Browse content similar to 02/11/2016. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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In September, scandal-hit Labour MP Keith Vaz judged himself "not fit" | :00:37. | :00:43. | |
But now he's been appointed to another Commons | :00:44. | :00:48. | |
How will Ireland - on both sides of the border - | :00:49. | :00:53. | |
The Irish government is hosting all-Ireland talks today | :00:54. | :00:57. | |
Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn will be facing each other over | :00:58. | :01:04. | |
the despatch box at Prime Minister's Questions. | :01:05. | :01:06. | |
We'll bring you all the action live at midday. | :01:07. | :01:10. | |
Should the England, Scotland and Wales football teams defy Fifa | :01:11. | :01:15. | |
and wear poppies during next week's World Cup qualifiers? | :01:16. | :01:24. | |
All that in the next hour and a half of the very finest public | :01:25. | :01:27. | |
And with us for the whole of the programme today are two | :01:28. | :01:34. | |
politicians who as far as we know have never wrestled | :01:35. | :01:36. | |
The Northern Ireland Secretary, James Brokenshire, and the Shadow | :01:37. | :01:46. | |
First today though, let's talk about Keith Vaz. | :01:47. | :01:52. | |
The Labour MP has seen off an attempt by Tory MPs | :01:53. | :01:54. | |
to prevent him getting a seat on a Commons committee. | :01:55. | :01:57. | |
Conservative Andrew Bridgen tried to block his appointment | :01:58. | :01:59. | |
to the Justice Committee following newspaper claims that | :02:00. | :02:02. | |
Mr Vaz paid for the services of two male sex workers. | :02:03. | :02:07. | |
But his attempt was rejected in a Commons vote by 203 to 7. | :02:08. | :02:11. | |
Mr Vaz quit as chairman of the influential Home Affairs | :02:12. | :02:14. | |
Andrew Bridgen joins us now from Central Lobby. | :02:15. | :02:24. | |
Why did you tried to block Keith Vaz's appointment to do justice | :02:25. | :02:32. | |
select committee? Lacen 's month he resigned from the home affairs | :02:33. | :02:36. | |
select committee. He didn't think he was a fit and proper person to | :02:37. | :02:40. | |
remain on back committee. There are issues around this investigation and | :02:41. | :02:45. | |
those matters are not resolved. Yet this month, Keith Vaz wings he a | :02:46. | :02:51. | |
person who is fit and proper to be on the justice select committee. | :02:52. | :02:54. | |
This actually brings the whole of our into disrepute. The Metropolitan | :02:55. | :03:02. | |
Police are still assessing if any criminal offences were committed by | :03:03. | :03:06. | |
Keith Vaz, so there isn't an investigation as such, going on. Why | :03:07. | :03:10. | |
is this the appropriate forum for you to raise these matters? It is | :03:11. | :03:15. | |
not the arena for bringing up grievances you may have? The | :03:16. | :03:21. | |
procedure was, although it is a Labour nomination for the committee, | :03:22. | :03:26. | |
it has to be approved by the whole house, it is a committee of the | :03:27. | :03:29. | |
whole house. I had the opportunity to raise my concerns and I am | :03:30. | :03:34. | |
disappointed with the results. But it has my concerns and the concerns | :03:35. | :03:39. | |
of many members on the record and if it hadn't been for government | :03:40. | :03:44. | |
whipping, it would have been a better result. Many felt it was | :03:45. | :03:52. | |
anti-Parliamentary that you are trying to subvert parliamentary | :03:53. | :03:55. | |
traditions instead of airing your concerns in an appropriate manner. | :03:56. | :04:01. | |
Not at all, these parliamentary traditions, the voting on the | :04:02. | :04:05. | |
chairman of a select committee, this has only been a convention for the | :04:06. | :04:09. | |
last few years. At the end of the day we are talking about the | :04:10. | :04:13. | |
reputation of Parliament. I think people in the country will be | :04:14. | :04:17. | |
bemused that anyone would the dark cloud hanging over them, that Keith | :04:18. | :04:23. | |
Vaz has, but possibly, with a police investigation possibly pending, a | :04:24. | :04:26. | |
full Parliamentary standards investigation going to be carried | :04:27. | :04:31. | |
out if the police don't investigate criminally, but someone could be | :04:32. | :04:35. | |
nominated and get onto the justice committee at this time. But you | :04:36. | :04:39. | |
wouldn't have a problem if Labour MPs tried to block nominations to | :04:40. | :04:44. | |
select committee, even if there was a dark cloud, although no | :04:45. | :04:47. | |
allegations have been proven at this point? If someone has genuine | :04:48. | :04:54. | |
concerns about the suitability of someone to be in a position of much | :04:55. | :04:59. | |
influence, of great influence in this Parliament, it is quite right, | :05:00. | :05:04. | |
it is the duty of other members to raise these concerns. That was the | :05:05. | :05:09. | |
format I had to do it. Raising concerns is one thing, but you | :05:10. | :05:12. | |
wouldn't have a problem with Labour MPs blocking conservative MPs | :05:13. | :05:22. | |
applying for the same appointments? As long as they were legitimate | :05:23. | :05:29. | |
concerns. The ones who voted him on soon the select committee where your | :05:30. | :05:36. | |
fellow Conservative MPs. They could be a victim of fortune of Keith | :05:37. | :05:44. | |
Vaz's future activities. I worry whether colleagues may live to | :05:45. | :05:48. | |
regret that. Andrew Bridgen, thank you. | :05:49. | :05:54. | |
