27/01/2016

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

:00:39. > :00:41.The Government's under fire about it's tax deal with Google.

:00:42. > :00:44.The US search engine giant has agreed to pay ?130 million in back

:00:45. > :00:49.tax and interest, which sounds a lot but perhaps isn't when you consider

:00:50. > :00:54.Google books several billion in British revenues every year.

:00:55. > :00:57.Italy Could be about to strike a much tougher deal even

:00:58. > :00:59.though Google Italy is much smaller

:01:00. > :01:04.You won't need a search engine to find out who'll be starring

:01:05. > :01:09.Call me Dave and Jezza face each other across the despatch

:01:10. > :01:15.Campaigners want to lower the age you can vote to 16.

:01:16. > :01:20.We'll be talking to one political expert who thinks it should be

:01:21. > :01:28.Why should JoCo be deprived of the vote?

:01:29. > :01:30.And have you booked your summer holiday yet?

:01:31. > :01:33.If not, how about a Brexit to Brussels?

:01:34. > :01:36.Believe it or not there's a new holiday rage for

:01:37. > :01:52.That is the kind of thing we would go on. We would be the first ones

:01:53. > :01:55.there. And the only ones. All that in the next hour

:01:56. > :01:59.and with us for the whole of the duration is the Arts

:02:00. > :02:01.Minister, Ed Vaizey. We have to be nice to him,

:02:02. > :02:04.because otherwise he'll be He is in fact the longest

:02:05. > :02:07.serving Arts Minister ever. And with us also, the Shadow Women's

:02:08. > :02:19.and Equalities Minister, We have to be nice to be her

:02:20. > :02:23.because otherwise it Kate's one of three Shadow Women

:02:24. > :02:27.and Equalities Ministers Now, since we have a Culture

:02:28. > :02:37.Minister with us lets talk licence fee and the over 75s,

:02:38. > :02:41.because the BBC is exploring plans to persuade pensioners who currently

:02:42. > :02:56.don't pay the licence fee Is that a good idea? It is up to the

:02:57. > :02:59.BBC who are now responsible for the free TV licence. I got an e-mail

:03:00. > :03:05.from a constituent who said they would willingly pay the licence fee.

:03:06. > :03:10.I have had conversations with other pensioners who said they would not.

:03:11. > :03:15.It is within the BBC's right now it is responsible to ask people if they

:03:16. > :03:20.want to make a voluntary contribution. And you would be

:03:21. > :03:24.comfortable with that? There is a campaign fronted by celebrities who

:03:25. > :03:29.want to persuade those over the age of 75 to pay. We reached an

:03:30. > :03:32.agreement with the BBC that they would take on the free television

:03:33. > :03:37.licence and if they want to ask people to make a contribution, that

:03:38. > :03:43.is fine. Are you worried about complaints from pensioners who feel

:03:44. > :03:49.they might be under pressure? No, that did not occur to me. I get a

:03:50. > :03:53.lot of e-mails about the BBC, people care passionately about the BBC and

:03:54. > :03:57.they want to have a say in it. We have had the second largest

:03:58. > :04:02.consultation on the BBC and this will be part of that debate. They

:04:03. > :04:08.care about it and many of them will be unhappy about the decision which

:04:09. > :04:13.is palming off welfare decision for the government and giving it to the

:04:14. > :04:18.BBC. It is right the BBC has wholesale responsibility for its

:04:19. > :04:22.financing and part of that is free TV licences for pensioners. Why

:04:23. > :04:28.didn't the government make that decision? We said the BBC was to

:04:29. > :04:34.take it on and they would be free to remove it or free to engage with

:04:35. > :04:39.people over the age of 75 and ask them to make a contribution. But it

:04:40. > :04:44.is the government that is accountable to voters. It is

:04:45. > :04:49.accountable to Parliament and it is also accountable to people through

:04:50. > :04:53.the payment of the licence fee. People have to pay it and the BBC

:04:54. > :04:59.has a direct relationship with the licence fee payer. Andrew quipped

:05:00. > :05:04.that somehow I have some say over his future, but the BBC should be

:05:05. > :05:09.independent of government and one of the ways that goes is by the

:05:10. > :05:12.financing through the licence fee rather than through general

:05:13. > :05:20.taxation. Which services do you think the BBC should cut to fund

:05:21. > :05:25.this? Minister should not tell the BBC what services to cut. But this

:05:26. > :05:32.decision has been foisted on the BBC. It should decide which ones it

:05:33. > :05:36.wants to maintain and which ones are the most effective. It moved BBC

:05:37. > :05:40.Three online and the justification for that was that more and more

:05:41. > :05:44.people are going online to view. Let's get ahead of the curve and

:05:45. > :05:48.have a well-established brand we moved online which is aimed at

:05:49. > :05:52.younger viewers and learn lessons about engaging with people online.

:05:53. > :05:58.Did you support that initial decision and agreement as Ed Vaizey

:05:59. > :06:05.calls it between the BBC and the government for the BBC to fund the

:06:06. > :06:08.over 75 is? It is important to recognise the BBC is a public

:06:09. > :06:14.service broadcaster and we have to make sure it is on a sustainable,

:06:15. > :06:19.financial footing and that is a government responsibility. We all

:06:20. > :06:28.rely on the BBC is independent, impartial and informative. As far as

:06:29. > :06:31.this initiative for the over 75s is concerned, it might be quite

:06:32. > :06:37.bureaucratic to implement and the gains might be marginal, but this is

:06:38. > :06:41.my concern about the transferring of the funding onto the BBC and they

:06:42. > :06:46.have to find money somewhere, if this starts to exclude marginalise

:06:47. > :06:51.pensioners. Many of them find the television a lifeline, they cannot

:06:52. > :06:55.get out of the House, they need the BBC and we need to be careful about

:06:56. > :06:59.the impact of these changes. A campaign by celebrities to persuade

:07:00. > :07:04.pensioners, do you think that would be seen by somebody is bullying? I

:07:05. > :07:07.hope it would not be seen as bullying and I hope nobody would be

:07:08. > :07:12.offended when I say that some pensioners could be confused, they

:07:13. > :07:17.might not get the message clearly, they might not understand it is

:07:18. > :07:21.voluntary, they do not have to make a contribution. I am concerned and I

:07:22. > :07:26.understand why the BBC are looking at every single possibility to raise

:07:27. > :07:36.money, but this could impact on vulnerable people.

:07:37. > :07:40.What about other pensioner benefits? In the run-up to the election Labour

:07:41. > :07:42.said they would be reviewing pension benefits that were given right

:07:43. > :07:48.across the board. Should it be looked at again? If I am on this, we

:07:49. > :07:54.were not very great about pensioner lifestyles, we were miserable

:07:55. > :07:58.leading up to the election. People in their 60s and 70s are living a

:07:59. > :08:04.very different life. Should they still get those benefits? It is

:08:05. > :08:08.important we should review the way benefits are structured for older

:08:09. > :08:12.people, how we should support people who carry on working in their 60s

:08:13. > :08:17.and 70s, to gain from their employment, and to make sure they

:08:18. > :08:21.get income for retirement. We have to make sure that those who are

:08:22. > :08:26.finding it most difficult to save for retirement are properly

:08:27. > :08:30.protected. I am in favour of a full review. We are four and half years

:08:31. > :08:32.away from an election, let's use that time to get it right.

:08:33. > :08:37.Now, it's coming up to the end of January and the spectre

:08:38. > :08:40.of the looming tax return is weighing heavily upon many of us.

:08:41. > :08:42.Working out tax is such a tiresome affair.

:08:43. > :08:46.It's happy days, however, for Google, who have come to a deal

:08:47. > :08:49.with Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs to pay ?130 million

:08:50. > :08:54.Let's talk to our political correspondent Vicky Young

:08:55. > :09:05.The Chancellor began by hailing this deal is a major success, but now it

:09:06. > :09:12.looks like they are on the back foot. If Jeremy Corbyn tries to

:09:13. > :09:17.tackle the Prime Minister on this he will be desperate to get David

:09:18. > :09:23.Cameron to repeat that phrase, is it a major success? Do they believe it

:09:24. > :09:27.is? Labour are trying to pin this on ministers. They are saying there

:09:28. > :09:31.should be no such thing as mates' rates for big companies. Labour are

:09:32. > :09:38.asking all sorts of questions about what meetings the government and

:09:39. > :09:44.Google had. The bottom line is we do not know much about the deal. It is

:09:45. > :09:49.HMRC that deals with all of this and it is by its nature very secret, so

:09:50. > :09:53.it is hard to establish what rate they might be paying and how they

:09:54. > :09:58.came to this deal. The politicians might shout about it on both sides

:09:59. > :10:03.of the House, but isn't it the case that this is a done deal? HMRC has

:10:04. > :10:07.done a deal with Google and they have signed a clause and it cannot

:10:08. > :10:12.be changed unless they find that Google has broken the law. 130

:10:13. > :10:19.million, job done. That is right, and we heard from Boris Johnson who

:10:20. > :10:23.said that although it is not much money, they have done nothing wrong

:10:24. > :10:27.and it is the law that needs to change. George Osborne will say he

:10:28. > :10:31.has brought in a new tax on diverted profits and is trying to tackle all

:10:32. > :10:37.of this. What would look bad would be if Italy and France got more

:10:38. > :10:43.money out of Google, that with then make the HMRC here look pretty bad.

:10:44. > :10:46.But it is the corporation tax, the system that the UK has and the

:10:47. > :10:51.Treasury Select Committee has said it will look into all of that and

:10:52. > :11:01.the chairman is saying the UK tax laws are to old. The Chancellor said

:11:02. > :11:12.it was a success, and Boris Johnson said it was derisory. Who is right?

:11:13. > :11:18.HMRC conducted a tax audit with Google dating back to 2005. What is

:11:19. > :11:22.right is the Chancellor has introduced the diverted profits tax

:11:23. > :11:26.which means going forward Google will pay tax on profits are

:11:27. > :11:29.generated in the UK in a proper way. The diverted profits tax is

:11:30. > :11:35.something other countries have started to copy. The point about

:11:36. > :11:38.France and Italy is well made in that there is not a developed

:11:39. > :11:42.country that is not wrestling with these digital companies that have a

:11:43. > :11:48.global presence. The UK has taken the lead in the OECD saying we have

:11:49. > :11:55.to sort this out. But is not right that under this deal, up until now,

:11:56. > :12:03.Google will not pay the diverted profits tax? It has just come in.

