18/12/2013

:00:35. > :00:38.Morning, folks, and welcome to the Daily Politics.

:00:39. > :00:41.A three-month wait for migrants to claim benefits in Britain will be

:00:42. > :00:44.introduced in January, but will the change put off Bulgarians and

:00:45. > :00:46.Romanians from coming here just weeks before restrictions on their

:00:47. > :00:49.right to work are lifted? Prisoners serving short sentences

:00:50. > :00:53.should get the vote - that's the conclusion of a committee of MPs and

:00:54. > :00:58.peers. But not all of their colleagues agree.

:00:59. > :01:01.Ed Miliband and David Cameron face each other across the despatch box -

:01:02. > :01:04.we'll bring you the final exchanges of 2013 live.

:01:05. > :01:14.And Olympic Gold Chris Boardman tells us why we need to make

:01:15. > :01:23.Britain's roads safer for cyclists. The last programme of the year - but

:01:24. > :01:26.we leave the best to last. Joining us for the duration shadow welfare

:01:27. > :01:30.minister Chris Bryant and treasury minister Nicky Morgan - who better

:01:31. > :01:41.to bring a little yuletide cheer to proceedings? Is that a quiz? Who

:01:42. > :01:45.better? Not yet! First this morning, the Prime Minister's left it late -

:01:46. > :01:49.the last Daily Politics of the year and only a few politics days until

:01:50. > :01:52.Christmas - but if you're Romanian or Bulgarian and hoping to travel to

:01:53. > :01:56.Britain for work on first January David Cameron wants you to know that

:01:57. > :01:59.you won't be able to claim benefits here for at least three months. --

:02:00. > :02:04.on January the 1st. Let's speak to our political correspondent Iain

:02:05. > :02:09.Watson, who is in Brussels. How will you manage to do that in

:02:10. > :02:16.what is left of this Parliament? Quite easily, simply by putting a

:02:17. > :02:21.regulation in Parliament, secondary legislation to go forward on January

:02:22. > :02:25.the 1st. Critics thought it would be impossible to rush this through. The

:02:26. > :02:30.question is, how effective will it be? Clearly, he wants this past

:02:31. > :02:34.before people can come from Romania and Bulgarians and get free access

:02:35. > :02:40.to labour market is, some of his own MPs wanted to talk about putting

:02:41. > :02:45.controls on for longer, he has batted that off until next month. He

:02:46. > :02:48.will be able to deny British benefits to Bulgarians and Romanians

:02:49. > :02:53.and anyone else coming from the EU for the first three months, there is

:02:54. > :02:57.another route for them to get benefits and they could potentially

:02:58. > :03:01.still come to Britain to seek work. This European Commission memo from

:03:02. > :03:07.late last month made it very clear that they have the right to apply to

:03:08. > :03:10.their home country to get their benefits exported, for their first

:03:11. > :03:13.three months in Britain they can get benefits paid out Romanian and

:03:14. > :03:17.Bulgarians level is. You might assume these are poverty stricken

:03:18. > :03:21.compared to the rest of us, but the benefits system is quite generous.

:03:22. > :03:28.Wages are lower in Bulgaria, for example, that benefits can be up to

:03:29. > :03:32.60% of the average wage, around ?50 or ?60, not dissimilar to

:03:33. > :03:36.jobseeker's allowance. They have also been speaking in Brussels about

:03:37. > :03:41.whether it is a phantom problem or a real problem. The European

:03:42. > :03:44.commission has been trying to get information, asking the British

:03:45. > :03:47.government how many people come from elsewhere in the EU and claim

:03:48. > :03:54.benefits, perhaps they are involved in abuse or fraud. The responses

:03:55. > :04:01.that they got worse that there was too much should emphasis placed on

:04:02. > :04:05.quantitative evidence. -- the responses that they got were that.

:04:06. > :04:10.Perception is that there be unfairness, that people could come

:04:11. > :04:15.to Britain and claim benefits, but perhaps we are a soft touch. The

:04:16. > :04:21.perception is being addressed, rather than solid evidence, perhaps,

:04:22. > :04:27.that we will be invaded by benefit tourists. Thank you.

:04:28. > :04:32.Nicky Morgan, when will Parliament pass this legislation? Is no one

:04:33. > :04:38.speaks against it when it is read this afternoon, it will be passed by

:04:39. > :04:45.the time the house rises tomorrow. If somebody speaks against it? There

:04:46. > :04:49.will have to be a debate, but I understand there is cross-party

:04:50. > :04:54.support. There has to be one difficult person in the house? I

:04:55. > :04:57.understand that this will go down, there have been lots of

:04:58. > :05:04.behind-the-scenes discussions. There is a clear intent to tackle the

:05:05. > :05:10.issue from January one. If somebody awkward decided to throw a spanner

:05:11. > :05:16.in the works, you would not get it through in time for the house

:05:17. > :05:23.rising? It has to be passed by the house... I think you are wrong, I

:05:24. > :05:28.think it has to be both houses. The House of Lords finishes tomorrow. It

:05:29. > :05:33.has to go through the same process in both houses. It has to go through

:05:34. > :05:37.the House of Lords statutory instruments committee, which can't

:05:38. > :05:45.meet now. I think it will go through. I have said it will be in

:05:46. > :05:47.place by tomorrow night. In this Parliament already we have got

:05:48. > :05:52.through legislation in one day, it is perfectly possible. The member

:05:53. > :05:59.who object to it will have to explain it to their constituents. We

:06:00. > :06:03.will find out, we will get our teams of gremlins panning out from the

:06:04. > :06:10.building to checklists. But why'd you think it is late? As

:06:11. > :06:18.Iain Duncan Smith said, he has been in discussion for two years with

:06:19. > :06:22.fellow EU member states. We have taken time to get this right, to

:06:23. > :06:27.listen to what people are saying, this is the way forward. We can get

:06:28. > :06:33.this through, it is about tackling an issue of major concern. We are

:06:34. > :06:39.down to the wire, Parliament has another day or a bit, the Lords are

:06:40. > :06:43.already disappearing, having got their expenses before they go,

:06:44. > :06:47.naturally. I am told that is what they do. If it is of such

:06:48. > :06:53.importance, why wasn't it done at least a month ago? We have known

:06:54. > :06:58.since 2004 when the last Labour government signed the accession

:06:59. > :07:01.treaty and then accepted that the Romanians and Bulgarians would have

:07:02. > :07:05.some time why they could not come through freely. We have known for

:07:06. > :07:12.years, why have they gone to the wire? These regulations will work,

:07:13. > :07:16.they will change the definition and they will stop people claiming out

:07:17. > :07:21.of work benefits for three months after they get here? Do you expect

:07:22. > :07:28.it to be a major deterrent? Yes, in the sense that people will be aware

:07:29. > :07:32.of it. Britain is open for people who want to work, if you come here

:07:33. > :07:37.with the intention of claiming from day one, that is not an option. I

:07:38. > :07:45.think it will deter people. How many? Let's not get into numbers.

:07:46. > :07:50.You could make it up as you go along. The last government proved

:07:51. > :07:54.how clearly they underestimated the number... We know that, but you have

:07:55. > :08:02.no idea how many people this will deter. It will be in place to

:08:03. > :08:05.deter... Since we have learned that in the first three months they are

:08:06. > :08:09.here, they can't claim British benefits, they can get benefits sent

:08:10. > :08:16.from their home country, so why would they deter that? I am not sure

:08:17. > :08:21.why people... Because they are looking for a job. If people have a

:08:22. > :08:25.job lined up they are welcome to come here and contribute to the

:08:26. > :08:29.United Kingdom and society. If they don't have a job lined up, the

:08:30. > :08:34.signal goes out very clear, they are not welcome. You are basically just

:08:35. > :08:39.tightening the existing rules, this is not a step change, it is

:08:40. > :08:42.tinkering at the edges? Allah this is the first step, there are other

:08:43. > :08:47.changes we are looking at, but it is an important step in place from the

:08:48. > :08:50.1st of January. A number of colleagues have been talking about

:08:51. > :08:54.child benefit and other benefits. What would you like to see? In

:08:55. > :09:02.relation to further tightening the up? Child benefit is suggested to me

:09:03. > :09:08.a lot, what can we do to make sure that people who move here cannot

:09:09. > :09:13.claim child benefit? I want to see the clear message that we are

:09:14. > :09:19.welcoming people who want to come here, and to work. There is a wider

:09:20. > :09:23.issue about the renegotiation of our relationship with the EU, we will

:09:24. > :09:28.hopefully get a majority Conservative Government after 2015

:09:29. > :09:32.and put the whole issue of EU membership to a referendum for the

:09:33. > :09:36.British people. Mr Cameron says he wants to restrict free movement in

:09:37. > :09:41.the EU, even though free movement of labour and capital were at the heart

:09:42. > :09:45.of the Treaty of Rome. Many people who don't like the idea of a federal

:09:46. > :09:51.Europe or even Eurosceptics quite like the idea of free movement of

:09:52. > :09:58.labour and capital. Do you have any idea what it would do? What does he

:09:59. > :10:03.want? It is open for negotiation. Do you have any idea? Freedom of

:10:04. > :10:08.movement of labour is right, but it is people coming to work, not claim

:10:09. > :10:12.benefits. I have many thousands of hard pressed constituents working

:10:13. > :10:16.very hard to payoff the tax system, they are not paying taxes for people

:10:17. > :10:21.with no intention of working. So Europeans could come here or could

:10:22. > :10:28.not play on welfare for a year, two years, five years? -- they could not

:10:29. > :10:34.claim welfare? We will have to discuss that. The idea is that they

:10:35. > :10:37.are coming to work and contribute. I understand that, nobody will argue

:10:38. > :10:42.with that. We all want people to work and contribute, that is fine.