Why did you vote for Keith Vaz to be on the justice committee of all | :05:55. | :06:02. | |
committees? It comes down to the principle on the independence of | :06:03. | :06:04. | |
select committees and individual parties selecting who they should | :06:05. | :06:09. | |
have. The Labour Party put forward Kate Green and Keith Vaz to serve on | :06:10. | :06:15. | |
the justice committee. In the sense of the proprieties of Parliament of | :06:16. | :06:20. | |
the robustness of select committees, it is the Labour Party to do that. | :06:21. | :06:28. | |
There is the sense of resident, if other parties then somehow are able | :06:29. | :06:33. | |
to undo that, then it can cut across the whole scrutiny process. That is | :06:34. | :06:39. | |
the Parliamentary situation. Please explain to our viewers why it was | :06:40. | :06:43. | |
writer of Keith Vaz to resign from the home affairs select committee, | :06:44. | :06:50. | |
but now be appointed to the justice select committee? Ultimately, it is | :06:51. | :06:56. | |
a decision for the Labour Party. Did you vote with a heavy heart for Mr | :06:57. | :07:02. | |
Vaz? I voted in support of the process we have on individual | :07:03. | :07:06. | |
parties being able to nominate to serve on select committees. It is a | :07:07. | :07:11. | |
matter who the other side nominates, you would sheep like go through the | :07:12. | :07:17. | |
lobby in favour? It is rather, we do have a principle of select | :07:18. | :07:21. | |
committees being robust, being able to hold people like myself to | :07:22. | :07:27. | |
account and Keith Vaz did that on a number of occasions in some of my | :07:28. | :07:37. | |
previous roles. If we believe in the ability for parties to nominate, to | :07:38. | :07:39. | |
nominate their own people and each party has its own process to do so. | :07:40. | :07:45. | |
Why did Labour nominate him? We had two vacancies on the committee and | :07:46. | :07:50. | |
two MPs put themselves forward. There was no election and they went | :07:51. | :07:54. | |
on to the committee. Couldn't you have chosen somebody else? Why is it | :07:55. | :08:00. | |
appropriate for Keith Vaz to be on the justice committee, of all | :08:01. | :08:04. | |
committees, when it was inappropriate for him to stay on the | :08:05. | :08:09. | |
home affairs committee? It is a decision for Keith. He was chair of | :08:10. | :08:13. | |
the home affairs select committee and he stood down as chair. It is a | :08:14. | :08:19. | |
nicety, but he is a member of the justice select committee, he is not | :08:20. | :08:23. | |
sharing it. It is a decision for Keith to make himself as to whether | :08:24. | :08:28. | |
he thought he should be. It is like Pontius Pilate act from both of you, | :08:29. | :08:32. | |
washing your hands, down to Keith Vaz, it is just process. People | :08:33. | :08:38. | |
watching will wonder how a man, with a chequered history on many matters, | :08:39. | :08:44. | |
under a possible police investigation and standards | :08:45. | :08:47. | |
investigation is sitting on the justice committee! I have some | :08:48. | :08:54. | |
sympathy with that view. Had I been Keith, I don't think I would have | :08:55. | :08:58. | |
put myself forward for that position. But the fact is, you can't | :08:59. | :09:04. | |
pick and choose. He is an elected MP, there to represent his | :09:05. | :09:08. | |
constituents and needs to play a role in Parliament. Unless there are | :09:09. | :09:11. | |
findings against him which means he shouldn't be in this position, we | :09:12. | :09:16. | |
should let him make the decision. Did you vote for him? I didn't take | :09:17. | :09:23. | |
part in the vote, I was trying to stop a constituent being deported. | :09:24. | :09:28. | |
Most of the people who voted for Keith Vaz were Tories. Only 38 | :09:29. | :09:33. | |
Labour MPs voted for Keith Vaz. Why? You have to ask them. They couldn't | :09:34. | :09:40. | |
all have been looking after their constituents at the same time. They | :09:41. | :09:45. | |
could have been. I can only give you my view cannot speak for my | :09:46. | :09:52. | |
colleagues. As a minister has said, the system operates, the opposition | :09:53. | :09:56. | |
party gets to nominate who will sit on these select committees, which | :09:57. | :10:01. | |
are meant to be operated in a way, independent from government and | :10:02. | :10:06. | |
opposition. They meant to be inquisitorial and so on. Yet only 38 | :10:07. | :10:12. | |
Labour MPs could vote for Keith Vaz. It tells us something. I am not sure | :10:13. | :10:19. | |
what, but it says something? You can impute into what that may mean. I | :10:20. | :10:24. | |
haven't spoken to the 38 people who did support it and you would have to | :10:25. | :10:28. | |
ask them why they did and others why they didn't. How come he got in with | :10:29. | :10:34. | |
the Tory vote. They all turned up, including 11 ministers. Most of the | :10:35. | :10:42. | |
203 who voted were Tories and Labour couldn't be bothered. Ultimately, | :10:43. | :10:48. | |
there was a division that was called. I voted as others did, in | :10:49. | :10:54. | |
support of the independence of committees, the independence of | :10:55. | :10:58. | |
individual parties being able to do that. Seven voted against. It was a | :10:59. | :11:02. | |
cross-section from across Parliament who voted in support of that | :11:03. | :11:07. | |
principle. We will leave that there, I think we have got as far as we can | :11:08. | :11:10. | |
combat for the moment. Brexit is one of the biggest | :11:11. | :11:12. | |