:12:04. > :12:11.The future? So any profits that have been diverted are not covered by

:12:12. > :12:15.this deal? Going forward it will pay it and under this audit by HMRC we

:12:16. > :12:22.have seen ten years back tax being paid. Is it all back tax or is it

:12:23. > :12:27.interest? Are there penalties? This is a confidential agreement in the

:12:28. > :12:32.sense that companies reach agreement with HMRC about the right level of

:12:33. > :12:37.tax they should pay and they reach it on the basis of commercial

:12:38. > :12:43.reasons. If it included penalties, the amount of tax would go up

:12:44. > :12:53.hugely? You can argue the granular point. But HMRC has gone through a

:12:54. > :12:58.very... I am arguing it. Everyone will have a view on what Google

:12:59. > :13:02.should pay fairly. What I should say is the process is right. It should

:13:03. > :13:07.not be for ministers to say what a company should pay. It is HMRC

:13:08. > :13:11.conducting an audit, going through the books and reaching an agreement.

:13:12. > :13:17.When you reach an agreement, there may be issues to do with interest

:13:18. > :13:20.and penalties and there will be calculations about if this came to

:13:21. > :13:26.court and the expense and time involved. All sorts of issues. I

:13:27. > :13:30.understand that. Would it be a major success if it turns out that France

:13:31. > :13:36.and Italy, where Google is much smaller, a quarter of what it is

:13:37. > :13:39.here, ended up getting a lot more money out of them? I will not

:13:40. > :13:44.speculate on what France and Italy will get. People are talking as if

:13:45. > :13:49.the Italians have secured a fantastic settlement. No, they have

:13:50. > :13:54.not, but they are quite far down the road. We have an agreement with

:13:55. > :14:00.Google to pay taxes, we have a diverted profits tax that people are

:14:01. > :14:03.copying and we have taken the lead in international forums saying we

:14:04. > :14:08.need changes in the international tax laws to cope with companies who

:14:09. > :14:13.are able to move quite freely around the globe. In 2014, Google's

:14:14. > :14:18.revenues out of the UK were almost ?5 billion. This is separate from

:14:19. > :14:24.the deal. It paid 30 million in corporation tax. 5 billion in

:14:25. > :14:31.revenues, 30 million in corporation tax. Is that a success? Those of you

:14:32. > :14:35.watching the news will have seen HMRC explaining some of the

:14:36. > :14:39.calculations made effectively to criticise the settlement and not

:14:40. > :14:44.based on an accurate understanding of tax laws. The National tax law is

:14:45. > :14:49.even more complicated. I am confident HMRC went through a very

:14:50. > :14:58.thorough investigation. It is an independent process. I am not sure

:14:59. > :15:03.that it is fair that a company makes revenues of almost 5 billion in

:15:04. > :15:08.Britain pays only 30 million in tax. We want companies to pay their fair

:15:09. > :15:11.share of tax. The Chancellor was criticised in some international

:15:12. > :15:14.forums where they said he was messing with international tax

:15:15. > :15:18.treaties, but he went ahead with it because he thinks it is the right

:15:19. > :15:22.thing to do and that is being copied by other countries around the world.

:15:23. > :15:24.Google will pay its fair share of tax going forward and we are in the

:15:25. > :15:40.lead in international forums. Out of 5 billion, the Exchequer got

:15:41. > :15:44.30 million. Is that fair? Google's European tax -- headquarters are in

:15:45. > :15:49.Ireland with a low level of corporation tax. In Australia,

:15:50. > :15:54.Google's Asian headquarters is in Singapore. We are getting into lots

:15:55. > :16:03.of detail. I am not privy to it all. But we know that Google... Let me

:16:04. > :16:12.ask you. Has this agreement with HM RC, as it established that Google

:16:13. > :16:18.now has a permanent establishment in Britain? That is a very technical

:16:19. > :16:24.point. That was presumably part of the debate about whether Google is

:16:25. > :16:29.paying its fair share of tax. Does it doesn't it... You can ask the HM

:16:30. > :16:34.RC on what basis... You visited the headquarters. We have a picture.

:16:35. > :16:38.This is the new headquarters, because their existing one isn't big

:16:39. > :16:42.enough. This is the proposed headquarters in King's 5000 people.

:16:43. > :16:50.The one they have at the moment is split between two sites. -- proposed

:16:51. > :16:54.headquarters in King's Cross. Is it not incredible but anybody planning

:16:55. > :16:59.to build a bigger headquarters cannot for tax purposes have a

:17:00. > :17:04.permanent establishment? I went to visit what is known as the Google

:17:05. > :17:10.campus because I was supporting an organisation which supports... Did

:17:11. > :17:17.it look permanent? Was it a pop-up headquarters? An organisation called

:17:18. > :17:21.creative England which does a lot of work supporting our fantastically

:17:22. > :17:26.successful creative industries around the UK. You are asking me a

:17:27. > :17:31.technical point. It doesn't look that technical. It looks like a

:17:32. > :17:36.massive headquarters. HM RC have conducted an extensive audit. There

:17:37. > :17:40.is a new tax regime, which was controversial with some companies

:17:41. > :17:44.and in some international forums, but the Chancellor went ahead

:17:45. > :17:48.because he recognises that the company -- public want to see

:17:49. > :17:54.companies like this paying their tax. The fact is that, since 2005,

:17:55. > :17:58.Google has been following the principles of how you measure

:17:59. > :18:03.taxable profits that it agreed with the last Labour government. So, if

:18:04. > :18:09.Google isn't paying enough tax, it is as much Labour's fault. As I

:18:10. > :18:13.understand, the first questions were asked in 2000 and Margaret Hodge,

:18:14. > :18:17.the Labour chair of the Public Accounts Committee in the last

:18:18. > :18:21.Parliament, really took up the mantle. She isn't in government. The

:18:22. > :18:26.principles that Google followed in paying tax worth agreed by the last

:18:27. > :18:32.Labour government. You made the wrong agreement. A lot of time has

:18:33. > :18:37.passed since 2009 and, while I welcome steps to toughen up and

:18:38. > :18:40.agreed internationally a more robust tax regime, we have to recognise

:18:41. > :18:48.that circumstances and learning and understanding of Google's

:18:49. > :18:54.operations, it was quite a new company in 2000. Did you make a

:18:55. > :18:59.mistake? I have no idea whether that tax regime was appropriate at the

:19:00. > :19:04.time. I think we can all agree it is not appropriate now. It was a tax

:19:05. > :19:09.regime agreed by the last Labour government which allowed Facebook, a

:19:10. > :19:16.multi-billion dollar corporation, to pay corporation tax of ?4000 in

:19:17. > :19:20.2011. It is derisory. Nobody could defend that. What is really

:19:21. > :19:24.important, having obviously set up the tax regime that haven't

:19:25. > :19:29.understood at the time the way in which some of these international

:19:30. > :19:34.online, really without much in the way of material, I think perhaps

:19:35. > :19:39.none of us, accountants, tax people, the Treasury, governments, perhaps

:19:40. > :19:43.didn't understand, and perhaps the companies themselves didn't fully,

:19:44. > :19:47.how they would knit to the tax regimes. What I think is important

:19:48. > :19:52.now is that there is credibility in the tax system. As a taxpayer, my

:19:53. > :19:56.constituents feel that this is really pretty insulting. We pay our

:19:57. > :20:00.taxes. Our small businesses pay taxes. Ballet companies pay taxes.

:20:01. > :20:07.They look at this and they think it is a deal for the rich. -- family

:20:08. > :20:15.companies. What would you do differently? We need to be sharper

:20:16. > :20:19.about getting the right deals. HM RC uses its top experts... Perhaps it

:20:20. > :20:23.needs to invest more in its expertise. We have lost substantial

:20:24. > :20:30.numbers of experts in HMS seed and we don't have any transparency. --

:20:31. > :20:34.HM RC. The government is hotly defending the privacy of Google's

:20:35. > :20:40.tax affairs, but it has to be balanced with public belief. You

:20:41. > :20:45.allowed a double Irish and a Dutch sandwich. Can you still do that? I

:20:46. > :20:49.think we got rid of the double Irish. I don't know if we have the

:20:50. > :20:54.Dutch sandwich. I was taught the other day that the human brain can

:20:55. > :20:57.accommodate 4.7 billion books but I can't accommodate whether we have

:20:58. > :21:05.the double Dutch sandwich. I think we have raised hundreds billion

:21:06. > :21:08.pounds in tax, backdated tax, thanks to the experts in HMRC.

:21:09. > :21:10.The so-called bedroom tax has been declared discriminatory by Court

:21:11. > :21:13.of Appeal judges, following a legal challenge by a domestic violence

:21:14. > :21:15.victim and the family of a disabled teenager.

:21:16. > :21:17.They had argued that the spare room subsidy,

:21:18. > :21:18.which reduces housing benefit for social housing tenants

:21:19. > :21:21.with a "spare" bedroom, is discriminatory.

:21:22. > :21:28.The Government says it's to appeal against the decision.

:21:29. > :21:35.Do you back the government decision to appeal this? As a member of the

:21:36. > :21:39.government, I obviously backed the government decision. I haven't seen

:21:40. > :21:43.the judgment so I don't know on what basis it was made and how it was

:21:44. > :21:46.found to be discriminatory, but clearly Iain Duncan Smith and his

:21:47. > :21:52.team and the government as a whole doesn't agree with this judgment. It

:21:53. > :21:56.is within its rights to appeal. Why? We are talking about two but

:21:57. > :22:02.vulnerable -- two small but vulnerable groups, disabled children

:22:03. > :22:05.who need an overnight room to state and victims of domestic violence who

:22:06. > :22:10.need a safe sanctuary. We are talking about thousands in the

:22:11. > :22:17.former, 300 in the latter. Could they not be an exception? There are

:22:18. > :22:23.a range of exceptions... But not for these people. There are exceptions

:22:24. > :22:28.for vulnerable children... There is not an exemption for disabled

:22:29. > :22:34.children who need an overnight carer. You are saying it is still

:22:35. > :22:37.fair to make them pay. I haven't seen the details of the judgment and

:22:38. > :22:41.I don't know on what basis this was taken to court or on what basis the

:22:42. > :22:48.Court of Appeal made its judgment. I am used to reading judgments in

:22:49. > :22:52.areas I am responsible for the. There may be issues in the judgment

:22:53. > :22:55.to do with process, in terms of how it was introduced, which the

:22:56. > :22:59.government may have to look at. The government has made a firm statement

:23:00. > :23:03.early on that it doesn't agree with this judgment and it wants to appeal

:23:04. > :23:06.and it clearly thinks it has grounds. How do you think it looks

:23:07. > :23:10.to the public when the government said it wants to protect the most

:23:11. > :23:14.vulnerable and people would judge that these two groups are among the

:23:15. > :23:20.most vulnerable, and yet they cannot be exempted from this paying off a

:23:21. > :23:24.spare room subsidy or a bedroom tax, whatever you want to pay it, because

:23:25. > :23:29.the government thinks it has to fit in to its broad range of welfare

:23:30. > :23:34.plans? What the government is doing, which I think has overwhelming

:23:35. > :23:38.support, is to reform welfare. That is in terms of capping the amount of

:23:39. > :23:43.benefits which people get, and I think there was support for the

:23:44. > :23:48.spare room subsidy... But these groups... There something like

:23:49. > :23:53.400,000 homes which under occupied. We want to have a system, and people

:23:54. > :23:56.have looked at under occupancy for many years, we ought a system which

:23:57. > :24:04.encourages people who are under occupied their house to look for

:24:05. > :24:08.other accommodation. I can't comment on the specific details of the case.

