months and even days

:13:06.:13:11.

after the election, there we use of anger of the Liberal Democrats to

:13:11.:13:17.

Gordon Brown. -- there were years. The Lords reform for Labour is

:13:17.:13:21.

quite important. If the perception of the Liberal Democrats is that

:13:21.:13:26.

the Labour Party screwed up the Lord reform, do you think they will

:13:26.:13:31.

be saying, we must give Ed Miliband a parliamentary majority? It is a

:13:31.:13:35.

very interesting calculation in the mind of the Labour leader. On the

:13:35.:13:40.

one hand, any opposition would want to have government and the way to

:13:40.:13:45.

do that is to refuse to co-operate on Lords reform. On the other hand,

:13:45.:13:49.

if you are playing the medium term game, how can you persuade, not

:13:49.:13:53.

Nick Clegg because I don't think Ed Miliband would ever do a deal with

:13:53.:13:58.

Nick Clegg, more likely Vince Cable, how to convince him we are serious

:13:58.:14:03.

about corporate politics in the way the Labour Party are used to be if

:14:03.:14:09.

Labour are now seem to be playing games about Lords reform? My Labour

:14:09.:14:12.

sources tell me they believe that come the election, the Lib Dems

:14:12.:14:17.

will be so diminished in numbers and so toxic as a concept that they

:14:17.:14:22.

would rather form a minority government. Nick is right to say we

:14:22.:14:26.

are talking about circumstances in two-and-a-half years and we do not

:14:26.:14:31.

know. On the point about Lords Reform Bill, that presupposes that

:14:31.:14:36.

the Lords reform holds the degree of importance across the Liberal

:14:36.:14:40.

Democrats that it does on Nick Clegg. It is important not to

:14:40.:14:47.

underestimate -- underestimate the degree to which he is personally

:14:47.:14:53.

invested in this. We have to leave it there. Debut for being with us.

:14:53.:15:00.

See you in September. -- thank you for being with us. It might as well

:15:00.:15:06.

Rain Until September. It will! might have a nice September, that

:15:06.:15:15.

is what they always say. What to do with the youth of today? It's a

:15:15.:15:18.

perennial question, and with youth unemployment at just over a million,

:15:18.:15:21.

a big problem for the government. But what if young people aren't

:15:21.:15:24.

even up to the job and don't have the skills required for the

:15:24.:15:27.

workplace? Well, one business man thinks he has the answer. Here's

:15:27.:15:34.

Colin Smith, chairman of Poundland, To have worked in retell for most

:15:34.:15:39.

of my life. Businesses that have employed tens of thousands and we

:15:39.:15:43.

have sought to employ those who are motivated to work and to learn and

:15:44.:15:49.

who are enthusiastic, confident and with an aspiration to succeed.

:15:49.:15:53.

These are the ideal colleagues for any business, but finding them has

:15:53.:16:03.
:16:03.:16:07.

Recently, I read about a major supermarket recruiting staff for

:16:07.:16:13.

everyday activities like working on the tail for serving customers. The

:16:13.:16:17.

supermarket reported no problems in filling their positions, but three-

:16:17.:16:23.

quarters of those higher it had to be sent for remedial creed job

:16:23.:16:32.

training before they could start I've experienced similar problems.

:16:32.:16:38.

Over the years, I've become disappointed at the inability of

:16:38.:16:41.

young people to access job opportunities because of their lack

:16:41.:16:47.

of basic but crucial life skills. The ability to communicate with

:16:47.:16:52.

people other than their close friends. The capacity to work

:16:52.:16:55.

together and to co-operate with people they might not have met

:16:55.:17:01.

before. The willingness to listen to the opinions of others. And even

:17:01.:17:11.
:17:11.:17:13.

the ability to turn up for work on Business leaders must play their

:17:13.:17:18.

part in preparing young people for work. They need to open their doors

:17:18.:17:22.

to young people, even if it is only for a few hours, to give them an

:17:22.:17:27.

insight into what work really is. They need to become involved in

:17:27.:17:31.

schemes in their communities, such as the challenge, to help generate

:17:31.:17:36.

the next generation of business leaders, to give young people a

:17:36.:17:41.

stake in society, and a feeling of self-worth and a chance to succeed

:17:41.:17:48.

in whatever they do. We are joined by Colin Smith. You

:17:48.:17:54.

mentioned the challenge, which is a charity you run. What does it do?

:17:54.:18:01.

It runs intensive programmes for young people, 15 and 16 year-olds.

:18:01.:18:07.

It helps them learn how to build relationships, to improve their

:18:07.:18:13.

understanding of other people from a wide variety of backgrounds, and

:18:13.:18:18.

also built the really important soft skills, teamwork, leadership,

:18:18.:18:23.

and building confidence. One of the things we dust -- discussed before

:18:23.:18:27.

is the number of Saturday jobs have diminished over the years for 16

:18:27.:18:33.

year-olds, the really young people. Milk rounds are not there any more.