challenges facing the Irish government with implications | :11:13. | :11:15. | |
for Ireland north and south. Today, the Irish government | :11:16. | :11:18. | |
is hosting cross-border talks with politicians, business | :11:19. | :11:20. | |
representatives and interest groups. The issue of the Irish border | :11:21. | :11:21. | |
will top the agenda, along with discussions about trade | :11:22. | :11:24. | |
and the peace process. The border is the only land | :11:25. | :11:26. | |
boundary between the UK In 1922, the Irish Free State | :11:27. | :11:28. | |
was established, and with it, a Common Travel Area | :11:29. | :11:37. | |
between the UK and Ireland. This meant nationals of both | :11:38. | :11:42. | |
countries could travel freely In 1973, both the UK and Ireland | :11:43. | :11:47. | |
became members of the EU. Since both countries | :11:48. | :11:52. | |
joined on the same day, the border has never been one | :11:53. | :11:55. | |
between a member and a non-member. Now June's Brexit vote | :11:56. | :11:59. | |
has put the future of Both the UK and Irish governments | :12:00. | :12:02. | |
say they want to keep But after Brexit the border | :12:03. | :12:08. | |
between north and south will become The EU's Brexit Taskforce said | :12:09. | :12:13. | |
the whole EU might need to sign off on how the UK and Ireland plan | :12:14. | :12:20. | |
to police it. A harder border is likely to cause | :12:21. | :12:25. | |
significant disruption and could recall the difficult | :12:26. | :12:30. | |
decades of the Troubles. An alternative could be | :12:31. | :12:33. | |
a border between Ireland and mainland Britain - | :12:34. | :12:37. | |
but that would mean checks on people travelling between different parts | :12:38. | :12:40. | |
of the UK. And I'm joined now from Dublin | :12:41. | :12:42. | |
by Ireland correspondent Chris Page. Welcome to the daily politics. What | :12:43. | :12:53. | |
has been happening at the conference? The Irish government | :12:54. | :13:01. | |
regard this as a very important day. At this hospital, grand setting for | :13:02. | :13:06. | |
what they are calling an all island 's civil dialogue. Note that the EU | :13:07. | :13:10. | |
state will be affected more by Brexit than the Republic of Ireland. | :13:11. | :13:16. | |
End Kenny has said it is the biggest social and economic challenge facing | :13:17. | :13:19. | |
island in the last 50 years. The government says they have the widest | :13:20. | :13:28. | |
conversation about Brexit with North and South. 300 people are attending | :13:29. | :13:35. | |
this conference, trade unionists, business representatives and other | :13:36. | :13:37. | |
groups and they are focusing on cross-border trade, ?1 billion worth | :13:38. | :13:43. | |
of goods cross the Irish Sea every week. Also, the peace process and | :13:44. | :13:48. | |
the implications for the border are very high on the government's list | :13:49. | :13:53. | |
of priorities. Notable absentees are the Unionist parties from Northern | :13:54. | :13:57. | |
Ireland. They decided not to come to this event. That undermines the idea | :13:58. | :14:04. | |
of it being the broadest conversation with as many parties, | :14:05. | :14:10. | |
or interested parties as possible. The DUP leader, Arlene Foster has | :14:11. | :14:14. | |
discussed it as a grandstanding exercise, making her case very | :14:15. | :14:17. | |
clear. But what has been the reaction to that? People have said | :14:18. | :14:24. | |
they are disappointed unionists have not come. Whenever the Democratic | :14:25. | :14:30. | |
Unionist party had their conference, Arlene Foster hardened her rhetoric | :14:31. | :14:34. | |
on this and said it was an exercise in grandstanding. The Unionists have | :14:35. | :14:37. | |
said they have enough ways to engage with Dublin and people here, | :14:38. | :14:42. | |
including ministers in the Irish government are putting the emphasis | :14:43. | :14:44. | |
on another meeting taking place later this month, the meeting of the | :14:45. | :14:52. | |
North, South ministerial. That would allow ministers from storm onto sand | :14:53. | :14:56. | |
Dublin to confer regularly on matters which are important to them. | :14:57. | :15:01. | |
There will be one of those Summit in Northern Ireland later this month | :15:02. | :15:05. | |
and it will very much focus on Brexit. That is being pointed to by | :15:06. | :15:10. | |
many here as being the next key meeting in this process. Everyone is | :15:11. | :15:14. | |
trying to put a very positive accents of what is happening, saying | :15:15. | :15:17. | |
it will be an important and useful exercise in forming the Irish | :15:18. | :15:24. | |
government's progression in the Brexit talks. | :15:25. | :15:31. | |
You are the Secretary of State 's four Northern Ireland. Why are you | :15:32. | :15:41. | |
not at these talks? It is about forming preparations for discussions | :15:42. | :15:45. | |
around Brexit. We do meet bilaterally with the Irish | :15:46. | :15:48. | |
government on a regular basis. There are other things which are put into | :15:49. | :15:54. | |
place. We have the British- Irish Council which brings together | :15:55. | :15:57. | |
ourselves with the Irish government, with the Executive and other | :15:58. | :16:02. | |
devolved Administration 's. The Irish government have called this a | :16:03. | :16:08. | |
meeting of all Ireland. They say there is real concern in Dublin | :16:09. | :16:13. | |
about the implications of Brexit for the whole island and the | :16:14. | :16:17. | |
relationship of Ireland, the South with the Norse and with the UK. -- | :16:18. | :16:26. | |