:24:09. > :24:10.I haven't seen the judgment. I assume the government are appealing

:24:11. > :24:11.because they think they are right to appeal.

:24:12. > :24:14.Now, the Justice Secretary, Michael Gove, told the House

:24:15. > :24:15.of Commons yesterday that, contrary to reports,

:24:16. > :24:17.he has not become, quote, "a sandal-wearing,

:24:18. > :24:28.I'm glad he felt the need to clear that up.

:24:29. > :24:30.He was responding to a question from Conservative backbencher

:24:31. > :24:34.Phillip Davies, a man who, I think it is fair to say,

:24:35. > :24:39.is not known for wearing sandals nor munching muesli.

:24:40. > :24:42.But, here at the Daily Politics, it got us thinking.

:24:43. > :24:48.We don't care if you've swapped your shiny brogues for

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:25:00. > :25:03.Yes, what better way to sip your organic dandelion tea

:25:04. > :25:11.But whether you're vegan or not you'll have to enter our Guess

:25:12. > :25:14.the Year competition to get your hands on one.

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:25:17. > :25:23.first, do you know when this happened?

:25:24. > :25:27.So far, 11 MPs, both Labour and Tory, have stood down or been

:25:28. > :25:29.forced out because of the expenses saga.

:25:30. > :25:37.# Is falling down on all that I've ever known...#

:25:38. > :25:43.# I don't know what's right and what's real anymore

:25:44. > :25:52.# And I don't know how I'm meant to feel any more...#

:25:53. > :25:54.# When there's no one left to fight

:25:55. > :25:55.# Boys like him don't shine so bright

:25:56. > :26:01.# He's out on the town tryin' to find trouble...#

:26:02. > :26:04.Indigenous British, the people who have been here...

:26:05. > :26:15.# When life is a bitter pill to swallow

:26:16. > :26:22.# You gotta hold on to what you believe...#

:26:23. > :26:43.# We gotta fight fight fight fight fight for this love

:26:44. > :26:48.# We gotta fight fight fight fight fight for this love...#

:26:49. > :26:51.To be in with a chance of winning a Daily Politics mug,

:26:52. > :26:55.send your answer to our special quiz email address, dpquiz@bbc.co.uk.

:26:56. > :26:58.Entries must arrive by 12:30 today and you can see the full terms

:26:59. > :27:05.and conditions on our website, bbc.co.uk/dailypolitics.

:27:06. > :27:09.Just take a look at Big Ben, and that can

:27:10. > :27:14.Yes, Prime Minister's Questions is on its way.

:27:15. > :27:27.What is likely to dominate the front bench exchanges? I think there is a

:27:28. > :27:33.nice big parcel of a gift which George Osborne tied up with a big

:27:34. > :27:36.fat ribbon at the end of Davos, especially for John McDonnell and

:27:37. > :27:42.Jeremy Corbyn today, this deal with Google, which he tried to claim as a

:27:43. > :27:46.victory. It was an HM RC deal. By George Osborne claiming a victory,

:27:47. > :27:50.he put himself in the story and then, over the coming days, as

:27:51. > :27:55.politicians in all parties and the public looked more closely at the

:27:56. > :27:59.scale of the deal, ?5 billion in revenues and ?130 million in back

:28:00. > :28:02.taxes, there is a question about the smell tax and I think it is

:28:03. > :28:06.inevitable Labour will raise it. They think they are onto something

:28:07. > :28:12.and they will push it and push it began as a campaign. I understand

:28:13. > :28:16.later that a letter will go to the government calling on the National

:28:17. > :28:19.Audit Office to investigate. Europe is increasingly moving up the

:28:20. > :28:23.agenda. What do you hear on the latest that the government hoped for

:28:24. > :28:28.the timetable to get it in by the end of June but might not? The 23rd

:28:29. > :28:34.of June is the date to pencil into your diaries for people who are sad

:28:35. > :28:38.enough! It would be wise to have an eraser ready to take it out. The

:28:39. > :28:42.stumbling block, as we have known for some time in these negotiations,

:28:43. > :28:46.is the question of getting an agreement which looks anything like

:28:47. > :28:50.the Prime Minister's promised to ban benefits for EU workers in the UK

:28:51. > :28:54.for four years. In the other parts of the renegotiation, there is a way

:28:55. > :28:59.through, no final agreements. Officials this week are frantically

:29:00. > :29:03.going backwards and forwards between Brussels and London trying to find a

:29:04. > :29:07.way through on welfare. If that can be done, and there is a belief in

:29:08. > :29:11.government that it can indeed be done, because nobody wants to talk

:29:12. > :29:16.about this around the EU for any longer than necessary. They have

:29:17. > :29:20.bigger fish to fry. There is no guarantee will that, if you keep

:29:21. > :29:24.going on and on, that you end up with a bit agreement. The government

:29:25. > :29:29.is hopeful, it is possible, but they have been very careful in the last

:29:30. > :29:32.seven days to row back from what is the beginning of the year was

:29:33. > :29:37.probably public overconfidence, things like the Chancellor saying it

:29:38. > :29:41.was falling into place. They will still need to get it through

:29:42. > :29:47.Parliament. If Labour was to vote against it in June, and the Scottish

:29:48. > :29:50.Nationalists don't want the end of June, and the number of Eurosceptics

:29:51. > :29:53.peeled off, because they believe that the longer they wait for the

:29:54. > :29:59.referendum the better their chance of winning, they might not get it

:30:00. > :30:03.through for June. This sounds like all of us obsessing about ridiculous

:30:04. > :30:07.process but it matters enormously. There is a lot of chatter about this

:30:08. > :30:11.in the corridors of the House of Commons. If Labour could be

:30:12. > :30:15.persuaded or see it in their interests to give the government

:30:16. > :30:19.maximum embarrassment on this, to go alongside the Scottish Nationalists,

:30:20. > :30:23.and there is concern in Northern Ireland and Wales also about this

:30:24. > :30:28.timetable, because of the elections, if they could be persuaded it would

:30:29. > :30:31.be fun and larks to embarrass the government on the timetable, they

:30:32. > :30:37.could do it. Will Labour vote for the end of June as a referendum

:30:38. > :30:41.date? The longer we are in an uncertain situation, the worst that

:30:42. > :30:45.is for the UK economy, so I don't think it is about fun and games. I

:30:46. > :30:49.think it is about what is in the interests of the country. That is

:30:50. > :30:55.what we will have to discuss. I want to see what the deal is. But you

:30:56. > :31:01.would have a preference for sooner? I think a protracted campaign is bad

:31:02. > :31:05.for the UK and the business. That is the view among the majority of the

:31:06. > :31:08.PLP. I think Alan Johnson would be very unhappy about the delay. There

:31:09. > :31:15.are people nibbling around the edges of this. We have got the ballot

:31:16. > :31:25.paper. This is what we will get to vote, whatever the date is. I have

:31:26. > :31:32.got one for Ed Vaizey. Fill it in. But the deal hasn't come back! This

:31:33. > :31:39.is like a secret ballot, dear Ron The Daily Politics. We won't tell a

:31:40. > :31:47.soul. -- here on The Daily Politics. What have you voted? You are not

:31:48. > :31:55.going to wait for the deal to come back. You have both voted to remain.

:31:56. > :31:57.That is because my unswerving confidence in the Prime Minister and

:31:58. > :32:04.the fantastic deal he will bring back. David Cameron always wanted to

:32:05. > :32:08.maintain public opinion but there was a chance he might change his

:32:09. > :32:12.mind at the last minute. Can we believe that given that, day after

:32:13. > :32:19.day, he is sending more and more, close to saying... He can't wait to

:32:20. > :32:25.come out and start campaigning to stay in. He just wants to get on

:32:26. > :32:31.with it. He will take a very personal, forward, leading role in

:32:32. > :32:33.the campaign. While the other side is under continued question about

:32:34. > :32:40.how they would have as their leader, if indeed there is one leader, I

:32:41. > :32:44.think it is clear that the leader of the end campaign will be the Prime

:32:45. > :32:48.Minister. This is why there is that, what sounds like process but is

:32:49. > :32:51.rather important, but this spat about the timing.

:32:52. > :33:07.Let's see if Europe comes up. It is right our whole country should

:33:08. > :33:14.stand together to remember the darkest hour of our country. Last

:33:15. > :33:18.year, I said we would build a national memorial in London to show

:33:19. > :33:24.the importance Britain places on sharing the memory of the Holocaust.

:33:25. > :33:26.This will be built in Victoria Tower Gardens and will stand beside

:33:27. > :33:30.Parliament as a permanent statement of our values and will be somewhere

:33:31. > :33:35.for children to visit for generations to come. I am grateful

:33:36. > :33:40.to all those who have made this possible. This morning I had

:33:41. > :33:43.meetings with ministerial colleagues and others and in addition to my

:33:44. > :33:51.duties in this house I shall have further such meetings later today. I

:33:52. > :33:55.echo the Prime Minister's sentiments regarding Holocaust Memorial Day. We

:33:56. > :34:02.must never forget. The North Sea or an industry on which many people in

:34:03. > :34:05.my constituency are dependent for their livelihoods is facing very

:34:06. > :34:12.serious challenges at the current time. The government has taken steps

:34:13. > :34:19.to address the situation, but more is required if the industry is to

:34:20. > :34:22.survive and thrive. Will my right honourable friend assuming that he

:34:23. > :34:26.recognises the seriousness of the situation and he will do all he can

:34:27. > :34:33.to get the industry through these very difficult times? My honourable

:34:34. > :34:37.friend is right to raise this, I recognise the seriousness of the

:34:38. > :34:41.situation. The oil price decline is the longest in 20 years and this

:34:42. > :34:47.causes difficulties for the North Sea and we can see the effects in

:34:48. > :34:50.the east of England, in Scotland, particularly Aberdeen. I am

:34:51. > :34:59.determined we build a bridge to the future for all those involved in the

:35:00. > :35:03.North Sea. We will help the world-class sector export expertise.