:10:43. > :10:46.But I use saying that if people come here, never mind the three months

:10:47. > :10:51.when they become eligible, but they should not be eligible for welfare

:10:52. > :11:04.benefits for a lengthy period of time? That is something we will have

:11:05. > :11:09.to discuss and negotiate. The government view is very much that we

:11:10. > :11:15.want people to come here. We have talked about contributing...

:11:16. > :11:17.I am going to hear these words in my head all night. How many benefit

:11:18. > :11:40.tourists are they? I will not take lectures from you on

:11:41. > :11:45.immigration. We are not taking lectures from the Labour Party, who

:11:46. > :11:50.quadrupled net migration. How many are we talking about? I am here to

:11:51. > :11:57.answer questions from Andrew. Chris Bryant, your party is pretty much

:11:58. > :12:05.experts on mass migration from the EU, that is your default subject

:12:06. > :12:08.these days. What I want to ask is the rule restricting access to

:12:09. > :12:13.benefits for three months was in place in 2004/5 when the Polish and

:12:14. > :12:17.the accession eight, as they were known, were allowed to come. There

:12:18. > :12:24.is no evidence that it deterred migrants? Strictly speaking, these

:12:25. > :12:28.are not migrants, they are EU citizens exercising their EU right,

:12:29. > :12:33.just as British people going to work in Spain or Poland or wherever else,

:12:34. > :12:36.it is important that we bear that in mind. The country with the largest

:12:37. > :12:41.number of people living outside their own home country is the UK,

:12:42. > :12:46.but any of the others. So you welcome the arrival of Romanians and

:12:47. > :12:51.Bulgarians as fellow European citizens? They have every right to

:12:52. > :12:56.come here and work. What they don't have... And they don't have that

:12:57. > :12:59.now, incidentally, is the right to claim benefits from day one. My

:13:00. > :13:03.concern about what is happening today is that, in my experience, bad

:13:04. > :13:07.legislation is always brought in very swiftly at the last minute and

:13:08. > :13:11.without the opportunity for proper scrutiny. We have had months and

:13:12. > :13:15.months where we have been saying you should be able to tighten the rules

:13:16. > :13:20.of necessary. It should be based on evidence. If there are numbers we

:13:21. > :13:24.are talking about of people claiming benefits from day one, as the

:13:25. > :13:29.minister seems to think, we should be dealing with it. You support the

:13:30. > :13:34.three-month rule, do you think it should be longer? I think it is

:13:35. > :13:38.already three months, incidentally. Let's accept that for this

:13:39. > :13:43.discussion, should it be London -- longer? It should probably be six

:13:44. > :13:47.months, and we suggested that eight months ago. The government could

:13:48. > :13:52.have done something about that eight months ago but it is only now,

:13:53. > :13:59.literally at the very last minute in terms of Parliament, I suggest even

:14:00. > :14:03.passed the midnight hour... You have known since 2004 that the Romanians

:14:04. > :14:09.and Bulgarians are coming, you did nothing in government to prepare?

:14:10. > :14:13.That is not true. Sorry to disagree with you. You are right in saying

:14:14. > :14:19.that I think we got something wrong when we initially allowed Poland,

:14:20. > :14:25.Serbia and Latvia and all of those... I am not talking about

:14:26. > :14:32.them. You put nothing in place... You had plenty of time to put in

:14:33. > :14:42.place new rules when the Bulgarians and Romanians extension ended, you

:14:43. > :14:49.did nothing. Not true. We introduce the habitual residency test.

:14:50. > :14:53.Reintroduced the extension to seven years from five years. Whether

:14:54. > :14:58.government has failed, they have been the government for three years.

:14:59. > :15:03.We have done that point. Just to clarify, six months would be Labour

:15:04. > :15:11.policy? We said that earlier this year. I would be happy with six

:15:12. > :15:18.months. Then we need to move on. But I want to see statistics. We all

:15:19. > :15:22.like statistics. If we are fighting with the Phantom, we might be doing

:15:23. > :15:26.the economy more harm than good. I don't think I was arguing with you

:15:27. > :15:30.on that. Iain Duncan Smith's department has

:15:31. > :15:42.said this regulation does not need to be laid in the Lords.

:15:43. > :15:50.John Major said it is not proven evidence. Let's move on. You cannot

:15:51. > :15:53.get the staff these days. Should prisoners be allowed to vote in

:15:54. > :15:56.elections? The Prime Minister thinks they shouldn't. The European Court

:15:57. > :16:00.of Human Rights says they should. Today the committee of MPs and peers

:16:01. > :16:02.set up to look at the question has published its report... And it's

:16:03. > :16:08.split. Oh dear! JoCo, what's happening?

:16:09. > :16:11.Yes. There's been a blanket ban on prisoners voting in the UK since

:16:12. > :16:14.1969. But back in 2005 the European Court of Human Rights decided in

:16:15. > :16:19.favour of convicted axe murderer John Hirst, saying the ban was in

:16:20. > :16:23.breach of his rights. Britain has been locked in a court battle with

:16:24. > :16:29.the ECHR ever since, despite MPs voting by an overwhelming majority

:16:30. > :16:31.to keep the ban in 2011. The government has been warned if it

:16:32. > :16:37.doesn't comply, prisoners could claim compensation of more than ?100

:16:38. > :16:41.million. But David Cameron insists they won't get the vote on his

:16:42. > :16:46.watch, he says it would make him feel physically sick. The government

:16:47. > :16:50.set up a cross-party committee of MPs and peers to look at what to do

:16:51. > :16:53.next and today it's recommended giving the vote to all inmates

:16:54. > :16:59.serving sentences of 12 months or less and to those within six months

:17:00. > :17:01.of release. But the committee was split, with a minority group

:17:02. > :17:05.insisting Parliament should be allowed to keep the blanket ban, and

:17:06. > :17:10.arguing that the European court has over-reached itself.

:17:11. > :17:13.Well we're joined now from central lobby by the committee chairman,

:17:14. > :17:16.Nick Gibb, who wants to keep the ban. And by former Prisons Minister,

:17:17. > :17:25.Crispin Blunt, who backed the majority view that some prisoners

:17:26. > :17:29.should be given the vote. Crispin Blunt, why should they be

:17:30. > :17:37.given the vote? We have got to see this issue within the context of the

:17:38. > :17:42.European convention on human rights. If we choose to defy the courts and

:17:43. > :17:46.stick by the rule of law, we need to denounce the convention and leave

:17:47. > :17:52.it. We have to decide if prisoner votes is an important issue or not.

:17:53. > :17:56.It isn't. There are weak arguments to give some prisoners a vote to

:17:57. > :18:02.assist their rehabilitation. It will not deter crime, no one is thinking

:18:03. > :18:08.about doing a crime and then does not do it because they will lose the

:18:09. > :18:14.right to vote. The court is in the right place on the merits. And so

:18:15. > :18:21.this is not really the right issue on which to defy the convention

:18:22. > :18:26.itself. It is just not worth it, for the reasons outlined by Crispin

:18:27. > :18:30.Blunt, it is not a deterrent, just a punishment in your view and you will

:18:31. > :18:37.be in breach of international law. Is it worth it? Most people who are

:18:38. > :18:41.sentenced to jail, lose their liberty and the right to take part

:18:42. > :18:48.in society and therefore lose their right to take part in elections. The

:18:49. > :18:54.European Court of Human Rights is taking another view. So the other

:18:55. > :18:57.issue we have been considering is who should make these decisions.

:18:58. > :19:01.Most people in Britain think those kinds of decisions are best made in

:19:02. > :19:05.this building by people who are elected by the British people to

:19:06. > :19:09.represent them and not by a group of judges in a foreign court. But

:19:10. > :19:13.European convention was established to deal with the aftermath of the

:19:14. > :19:20.horrors of the Second World War and the emergent common is blocked

:19:21. > :19:25.terror. It is not meant to deal with the minutia right of domestic

:19:26. > :19:30.politics. You have to stay firm and said to the European Court of Human

:19:31. > :19:34.Rights, you have overstepped the mark and we need to see a reform of

:19:35. > :19:40.that court, so they don't confront what is the established view of the

:19:41. > :19:46.British people. What do you say to that, Crispin Blunt, it is no longer

:19:47. > :19:51.fit for purpose? That is probably true, the court has overstepped the

:19:52. > :19:57.mark in regards to this. This was an unwise judgement. But the court is

:19:58. > :20:00.beginning to reform itself and was a meeting of the Council in 2012 which

:20:01. > :20:06.began the process of reform of the court. There are signs being sent by

:20:07. > :20:09.the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe who came to give evidence

:20:10. > :20:15.to others, that the court is beginning to these issues. We have

:20:16. > :20:21.to decide whether we will throw over the whole convention, whilst this

:20:22. > :20:24.system is in the process of reform. Or let the process go on and see if

:20:25. > :20:30.we will get more sensible judgements in future. What happens now? You