north. Reassurances have been given in a number of ways. I have had | :16:27. | :16:31. | |
meetings with the Irish Foreign Minister and we have had some good | :16:32. | :16:37. | |
and positive exchanges. It is unique relationship we have. The Irish | :16:38. | :16:43. | |
government has arranged today's event to form their approach to this | :16:44. | :16:47. | |
full stop that does not mean there are not other discussions that will | :16:48. | :16:51. | |
take place. The Northern Irish Council are very keen. There are | :16:52. | :16:56. | |
always discussions. The Irish government regards this as | :16:57. | :16:57. | |
important. Charles Flanagan joins us now from | :16:58. | :17:07. | |
the talks in Dublin. Thank you for joining us. There are a number of | :17:08. | :17:11. | |
concerns. We have four minutes. Perhaps we could go through some of | :17:12. | :17:15. | |
the most important concerns you have about Britain's departure from the | :17:16. | :17:20. | |
EU. What is your worry with the border? This is a very important | :17:21. | :17:25. | |
engagement when we have an opportunity of listening, not only | :17:26. | :17:29. | |
to political leaders, but also to business leaders and | :17:30. | :17:34. | |
representatives, civic society. There are 6 million people on the | :17:35. | :17:43. | |
island of Ireland, 4.5 million in southern Ireland. The issue of the | :17:44. | :17:49. | |
future relationship between the UK and the European Union is of course | :17:50. | :17:53. | |
of vital importance to us strategically in terms of our | :17:54. | :17:58. | |
economy. We do not have much time. Forgive me. What I am trying to get | :17:59. | :18:05. | |
at, since we have the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland here, | :18:06. | :18:08. | |
what are your concerns? What is your main concern about what happens to | :18:09. | :18:15. | |
the border? The main concern is that our priorities will not be taken | :18:16. | :18:20. | |
into consideration. Our priorities are clear. The preservation of the | :18:21. | :18:26. | |
Common travel arrangement which has been in place since 1926. Secondly, | :18:27. | :18:33. | |
that the letter and spirit of the Good Friday Agreement remains intact | :18:34. | :18:36. | |
and fully honoured. That is where the issue of the border is one of | :18:37. | :18:40. | |
immense importance. Having regard to the fact we now have an invisible | :18:41. | :18:45. | |
border between North and South where in excess of 30,000 people across | :18:46. | :18:51. | |
the border every day to work, to school, to college, to farm. Any | :18:52. | :18:56. | |
attempt to reintroduce what might be described as a heavily fortified | :18:57. | :19:02. | |
border or a hard border is certainly going to meditate against what has | :19:03. | :19:07. | |
been a hugely positive and constructive relationship North and | :19:08. | :19:11. | |
South since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. Hitting | :19:12. | :19:16. | |
aside a military 's border, which may or may not happen, if the United | :19:17. | :19:21. | |
Kingdom leaves and we are no longer in the single market and we are no | :19:22. | :19:26. | |
longer in the customs union, does it follow in your view that there would | :19:27. | :19:31. | |
have to be customs on the border between North and South? What | :19:32. | :19:36. | |
follows if that is the case, and it is not clear that with either case, | :19:37. | :19:43. | |
but what would follow would be a very serious situation which would | :19:44. | :19:46. | |
require a special arrangement on the matter of the island of Ireland. We | :19:47. | :19:53. | |
don't really know at this stage what the ask of the UK Government will | :19:54. | :19:58. | |
be. Our priorities are clear. We are listening to colleagues on the | :19:59. | :20:03. | |
island of Ireland today. We welcome those who have joined us from | :20:04. | :20:06. | |
Northern Ireland. We want to know what the priorities of the British | :20:07. | :20:10. | |
government will be and of course the priorities of the Northern | :20:11. | :20:14. | |
Executive. We welcome the fact that Theresa May has indicated that | :20:15. | :20:19. | |
Article 15 Otis will be served at the latest at the end of next March. | :20:20. | :20:26. | |
-- the Article 50 notice. What will follow a BAC arrears round of | :20:27. | :20:30. | |
negotiations. In order to prepare fully, I would be obliged to hear | :20:31. | :20:35. | |
from my colleagues across the water as to what exactly the ask would be. | :20:36. | :20:40. | |
We are preparing this morning and over the next few months a range of | :20:41. | :20:45. | |
contingencies from the softest of soft Brexit to the hardest. This is | :20:46. | :20:52. | |
really going to be impacting not only on our economy but also on | :20:53. | :20:58. | |
society. Thank you for joining us this morning from the all Ireland | :20:59. | :21:04. | |
talks taking place. James, let me come to you. The Common travel area | :21:05. | :21:09. | |
which since the 1920s, has allowed British citizens to go to Ireland | :21:10. | :21:14. | |
and Irish citizens to come here into work, travel, holiday in an | :21:15. | :21:20. | |
untroubled way, are you in a position to guarantee that | :21:21. | :21:25. | |
continuation after Brexit? We have the negotiations still to come. We | :21:26. | :21:31. | |
know that is the case. What I can say clearly and, as Charlie has | :21:32. | :21:41. | |
indicated, there is a strong will between the Irish government and | :21:42. | :21:43. | |