:35:04. > :35:07.We announced 1.3 billion of support last year and we are implementing a

:35:08. > :35:11.review and I will be going to Aberdeen tomorrow where we will be

:35:12. > :35:17.saying more about what we can do to help this vital industry at this

:35:18. > :35:23.vital time. Jeremy Corbyn. Thank you, Mr Speaker. On behalf of the

:35:24. > :35:28.opposition, could I welcome the remarks the Prime Minister has just

:35:29. > :35:34.made about Holocaust Memorial Day. It is the 71st anniversary of the

:35:35. > :35:38.liberation of Auschwitz and we have to remember the deepest, darkest

:35:39. > :35:42.days of inhumanity that happened then and genocides that have

:35:43. > :35:46.happened since and educate another generation to avoid those for all

:35:47. > :35:51.time in the future. I thank the Prime Minister for what he said.

:35:52. > :35:57.Independent experts have suggested that Google is paying an effective

:35:58. > :36:04.tax rate on its UK profits of around 3%. Does the Prime Minister dispute

:36:05. > :36:09.that figure? Let's be clear what we are talking about. We are talking

:36:10. > :36:11.about tax that should have been collected under a Labour government,

:36:12. > :36:16.raised by a collected under a Labour government,

:36:17. > :36:21.I do dispute the figures he gives. It is quite rightly that this is

:36:22. > :36:26.done independently by HMRC, but I am absolutely clear that no government

:36:27. > :36:31.has done more than this one to crack down on tax evasion and aggressive

:36:32. > :36:37.tax avoidance. No government, and certainly not the last Labour

:36:38. > :36:42.government. Mr Speaker, my question actually was if the Prime Minister

:36:43. > :36:48.thinks an effective tax rate of 3% is right or wrong? He did not answer

:36:49. > :36:53.it. The Chancellor of the Exchequer described this arrangement as a

:36:54. > :36:58.major success, while the Prime Minister's official spokesperson

:36:59. > :37:04.only called it a step forward. The Mayor of London described the

:37:05. > :37:11.payment is quite derisory. What exactly is the government's position

:37:12. > :37:15.on this 3% rate of taxation? We have put in place a diverted profits tax

:37:16. > :37:21.which means this company and others will pay more tax in future. More

:37:22. > :37:27.tax in future than they ever paid under Labour were the tax rate for

:37:28. > :37:31.Google was 0%. That is what it means. Let me tell him what we have

:37:32. > :37:37.done. We have changed the tax law so many times that we have raised an

:37:38. > :37:40.extra 100 billion from business in the last parliament. When I came to

:37:41. > :37:46.power banks did not pay tax on all their profits, allowed under Labour,

:37:47. > :37:52.stopped under the Tories. Companies could cut their tax bill, allowed

:37:53. > :37:57.under Labour, stopped under the Tories. Companies could figure

:37:58. > :38:02.accounting rules, allowed under Labour and stopped under the Tories.

:38:03. > :38:07.We have done more on tax evasion and tax avoidance and Labour ever did.

:38:08. > :38:14.They are running to catch up, but they have not got a leg to stand on.

:38:15. > :38:21.Mr Speaker, it was under a Labour government that the inquiry began

:38:22. > :38:27.into Google and in addition as a percentage of GDP corporation tax

:38:28. > :38:32.receipts are lower under this government than they were under

:38:33. > :38:38.previous governments. I have got a question here, Mr Speaker, from a

:38:39. > :38:46.gentleman called Jeff. You might well laugh, but Jeff actually speaks

:38:47. > :38:55.for millions of people when he says to me... Can you ask the Prime

:38:56. > :38:59.Minister is as a working man of over 30 years whether there is a scheme

:39:00. > :39:04.that I can join that pays the same rate of tax as Google and other

:39:05. > :39:10.large corporations? What does the Prime Minister say to Jeff? What I

:39:11. > :39:14.say to Jeff is that his taxes are coming down under this government

:39:15. > :39:20.and Google's taxes are going up under this government. Let me say

:39:21. > :39:24.something, something he just said was factually inaccurate. He says

:39:25. > :39:29.corporation tax receipts have gone down, they have gone up by 20% under

:39:30. > :39:33.this government because we have got a strong economy with businesses

:39:34. > :39:38.making money, employing people and paying taxes into the exchequer. If

:39:39. > :39:43.like me he is genuinely angry about what happened to Google under

:39:44. > :39:50.Labour, maybe he should start by calling Tony Blair. You can get him

:39:51. > :39:55.and JP Morgan. Call Gordon Brown, you can get him at a Californian

:39:56. > :39:59.bond dealer. Alistair Darling is at Morgan Stanley. There is other

:40:00. > :40:10.people to blame for Google not paying their taxes. We are the ones

:40:11. > :40:16.who got them to pay. The problem is, Mr Speaker, that the Prime Minister

:40:17. > :40:22.is responsible for government and therefore is responsible for tax

:40:23. > :40:33.collection. Mr Speaker, Google made profits of ?6 billion in the UK

:40:34. > :40:36.between 2005 and 2015 and is paying 130 million pounds in tax for the

:40:37. > :40:44.whole of that decade. Millions of people this week I'm filling in

:40:45. > :40:50.their tax returns to get them in by the 31st. They have to send the form

:40:51. > :40:57.back, they do not get the option of 25 meetings with 17 ministers to

:40:58. > :41:00.decide what their rate of tax is. Many people going to their HMRC

:41:01. > :41:07.offices or returning them online this week will say this, why is

:41:08. > :41:10.there one rule for big multinational companies and another for ordinary,

:41:11. > :41:16.small businesses and self-employed workers? All those people filling in

:41:17. > :41:23.their tax returns will be paying lower taxes under this government. I

:41:24. > :41:27.have to say, he can if he wants criticise HMRC, but their work is

:41:28. > :41:30.investigated by the National Audit Office and when they did that

:41:31. > :41:36.they've found the settlements they reached with companies are fair.

:41:37. > :41:40.That is how it works. The Shadow Chancellor is pointing. The idea

:41:41. > :41:45.that those two right honourable gentleman would stand up to anyone

:41:46. > :41:50.in this regard is laughable. This week they met with the unions and

:41:51. > :41:54.they gave them flying pickets. They met with the Argentinians and they

:41:55. > :41:58.gave them the Falkland islands. They met with a bunch of migrants in

:41:59. > :42:02.Calais and said they could come to Britain. They never stand up for the

:42:03. > :42:17.hard-working British people and British taxpayers. Mr Speaker, we

:42:18. > :42:26.have had no answers on Google, we have had no answers on Jeff, can I

:42:27. > :42:30.raise with him another unfair tax policy that does it affect many

:42:31. > :42:34.people in this country? This morning, the Court of Appeal ruled

:42:35. > :42:41.that the bedroom tax is discriminatory because of its

:42:42. > :42:45.impact... I do not know why members opposite find this funny because it

:42:46. > :42:53.is not for those who have to pay it. The ruling is because of its impact

:42:54. > :42:57.on vulnerable people, including victims of domestic violence and

:42:58. > :43:01.disabled children. Will the Prime Minister now read the judgment and

:43:02. > :43:07.finally abandon this cruel and unjust policy which has now been

:43:08. > :43:11.ruled to be illegal? We always look very carefully at judgment on these

:43:12. > :43:16.occasions, but our fundamental position is that it is unfair to

:43:17. > :43:21.subsidise their rooms in the social sector if you do not subsidise them

:43:22. > :43:26.in the private sector where people are paying housing benefit. That is

:43:27. > :43:29.a basic issue of fairness. It is interesting that the first played he

:43:30. > :43:36.makes is something that could cost as much as ?2.5 billion in the next

:43:37. > :43:41.Parliament. Who will pay for that? Jeff will pay for it. People handing

:43:42. > :43:47.in their tax returns will pay for it. Why is it he wants to see more

:43:48. > :43:51.welfare, higher taxes, more borrowing, all the things that got

:43:52. > :43:58.us into the mess in the first place? We have not had any answers on

:43:59. > :44:02.Google or the bedroom tax. I ask the Prime Minister this, shortly before

:44:03. > :44:06.coming into the chamber I became aware of the final report of the

:44:07. > :44:09.United Nations panel of experts on Yemen which has been sent to the

:44:10. > :44:16.government and it makes disturbing reading. It says, I quote, it has

:44:17. > :44:21.documented that coalition forces have conducted air strikes,

:44:22. > :44:24.targeting civilians and civilian objects in violation of

:44:25. > :44:28.international humanitarian law, including cabs for internally

:44:29. > :44:31.displaced persons, civilian residential areas, medical

:44:32. > :44:37.facilities, schools and mosques. This is a disturbing report. Will

:44:38. > :44:42.the Prime Minister launched immediately and inquiry and a full

:44:43. > :44:45.review into the arms export licences to Saudi Arabia and suspend those

:44:46. > :44:52.arms sales until that review has been concluded? We have the

:44:53. > :44:57.strictest rules for arms exports of almost any country anywhere in the

:44:58. > :45:02.world. We are not a member of the Saudi led coalition. We are not

:45:03. > :45:06.involved in their operations, British personnel are not involved

:45:07. > :45:11.in carrying out strikes. I will look at this report as I looked at all

:45:12. > :45:15.other reports, but arms exports are carefully controlled and we are

:45:16. > :45:18.backing the legitimate government of the Yemen not least because

:45:19. > :45:23.terrorist attacks planned in the Yemen would have a direct effect on

:45:24. > :45:27.people in our country. I refuse to run a foreign policy by press

:45:28. > :45:29.release, which is what he wants, I want one in the interests of the

:45:30. > :45:40.British people. The explosion of spurious legal

:45:41. > :45:45.claims against British troops including those pursued by a law

:45:46. > :45:49.firm who has contributed tens of thousands of pounds to the Shadow