:20:31. > :20:36.want the national parliament to decide, but what happens in this

:20:37. > :20:41.stand-off? The government will respond to our committee's report

:20:42. > :20:46.and they will bring forward legislation next year. It is up to

:20:47. > :20:50.members of Parliament how they vote. No one can tell an MP or a peer how

:20:51. > :20:55.they will vote and I think they will reject out of hand to move the

:20:56. > :21:02.franchise to prisoners. The ball is in the court of the European Court

:21:03. > :21:04.of Human Rights to reform itself. And the Brighton declaration went

:21:05. > :21:10.some way, but nowhere near to the extent we need reform. There was a

:21:11. > :21:15.case heard by the animal rights movement to try to get paid,

:21:16. > :21:20.political advertising on our televisions. That was ruled out, but

:21:21. > :21:25.it could have easily been voted in, changing the way we run elections in

:21:26. > :21:29.this country. That cannot be the role of the European Court of Human

:21:30. > :21:35.Rights. They need to reform themselves more substantially done

:21:36. > :21:39.the Brighton declaration. The Prime Minister said, over his dead body,

:21:40. > :21:44.he will not change his view? If we are going to stick by the rule of

:21:45. > :21:51.law, we will have to denounce the convention because we will defy the

:21:52. > :21:56.courts. If we don't do that, and we simply defied a court and not

:21:57. > :21:59.denounce the convention, we are breaching our international treaty

:22:00. > :22:04.obligations and we will have to pay compensation to prisoners every time

:22:05. > :22:11.there is an election. Thank you both very much. Just on that word on the

:22:12. > :22:18.Lords and benefits, it is a negative statutory instrument. I have never

:22:19. > :22:22.heard of that. It becomes law without a debate or vote but maybe

:22:23. > :22:35.an old by a resolution of either House. Because it has to go to the

:22:36. > :22:40.Lords? No, it doesn't. Nicky, does the idea of giving prisoners the

:22:41. > :22:45.votes make you physically sick? Not physically sick, but I am opposed to

:22:46. > :22:54.it. If we don't, we will end up paying fines to prisoners, and 281

:22:55. > :22:58.prisoners have already lodged compensation claims. I would rather

:22:59. > :23:06.see the court reformed, but sometimes the principal is more

:23:07. > :23:15.important. I did a documentary on this in 2012, the forms being made,

:23:16. > :23:21.if any are very slight. I would say no to prisoners having the vote. You

:23:22. > :23:27.would pick and choose what European rulings you would follow? I think

:23:28. > :23:31.there comes a point, especially in this case when the UK as to say this

:23:32. > :23:37.has gone too far. The Supreme Court ruled in not Tober earlier on this

:23:38. > :23:42.year in the case of two prisoners that they did not have voting

:23:43. > :23:46.rights. It may be called the Supreme Court, but it is not supreme. In

:23:47. > :23:53.America, the Supreme Court is supreme, but are Supreme Court is

:23:54. > :23:58.subject to European rules? That is another discussion. Would you be up

:23:59. > :24:03.for leaving this court? As a former lawyer, you would have to think

:24:04. > :24:08.carefully. But there is a principle at stake here. It is up to

:24:09. > :24:15.Parliament to decide. I cannot see any justification for giving

:24:16. > :24:20.prisoners the vote. We know you are against it. But the issue is do we

:24:21. > :24:23.comply with the court or do we live with the consequence of paying

:24:24. > :24:31.fines. Or do we leave the court altogether? I am not in favour of

:24:32. > :24:38.giving prisoners the vote. But I don't want to leave the court. What

:24:39. > :24:45.would you do? There is a third way in between. The courts's original

:24:46. > :24:49.objection is to the blanket ban. In France, nearly every prisoner is

:24:50. > :24:54.deprived of the right to vote, but the judge decides as part of the

:24:55. > :24:59.sentence. Which is why I want to see the report that has been produced by

:25:00. > :25:05.the committee. It is interesting because obviously, the surprise is,

:25:06. > :25:10.the committee has said it is in favour of abiding by the ruling of

:25:11. > :25:13.the European Court. What they have said is if you are sentence for less

:25:14. > :25:19.than 12 months, you still get the vote. If you are coming to the end

:25:20. > :25:26.of your sentence, in the final six months, you would get the vote. It

:25:27. > :25:33.is pretty marginal, but it does meet the requirements of the European.

:25:34. > :25:40.Would you go along with that? Maybe. I have not seen the report. I have

:25:41. > :25:48.two instinctive reactions and they conflict with each other. The first

:25:49. > :25:54.is, I am supportive of of our being subject to European rights. It was a

:25:55. > :26:03.Brit who devised it in the 1940s. Maxwell Fyfe. And I think it means

:26:04. > :26:12.British businesses and citizens can get... We are aware of the

:26:13. > :26:15.conflicts. But let's say you are saying that you are going along with

:26:16. > :26:22.it, but you would not go along with it? The Prime Minister's lying about

:26:23. > :26:32.it making him physically sick is childish. People like to have a

:26:33. > :26:37.clear line of reform. You would not go along with this compromise? The

:26:38. > :26:41.committee was asked to look at what was possible, but they have made it

:26:42. > :26:46.clear they do not support it. If this court had ruled in favour of

:26:47. > :26:56.paid, political advertising, what would have you done? But it didn't.

:26:57. > :27:04.It was only one vote. It is a hypothetical question. What would

:27:05. > :27:09.you have done? I don't want to give prisoners the vote, I don't want

:27:10. > :27:16.paid advertising on television but political campaigns. But you are

:27:17. > :27:18.asking a hypothetical question. Now, Canadian politicians know how to

:27:19. > :27:38.celebrate the festive season. That was the scene yesterday inside

:27:39. > :27:46.Toronto City Council chamber, presided over by their controversial

:27:47. > :27:56.mayor, Rob Ford. No, I'm sorry, there will be no dancing here! We'll

:27:57. > :27:59.be doing that a little later on. But in the meantime we're warming up

:28:00. > :28:11.with a Daily Politics mug of cheap plonk laced with sugar and spices.

:28:12. > :28:18.You don't have to drink it, Chris. It does not look very nice. On the

:28:19. > :28:22.licence fee! And it can be yours of course, well the mug, I am not sure

:28:23. > :28:28.the mulled wine will survive the post.

:28:29. > :28:31.And we'll remind you how to enter in a minute, but let's see if you can

:28:32. > :29:15.remember when this happened. Oh my goodness, Martin Bell. He

:29:16. > :29:18.could not be more wrong. I have decided to give the bank of England

:29:19. > :29:29.operational responsibility for setting interest rates. His name is

:29:30. > :29:58.Peter. To be in with a chance of winning a

:29:59. > :30:02.Daily Politics mug, send your answer to our special quiz email address.

:30:03. > :30:15.And you can see the full terms and conditions for Guess The Year on our

:30:16. > :30:19.website. To all our friends at CNN who were watching the programme, the

:30:20. > :30:25.mulled wine is in the post. It's coming up to midday here. Just

:30:26. > :30:28.take a look at Big Ben. That can mean only one thing! Yes, Prime

:30:29. > :30:33.Minister's Questions is on the way. And that's not all, Nick Robinson is

:30:34. > :30:42.here. What is going to happen? I think

:30:43. > :30:46.both leaders will want to talk about the same thing, the cost of living.

:30:47. > :30:50.They will rehearse the battle they have been having for months, and the

:30:51. > :31:06.battle they will be having for the next 18 months. So it will be deja

:31:07. > :31:15.vu? Unemployment figures were pretty good? Both parties want to have this

:31:16. > :31:24.row now. The fact, 41 months after... Let's go straight over to

:31:25. > :31:50.the final PMQs of 2013. We should remember all our service

:31:51. > :31:55.personnel around the world. Our country owes a huge amount to them.

:31:56. > :32:00.This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others,

:32:01. > :32:04.and in addition to my meetings in the house, I will have further such

:32:05. > :32:08.meetings later today. Can I join him in his wishes to our

:32:09. > :32:12.armed forces and all the public sector workers who will be taking

:32:13. > :32:18.care of us over the Christmas period?

:32:19. > :32:27.Mr Speaker, unless the Mrs Ely Omer bill is changed, 6000 victims who

:32:28. > :32:35.were criminally and negligently exposed to asbestos at work will not

:32:36. > :32:39.is received compensation. -- the mesothelioma bill? Would he rather

:32:40. > :32:46.stand foreign assurance companies than innocent people? -- would he

:32:47. > :32:51.rather stand for insurance companies?

:32:52. > :33:00.The mesothelioma bill is a huge step forward. There has been no provision

:33:01. > :33:03.for these people. Once the scheme is up and running, roughly 300 people a

:33:04. > :33:09.year will receive approximately ?115,000 each. That is an important

:33:10. > :33:12.step forward. I will look at what he has to say but I think we should be

:33:13. > :33:24.proud that we are tackling this issue after a long delay. Will he

:33:25. > :33:26.join me in saluting the courage of the hundreds of thousands of people

:33:27. > :33:43.who have been peacefully processed and across Ukraine for the last

:33:44. > :33:49.will he hold out the prospect of closer links with Europe in the

:33:50. > :33:54.longer term, which is what the people of Ukraine want?