ourselves to see the Common travel area will be respected. Its | :21:44. | :21:49. | |
existence has been recognised in treaties. There needs to be a clear | :21:50. | :21:54. | |
understanding among EU states of the significance of the Common travel | :21:55. | :21:58. | |
area and the significance of border issues in connection with the | :21:59. | :22:01. | |
politics of Northern Ireland and the issues. If Dublin wants it and you | :22:02. | :22:06. | |
would want it to continue, what would stop it? Ultimately, because | :22:07. | :22:11. | |
it is part of the overall negotiation. It existed before we | :22:12. | :22:18. | |
joined the EU. You are right in making that clear point. It did | :22:19. | :22:22. | |
exist before we joined be you and therefore that shares will that the | :22:23. | :22:25. | |
Irish government and ourselves would have going into that negotiation, | :22:26. | :22:31. | |
recognising that Ireland would remain in the European Union but it | :22:32. | :22:35. | |
will not be part of the Schengen zone. The Irish government has no | :22:36. | :22:45. | |
intent... They did not join partly because of the common travel area in | :22:46. | :22:49. | |
the first place. They are not wanting to do that. As of this | :22:50. | :22:54. | |
morning right you cannot guarantee the continuation of the common | :22:55. | :22:57. | |
travel arrangement between Britain and Ireland. It is part of the | :22:58. | :23:03. | |
negotiations, you tell us? It is part of what we need to secure from | :23:04. | :23:07. | |
the outcome of the negotiations. That is the key thing. It is an | :23:08. | :23:13. | |
essential point. Let me ask you something out. If we are outside the | :23:14. | :23:19. | |
single market and the customs union, and there may be tariffs on some | :23:20. | :23:24. | |
things between us and be you, you would have to put customs posts up | :23:25. | :23:29. | |
on the border, wouldn't you? It is important that I do not hypothesise. | :23:30. | :23:36. | |
We, as the Government, are in the process of analysing all of these | :23:37. | :23:39. | |
issues. Analysing and considering whether we should remain in the | :23:40. | :23:47. | |
customs union or not. So, there could be customs posts. What I do | :23:48. | :23:50. | |
need to be clear on this is that we are looking at the evidence, looking | :23:51. | :23:53. | |
at ways in which you can approach this. There are no binary issues. | :23:54. | :23:58. | |
The Prime Minister has said it this in relation to the customs union. It | :23:59. | :24:03. | |
is how we are working with the Irish government on how we can achieve | :24:04. | :24:11. | |
that outcome, which is not seeing a return to the borders of the past. A | :24:12. | :24:17. | |
brief thought from you on this. There is a lot of uncertainty in | :24:18. | :24:20. | |
Northern Ireland and the Republic about what Brexit means. I am not | :24:21. | :24:24. | |
sure people will be reassured in any way by what they have just heard. We | :24:25. | :24:30. | |
haven't heard anything. We do not know what the plan is. Not in | :24:31. | :24:35. | |
Northern Ireland and Ireland and we do not know what the plan is for the | :24:36. | :24:37. | |
UK. OK. Let's move on. Now, a certain Canadian banker | :24:38. | :24:43. | |
is reported to have been a bit upset by Theresa May's criticism | :24:44. | :24:46. | |
in her conference speech of the "international elites" - | :24:47. | :24:48. | |
a group she said she was According to The Times newspaper, | :24:49. | :24:51. | |
the Governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, took these | :24:52. | :24:55. | |
comments rather personally. In fact, the paper suggests it may | :24:56. | :24:58. | |
even have had something to do with his decision to quit his post | :24:59. | :25:01. | |
two years early, in 2019, and return A bit of an over-reaction you might | :25:02. | :25:05. | |
think, or as one member of the Cameron Government apparently | :25:06. | :25:18. | |
put it "for a supposed Master of the Universe, | :25:19. | :25:21. | |
he has a very thin skin". Well, nobody could accuse us | :25:22. | :25:23. | |
here at the Daily Politics of being either part | :25:24. | :25:25. | |
of an international elite or thin skinned but we do control something | :25:26. | :25:28. | |
even the Masters of the Universe can't influence - the supply | :25:29. | :25:31. | |
of Daily Politics mugs. Diminishing though, the supply. It | :25:32. | :25:45. | |
is. That is because the pound is slumped. | :25:46. | :25:48. | |
To be in with a chance of getting your hands on a member | :25:49. | :25:51. | |
of the crockery elite, just tell us when this happened. | :25:52. | :25:55. | |
MUSIC: "There Must Be An Angel" by Eurythmics | :25:56. | :26:00. | |
I went into this agreement because I was not prepared | :26:01. | :26:02. | |
to tolerate a situation of continuing violence. | :26:03. | :26:12. | |
# Boy, you've got to prove your love to me | :26:13. | :26:29. | |
Handsworth riots is already expected to run into several million pounds. | :26:30. | :26:49. | |
When the cameras first went in this afternoon, | :26:50. | :26:56. | |
the place was absolutely jam-packed with peers. | :26:57. | :27:03. | |
To be in with a chance of winning a Daily Politics mug, | :27:04. | :27:21. | |
send your answer to our special quiz e-mail address - that's | :27:22. | :27:23. | |
Entries must arrive by 12:30pm today, and you can | :27:24. | :27:28. | |
see the full terms and conditions for Guess The Year | :27:29. | :27:30. | |
And no, I don't know why they have to be in by 12:30 p.m.. | :27:31. | :27:45. | |