:45:50. > :45:52.Defence Secretary, undermine the ability of our Armed Forces to do

:45:53. > :45:57.their job. Will the Prime Minister join me in repudiating the disdain

:45:58. > :46:05.this shows that our brave service women and men? I absolutely agree

:46:06. > :46:09.with my honourable friend. We hold our service personnel to the highest

:46:10. > :46:14.standards, and that is right, but it is quite clear there is now an

:46:15. > :46:18.industry trying to profit by spurious claims. I am determined to

:46:19. > :46:22.do everything we can to close this bogus industry down and we should

:46:23. > :46:27.start by making clear we will take action against any legal firm we

:46:28. > :46:34.fight to abuse the system to pursue is fabricated claims. That is

:46:35. > :46:37.absolutely not acceptable. May I begin by associating the Scottish

:46:38. > :46:41.national party with the comments of the Prime Minister in reference to

:46:42. > :46:45.the Holocaust Memorial Day, and I commend governments across the UK

:46:46. > :46:49.for supporting the Holocaust commemoration trust. Does the prime

:46:50. > :46:52.ministers agreed that there is no justification for discrimination or

:46:53. > :47:00.and fairness towards women in the private sector, public sector or by

:47:01. > :47:03.government? Let me welcome what the right honourable gentleman says

:47:04. > :47:07.about the Holocaust educational trust. I remember as a new

:47:08. > :47:11.constituency MP meeting them and seeing the work they were doing in

:47:12. > :47:15.my constituency. They work hard around the clock. This day is

:47:16. > :47:18.particularly important for them. I would urge colleagues who haven't

:47:19. > :47:22.visited Auschwitz, it is something you will never forget, no matter

:47:23. > :47:26.what you have read or films you have seen or books you have read, there

:47:27. > :47:30.is nothing like seeing for yourself. In terms of wanting to end

:47:31. > :47:35.discrimination against women in the public sector, private sector, and

:47:36. > :47:42.in politics, absolutely. I welcome what the Prime Minister has to say

:47:43. > :47:46.on both accounts. He is aware of the state pension inequality which is

:47:47. > :47:51.impacting on many women and that this parliament voted unanimously

:47:52. > :47:54.for the government to immediately introduce transitional arrangements

:47:55. > :48:00.for those women negatively affected by pension equalisation. What is the

:48:01. > :48:03.Prime Minister going to do to respect the decision of this

:48:04. > :48:08.parliament and help those women who are affected, those born in the

:48:09. > :48:14.1950s, who should have had proper notice to plan their finances and

:48:15. > :48:17.retirement? First of all, the equalisation of the retirement age

:48:18. > :48:22.came about on the basis of equality, which was a judgment by the European

:48:23. > :48:27.court that we put in place in the 90s. When this government decided,

:48:28. > :48:31.rightly in my view, to raise the retirement age, we made the decision

:48:32. > :48:34.that nobody should suffer a greater than 18 month increase in their

:48:35. > :48:39.retirement age, and that is the decision this else took. In terms of

:48:40. > :48:45.ending discrimination in the system, I would say that the introduction of

:48:46. > :48:49.the single tier pension, at ?165 a week, is one of the best ways we can

:48:50. > :48:54.end discrimination because so many who are retiring will get much more

:48:55. > :48:56.under this pension which, under this government, is triple lock

:48:57. > :49:06.protected, so they will get inflation earnings or 2.5% and never

:49:07. > :49:10.again a derisory increase. Our prisons could still beat centres of

:49:11. > :49:13.radicalisation. We'll be Prime Minister look at all measures

:49:14. > :49:18.including those from the all-party report on preventing young people,

:49:19. > :49:24.troubled young people, from falling into the jaws of these dangerous,

:49:25. > :49:29.screwed up, predatory extremists? It is very disturbing that, when people

:49:30. > :49:32.are in our care, when the state is looking after them, that, on

:49:33. > :49:36.occasion, they have been radicalised because of what they have erred in

:49:37. > :49:42.prison, either from other prisoners or perhaps, on occasion, from

:49:43. > :49:47.visiting imams. We need to sort the situation out. The Justice Secretary

:49:48. > :49:53.has put in place a review. I will look carefully at her report. We

:49:54. > :49:58.must look at making sure that prisoners and the radicalise rather

:49:59. > :50:02.than made worse. Since the Chancellor took control of the

:50:03. > :50:07.public purse, he has utterly failed to get the deficit under control,

:50:08. > :50:11.and to date this year he has borrowed over ?74 billion to plug

:50:12. > :50:18.the gap or, to use the vernacular that his party is bond, for a

:50:19. > :50:26.hypothetical independent Scotland, a monumental black hole in his books.

:50:27. > :50:30.Is he now likely to reach the target by the year of something in the

:50:31. > :50:37.region of ?9 billion? Will the Prime Minister finally concede...

:50:38. > :50:41.SHOUTING I don't wish to be an guide to the

:50:42. > :50:46.honourable lady, but I think we have got the gist.

:50:47. > :50:52.SHOUTING That was a polite way of saying that

:50:53. > :50:55.the honourable lady had concluded. I would say that the Chancellor and

:50:56. > :50:58.the economic strategy this government has pursued as cut the

:50:59. > :51:02.deficit in half from the record level we inherited and soon it will

:51:03. > :51:05.be down by two thirds. We are meeting what we want to see in terms

:51:06. > :51:11.of debt falling as a share of GDP. What a contrast with a situation

:51:12. > :51:14.which Scotland would be facing if Scotland had voted for independence

:51:15. > :51:21.in just six weeks' time. We have actually seen a collapse of 94% of

:51:22. > :51:26.oil revenues. Because we have the broad shoulders of the UK, that

:51:27. > :51:30.collapsed in the oil price and the taxation won't affect people in

:51:31. > :51:35.Scotland but, at Scotland dream independent, it would be a very dark

:51:36. > :51:41.day indeed. -- had Scotland been independent. I recently helped a

:51:42. > :51:45.mental health -- mental health forum where I broad service users and

:51:46. > :51:50.commissioners together to explore how we could improve mental health

:51:51. > :51:53.services. And I welcome the Prime Minister's Wiese and announcement on

:51:54. > :52:01.increased funding for mental health services? -- recent announcement.

:52:02. > :52:03.His commitments are a clear indication of our desire to have a

:52:04. > :52:10.revolution in mental health services in Britain, and he has delivered

:52:11. > :52:14.some commitments on that. I am grateful to what my honourable

:52:15. > :52:17.friend says. There is further to go by this government is investing more

:52:18. > :52:22.in mental health, we have introduced waiting times. Young people

:52:23. > :52:27.suffering episodes of psychosis should be seen within two weeks.

:52:28. > :52:32.There is funding, parity of esteem, waiting time, but there also needs

:52:33. > :52:35.to be a bigger culture change, not just in the NHS but across the

:52:36. > :52:40.public and private sectors so mental health commissions are given the

:52:41. > :52:45.attention they deserve. From this April, a woman who works full-time

:52:46. > :52:50.stands to lose thousands of pounds in tax credits if she becomes

:52:51. > :52:55.pregnant with her first child. When will this prime ministers stop

:52:56. > :52:59.attacking working people? Forwarding like that, we are making sure that

:53:00. > :53:03.this year they can earn ?11,000 without paying any income tax. If

:53:04. > :53:08.they are on low wages, the minimum wage, they get a 7% pay increase

:53:09. > :53:13.because of the national living wage. For the first time, there will be 30

:53:14. > :53:17.hours of free childcare for those people. That is what we are doing

:53:18. > :53:22.for hard-working people. Do we need to look at reforming welfare? Yes,

:53:23. > :53:26.we do. If the honourable gentleman read the report into why his party

:53:27. > :53:31.lost the election, not the one that they published, the secret one that

:53:32. > :53:35.we read over the weekend, it is by endlessly arguing for higher and

:53:36. > :53:41.higher welfare the British public rightly concluded that, under

:53:42. > :53:46.Labour, there would be higher taxes. I warmly welcome the Prime

:53:47. > :53:51.Minister's words on creating a national memorial to the victims of

:53:52. > :53:54.the Holocaust. Tonight in Harrow, representatives of the whole

:53:55. > :53:58.community will come together to listen to be people who survived the

:53:59. > :54:02.Holocaust, because that is the only way we can really preserve their

:54:03. > :54:06.memory. My right honourable friend is rightly alluded to the wonderful

:54:07. > :54:10.work of the Holocaust educational trust in allowing literally

:54:11. > :54:15.thousands of young people to visit Auschwitz and see for themselves

:54:16. > :54:18.first-hand. Will he commit the government to continue funding the

:54:19. > :54:23.Holocaust educational trust so that many thousands more can see the

:54:24. > :54:28.horrors of the Holocaust? I certainly can make that commitment.

:54:29. > :54:31.We have funded it by over ?10 million since I became Prime

:54:32. > :54:35.Minister. It does excellent work. I think there is a real need now, as

:54:36. > :54:39.tragically the remaining Holocaust survivors are coming to the end of

:54:40. > :54:43.their lives, many of them are now speaking up in the most moving and

:54:44. > :54:46.powerful way. I will be sending some time today with some of them,

:54:47. > :54:55.recording their test dummies, which must be part of our memorial --

:54:56. > :55:04.testimonies, we must capture that for generations to come. In 2013,

:55:05. > :55:07.the energy and climate change select committee recommended extending the

:55:08. > :55:11.retention of business rates to include new build nuclear power

:55:12. > :55:17.stations. The centre for nuclear excellence is in my constituency and

:55:18. > :55:20.the new build is a vital for our economic prosperity. Given the

:55:21. > :55:24.government cuts to Cumbrian councils, does the Prime Minister

:55:25. > :55:32.agree that, if we are to truly build a northern powerhouse, our local

:55:33. > :55:38.authorities must retain all from nuclear new-build? We are committed

:55:39. > :55:41.to the new nuclear industry. We are obviously making good progress with

:55:42. > :55:46.Hinkley Point but we need to see another big station go ahead. I will

:55:47. > :55:49.look carefully at what she says about business rate retention and

:55:50. > :55:52.business rates more broadly, but the most important thing is to have an

:55:53. > :55:57.energy infrastructure that allows for the delivery of new nuclear

:55:58. > :56:07.power stations. That is the position on this side of the house. A closed

:56:08. > :56:11.question. This government is committed to regenerating coastal

:56:12. > :56:14.towns and ensuring that everybody, regardless of where they live, as

:56:15. > :56:22.access to high quality public services and the best opportunities.