:33:55. > :33:59.I agree that we should pay tribute to those in Ukraine who want a

:34:00. > :34:04.future link to Europe, and once the peace, prosperity and stability that

:34:05. > :34:10.relationship would bring. -- and want the peace. The world is

:34:11. > :34:23.watching what the Ukrainian author says -- authorities have done and

:34:24. > :34:27.are contemplating doing. Mr Speaker, I joined the Prime

:34:28. > :34:31.Minister in paying tribute to all of our troops serving around the world,

:34:32. > :34:37.particularly in Afghanistan. Once again, they have turned our country

:34:38. > :34:42.proud, shown the utmost courage and bravery. Our thoughts are with them

:34:43. > :34:48.and their families this Christmas. Today's economic figures show a

:34:49. > :34:56.welcome fall in unemployment, and for every person that gets back into

:34:57. > :35:03.work at benefits not just them but their family as well. -- it benefits

:35:04. > :35:07.just not them. But at the end of this year there more people than

:35:08. > :35:14.ever before working part-time because they can't get the hours

:35:15. > :35:17.they need. I think it is worth looking at an employment figures in

:35:18. > :35:24.some detail, because I think they paint and encouraging picture.

:35:25. > :35:26.Unemployment is down by 99,000, the number of people claiming

:35:27. > :35:33.unemployment benefit has fallen by 36,000 this month alone, there are

:35:34. > :35:37.250,000 more people in work, youth unemployment is down, long-term

:35:38. > :35:41.unemployment is down, unemployment amongst women is down. We have

:35:42. > :35:49.talked about a million more people in work under this government, it is

:35:50. > :35:52.now 1.2 million more people in work. There shouldn't be one ounce of

:35:53. > :35:57.complacency, because we still have work to do to get the country back

:35:58. > :36:01.to work, and everyone back in work means greater stability for them,

:36:02. > :36:05.later ability to plan for the future, great help for their

:36:06. > :36:10.families. But the plan is working, let's stick at it and get an

:36:11. > :36:16.employment down even further. He didn't really and some pacific

:36:17. > :36:25.question. It is good our economy is creating more jobs, but too many

:36:26. > :36:31.part-time, low paid or insecure -- he did not really answer my specific

:36:32. > :36:36.question. Today's figures show what is happening to wages. Does he agree

:36:37. > :36:41.that it is of concern that average wages are ?364 lower than one year

:36:42. > :36:48.ago and ?1500 lower than at the general election? Let me talk about

:36:49. > :36:53.full-time and part-time employment. Full-time employment has grown much

:36:54. > :36:58.faster in recent months, and since the election, 70% of the new jobs,

:36:59. > :37:06.and there have been millions of them, 70% of full-time jobs. -- are

:37:07. > :37:09.full-time jobs. I agree we have to do more to put in place our

:37:10. > :37:15.long-term economic van to keep the economy growing, but it is all very

:37:16. > :37:25.well standing at the despatch box. He has said that there will be a

:37:26. > :37:31.million fewer jobs. And we are still waiting for him to correct the

:37:32. > :37:35.record about that. Of course, I want to see more money in people's

:37:36. > :37:40.pockets. The only way we can do that is keep on with the economic plan,

:37:41. > :37:45.keep cutting unemployment, keep taxes down, cut the deficit to keep

:37:46. > :37:53.interest rates down. That is our economic plan. What is his? Let's

:37:54. > :37:58.talk about his predictions. He said he would balance the books in five

:37:59. > :38:03.years. He has failed. He said he would secure Britain's credit

:38:04. > :38:07.rating, he has failed. And the worst prediction, he said he would be good

:38:08. > :38:15.at Prime Minister. He has certainly failed at that. -- he said he would

:38:16. > :38:20.be good at being Prime Minister. Order, order. Members on both sides

:38:21. > :38:28.of the House need to calm down. It will take as long as it takes, as

:38:29. > :38:31.always. Very straightforward. Isn't it interesting that they want to

:38:32. > :38:36.talk about the cost of living crisis facing families up and down the

:38:37. > :38:40.country least of all? That is because they know families are worse

:38:41. > :38:47.off. How much higher is the average gas and electricity bill this

:38:48. > :38:54.Christmas compared to last? Let us deal with the predictions. Order,

:38:55. > :38:59.the question was asked, and the answer must be heard. Prime

:39:00. > :39:04.Minister. They have a programme which will clearly lead to the

:39:05. > :39:07.disappearance of a million jobs. Now we have 1.6 million more

:39:08. > :39:13.private-sector jobs, 1.2 million more people in work, it is time he

:39:14. > :39:20.apologised for his prediction of talking the economy down. He asks

:39:21. > :39:24.about the cost of living, let us compare records on the cost of

:39:25. > :39:32.living. They doubled council tax, we froze it, they put petrol tax 12

:39:33. > :39:39.times, we froze it. They put up the basic state pension by 75p, we put

:39:40. > :39:45.it up I ?15. Oh, we have a new hand gesture from the Shadow Chancellor!

:39:46. > :39:55.I would have thought up to today's briefing in the papers the hand

:39:56. > :39:59.gesture for the Shadow Chancellor should bye-bye! You don't need it to

:40:00. > :40:16.be Christmas to know when you are sitting next to a turkey!

:40:17. > :40:22.We will wait until colleagues can't down. I don't mind how long it

:40:23. > :40:28.takes, I have all day if necessary. I thought that, just for once, he

:40:29. > :40:33.might answer the question he was asked. Let's give him the answer,

:40:34. > :40:39.energy bills are ?70 higher than one year ago. Despite all his bluster,

:40:40. > :40:46.that is the reality. ?300 higher than when he came to office. The

:40:47. > :40:51.cost of childcare is crucial for parents going out to work. Can he

:40:52. > :40:57.tell is how much childcare has gone up this year? We are providing 15

:40:58. > :41:04.hours of childcare, nursery education, for two, three and four

:41:05. > :41:08.year old. He was never able to do that in government. It is all very

:41:09. > :41:12.well making these promises, the only reason we can keep our promises is

:41:13. > :41:17.we took tough decisions about the economy. We took tough and difficult

:41:18. > :41:23.decisions to get the deficit down. We took difficult decisions to get

:41:24. > :41:28.our economic van in place. The fact is, this Christmas the economy is

:41:29. > :41:32.growing, 1.2 million more people are in work, exports are increasing,

:41:33. > :41:36.manufacturing is up, construction is doing better, the economy is getting

:41:37. > :41:45.stronger and Labour is getting weaker.

:41:46. > :41:50.I tell you what, Mr Speaker, that was a turkey of an answer. Why

:41:51. > :41:56.doesn't he just for once answer the question? Childcare costs have gone

:41:57. > :42:00.up ?300, ?300 in the last year, nearly three times the rate of

:42:01. > :42:05.inflation. He is doing nothing about it. There is one group he has helped

:42:06. > :42:13.out with the cost of living this year. His Christmas card list. Can

:42:14. > :42:20.he tell us... I know he does not like me asking, but can he tell us

:42:21. > :42:27.someone earning over ?1 million a year, how much lower our taxes this

:42:28. > :42:29.year compared to last year? The top tax rate and this government is

:42:30. > :42:34.higher than it ever was under his government. The highest 1% of

:42:35. > :42:38.earners are paying a greater percentage of income tax than they

:42:39. > :42:43.did when he was sitting in the cabinet. Those are the facts. If he

:42:44. > :42:48.wants to talk about what he has done on the cost of living, we have cut

:42:49. > :42:53.income tax for 25 million people, they voted against it. We have taken

:42:54. > :42:58.2.4 million people out of tax, they voted against it. We froze council

:42:59. > :43:05.tax, they voted against it, we froze fuel duty, they voted against it. We

:43:06. > :43:10.have a long-term economic plan. He ends the year with no plan, no

:43:11. > :43:17.credibility, no idea how to help the economy. We all know his long-term

:43:18. > :43:21.plan, to cut taxes for his Christmas card list and make everyone else

:43:22. > :43:30.think all swim. That is his long-term plan. And I have got to

:43:31. > :43:35.say... The usual low graders can make as much noise as they like. For

:43:36. > :43:40.their own benefit, and I will say it again, however long it takes, right

:43:41. > :43:49.honourable and honourable members will be heard. It is so simple it is

:43:50. > :43:52.probably now clear. The more he reads out lists and statistics, the

:43:53. > :43:58.more out of touch he seems to the country. This was the year that the

:43:59. > :44:02.cost of living crisis hit families hardest. This was the year the

:44:03. > :44:07.introduced the bedroom tax while cutting taxes for millionaires. This

:44:08. > :44:13.was the year he proved beyond doubt he is the Prime Minister for the

:44:14. > :44:20.few, not the many. He may not like the facts, but you can't hide from

:44:21. > :44:25.them. The typical taxpayer is paying ?600 less, because we cut taxes. The

:44:26. > :44:28.deficit is falling by a third because we took difficult decisions.

:44:29. > :44:36.Today, for the first time in history, there are 30 million people

:44:37. > :44:40.in our country in work. The fact is that, at the end of this year, we

:44:41. > :44:44.have a recovery they can't explain, growth they said would never come,

:44:45. > :44:48.jobs they said would never happen and, meanwhile, they are stuck with

:44:49. > :44:52.an economic policy that does not add up under Shadow Chancellor they

:44:53. > :45:09.can't defend. That is why the British people will never trust

:45:10. > :45:22.Labour with the economy again. Order, order. We will just have to

:45:23. > :45:29.keep going a bit longer. The right honourable gentleman will be heard.