And that can mean only one thing, yes, Prime Minister's | :27:46. | :27:51. | |
What is likely to come up today? As we see that crisp and beautiful | :27:52. | :28:08. | |
autumn morning, it is not long before the Autumn Statement. We are | :28:09. | :28:12. | |
starting to see noises off we traditionally see at this time of | :28:13. | :28:17. | |
year. Ministers behind-the-scenes trying to persuade Philip Hammond to | :28:18. | :28:21. | |
crank open his cheque book. Briefings about the kind of Autumn | :28:22. | :28:25. | |
Statement we might expect. Have a brand-new Chancellor, are very | :28:26. | :28:30. | |
different character to the previous one. A lot of expectation that the | :28:31. | :28:35. | |
Autumn Statement will be more muted, not so politically grand as an | :28:36. | :28:41. | |
event. Mr Brown and Mr Osborne used that. Mr Brown was always making an | :28:42. | :28:47. | |
announcement about schools in his budget. That backfired. The forced | :28:48. | :28:53. | |
academies age and was chucked over the side last week. There are a list | :28:54. | :29:00. | |
of things George Osborne propose which have hit the dustcart. If he | :29:01. | :29:03. | |
is watching whenever the year is quite sure what he is doing with all | :29:04. | :29:07. | |
of his time that he might want to suggest things he dreamt up that | :29:08. | :29:11. | |
have disappeared. In a sense, the Autumn Statement and the budget used | :29:12. | :29:15. | |
to be a proxy for demonstrations that the Chancellor has had huge | :29:16. | :29:19. | |
influence over domestic policy, a massive influence over domestic | :29:20. | :29:23. | |
policy. That is not the case. But it Hammond is a different kind of | :29:24. | :29:31. | |
Chancellor. He has already indicated the big headline will be using | :29:32. | :29:34. | |
different kinds of targets to bring down the deficit in a more for | :29:35. | :29:37. | |
giving way, if you like, to create giant airbags. Depending on economic | :29:38. | :29:42. | |
circumstances. Precisely. He outlined some of his thoughts to the | :29:43. | :29:48. | |
Cabinet. It is almost likely have Cabinet government. It is almost | :29:49. | :29:51. | |
like we have political ministers sitting here. What about the word | :29:52. | :30:03. | |
resit? He did use that word. It will be much more downbeat, if you like. | :30:04. | :30:08. | |
Much more mooted. There is no question this is the first big shop | :30:09. | :30:15. | |
window for him as Chancellor. The Government is very well aware of the | :30:16. | :30:21. | |
economic dangers and how to pace ourselves from the European Union | :30:22. | :30:24. | |
for the bid is also clear he has made a break with what went before. | :30:25. | :30:28. | |
Probably George Osborne would have done the same thing, ditch his own | :30:29. | :30:31. | |
fiscal rules because of uncertainty around the economy. He was going to | :30:32. | :30:39. | |
give us a punishment budget, raise taxes and cut spending. The macro | :30:40. | :30:43. | |
economic justification for which has always eluded me if you're going | :30:44. | :30:49. | |
into recession. Hard to believe a Chancellor would do such a thing | :30:50. | :30:51. | |
rather than looking at the numbers, as they are. The key thing for the | :30:52. | :30:58. | |
Autumn Statement, Mr Hammond would have the latest OBR forecast for | :30:59. | :31:02. | |
2017. My understanding is privately Mr Hammond is Leumi about 2017. Even | :31:03. | :31:09. | |
on the record, he has said we are looking at a roller-coaster. -- | :31:10. | :31:15. | |
Leumi. The Chancellor has basically put up a big red warning light | :31:16. | :31:21. | |
saying things might get grim and tough. The difference for him in | :31:22. | :31:26. | |
terms of judgments he has two made is we will have new forecasts but | :31:27. | :31:29. | |
very limited amounts of real reaction, if you like, real data. He | :31:30. | :31:36. | |
will try to make judgments about several years ahead based on only | :31:37. | :31:40. | |
three months since the world was turned upside down by the referendum | :31:41. | :31:45. | |
result. Westminster is moving to that focus now and Labour MPs, of | :31:46. | :31:49. | |
course no different MPs on the back bench, are starting to campaign on | :31:50. | :31:53. | |
things they would like to see for that we have seen MPs talking about | :31:54. | :31:58. | |
universal credit cuts. Some Tory MPs have considered joining forces with | :31:59. | :32:00. | |
SNP members on that. Foreign steel is being used in our | :32:01. | :32:20. | |
key defence projects. We know the Prime Minister likes to channel the | :32:21. | :32:23. | |
iron Lady, but when will she show some metal in standing up for some | :32:24. | :32:31. | |
British made steel? This government has stood up for British made steel | :32:32. | :32:36. | |
and we have made a number of measures for the steel industry. But | :32:37. | :32:39. | |
the honourable gentleman says there is no clarity in relation to Brexit. | :32:40. | :32:43. | |
I am clear that what we want to achieve is the best possible deal | :32:44. | :32:48. | |
for businesses in the United Kingdom to be able to trade and operate | :32:49. | :32:53. | |
within the single European market. Prime Minister, I applaud the | :32:54. | :32:59. | |
government's continued commitment to infrastructure development with 6000 | :33:00. | :33:04. | |
projects in the pipeline worth 480 billion. Can the government is | :33:05. | :33:08. | |
quickly take forward the lower Thames crossing, and extra | :33:09. | :33:12. | |
investment in roads that will help to build more homes, jobs and | :33:13. | :33:15. | |