:56:23. > :56:34.On this question, Ian Paisley. I beg your pardon, Mr Vickers first. I

:56:35. > :56:36.thank the Prime Minister for his reply and I recognised the

:56:37. > :56:41.initiatives that the government has taken. He will know that many

:56:42. > :56:46.coastal towns like Cleethorpes suffer from poor educational

:56:47. > :56:50.standards. We have many high performing academies who are trying

:56:51. > :56:53.to reverse that and to ensure that our young people have access to

:56:54. > :56:59.sports, arts and culture at the highest level. The council are

:57:00. > :57:03.currently preparing a report with the private sector. Will he commit

:57:04. > :57:08.the government to work with the council to deliver regeneration to

:57:09. > :57:11.Cleethorpes? Nobody could silence the voice of the number! I think my

:57:12. > :57:17.honourable friend is right and I am happy to look at that proposal with

:57:18. > :57:22.him. We have to make sure we tackle both failing schools and coastal

:57:23. > :57:27.schools, and there are some in coastal areas. One of the issues is

:57:28. > :57:31.making sure we get talented teachers and leaders into those schools, and

:57:32. > :57:41.that is what the national leaders of education service is all about.

:57:42. > :57:44.Wratten Island is the only inhabited coastal village town in my

:57:45. > :57:53.constituency. No British Prime Minister has ever had the privilege

:57:54. > :57:55.to visit. I hope that the Prime Minister will make a plan to visit,

:57:56. > :58:03.which has considerable economic needs. I am the first British by

:58:04. > :58:09.Minister to visit many parts of the country. The first to go to

:58:10. > :58:12.Shetland! I fear that, if I were to visit, many people might like me to

:58:13. > :58:19.stay there. But I will bear it in mind. Rugby is the fastest growing

:58:20. > :58:23.town in the West Midlands with work underway to provide 6200 much-needed

:58:24. > :58:26.new homes at the Rugby radio site, but my constituents are keen to

:58:27. > :58:30.ensure that public services keep pace with developers and

:58:31. > :58:35.particularly to seek more services at the local hospital. Does the

:58:36. > :58:37.prime ministers agreed with the NHS chief executive that district

:58:38. > :58:43.hospitals such as this play an excellent role in the NHS? I am a

:58:44. > :58:47.believer in district general hospitals and I know what a strong

:58:48. > :58:54.support of Saint Crossed he is. I know there is a dedicated outpatient

:58:55. > :58:58.facility there. We are going to achieve these very aggressive

:58:59. > :59:02.house-building targets that we put forward, there will be more houses

:59:03. > :59:07.built in most our constituencies. As far as we can, we will try to

:59:08. > :59:12.welcome that, that is important, and to make sure that the infrastructure

:59:13. > :59:17.is provided. Not everybody is as satisfied as the Chancellor with

:59:18. > :59:21.what, for Google, is loose change to cover their tax liabilities. On

:59:22. > :59:27.Monday, the honourable member for ABBA valley called on the government

:59:28. > :59:31.to make companies publish their tax returns. In that way, we can all see

:59:32. > :59:37.how they make the journey from their tax profits to their tax bill. Does

:59:38. > :59:41.the Prime Minister agree? I want to wonder whether the right honourable

:59:42. > :59:46.lady whether raised this issue when she sat in the Labour cabinet, when

:59:47. > :59:50.Google were paying no tax. What we have is a situation where we make

:59:51. > :59:54.the rules in this house and where HMAC ether to enforce them. That is

:59:55. > :00:02.the system that we need to make work. -- H MRC. As cancer survival

:00:03. > :00:06.rates continue to improve, and given that this is cancer talk week, will

:00:07. > :00:12.my right honourable friend join me in welcoming a new state cancer

:00:13. > :00:19.information centre due to enter at Royal Bolton hospital, and praise

:00:20. > :00:24.the commitment of Midland cancer care, Bolton hospice, and the local

:00:25. > :00:32.cancer commissioning group, who are all making this happening is to mark

:00:33. > :00:37.--? Everybody in this house knows a family member who has been touched

:00:38. > :00:40.by cancer. The good news is that cancer survival rates are improving.

:00:41. > :00:45.We need to make sure they improve across all cancers, not just the

:00:46. > :00:49.best-known ones. What he says is that this is not just an issue for

:00:50. > :00:56.the NHS but all of those because IT bodies which also want to campaign

:00:57. > :01:03.and act on helping cancer sufferers. --. In 2014I wrote to the Prime

:01:04. > :01:08.Minister asking him to join the Scottish Government and Highland

:01:09. > :01:12.Council in taking forward a city deal for Inverness. Highland Council

:01:13. > :01:16.have submitted a detailed plan on the region for young people. Will be

:01:17. > :01:21.Prime Minister committed to giving this the green light in the coming

:01:22. > :01:24.weeks? We are committed to examining the city deal with Inverness, as we

:01:25. > :01:28.have made good progress with Aberdeen. I think these bring

:01:29. > :01:32.together the best of what the Scottish Government can put on the

:01:33. > :01:36.table but also the best of what the UK Government can put on the table

:01:37. > :01:40.because, without wanting to be too political, the two governments

:01:41. > :01:47.working together can do even more. Could I thank the Prime Minister for

:01:48. > :01:54.meeting the deposed mould even Prime Minister -- president on Saturday?

:01:55. > :01:58.Will he work towards an international consensus on targeted

:01:59. > :02:03.sanctions so that the regime of the Maldives may reconsider their

:02:04. > :02:08.appalling human rights record and their record on democracy? It was an

:02:09. > :02:12.honour to meet with the former president, who I think did an

:02:13. > :02:16.excellent job for his country in cutting out corruption and turning

:02:17. > :02:20.that country around. He suffered terribly by being in prison and it

:02:21. > :02:24.is good that he is able to get out to seek medical treatment, but we

:02:25. > :02:28.want to see a change in behaviour from the government of the Maldives,

:02:29. > :02:33.to make sure political prisoners are set free, and we are prepared to

:02:34. > :02:37.consider targeted action against individuals if progress isn't made.

:02:38. > :02:43.Let's hope that diplomatic efforts will lead to the changes we want to

:02:44. > :02:52.see, but Britain, and our allies, including Sri Lanka and India,

:02:53. > :02:56.watching situation carefully. 46% of five-year-old children in Bradford

:02:57. > :03:00.suffer from dental decay compared with 28% across England, and less

:03:01. > :03:03.than half the children living in Bradford district has seen a dentist

:03:04. > :03:09.in the last two years. Given the cost of treating toothpick care --

:03:10. > :03:14.tooth decay, they exceed the cost of prevention, would the Prime Minister

:03:15. > :03:21.look at dental provision in the area? If you take a view across the

:03:22. > :03:24.country, before 2010, we had huge queues around the block when a new

:03:25. > :03:28.NHS dentist turned up was there were not enough. They may not and shake

:03:29. > :03:35.their heads, but that is what happened. Some of us can remember.

:03:36. > :03:39.We have seen a big increase in NHS dentistry, but I will look carefully

:03:40. > :03:45.at the situation in Bradford. As my right honourable friend knows, a

:03:46. > :03:49.task force is set to deliver its report on a resilient railway to

:03:50. > :03:52.Devon and Cornwall. Would the Prime Minister be prepared to meet with me

:03:53. > :03:57.and a number of colleagues to make sure that Network Rail and the task

:03:58. > :04:01.force is enough for two studies, the electrification of the line and the

:04:02. > :04:04.reduction in journey time is necessary to do this? I had an

:04:05. > :04:09.excellent meeting with the south coast -- south-west peninsula task

:04:10. > :04:12.force and I will make sure that I continue to liaise closely with

:04:13. > :04:16.them. We need to find an answer and we need to find the funding. We

:04:17. > :04:21.can't have happen what happened in the past, where a problem on our

:04:22. > :04:29.Railways led to the peninsula being cut off. Would be Prime Minister

:04:30. > :04:32.join me in congratulating my constituents, Dominic and Rebecca

:04:33. > :04:36.from Mitcham, on the birth of their daughter, Alice. Like every parents,

:04:37. > :04:41.they want their daughter to have better opportunities than they had

:04:42. > :04:46.but, with average London house prices increasing by ?40,000 in 2013

:04:47. > :04:50.alone, and the average house in London being now worth over half ?1

:04:51. > :04:54.million, does he understand their fears and Alice will never have the

:04:55. > :05:00.chance they had to buy her own home in the area she was born in? I want

:05:01. > :05:03.to help Alice and many like her get on the housing ladder, which is why

:05:04. > :05:08.we are introducing shared ownership, which brings housing in reach of

:05:09. > :05:12.many more people. It is why we have helped by London, which is twice as

:05:13. > :05:16.generous as the rest of the country. It is why we selling off the most

:05:17. > :05:22.expensive council houses and rebuilding more affordable homes. --

:05:23. > :05:25.help to buy London. These are all under the guidance and drive of Zac

:05:26. > :05:29.Goldsmith, who will make an excellent...

:05:30. > :05:34.SHOUTING That is the best chance of a home,

:05:35. > :05:41.to have a Conservative mayor and a Conservative government working hand

:05:42. > :05:46.in glove. Someone experiencing a mental health crisis who goes in

:05:47. > :05:51.desperation to A needs prompt specialist help. Can I welcome my

:05:52. > :05:58.right honourable friend's recognition of psychiatric liaison?

:05:59. > :06:06.Does he agree that 20 47 psychiatric liaison in A is an important step

:06:07. > :06:10.towards self-esteem? We are seeing more mental health and psychiatric

:06:11. > :06:14.liaison in our A We need overtime to see it in all. So often

:06:15. > :06:17.people are arriving not in the right setting, where they should be

:06:18. > :06:22.looking after. Whether it is getting people with mental health conditions

:06:23. > :06:27.out of police cells or making sure they are treated properly in prison

:06:28. > :06:30.or, crucially, when they arrived in A, make sure they get this

:06:31. > :06:35.treatment is very much part of our plan. I commend the Prime Minister

:06:36. > :06:39.for his remarks about Holocaust Memorial Day. In honouring the

:06:40. > :06:44.memory of those murdered by the Nazis, we provide the best candidate

:06:45. > :06:47.to extremism and anti-Semitism anti-Semitism in our age. The

:06:48. > :06:54.biggest challenge Europe today is the predicted 3 million refugees who

:06:55. > :06:58.will flood into Europe. Does he agree that the only way to challenge

:06:59. > :07:03.a crisis of that magnitude is by starting working with our European

:07:04. > :07:07.colleagues at the heart of a united Europe? Would you take this

:07:08. > :07:10.opportunity to welcome in and provide a home for the 3000

:07:11. > :07:16.unaccompanied children, as recommended by save the children?