:18:33.:18:39.

And paper rounds. Just the idea of getting up in the morning and going

:18:39.:18:43.

out to work, even if it is only a couple of days a week. That is a

:18:43.:18:47.

real issue. When I was a youngster, obviously a long time ago, I worked

:18:47.:18:57.

as a petrol pump attendant. That is why I am encouraging businesses

:18:57.:19:01.

across the country to really get involved in opening their doors at

:19:01.:19:06.

young people. Even if it is only for a few hours a week. Her what

:19:06.:19:09.

has at the response been from businesses? Are vague King to take

:19:09.:19:14.

people on in the way Woolworths used to? For I think they are, a

:19:14.:19:17.

young people have to work really hard at opening up those

:19:17.:19:25.

opportunities. They have to learn those skills to do with personal

:19:25.:19:30.

presentation, positive attitude, communication, teamwork. They need

:19:30.:19:34.

to be given the opportunity to learn those skills and learn the

:19:34.:19:40.

worth Beckett -- worth -- work ethic. Has it always been the case

:19:40.:19:44.

that young people don't have much in terms of communication skills?

:19:44.:19:48.

They are not very good with adults and it is just that they have not

:19:48.:19:52.

had the opportunities to practise rather than failures in education

:19:52.:19:56.

or parenting? I don't think we can look at any one issue like failure

:19:56.:20:02.

in education or parenting. This is an issue for everybody. I really do

:20:02.:20:06.

feel that we've all got to work together to create the opportunity

:20:06.:20:10.

to give them the level of experience they are going to need

:20:10.:20:14.

to go into the workplace. What do you think of the idea of some sort

:20:14.:20:18.

of compulsory Voluntary Service for National Service or something that

:20:18.:20:24.

would force young people to give service to the community. We've

:20:24.:20:25.

introduced the National Citizen Service, which is not voluntary,

:20:25.:20:32.

but has had to take up in the areas it has started. VAT is quite good

:20:32.:20:35.

because it helps children meet people from different backgrounds,

:20:35.:20:39.

maybe do things they are not used to doing, it helps with things like

:20:39.:20:44.

teamwork and leadership. You are a supporter of that. Absolutely.

:20:44.:20:49.

other thing we have been trying to encourage is a large number of new

:20:49.:20:52.

a sprinter ships to give people on the job training as well as

:20:52.:20:55.

training in the academic environment. Those are helpful. And

:20:55.:20:59.

encourage young people to go into the workforce. I meet a lot of

:20:59.:21:03.

young people who want to succeed. It is about giving them the

:21:03.:21:11.

opportunities. Thank you. Jesse Norman tweeting that the

:21:11.:21:17.

rumours of his demise are much exaggerating. That is from Mark

:21:17.:21:27.
:21:27.:21:29.

Twain. For I didn't know what you meant! Military head was not on. --

:21:29.:21:35.

my literary head. PMQs, we have just watched the last one until

:21:35.:21:42.

September. How will we cope? These people are bitterly disappointed

:21:42.:21:44.

they can't watch it from the comfort of the Daily Politics

:21:45.:21:51.

studio until the autumn. We will invite them! Here is Quentin Letts

:21:51.:22:01.
:22:01.:22:03.

with his guide to the main event of P is for PMQ use, Prime Minister's

:22:03.:22:07.

Questions, held in the House of Commons once a week. This is the

:22:07.:22:10.

chance for the Leader of the Opposition to have a good old go at

:22:10.:22:14.

the Prime Minister and for the PM to have a go back. Both men looking

:22:14.:22:20.

for a one-line singer which will be picked up by the media. The Prime

:22:20.:22:23.

Minister of our country can't even urge his party to support his own

:22:23.:22:31.

position. A weak, weak, weak. grammar-school boy is not going to

:22:31.:22:37.

take any lessons from that public school boy. How I want to talk

:22:37.:22:45.

about the future. He was the future once. Until the 1960s, prime

:22:45.:22:48.

ministers did not have regular a poor month and the House of Commons

:22:48.:22:51.

because they were not responsible for any single government

:22:51.:22:57.

department, but in 1961 comes this important innovation, P&G is. In

:22:57.:23:02.

that very first session, Harold Macmillan says, I am grateful to

:23:02.:23:06.

the honourable member about what he said on the arrangement of

:23:06.:23:09.

questions. This arrangement suits me much better because I know when

:23:09.:23:15.

to come here. Good old Harold! People sometimes alleged that he

:23:15.:23:18.

and Hughes is too rowdy, too raucous, that it means parliament.

:23:18.:23:22.

I don't know about that. It was ever thus. I've been covering the

:23:22.:23:27.

Commons since the last days of Mrs Thatcher and it was noisy then.

:23:27.:23:35.