businesses in the Thames Gateway area? I am grateful to my honourable | :33:16. | :33:21. | |
friend I'm grateful to him for recognising the contribution the | :33:22. | :33:26. | |
government has made. The importance of that investment, we have | :33:27. | :33:30. | |
consulted on proposals around the lower Thames crossing. There were | :33:31. | :33:37. | |
more than 47,000 responses and those are being considered and the | :33:38. | :33:39. | |
Secretary of State for Transport will make his response in due | :33:40. | :33:50. | |
course. Jeremy Corbyn. Could I take this opportunity of welcoming Mesa | :33:51. | :33:56. | |
Constance McGinn and hope the evidently effective crash course in | :33:57. | :34:01. | |
midwifery undertaken by my honourable friend, the member for | :34:02. | :34:05. | |
Saint Helens Norton isn't assigned to the government we believe in | :34:06. | :34:17. | |
midwifery training. -- downgrading midwifery training. Mr Speaker, a | :34:18. | :34:21. | |
few months ago on the steps of Downing Street, the Prime Minister | :34:22. | :34:30. | |
promised to stand up for families who are just managing to get by. | :34:31. | :34:37. | |
However, however, we now know these were just empty words as this | :34:38. | :34:41. | |
government plans to cut work allowances for exactly those | :34:42. | :34:46. | |
families who are just getting by. Isn't it the case her cuts to | :34:47. | :34:49. | |
universal credit will leave millions worse off? First of all can I | :34:50. | :34:56. | |
congratulate the right honourable gentleman on the birth of I | :34:57. | :35:01. | |
understand, his granddaughter. No? Then, I completely missed the point. | :35:02. | :35:13. | |
In that case... Wait for it. In that case, can I | :35:14. | :35:33. | |
just say perhaps one should never trust a former Chief Whip! | :35:34. | :35:48. | |
LAUGHTER. And on the point the right | :35:49. | :36:02. | |
honourable gentleman has raised in relation to universal credit, the | :36:03. | :36:05. | |
introduction of universal credit was an important reform brought about in | :36:06. | :36:08. | |
the welfare system. It is more simple so people can see much more | :36:09. | :36:14. | |
easily where they stand in relation to benefits. Crucially, the point | :36:15. | :36:19. | |
about universal credit is making short work always pays. As people | :36:20. | :36:24. | |
work more, they earn more. It is right we don't want to see people | :36:25. | :36:30. | |
just written off to a life on benefits, but we are encouraging | :36:31. | :36:35. | |
people to get into the workplace. It is unfair to blame a former Chief | :36:36. | :36:40. | |
Whip for some confusion. Not a very gallant. Can we not just Admir the | :36:41. | :36:46. | |
member for Saint Helen 's North for his work? Mr Speaker, Mr Speaker, it | :36:47. | :37:04. | |
is extremely rude to point! Mr Speaker, her predecessor abandoned | :37:05. | :37:07. | |
these same cuts to working people through the tax credit system. Now | :37:08. | :37:12. | |
she is enacting them through universal credit. The Centre for | :37:13. | :37:17. | |
Social Justice says these cuts will leave 3 million families ?1000 a | :37:18. | :37:25. | |
year worse off. Why is the Prime Minister slipping the same cuts in | :37:26. | :37:31. | |
through the back door? I have to say to the right honourable gentleman, | :37:32. | :37:42. | |
at least my Chief Whip has a job. On the serious point he raises about | :37:43. | :37:46. | |
universal credit, I repeat what I have just said. It is important to | :37:47. | :37:51. | |
look at why universal credit was introduced. Under the benefits | :37:52. | :37:55. | |
system under the Labour government, what we saw was too many people | :37:56. | :37:59. | |
finding they were better off on benefits than they were in work. | :38:00. | :38:05. | |
What is important is the value work, we value getting people into work, | :38:06. | :38:10. | |
where they are able to work. But we want a system that is fair and it is | :38:11. | :38:19. | |
a system that is fair both to those who need the benefits, but also fair | :38:20. | :38:22. | |
to those who pay for the benefits through their taxes. There are many | :38:23. | :38:25. | |
families struggling to make ends meet who are paying for the benefits | :38:26. | :38:31. | |
of others. I want a system that is fair to them as well. This week, Mr | :38:32. | :38:38. | |
Speaker, Oxford University studies found that there is a direct link | :38:39. | :38:42. | |
between rising benefit sanctions and rising demand for food banks. A | :38:43. | :38:46. | |
million people accessed a foodbank last year to receive parcel. Only | :38:47. | :38:55. | |
40,000 did so in 2010. I welcome the government's promised to review the | :38:56. | :38:59. | |
workplace assessment for disabled people, but will she reassess the | :39:00. | :39:07. | |
whole punitive sanctions regime? It is absolutely right that in our | :39:08. | :39:11. | |
welfare system, we have a system that make sure those people who | :39:12. | :39:15. | |
receive benefits, are those who it is right to receive benefits. That's | :39:16. | :39:21. | |
why we have assessments in our welfare system. It is also important | :39:22. | :39:26. | |
in our welfare system, we ensure those who are able to get into the | :39:27. | :39:31. | |
workplace, are making every effort to get into the workplace. That's | :39:32. | :39:37. | |
why we have sanctions. What the right honourable gentleman wants is | :39:38. | :39:41. | |
no assessments, no sanctions and unlimited welfare. That's not fair | :39:42. | :39:47. | |