:45:30. > :45:33.Sir Malcolm Bruce. I can give the House something to cheer about. Will

:45:34. > :45:41.the Prime Minister welcome the fact that investment in our oil and gas

:45:42. > :45:48.industry this year will reach billions of pounds. Is he aware

:45:49. > :45:51.there is a report that says we need collaboration between government and

:45:52. > :45:58.industry to unlock three to 4 billion barrels of oil worth ?2

:45:59. > :46:04.million which would otherwise be left under the sea? He makes an

:46:05. > :46:07.important point because this is an excellent report. We want to

:46:08. > :46:11.maximise the returns in employment and investment in the North Sea. In

:46:12. > :46:15.recent months we have seen encouraging sign of greater

:46:16. > :46:19.investment in the North the, not least because of the decisions taken

:46:20. > :46:29.by the Chancellor to bring into play some of these marginal fields. Does

:46:30. > :46:33.the Prime Minister understand that even if Dr Richard Haass dozens,

:46:34. > :46:41.that agreement and consensus are desirable, but will be impossible to

:46:42. > :46:45.achieve and viewed in the unionist community as dilating art essence of

:46:46. > :46:50.Britishness as Northern Ireland seeks to strengthen its position in

:46:51. > :46:57.the United Kingdom are not weaken it? What I will say is, we all agree

:46:58. > :47:01.Richard Hass is carrying out an important and difficult task,

:47:02. > :47:07.looking into the issues of parades, flags and the past. I have met with

:47:08. > :47:11.Richard Hass, he is an impressive individual, we should let him do is

:47:12. > :47:18.work and judge him on the results he produces. Everyone will look at this

:47:19. > :47:25.process with give and take to bring the communities together.

:47:26. > :47:27.Unemployment in my Peter borough constituency stands at 5.5%, the

:47:28. > :47:33.lowest since the financial crisis and there are 1800 fewer JS say

:47:34. > :47:40.claimants. But there are too many young people who are jobless and

:47:41. > :47:48.lacking any skills. Will the Prime Minister give an early Christmas

:47:49. > :47:55.present to Peterborough people by deciding on our technical college? I

:47:56. > :48:00.know the education secretary will look closely at the technical

:48:01. > :48:06.college. But the news on youth unemployment is better, 19,000 down

:48:07. > :48:12.this quarter. The claimant count is falling, but there is a lot more

:48:13. > :48:14.work to do and we should look at the work experience programmes which

:48:15. > :48:18.seem to have one of the best records and reducing youth unemployment and

:48:19. > :48:25.encourage businesses to get involved in this work experience programme.

:48:26. > :48:29.With the Archbishop of Canterbury reminding us of society's

:48:30. > :48:34.responsibility towards the support of the poor and the vulnerable and

:48:35. > :48:38.the Archbishop of Westminster criticising the inhumanity aspects

:48:39. > :48:42.of government policy, does the Prime Minister regret as we approach

:48:43. > :48:48.Christmas, his government's retreat from the compassionate conservatism

:48:49. > :48:53.he used to adopt? I don't accept what he says. There is nothing more

:48:54. > :49:01.compassionate than getting more people into work. The best route out

:49:02. > :49:05.of poverty is work. What we can see is 30 million people in work. I

:49:06. > :49:10.enjoy debating and listening carefully to the archbishops. I

:49:11. > :49:21.don't agree with what the Archbishop of Westminster said about

:49:22. > :49:32.immigration. Merry Christmas to you and your family, Mr Speaker. The

:49:33. > :49:39.people of Suffolk have enjoyed a cracker of a Christmas present with

:49:40. > :49:44.the excellent news of the A14. Does he agree that calls to abandon the

:49:45. > :49:51.government's long-term economic plan for the other side to borrow more

:49:52. > :49:55.will raise taxes and mortgages for the hard-working people of this

:49:56. > :50:00.country? Can I congratulate my honourable friend on her ingenious

:50:01. > :50:06.way in ensuring she is called regularly in debates in the House.

:50:07. > :50:11.On that note, a happy Christmas to you as well, Mr Speaker. She has

:50:12. > :50:17.been very clear in her campaign against the toll on the A14, and I

:50:18. > :50:21.am glad we have settled that issue. But she is right to say the biggest

:50:22. > :50:26.threat to our economy would be to abandon our plans. We are getting

:50:27. > :50:31.the deficit down, interest rates are still down and people are getting

:50:32. > :50:39.back to work. The biggest risk is more spending, the biggest risk that

:50:40. > :50:42.got us into this mess. In November I visited a wrought college in my

:50:43. > :50:48.constituency. They are collecting food to help needy families over

:50:49. > :50:53.Christmas and will have a foodbank on the school site in the New Year.

:50:54. > :50:58.What shocked me is a young girl aged 15 who arrived just before my visit

:50:59. > :51:01.who had not eaten all weekend because there was no food in her

:51:02. > :51:08.house. How does the Prime Minister expect that young girl to fulfil her

:51:09. > :51:11.educational potential? We have to do all we can to help families into

:51:12. > :51:16.work and that is what we are doing under this government. We have to

:51:17. > :51:21.make sure we protect the income levels of the poorest. That is why

:51:22. > :51:26.the child tax credit is up ?390 under this government, protecting

:51:27. > :51:34.the money that goes to the poorest people of this country. Experts say

:51:35. > :51:39.that Labour's energy price freeze an announcement would raise prices in

:51:40. > :51:43.the short term... Order, order. Opposition members should not yell

:51:44. > :51:50.at the honourable gentleman when he is asking his question. Experts said

:51:51. > :51:55.Labour's energy price freeze announcement would raise prices in

:51:56. > :51:59.the short term and protect the big six by freezing new investment.

:52:00. > :52:06.Since then prices have gone up and the National Grid says half of new

:52:07. > :52:13.investment. I am struggling to find anything that relates to the Prime

:52:14. > :52:23.Minister in his question. So we will proceed with Mr Gordon Marsden.

:52:24. > :52:29.Thank you, Mr Speaker. Has the Prime Minister to relax with his family

:52:30. > :52:32.and friends, will he spare a thought to my constituents in black girl

:52:33. > :52:38.whose Christmas is mired in the incompetence and random cruelty of

:52:39. > :52:42.the benefit sanctions. My casework on this includes the woman denied

:52:43. > :52:45.job-seeker's allowance for doing voluntary work at one local branch

:52:46. > :52:50.of a national charity rather than another. Will his New Year

:52:51. > :52:57.resolution be resolving this chaos on sanctions and non-universal

:52:58. > :53:01.credit? The best thing we can do all constituents is keep on with the

:53:02. > :53:05.economic plan that is generating more jobs in our country. If we look

:53:06. > :53:11.at the north-west, the number of people employed is up by 37,000

:53:12. > :53:16.since the election. Unemployment has fallen by 29,000 since the election.

:53:17. > :53:22.We need to keep on with that while making sure the benefit system works

:53:23. > :53:26.for those who need it. But he does not do his constituents any favour

:53:27. > :53:32.by talking down the economy. Will the Prime Minister paid tribute to

:53:33. > :53:35.Norfolk's emergency services who have done such a great job in

:53:36. > :53:41.tackling the recent floods and repairing the damage. Floods that

:53:42. > :53:46.were potentially worse than six years ago that killed 300 people.

:53:47. > :53:54.Does he agree special mention should be made of the two local newspapers

:53:55. > :54:05.who campaign tirelessly and raised money for the appeal. Can he tell

:54:06. > :54:11.the House what government can do? He is right to raise this issue. I was

:54:12. > :54:14.impressed when I went to Norfolk to see not only the amazing

:54:15. > :54:18.contribution the emergency services had made, but local newspapers in

:54:19. > :54:24.highlighting this issue to help people prepare for what was to come

:54:25. > :54:29.and also the flood coordinators and people who work voluntarily. I was

:54:30. > :54:34.impressed I what I saw in terms of what the lifeboats had done. The

:54:35. > :54:37.enormous wave that swept through their station but they were able to

:54:38. > :54:43.get out and get their and help people. What because we put money

:54:44. > :54:48.into flood defences we were able to protect more homes that otherwise

:54:49. > :54:55.would have been affected. Ministers have admitted to be that completing

:54:56. > :55:01.personal independence claims. My constituents, Cathy is still waiting

:55:02. > :55:04.to have a decision made on her claim. She had an appointment

:55:05. > :55:09.yesterday with an assessor who did not turn up. Why is the Prime

:55:10. > :55:15.Minister and allowing cancer patients to suffer because of

:55:16. > :55:23.incompetence of his government. I am willing to look at the KC mentions.

:55:24. > :55:31.I am happy to look at the individual case to see what could be done. The

:55:32. > :55:36.number of unemployed claimants in my constituency has fallen to 439, the

:55:37. > :55:41.third best performing constituency in the country. Will he join with me

:55:42. > :55:47.in congratulating local businesses for the role they have played in

:55:48. > :55:53.this? I am happy to congratulate local businesses, but what we are

:55:54. > :55:58.seeing and what Labour predicted would not happen is a private sector

:55:59. > :56:01.led recovery. For every job lost in the public sector we have seen three

:56:02. > :56:09.or four created in the private sector. We must keep up this

:56:10. > :56:13.economic environment. At the last election many of my constituents

:56:14. > :56:19.believe the Prime Minister when he said there would be no third runway

:56:20. > :56:24.at Heathrow. They are now faced with the threat of not only a third

:56:25. > :56:27.runway, but a fourth runway. People losing the homes, schools being

:56:28. > :56:33.demolished and people having to dig up their dead in the local cemetery.