:07:17. > :07:19.Where I agree with the right honourable gentleman is the

:07:20. > :07:24.importance of taking action to help with this crisis. No country in

:07:25. > :07:32.Europe has been more generous than Britain in funding refugees, whether

:07:33. > :07:38.they are in Syria, Turkey, Lebanon or Jordan. Where I don't agree with

:07:39. > :07:43.the right honourable gentleman is thinking that the right answer is

:07:44. > :07:47.for Britain to opt into the EU relocation and resettlement schemes.

:07:48. > :07:50.Let me tell him as for why. We said we will resettle 20,000 people in

:07:51. > :07:56.our country. We promised 1000 by Christmas. Because of the hard work

:07:57. > :08:00.of the honourable member for Watford, we achieved that. If you

:08:01. > :08:08.add up all that Europe has done under its relocation scheme and its

:08:09. > :08:13.recent resettlement scheme, they have done less than we have done in

:08:14. > :08:18.the UK. Yes, we should take part in European schemes when it is in our

:08:19. > :08:22.interests, helped to secure the external European border, but we are

:08:23. > :08:25.out of the Schengen agreement, we keep our own borders and, under this

:08:26. > :08:40.government, that is how it will stay.

:08:41. > :08:47.The Prime Minister referred to those in the calorie count as a bunch of

:08:48. > :08:54.migrants. We welcome back to that in a minute. As expected, the Leader of

:08:55. > :08:59.the Opposition went on the tax settlement. It will make the news

:09:00. > :09:03.tomorrow as well. Jeremy Corbyn raising the question of whether the

:09:04. > :09:09.HMRC has really raised as much as it could have done over a tax

:09:10. > :09:12.settlement that goes back to 2005 with a company that generates

:09:13. > :09:18.billions of pounds every year. The Prime Minister retorted it had not

:09:19. > :09:23.paid any tax under Labour and I guess the general line of the

:09:24. > :09:27.government is 130 million is better than nothing. It went back and

:09:28. > :09:33.forward a bit like that. Let's hear from our experts and a minute.

:09:34. > :09:38.First, let's hear how you reacted. The tax settlement angered many of

:09:39. > :09:44.our viewers. Thomas said, can I pay 3% tax on my earnings? Somebody

:09:45. > :09:48.said, love it, ten minutes in and Cameron is losing his rag. Someone

:09:49. > :09:53.says, I would like to pay the same rate as Google.

:09:54. > :09:58.Michael says labour and Jeremy Corbyn are returning to the spiked

:09:59. > :10:04.agenda. The Prime Minister handled this attack with ease. John Glenn

:10:05. > :10:08.says, it is becoming pitiable. I feel sorry for Jeremy Corbyn, camera

:10:09. > :10:15.and savages him every week and makes him look ill suited to the role.

:10:16. > :10:21.Somebody says, you cannot equate Google in 2009 and Google today,

:10:22. > :10:29.that shows how bad he is at fairness. And the Prime Minister's

:10:30. > :10:32.use of the phrase a bunch of migrants. Chuka Umunna says it is

:10:33. > :10:36.inflammatory and unbecoming of his office. Diane Ah but said it was

:10:37. > :10:43.callous. Was that appropriate language? We often have debate about

:10:44. > :10:47.the language used by Prime Minister and other prominent politicians,

:10:48. > :10:51.particularly in the cauldron of the House of commons with a lot of

:10:52. > :10:56.pressure and hundreds of MPs baying at you. It is an excuse for not

:10:57. > :11:00.debating the real issue. Should we allow people count in Calais to come

:11:01. > :11:05.to this country? The Prime Minister is getting it right in terms of

:11:06. > :11:10.immigration policy. He is helping people in the camps in Syria. We

:11:11. > :11:16.have got a huge overseas aid budget. But was it regrettable language? We

:11:17. > :11:19.always talk about language, people have their views and the Prime

:11:20. > :11:24.Minister said he did not agree with Jeremy Corbyn that the people camped

:11:25. > :11:29.in Calais should come to this country and be given a free pass.

:11:30. > :11:33.Does that include unaccompanied children? There was talk that

:11:34. > :11:37.government may agree to unaccompanied children coming in? I

:11:38. > :11:42.have seen that talked and I gather it is being considered. I do not

:11:43. > :11:47.know if there was a conclusion reached. There are a range of issues

:11:48. > :11:49.you have to take into account, the law of unintended consequences, but

:11:50. > :11:55.the government will look at this issue. I can see in some way where

:11:56. > :12:01.the Google story goes because Apple, Amazon, Facebook are in the line for

:12:02. > :12:05.the same sort of treatment and I guess HMRC will come under pressure

:12:06. > :12:11.to be tougher with those that are still outstanding. But given HMRC is

:12:12. > :12:16.bound not to release the details of how it has calculated the 130

:12:17. > :12:22.million, I am not sure where this story goes next. In terms of new

:12:23. > :12:29.events and consequences of all the political anger, it is not clear

:12:30. > :12:34.either. But a spikier Jeremy Corbyn today succeeded in keeping this

:12:35. > :12:39.going, it will go for another 24 hours. It winds up members of the

:12:40. > :12:43.public, there is no question about that. At the same time David Cameron

:12:44. > :12:48.was very well prepped for that attack. It was inevitable he would

:12:49. > :12:52.go on that. Reading out the list of the senior members of the former

:12:53. > :12:57.Labour government now working for financial firms was designed to

:12:58. > :13:01.embarrass Jeremy Corbyn. The attack was Labour did not do anything about

:13:02. > :13:06.this either. But it is the kind of issue where Labour think they can

:13:07. > :13:09.make some ground by keeping the issue going and saying they are on

:13:10. > :13:14.the side of the ordinary person saying, this is not fair. The

:13:15. > :13:19.government needs all the money it can get. There was an implication

:13:20. > :13:23.the government was too close to Google and there was a lot of

:13:24. > :13:28.personal contact. But it may be a bit of a stretch to think that the

:13:29. > :13:36.closeness has resulted in a lower tax bill. Indeed. Jeremy Corbyn was

:13:37. > :13:40.almost suggesting there talking about contacts between the firms

:13:41. > :13:45.that there was some kind of interference. I agree, that is a bit

:13:46. > :13:52.of a stretch. It would be a great story if it was true. Yes, it would,

:13:53. > :13:59.but when you look at the lifestyle of the story, it is a mistake for

:14:00. > :14:04.George Osborne to claim it was a victory. He put himself in the story

:14:05. > :14:08.and ask for the credit and it turns out not to have been such a triumph

:14:09. > :14:14.after all in the public mind and he is left with a difficult position,

:14:15. > :14:17.it is difficult politically to claim credit for something and when it

:14:18. > :14:24.does not turn out to be such a try and say it is nothing to do with me.

:14:25. > :14:27.Did Number Ten distance themselves? After the coverage at the weekend

:14:28. > :14:31.they were not going to go on the record and say it was a marvellous

:14:32. > :14:38.success. As ever, these things are sometimes overdone. If George

:14:39. > :14:43.Osborne had not tweeted it, it would not have been politicised in the

:14:44. > :14:48.same way? They would have been a bit of a rumpus, but not in the same

:14:49. > :14:52.way. Yvette Cooper has raised as a point of order the Prime Minister's

:14:53. > :14:57.remark, a bunch of migrants. I thought it was surprising he used

:14:58. > :15:00.it. I thought he was in full flow and probably a bit angry and

:15:01. > :15:04.sometimes you say things you do not need to. Having just announced the

:15:05. > :15:10.Holocaust memorial to then say a bunch of migrants, he will be

:15:11. > :15:15.particularly jarred. I was also surprised by Jeremy Corbyn not

:15:16. > :15:21.taking a segue to react to that, given he had been in the camps and

:15:22. > :15:24.have called for unaccompanied children to come here and for

:15:25. > :15:30.Britain to be more generous. Did he miss an opportunity? I was shocked

:15:31. > :15:34.when I heard the Prime Minister say it, it was offensive, hurtful,

:15:35. > :15:39.divisive. It is not the first time we have heard David Cameron slip up

:15:40. > :15:43.in this way. I appreciate what you say about the heat of the moment,

:15:44. > :15:47.but this kind of language when you are a Prime Minister is so important

:15:48. > :15:53.to get it right. Jeremy Corbyn is also under pressure in the heat of

:15:54. > :15:59.the moment. But I think we were all really taken aback and silenced.

:16:00. > :16:03.Except Jeremy Corbyn had been there and he had seen these people in the

:16:04. > :16:12.camps. The Prime Minister has not been there. There is the question

:16:13. > :16:16.about whether we should not be more generous about our treatment of

:16:17. > :16:21.unaccompanied children, some of whom were in that camp. I think we should

:16:22. > :16:25.be speaking out really clearly from a moral position about our

:16:26. > :16:28.obligations towards those very vulnerable children at every

:16:29. > :16:32.opportunity. What Jeremy saw in the camps will have brought home to him

:16:33. > :16:37.about the horror of what those children are going through. We

:16:38. > :16:41.should be looking for opportunities across all parties to use the right

:16:42. > :16:46.language and to develop policies to bring these children here as quickly

:16:47. > :16:51.as possible. The run-up to the referendum, even the negotiation and

:16:52. > :16:55.up to the February summit and beyond, the backdrop of developing

:16:56. > :17:00.events in Europe could be horrendous and particularly horrendous for

:17:01. > :17:06.those who want this country to stay in Europe.

:17:07. > :17:11.There is no question this is in minister 's mind. That is part of

:17:12. > :17:15.the reason they are trying to get this deal done in February, partly

:17:16. > :17:19.because the expectation is that, in coming months and through the

:17:20. > :17:23.summer, the huge volumes of people and the distress that we see night

:17:24. > :17:27.after night on our television screens is not going to get better,

:17:28. > :17:32.and it may get worse. Politically, the situation is so much more acute

:17:33. > :17:38.now, now that we also see the kind of chaos and suffering in European

:17:39. > :17:45.capitals. This is no longer what we see, a question about people

:17:46. > :17:49.moving... In the Balkans. Indeed, places the British voters are

:17:50. > :17:54.familiar with, places they might have been on holiday. That might

:17:55. > :17:57.sound crass, but this is part of the population that ministers are aware

:17:58. > :18:04.of, the broader canvas of what is going on in the world when we choose

:18:05. > :18:08.whether to stay or leave the EU, in a lot of people's minds, that will

:18:09. > :18:09.be more significant than the campaigns themselves.