BBC's radio coverage goes to 1978. Pretty noisy then. And in 1983, Mrs

:23:35.:23:39.

Thatcher, Prime Minister. The right net -- right honourable member is

:23:39.:23:49.

afraid of an election, is he? Frightened. Can't stand it.

:23:49.:23:55.

Frightened! Bakelite headphones like these yielded to the goggle

:23:55.:23:59.

box in the late 1980s when TV coverage started. Viewers watching

:23:59.:24:03.

pm queues could see something rather odd. Backbenchers ball-

:24:03.:24:06.

winning to their feet as if they were on poco States. They were

:24:06.:24:11.

trying to catch the Speaker's eye, trying to say I want to ask the

:24:11.:24:15.

Prime Minister a question. The first 10 minutes or so, the Leader

:24:15.:24:19.

of the Opposition has his go. Once he has spent his bullets, it is the

:24:19.:24:23.

turn of backbenchers, some of whom are guaranteed ago after a weekly

:24:23.:24:28.

ballot, but after that it is everyone to him or herself. This

:24:28.:24:35.

can be a terrible tyrant and PMQs televised is arguably one of the

:24:35.:24:39.

reasons for us so many sound bites. But this weekly scrutiny of the

:24:39.:24:42.

Prime Minister is a good thing. It gets used reviewers interested in

:24:43.:24:49.

what is going on in Parliament. PMQs is still very much a big

:24:49.:24:59.
:24:59.:25:02.

potato of the House of Commons week. J B potato! -- a big potato!

:25:02.:25:06.

You said you wanted the Prime Minister to renegotiate the

:25:06.:25:10.

coalition agreement, what did you mean by that? Most coalition's mid-

:25:10.:25:15.

term have a review and from a party political point of view, the Lib

:25:15.:25:20.

Dems and the Conservatives need to take a look at it agreement. Times

:25:20.:25:26.

are changing, new issues are emerging. A calm sensible look at

:25:26.:25:32.

it would be useful. After today's PMQs, who heads off to Tuscany with

:25:32.:25:35.

a bigger spring in their step, Labour or the coalition?

:25:36.:25:42.

Undoubtedly Labour are going home more cheerful. As ever, you have an

:25:42.:25:45.

opposition leader looking a bit Blyth, a bit unconcerned about what

:25:45.:25:50.

is happening to the country, but very smooth. A prime minister

:25:50.:25:53.

getting very frustrated that things are not going his way. It was like

:25:53.:25:56.

that today, but we had a spectacular moment on the

:25:56.:26:03.

backbenches. And Mary Morris from Newton Abbot... You may remember

:26:03.:26:13.
:26:13.:26:13.

this, Andrew. There used to be a lady called Dame Ellen...

:26:13.:26:20.

Terrifically Batty! You may say that! I couldn't possibly comment.

:26:20.:26:24.

Did you know you were going to be called and is as important your

:26:24.:26:29.

profile as an MP to have got that question out? We are talking about

:26:29.:26:33.

it on network television. I think she did a great job asking the

:26:33.:26:37.

question, there was real passion. The chamber was rowdy and raucous,

:26:37.:26:42.

but she did a fantastic job and David landed the question smoothly.

:26:42.:26:49.

-- handled. I had not expected to be called, but I did feel it was

:26:49.:26:53.

important to raise the issue. We are halfway through a coalition now

:26:53.:26:57.

and there are clearly tensions emerge and. It is important,

:26:57.:27:02.

particularly for the Conservatives, to give some input into what

:27:02.:27:11.

happens next. Quentin, you have described our guest here, Mark

:27:11.:27:17.

Harper, as an MP who could pass for it door-to-door Bible salesman! Was

:27:17.:27:23.

there to complement or an insult? You sense with him that he might

:27:23.:27:27.

smell like toothpaste, he is very, very clean. He did very well

:27:27.:27:30.

yesterday, he might have sold a few Bibles yesterday, but it was not

:27:30.:27:35.

good enough for the coalition. you both assure us that the Speaker

:27:35.:27:42.

is losing his campaign to make PMQs less noisy? He has lost it, it was

:27:42.:27:47.

loud and raucous. We could not hear the questions. But he did his best.

:27:47.:27:53.

We thank you both for that. The last PMQs for this parliamentary

:27:53.:27:59.

term. You are not a door-to-door salesman. Only in the sense that

:27:59.:28:03.

all politicians a door-to-door salesman for their own parties. I'm

:28:03.:28:09.

very relaxed. Quinton and I get on very well. Most politicians are

:28:09.:28:16.

pleased to be written about. It is time to put you out of your misery

:28:16.:28:22.

and give you the answer to guess the year. It was 1970. Tessa, press

:28:22.:28:32.
:28:32.:28:36.

that red button. This is the winner. Sue Middleton from Norfolk. He was

:28:37.:28:45.

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