:56:34. > :56:40.What does he say to those who have lost their faith in him? I don't

:56:41. > :56:44.accept what he says. We said there would not be a third runway and we

:56:45. > :56:50.have stuck with that promise. We have a report being done by Howard

:56:51. > :56:54.Davies. It is a very good interim report. I think people should read

:56:55. > :57:00.that report before they start shouting across the House of Commons

:57:01. > :57:08.in an inappropriate way. Order, order. I know what I am doing, I

:57:09. > :57:13.don't need any help. A reference was made to treatment of constituents

:57:14. > :57:18.not to observations made in respect of members of the House. I am clear

:57:19. > :57:27.on that and the procedure is clear as well. In the north-east, all 29

:57:28. > :57:30.constituencies have heard -- seen an increase in apprenticeships since

:57:31. > :57:35.2010. I opened an engineering Academy in Hexham. Does he agree

:57:36. > :57:39.with me that it is only by the provision of better skills and

:57:40. > :57:44.apprenticeships we will improve the living standards of young people

:57:45. > :57:48.today? He is absolutely right, I saw for myself what a difference the

:57:49. > :57:56.apprenticeships and extra funding has made. We want to share this

:57:57. > :58:01.across the country. In the North East, unemployment has fallen this

:58:02. > :58:04.quarter. 28 thousand more in work since the election, but we have

:58:05. > :58:11.further to go and stick with the economic land. Is the Prime Minister

:58:12. > :58:20.concerned in the detail of the small print of the Autumn Statement that

:58:21. > :58:27.by the end of this Parliament, levels will be lower. If he looks at

:58:28. > :58:32.disposable income, it is higher than it was between 1997 and 2010. In

:58:33. > :58:37.spite of slow wage growth we have cut taxes. You can only cut taxes if

:58:38. > :58:42.you take difficult decisions about the deficit, difficult decisions

:58:43. > :58:44.about spending and we have not had support from the party opposite for

:58:45. > :58:54.one single of those difficult decisions. Cut the Prime Minister

:58:55. > :58:58.help get justice for my constituents who want to know why an

:58:59. > :59:02.investigation into the meetings had by the former transport secretary

:59:03. > :59:10.have not been reported on this bike for months of waiting and assurances

:59:11. > :59:14.that I would have the answer. The honourable lady was referring to the

:59:15. > :59:21.member for Chipping Barnet. She has taken up this issue and I am sure

:59:22. > :59:30.she will get an Ansa shortly. Mr Speaker, on a slightly more seasonal

:59:31. > :59:35.notes, may I probed the Prime Minister on the revelation contained

:59:36. > :59:41.within the Autumn Statement that over this Parliament, borrowing is

:59:42. > :59:50.forecast to be 198 billion pounds more than originally planned. Will

:59:51. > :59:53.he accept his pledge to balance the books by 2015 has all the

:59:54. > :59:57.credibility of some proposal to build an airport on a nonexistent

:59:58. > :00:05.islands in the middle of a bird sanctuary in the Thames estuary? He

:00:06. > :00:14.always brings a flavour of pantomime to proceedings. If he is worried

:00:15. > :00:17.about the deficit, if he is worried about borrowing, he should look in

:00:18. > :00:23.front of him, rather than look behind him. We haven't had one bit

:00:24. > :00:29.of support on anything we have done to cut the deficit. If he is worried

:00:30. > :00:35.about the deficit, why does his party propose to put it up? It is

:00:36. > :00:42.good news a record number of people are in work. But there was another

:00:43. > :00:47.milestone this week where we reached 2 million new pension savers, thanks

:00:48. > :00:53.to auto enrolment. Is that another example of how this government is

:00:54. > :00:58.taking long-term decisions? She is right to raise auto enrolment. It

:00:59. > :01:02.means more people are saving for their retirement which means more

:01:03. > :01:08.stability and ability to plan for their future. There are so many more

:01:09. > :01:18.people in work this Christmas last and they can plan better for the

:01:19. > :01:21.future. Now that the Prime Minister has declared mission accomplished in

:01:22. > :01:28.Afghanistan, will he guarantee non-Avar brave servicemen and women

:01:29. > :01:34.who have served their will face redundancy when they come home? I

:01:35. > :01:40.was praising the role of the Armed Forces. They have carried out the

:01:41. > :01:44.tasks we asked them to and they have done it with professionalism and

:01:45. > :01:48.skill. They will be able to leave that country with their heads held

:01:49. > :01:52.high, secure in the knowledge we have put in place what is necessary

:01:53. > :02:06.to stop terrorism and terrorism training camps to return to that

:02:07. > :02:12.country. Today there are fewer people out of work in Worcester than

:02:13. > :02:17.when unemployment peaked under Labour. 700 businesses likely to

:02:18. > :02:20.benefit from the extension of small business rate relief. Can I urge the

:02:21. > :02:23.Prime Minister to do everything he can to help the high Street and

:02:24. > :02:30.remove burdens on businesses creating jobs? It is great news what

:02:31. > :02:33.is happening in Worcester and not only is unemployment down but

:02:34. > :02:38.vacancies are up, which is good news for the future. In terms of the high

:02:39. > :02:46.street we have taken important steps forward in terms of the rent rebate

:02:47. > :02:48.-- rate rebate. And the ?2000 employment allowance which means

:02:49. > :02:54.they don't have to pay their first ?2000 of national insurance

:02:55. > :02:59.contributions and that means businesses all over the country can

:03:00. > :03:02.take on more people. Further to the questions from the honourable member

:03:03. > :03:06.from Saint Albans, for months were passed in serious allegations were

:03:07. > :03:11.made that the Northern Ireland secretary broke the rules during her

:03:12. > :03:18.time as transport Secretary. Will the Cabinet respond before the House

:03:19. > :03:27.rises for Christmas recess? I have seen a copy of the response and it

:03:28. > :03:29.will be sent in the next few days. I welcome the Prime Minister's

:03:30. > :03:36.acceptance something needs to be done to stop the EU migrants

:03:37. > :03:40.accessing British benefits. But would he agree with me that what he

:03:41. > :03:44.is proposing, which will probably be found illegal by the European Court,

:03:45. > :03:49.is spitting in the winds when it comes to the problem we face, that

:03:50. > :03:53.the only way to get control of our borders and control of benefits

:03:54. > :04:00.system is to leave the European Union? I don't share his pessimism.

:04:01. > :04:05.The steps we are taking, including this announcement that people coming

:04:06. > :04:12.to the UK cannot claim benefits within the first three months, we

:04:13. > :04:15.are taking these steps by looking at what other countries in the EU do. I

:04:16. > :04:21.want to make sure the right of free movement is not abused. There is a

:04:22. > :04:26.right to work in different countries but they should not be a right to

:04:27. > :04:29.claim in different countries of the EU. But we need to do more in future

:04:30. > :04:34.and the lesson we learn is the mistake Labour made to give

:04:35. > :04:38.unfettered access to our labour market when Poland and others joined

:04:39. > :04:44.the EU which led to 1.5 million people coming to our country, was a

:04:45. > :04:50.profound mistake. Average household incomes will be lower in 2015 than

:04:51. > :04:54.in 2009. Is the Prime Minister concerned and what will he say to my

:04:55. > :04:59.constituents who are struggling with the cost of living crisis caused by

:05:00. > :05:04.his government's policies? The first thing I would say is we are raising

:05:05. > :05:12.to ?10,000, the amount people can earn before they pay income tax.

:05:13. > :05:17.That is worth ?705. The cause of the progress we have made, disposable

:05:18. > :05:20.income made this year is higher than any year between 1997 and 2010. The

:05:21. > :05:27.members opposite might not like these facts but it is worth

:05:28. > :05:30.remembering why we are in this situation in the first place. He

:05:31. > :05:37.should not have to shout to make himself heard. Prime Minister. The

:05:38. > :05:42.point I was making is the reason we are in this situation is this

:05:43. > :05:52.achieved for fiscal studies said we have happen biggest... They should

:05:53. > :05:58.be apologising for that before moving onto the next question.

:05:59. > :06:06.Christmas in Syria will be defined by stopping grief and horror in sub

:06:07. > :06:10.zero temperatures. I encourage the Prime Minister to keep focus on

:06:11. > :06:15.humanitarian relief in Syria and encourage the rest of the

:06:16. > :06:19.international community to reach the demand for ?4 billion of assistance

:06:20. > :06:27.and make sure it is more imaginative and generous? I am grateful for him

:06:28. > :06:33.raising this issue before Christmas. That is where our thought should be.

:06:34. > :06:38.It is a huge humanitarian crisis. The first thing I would say, Britain

:06:39. > :06:45.can be proud of the fact that at 500 million, we are the second bilateral

:06:46. > :06:50.donor in terms of aid going to Syria and neighbouring countries and

:06:51. > :06:52.helping people in those camps. We should be encouraging other

:06:53. > :06:55.countries to step up and make sure we fulfil our moral obligations to

:06:56. > :07:04.these people who will be suffering at Christmas time.