:18:10. > :18:13.Now, how old should you be before you're allowed to stick an X

:18:14. > :18:15.on a ballot paper and stick it in a box?

:18:16. > :18:18.Well, like the UK most people around the world are allowed to vote

:18:19. > :18:22.Some buck the trend and opt for 21, like Cameroon for example.

:18:23. > :18:24.Others, like Austria, have recently lowered

:18:25. > :18:29.Some people want to do the same here, but should we in fact be

:18:30. > :18:32.Here's political journalist Samual Hooper with

:18:33. > :18:42.Going to university used to signify growing up,

:18:43. > :18:45.leaving the family nest and taking your first steps

:18:46. > :18:47.as an adult but, for a growing number of today's students,

:18:48. > :18:51.Many of today's students want to turn university campuses

:18:52. > :18:54.and students' unions into safe spaces, where

:18:55. > :18:57.dissenting and controversial ideas are banned and free speech

:18:58. > :19:01.is suspended for their mental safety.

:19:02. > :19:11.MUSIC: Teenage Kicks by The Undertones.

:19:12. > :19:13.Student activists have taken to banning

:19:14. > :19:15.clapping in meetings, claiming that it triggers anxiety,

:19:16. > :19:17.and some are now even demanding the airbrushing

:19:18. > :19:20.or rewriting of history to remove any reference to controversial

:19:21. > :19:24.figures from the past, like Cecil Rhodes.

:19:25. > :19:27.Students here in the Oxford union voted last week to remove his statue

:19:28. > :19:38.If students want to be treated like emotionally fragile children,

:19:39. > :19:40.do they not forfeit the right to have a

:19:41. > :19:43.We don't let children drink, smoke or drive.

:19:44. > :19:53.Ironically, there is currently a push to lower the voting age

:19:54. > :19:58.in the UK, giving 16 and 17-year-olds the right to take

:19:59. > :20:02.But, since this generation of students feel harmed

:20:03. > :20:06.by hearing dissenting opinions or the mere act of public debate,

:20:07. > :20:09.rather than talking about lowering the voting age, shouldn't we be

:20:10. > :20:31.I am assured that you are over the age of 25, at least. What age would

:20:32. > :20:34.you raise the voting age to? It is an interesting question, and I am

:20:35. > :20:38.not the only one who has brought this up. After a number of

:20:39. > :20:45.high-profile incidents on American the respected American law professor

:20:46. > :20:50.and blogger Glenn Reynolds suggested raising the age to 25, which was

:20:51. > :20:56.after we saw Yale students go berserk over a flash in the pan

:20:57. > :21:04.drama over Halloween costumes. We saw the university of Missouri drum

:21:05. > :21:08.the team out of his job and then he insisted -- they apologise that he

:21:09. > :21:14.go and apologise for male privilege. Does that justify a campaign to

:21:15. > :21:18.raise the voting age? If you look at the background of these demands for

:21:19. > :21:22.trigger warnings and safe spaces, students saying that they feel

:21:23. > :21:26.emotionally fragile, they are encountering an opinion which goes

:21:27. > :21:30.against their views, akin to being physically punched in the face. They

:21:31. > :21:35.take it as if they are incurring emotional harm. I am saying, if you

:21:36. > :21:40.believe you are incurring emotional harm, maybe wait a few years before

:21:41. > :21:46.you enter the rough world of politics. It is heavy punishment on

:21:47. > :21:50.all young people of 18-25, denying them the right to vote because of a

:21:51. > :21:55.handful of student unions behaving liberally. I watched some of the

:21:56. > :22:00.youth Parliament earlier, and you saw some of the brightest 16 and

:22:01. > :22:04.17-year-olds you will ever see. Something seems to happen when you

:22:05. > :22:11.hit the age of 18. I don't know why, something goes crazy and... We say

:22:12. > :22:15.it is only a few students, but we take our view from America and this

:22:16. > :22:20.problem is getting a lot bigger in the US. People's careers are being

:22:21. > :22:26.ended, people's curriculum is limited. You were there inside the

:22:27. > :22:30.Oxford union. They make a point of inviting controversial speakers, and

:22:31. > :22:35.they have done over the decades, from Nick Griffin, Marine Le Pen, OJ

:22:36. > :22:39.Simpson, which I suggest is encouraging free debate. Let's put

:22:40. > :22:43.the point Ed Vaizey, who was laughing, about what happens when

:22:44. > :22:49.you turn 18. Do you think people are responsible enough at age 18? The

:22:50. > :22:53.thesis seemed to be developing that, given your experience of the youth

:22:54. > :22:58.Parliament, you could have the vote for 16-18 and then lose it and get

:22:59. > :23:07.it back at 25! I think people are responsible at 18. Kate and I go to

:23:08. > :23:13.our secondary schools and talk to 16 -- sixth formers. They are extremely

:23:14. > :23:17.articulate. I wouldn't go to 16, but I totally understand people who

:23:18. > :23:21.campaign for it. I don't think it is a ridiculous suggestion. I am happy

:23:22. > :23:25.with the status quo. I think 18 is right. But you meet a lot of

:23:26. > :23:30.articular and intelligent people younger than that, just as you meet

:23:31. > :23:35.people who are older who are not. There have been these examples of a

:23:36. > :23:39.liberal activity, depriving students of free speech, trying to stop

:23:40. > :23:43.Germaine Greer, for example, coming to Cardiff university because of her

:23:44. > :23:47.views on transgender people, and the debate over the Cecil Rhodes statue.

:23:48. > :23:52.Is this an indication that there is a lack of maturity among students,

:23:53. > :23:59.that they are trying to clamp down on free speech? I don't think it is

:24:00. > :24:02.a new thing. There have always been controversies in universities over

:24:03. > :24:05.who will be invited and given a platform, and that is part of

:24:06. > :24:08.exploring boundaries and debating issues. We shouldn't forget that the

:24:09. > :24:14.government is effectively clamping down on free speech in in

:24:15. > :24:17.universities with some of its counter extremism proposals. I don't

:24:18. > :24:19.think it is age related. It is a matter of getting the balance right.

:24:20. > :24:22.Now, how do you like to spend your annual leave?

:24:23. > :24:24.Are you like our Kate here, who enjoys sipping sangria

:24:25. > :24:29.Or are you, like our Ed, more of an opera in Tuscany sort

:24:30. > :24:32.Or would you rather spend your holidays somewhere

:24:33. > :24:37.# Get your passport and your bikini You need a holiday, come see me

:24:38. > :24:40.# I know you're tired of the same old scenery

:24:41. > :24:42.# And I could change all that so easily

:24:43. > :24:44.# Go wild, do your thing, yo, take a chance

:24:45. > :24:47.# I'll take you to the South of France, like Cannes

:24:48. > :24:51.And they should have never, ever, ever been in the country.

:24:52. > :24:57.# There's just a few days in the year

:24:58. > :24:59.# Plus I've got car So let's ride that...#

:25:00. > :25:03.And that means saying no to Donald Trump.

:25:04. > :25:08.Thank you everybody, thank you.

:25:09. > :25:11.# If you ain't doing nothing let's fly away

:25:12. > :25:21.# If you ain't doing nothing let's fly away

:25:22. > :25:25.# We can go to the club or hide away

:25:26. > :25:36.# We can do what you want to, baby...#

:25:37. > :25:39.Well, one travel company has raised eyebrows by offering a ?2,370

:25:40. > :25:41.package holiday to the European Parliament ahead

:25:42. > :25:49.And as you saw, there are separate trips on offer to North Korea,

:25:50. > :25:53.Israel and Palestine, Iran and the US in November

:25:54. > :25:59.The travellers will spend their time not relaxing

:26:00. > :26:01.on the beach, but instead having meetings with politicians

:26:02. > :26:10.Nicholas Wood, the Director of Political Tours, joins me now.

:26:11. > :26:19.Exactly why would I pay ?2500 to hang out in Brussels? Good question.

:26:20. > :26:26.One could ask why people watch this programme. The same kind of people

:26:27. > :26:33.come on our tours. Is it that bad? It is! Did this programme give you

:26:34. > :26:36.the idea? I used to be a journalist and I had family who would come and

:26:37. > :26:41.visit me in the Balkans. They found it fascinating. What would an

:26:42. > :26:52.average night out in Brussels be on this trip? It is five days long...

:26:53. > :26:57.Five days! You could go to Thailand for that! Some people enjoy opera

:26:58. > :27:00.and beaches and other people like learning how the world ticks. It is

:27:01. > :27:06.almost like having your own personal correspondent. You can go and get

:27:07. > :27:14.access to P2 sacred places you might not be able to normally. -- access

:27:15. > :27:22.to places. Andrew wants to go. Put his name down.

:27:23. > :27:33.JoCo wants to go to North Korea. Could you arrange that? I got you a

:27:34. > :27:41.present from Cuba. Where is mine? We can be bought. How much would you

:27:42. > :27:46.pay not to see a European Parliament debate? How many people go on these

:27:47. > :27:54.trips? Detours are quite small. You can't take a bus load of people...

:27:55. > :27:58.Basically, you are trying to replicate what journalists do. We

:27:59. > :28:00.take small groups between six and ten people and you get access to

:28:01. > :28:05.people involved actively in politics. You have senior

:28:06. > :28:14.correspondents working with you. It really brings the news to life. It

:28:15. > :28:18.is like a seminar on tour. It is called Political Tours, the clue is

:28:19. > :28:29.in the name. There are other package tours available. Monte Cristo, Romeo

:28:30. > :28:34.and Juliet. The answer to Guess The Year was 2009. Could one of you

:28:35. > :28:42.press the button? That was done tentatively. Carol and Gregory in

:28:43. > :28:48.Reading, well done. -- Caroline Gregory. You have won a political

:28:49. > :28:52.tour to North Korea as well as a mug. The one o'clock news is

:28:53. > :28:54.starting on BBC One. I will be here tomorrow with all the usual

:28:55. > :28:59.political stories of the day. Bye-bye.