:07:05. > :07:11.They spoke mostly about the economy, as Nick Robinson predicted. A lot of

:07:12. > :07:16.youth unemployment and part-time jobs for people who want to work

:07:17. > :07:21.full-time, and then they have moved on to Labour 's theme for the second

:07:22. > :07:26.half of this year, the cost of living. We have heard it all before.

:07:27. > :07:29.I am not sure we heard anything new, that it was a reprise of what we

:07:30. > :07:36.have been hearing for quite some time. What did the viewers make of

:07:37. > :07:40.it? One said that if Cameron's government has achieved so much, why

:07:41. > :07:47.are the British people feeling so poor and worse off now than in 2010?

:07:48. > :07:51.But on Twitter one viewer USA's, as usual Ed Miliband is flailing about

:07:52. > :07:56.like a plucked and cooked Christmas turkey.

:07:57. > :08:01.-- one viewer says. Jim in the neat and says that Miliband and the

:08:02. > :08:05.Labour Party have nowhere to hide. Most of their predictions have been

:08:06. > :08:10.proven wrong. David from black than things that after today's very rowdy

:08:11. > :08:18.performance, the MPs must have come to the house straight from the bar.

:08:19. > :08:22.Peter says, watching PMQs confirms my opinion that Parliament should be

:08:23. > :08:32.culled to two had and 50 members on ?100,000 each. -- culled to 250

:08:33. > :08:42.members. I think the House of Lords should be culled to 250 members. 800

:08:43. > :08:46.and rising. The political debate has started to

:08:47. > :08:51.change with the change on the economy. Most news is pretty good

:08:52. > :08:56.now, that is likely to continue into the first part of 2014. I suspect

:08:57. > :09:00.the Chancellor, in the March Budget, will up the growth rate further as

:09:01. > :09:05.he did in the Autumn Statement. Labour's fallback position is to

:09:06. > :09:13.talk about who is benefiting from it. Can that be sustained through

:09:14. > :09:17.2014? If it fits in with people's experiences. The Labour Party is

:09:18. > :09:21.counting on the fact that lots of people watching this programme and

:09:22. > :09:24.politics in general are feeling squeezed. There is a debate about

:09:25. > :09:33.the figures, the Labour Party has a figure of ?1500, a drop in average

:09:34. > :09:38.earnings since the last election. It does not take on tax cuts or factor

:09:39. > :09:42.everything in, there would still be a cut but it would be slightly

:09:43. > :09:46.lower. The Prime Minister uses a figure which no one I know users,

:09:47. > :09:51.the Institute for Fiscal Studies says it is misleading, but it is

:09:52. > :09:55.official data. He talks about real household disposable income. He is

:09:56. > :09:59.taking, effectively, the aggregate, all of the income is of all of the

:10:00. > :10:05.people of the country, and they are going up. Frankly, it is very

:10:06. > :10:11.interesting but it tells you nothing about how households are feeling.

:10:12. > :10:15.Overall, real household income has gone up because they're more

:10:16. > :10:19.households, but the population is rising and the only way to measure

:10:20. > :10:24.the living standards is made per capita basis. We have talked about

:10:25. > :10:30.this before, I spoke to some backroom Tories, they are investing

:10:31. > :10:34.in next year. Their view is that the per capita real disposable household

:10:35. > :10:37.income will go up, so by using the figure now they are trying to give

:10:38. > :10:41.its currency and flavours so that when the figure goes up so well they

:10:42. > :10:48.can say, hey presto, it is actually going up. Part of the squeeze on

:10:49. > :10:53.living standards that Labour quite rightly points two has been caused

:10:54. > :10:56.because the Bank of England keeps missing its inflation target.

:10:57. > :11:00.Inflation has been consistently higher than the 2% targets at a time

:11:01. > :11:07.when wages have been static or barely rising. The significance this

:11:08. > :11:13.week of the 2.1% inflation was that they were pretty close to the

:11:14. > :11:16.target. There is the accidental squeeze through price increases and

:11:17. > :11:21.there is also a completely deliberate party policy. The whole

:11:22. > :11:24.point of 's territory, how do you control the size of the public

:11:25. > :11:29.sector, one way of doing it is cutting public sector wages. If

:11:30. > :11:33.public sector wages go up less than the rate of inflation, which the

:11:34. > :11:37.government is in favour of and, interestingly, the Labour Party said

:11:38. > :11:42.they would match, their household incomes go down because wages are

:11:43. > :11:48.not keeping up with inflation. When will living standards rise?

:11:49. > :11:51.Increases have been forecast from next year, but we recognise that

:11:52. > :11:54.times have been tough and it would be wrong to give the impression that

:11:55. > :11:59.people in Westminster are completely unaware of the fact that people have

:12:00. > :12:03.suffered a squeeze in living standards. The Prime Minister said

:12:04. > :12:12.the point about the fact that we have suffered the largest recession

:12:13. > :12:18.in 100 years, our economy contracted by over 7%, it is taking to which

:12:19. > :12:25.feeds to household budgets. The income figure he also includes the

:12:26. > :12:29.benefits and tax cuts. The wages figure alone does not recognise

:12:30. > :12:33.that. It is important to know that households receive wages, of course,

:12:34. > :12:40.but there are other sources of income, particularly benefits. But

:12:41. > :12:46.the national statistics on the real household incomes take everything

:12:47. > :12:52.into account, but also incomes to universities and charities. Why? I

:12:53. > :12:59.think you are right, it is a broader... It makes it unreliable.

:13:00. > :13:08.Here is a political question. Will living standards by May 2015 be

:13:09. > :13:14.higher than in May 2010? I think it is hard to make that addiction. I

:13:15. > :13:19.would love to be able to say yes -- I think it is hard to make that

:13:20. > :13:26.prediction. I am well aware that you would like to say yes! Will they or

:13:27. > :13:34.won't they? The OBR is forecasting that living standards will go up.

:13:35. > :13:41.URA Treasury Minister, the OBR does not forecast. It forecasts that

:13:42. > :13:45.sometime in the second half of 2014, wages will start to pull ahead of

:13:46. > :13:52.prices, that is not saying that overall living standards will rise.

:13:53. > :13:56.I was going to say that the OBR is forecasting an increase in wages, I

:13:57. > :14:06.was about to say that before I was interrupt did. -- interrupted. Why

:14:07. > :14:11.did you get it so wrong over jobs? Your leader predicted a loss of a

:14:12. > :14:16.million jobs since the Tory led coalition, you got it completely

:14:17. > :14:19.wrong. Just as when we introduced the national minimum wage, David

:14:20. > :14:23.Cameron predicted a loss of a million jobs and we put 2 million

:14:24. > :14:30.into the economy. So shouldn't you have learned from that? So having

:14:31. > :14:34.made a ridiculous prediction which was totally wrong, your answer is

:14:35. > :14:42.that David Cameron made 115 years ago? Predictions are not normally a

:14:43. > :14:46.wise territory for politicians. You got it completely wrong. David

:14:47. > :14:50.Cameron's prediction for this Parliament was that they would have

:14:51. > :14:56.got rid of the deficit by the end of the Parliament, but now we know that

:14:57. > :15:03.there will be... So politicians are useless? Sometimes I watch... Please

:15:04. > :15:10.let me finish one sentence, Andrew. Just one. I am almost always in the

:15:11. > :15:14.chamber for PMQs, I found it quite depressing watching it from outside.

:15:15. > :15:18.When you are in now you get caught up with the shouting and the noise,

:15:19. > :15:23.but watching it from out side, I think it is really depressing. We

:15:24. > :15:28.love it. The volume is louder than it ever has been. I would love to

:15:29. > :15:32.ban questions which say, with the Prime Minister agree with me? Would

:15:33. > :15:39.the Prime Minister congratulated the following people? You were saying,

:15:40. > :15:46.of course, he is going to. How many jobs have been created since 2010? I

:15:47. > :15:52.don't know, I know that in my own constituency... 1.6 million. 400,000

:15:53. > :15:57.lost in the public sector, so the net is 1.2 million. Your leader said

:15:58. > :16:04.we were going to lose a million, you were out by two point 8 million.

:16:05. > :16:08.Almost as bad as your Polish immigration figures. In my

:16:09. > :16:11.constituency there is about to be another run of cuts, my local

:16:12. > :16:22.authority has to find millions of pounds worth of cuts.

:16:23. > :16:28.ALL TALK AT ONCE We can take as long as we liked...

:16:29. > :16:31.We can't, unfortunately. We should clarify at this point before we move

:16:32. > :16:36.on that the former prisoner John Hirst who we were talking about, who

:16:37. > :16:40.challenge the ban on prisoners voting in the European Court, was

:16:41. > :16:43.jailed for manslaughter, rather than murder, as I said earlier. Now,

:16:44. > :16:47.something slightly different. One city, 13 days, six deaths. Last

:16:48. > :16:49.month's grim figures for cycling fatalities in London may be

:16:50. > :16:52.relatively unusual, but cycling groups say they highlight an all-too

:16:53. > :16:55.common problem. British roads are not safe enough for cyclists - and

:16:56. > :16:58.it's time that central government and local councils did more. Chris

:16:59. > :17:01.Boardman is policy adviser for British Cycling, the national

:17:02. > :17:05.governing body for the sport. He also just happens to be an Olympic

:17:06. > :17:10.gold medallist and has more than one Tour de France yellow jersey to his

:17:11. > :17:30.name. We'll talk to him in a moment but, first, here's his soapbox.

:17:31. > :17:37.Take a look around you, you can see that our streets are not designed

:17:38. > :17:40.for people who want to work -- walk or get around by bike. For the last

:17:41. > :17:46.50 years we have been prioritising cars, buses and lorries above all

:17:47. > :17:51.else on the roads. Now we have massive congestion problems, over

:17:52. > :17:54.35,000 deaths a year from obesity related illnesses and emissions

:17:55. > :17:59.targets we are failing to meet. What most people don't know is that in

:18:00. > :18:03.the 70s, Copenhagen was heading in exactly the same direction, but they

:18:04. > :18:08.took a bold decision to prioritise walking and cycling and make that

:18:09. > :18:22.their preferred modes of transport. Now 36% commute by bike.

:18:23. > :18:30.HGV vehicles are involved in more than 20% of the accidents involving

:18:31. > :18:36.bikes in this country. That rises to 55% in the capital despite being

:18:37. > :18:41.just 5% of the traffic on our roads. Most of those accidents occur at

:18:42. > :18:45.junctions. We need to see national government bring in legislation that

:18:46. > :18:52.sees HGV 's fitted with safety equipment that eliminate line spots.

:18:53. > :18:56.Local authorities should follow example set by Dublin or Paris where

:18:57. > :19:03.the largest HGV vehicles are restricted from moving in the city

:19:04. > :19:06.in peak hours. It does not have to be complicated or expensive to make

:19:07. > :19:11.life safer and more attractive to cyclists. Less than a mile from the

:19:12. > :19:18.busy junction we have just seen, they have used planters to segregate

:19:19. > :19:26.cyclists from the traffic. It is a technique that has been used in New

:19:27. > :19:31.York. The humble bicycle could prove an incredible powerful tool in

:19:32. > :19:36.making our country and is a place to live. If we did choose to prioritise

:19:37. > :19:41.walking and cycling as the preferred mode of transport, it could have a

:19:42. > :19:46.massive impact on health. It just needs the political will to do so.

:19:47. > :19:50.The Prime Minister committed to cycle prove all roads and junctions.

:19:51. > :19:57.There is no time like the present to turn those words into actions. And

:19:58. > :20:08.Chris Boardman made it safely back home after his London cycle ride. He

:20:09. > :20:14.joins us from Liverpool. One of the things I noticed, you

:20:15. > :20:18.were not wearing a helmet? Can I sidestep this question because

:20:19. > :20:25.otherwise we will spend the interview talking about it. Viewers

:20:26. > :20:32.will want to know. To make cycling safe in this country we need more

:20:33. > :20:35.people riding bicycles. Cycling is something we do with normal people

:20:36. > :20:41.in normal clothes, the same thing they do 400 miles from here.

:20:42. > :20:46.Statistically, ten times around the planet per cycling death. The fact

:20:47. > :20:54.we were talking about the news, cycling deaths, however tragic, is

:20:55. > :20:58.still a very safe way to get around. Culturally, the problem is not

:20:59. > :21:04.enough people cycle so there is not much appreciation the cyclists on

:21:05. > :21:09.the roads. But cyclists here are quite aggressive when they are

:21:10. > :21:16.cycling to work. It does not make it genteel like it is in Copenhagen and

:21:17. > :21:21.Amsterdam. Does there need to be a change in the way we approach this

:21:22. > :21:30.subject? It is the wrong thing to be talking about. This was debated in

:21:31. > :21:36.1994. -- 1997. The National cycling body was set up, that did not work

:21:37. > :21:39.very well. We have a Commons commission looking into cycling

:21:40. > :21:45.safety. All the information is there, all that is missing is the

:21:46. > :21:48.political will to do something. All the proof is there to show there is

:21:49. > :21:53.no logical reason not to promote this mode of transport. In New

:21:54. > :22:00.York, a 250% increase in cycling because the political will was there

:22:01. > :22:05.to make it happen. You push more people to cycle, despite the

:22:06. > :22:10.headlines recently. But in terms of practical things you can do, what

:22:11. > :22:19.about banning heavy goods vehicles at peak periods? Because of those

:22:20. > :22:24.deaths, there are some positives that have come out of those

:22:25. > :22:27.tragedies, because a lot of measures are taking place and London is at

:22:28. > :22:33.the forefront of pushing those measures through. Chris Boardman,

:22:34. > :22:39.thanks very much. Do you think people should wear helmets when they

:22:40. > :22:44.are cycling? Personally, yes I do. If I were cycling I would feel more

:22:45. > :22:52.confident. But HGV vehicles are in the mood -- news at the moment and

:22:53. > :22:58.the government is doing more to make sure they can see in blindspots.

:22:59. > :23:03.With emission targets, some are banned at peak times already. There

:23:04. > :23:09.have been debates, and you could not have a more pro-cycling Mayor of

:23:10. > :23:12.London van Boris Johnson? But compared to other cities, not that

:23:13. > :23:18.many people cycle compared to Copenhagen and Amsterdam? I don't

:23:19. > :23:24.like cycling around London. I cycle a bit around the Rhondda Valley and

:23:25. > :23:28.the valleys of South Wales. We have opened new track so people can see

:23:29. > :23:34.that as a viable alternative for getting to work. You let him get

:23:35. > :23:39.away without answering the question on the helmet. If he was a

:23:40. > :23:46.politician you would have said, " typical politician". Whether helmets

:23:47. > :23:57.make it safe or not, he would have gone on about that. There is

:23:58. > :24:03.political will. It is not a party political issue, we have published a

:24:04. > :24:10.manifesto for cycling which lays out things, a clear timetable for heavy

:24:11. > :24:18.goods vehicles, so there are no blindspots and they are safer. And I

:24:19. > :24:25.think there is the will to do that. We have got to move on. We were

:24:26. > :24:30.bombed a lot during the Second World War and we build a lot of things and

:24:31. > :24:52.a lot of London is still difficult and impenetrable for cyclists. 2013

:24:53. > :25:00.has been a bitty political year. What five stories got the most

:25:01. > :25:08.attention of BBC online this year? In a one off special return, he we

:25:09. > :25:16.have top of the political Pops. After his 2012 budget went down like

:25:17. > :25:22.an off pasty, the Chancellor hoped this year it would see his political

:25:23. > :25:30.ambitions born again. Cuts, tax health for the poor and growth

:25:31. > :25:37.anybody would be disappointed with. A slap in the face, big bounding

:25:38. > :25:44.box, Nigel Farage celebrates local election success for his party or

:25:45. > :25:51.the swivel eyed loons as some people have put it.

:25:52. > :25:56.The Prime Minister kicks Internet search engines in the Google and

:25:57. > :26:01.tell them to get tough on children's access to online porn. He

:26:02. > :26:07.said technical issues were not a decent excuse for inaction and they

:26:08. > :26:12.should all their fingers out. Syria, and a sad day for the Prime

:26:13. > :26:16.Minister. He was hoping to march his troops to the top of the hill and

:26:17. > :26:20.offer military action if the optometrist turned tyrant did not

:26:21. > :26:24.stop using chemical weapons. But he was defeated in the Commons when to

:26:25. > :26:28.many of his own men had a conversion on the way to Damascus and jumped on

:26:29. > :26:35.the military bandwagon. And this year's number one. Baroness

:26:36. > :26:40.Thatcher, the most iconic post-war Prime Minister, often respected by

:26:41. > :26:45.many and deeply disliked by some, dies and sees her legacy widely

:26:46. > :26:49.discussed in coverage of her state funeral. Some wanted to make a

:26:50. > :27:01.ding-dong, but more wanted the iron Lady to rest, not rust in peace.

:27:02. > :27:07.We were talking about predictions the 2014, but are running out of

:27:08. > :27:18.time. I have some presents to give. Nicky, this is for you. Very kind.

:27:19. > :27:25.Don't mention it. Is this on BBC expenses, paid for by the licence

:27:26. > :27:37.fee payer. What have you got? Housing bubbles. This is for you.

:27:38. > :27:51.The does not fit. That includes pensions. How could you. Manchester

:27:52. > :27:57.City. I will have the red and white of Manchester United around my neck.

:27:58. > :28:02.What is the difference, it is Manchester? I think the difference

:28:03. > :28:11.is we have won the championship 20 times. The great joys about being

:28:12. > :28:18.homosexual is you do not pretend to have two be interested in football.

:28:19. > :28:26.It is about football, I thought it was about the city itself. Guess the

:28:27. > :28:37.year was 1997. Chris, press the button. Well done. Do you think he

:28:38. > :28:41.will want the scarf as well? Ok that's all for 2013. Thanks to

:28:42. > :28:44.all our guests especially Nicky and Chris. The One o'clock News is

:28:45. > :28:48.starting over on BBC One now. The Daily Politics will be back on sixth

:28:49. > :28:52.January for the start of a bumper year of politics. But I am on BBC

:28:53. > :28:56.One tomorrow night for the last This Week of the year when I will be

:28:57. > :28:58.joined by Nigel Farage, Diane Abbott, Michael Portillo, Miranda

:28:59. > :28:59.Green, Quentin Letts, Kevin Maguire and Nick Watt.

:29:00. > :29:03.Merry Christmas!