to the people accessing the welfare system and it's not fair to the tax | :39:48. | :39:52. | |
payers who are paying for it. According to Sheffield Hallam | :39:53. | :39:56. | |
University study, one in five claimants who have been sanctioned | :39:57. | :40:00. | |
became homeless as a result. Many of those included families with | :40:01. | :40:06. | |
children. Could I recommend the Prime Minister supports British | :40:07. | :40:08. | |
cinema and takes herself along to the cinema to see a film called I, | :40:09. | :40:17. | |
Daniel Blaikie. And perhaps she could take the Work and Pensions | :40:18. | :40:22. | |
Secretary with her because he described the film as unfair and | :40:23. | :40:26. | |
then went on to admit he had never seen it. He has a very fair sense of | :40:27. | :40:33. | |
judgment. But I will tell her what is unfair, Annex servicemen dying | :40:34. | :40:38. | |
without food in his own due to the government's sanction regime. It is | :40:39. | :40:41. | |
time we ended this institutionalised barbarity against often, very | :40:42. | :40:51. | |
vulnerable people. I have to say to the right honourable gentleman, of | :40:52. | :40:54. | |
course it is important that in our welfare system we ensure those who | :40:55. | :40:58. | |
need the support the state is giving them to the benefit system are able | :40:59. | :41:04. | |
to access the bat. But it is important in our system, those who | :41:05. | :41:07. | |
are paying for it feels the system is fair to them as well. That is | :41:08. | :41:13. | |
right, that is why we need to have work capability assessments, it is | :41:14. | :41:18. | |
why we need to have sanctions in our system. The right honourable | :41:19. | :41:25. | |
gentleman has a view there should be no sanctions and unlimited welfare. | :41:26. | :41:28. | |
I have to say to him, the Labour Party is drifting away from the | :41:29. | :41:34. | |
views of Labour voters. It is this party that understands working-class | :41:35. | :41:39. | |
people. Mr Speaker, the housing benefit bill has gone up by more | :41:40. | :41:43. | |
than ?4 billion because of high levels of friends and the necessity | :41:44. | :41:48. | |
of supporting people in that. Is that a sensible use of public money? | :41:49. | :41:53. | |
I think not. In response to the March budget, I asked the Chancellor | :41:54. | :41:59. | |
to abandon... I asked the Chancellor, Mr Speaker, to abandon | :42:00. | :42:06. | |
the ?30 cut for disabled people on Employment and Support Allowance, | :42:07. | :42:09. | |
unable to work. But with support may be able to work in the future. They | :42:10. | :42:14. | |
want to be able to get into work. What evidence does the Prime | :42:15. | :42:18. | |
Minister have that imposing poverty on people with disabilities actually | :42:19. | :42:23. | |
helps them into work? I am pleased to say, what we have seen under this | :42:24. | :42:28. | |
government is nearly half a million disabled people now in the | :42:29. | :42:34. | |
workplace. The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions has launched a | :42:35. | :42:36. | |
Green paper on work which is looking at how we can continue to provide | :42:37. | :42:41. | |
and increase support for those who regard the tables and want to get | :42:42. | :42:44. | |
into the workplace. But he started by asking me about the increased in | :42:45. | :42:50. | |
housing benefit. If he thinks the amount of money spent on housing | :42:51. | :42:57. | |
benefit, is so important, why did he opposed the changes we proposed the | :42:58. | :43:01. | |
housing benefit is to introduce the housing benefit bill? As the Prime | :43:02. | :43:06. | |
Minister knows, my concern and those of my party is the incredible amount | :43:07. | :43:10. | |
of money being paid into the private rented sector by excessive rent and | :43:11. | :43:15. | |
that could be brought under control and handled much better. Mr Speaker, | :43:16. | :43:21. | |
many people in this House will have been deeply moved by my honourable | :43:22. | :43:27. | |
friend, the member of the Swansea East's article about the tragic | :43:28. | :43:31. | |
death of her son and having to take out a bank loan for the cost of the | :43:32. | :43:35. | |
funeral. The Sunday Mirror with the support of the Labour Party are | :43:36. | :43:39. | |
calling for an end to cancel charges the parent is laying a child to | :43:40. | :43:45. | |
rest. It would cost ?10 million a year, a small proportion of | :43:46. | :43:47. | |
government expenditure to ensure every Council could ensure those | :43:48. | :43:57. | |
laying a child to rest could not have a bill imposed on them by the | :43:58. | :44:01. | |
local authority. I hope the Prime Minister can act on this? I | :44:02. | :44:09. | |
recognise those issues, there are facilities available through the | :44:10. | :44:15. | |
social fund social scheme the payments for people who meet those | :44:16. | :44:19. | |
eligibility conditions. It is difficult for anybody when they have | :44:20. | :44:22. | |
to go through the tragedy of losing a child and then facing the | :44:23. | :44:27. | |
consequences of the sorts the right honourable gentleman makes. We are | :44:28. | :44:31. | |
making sure, in relation to local authorities, they now have the extra | :44:32. | :44:34. | |
revenue available to them to business rates under the local | :44:35. | :44:40. | |
revenues. It is up to councils to consider what they wish to do in | :44:41. | :44:44. | |
this. But I say there are facilities available through the social fund | :44:45. | :44:47. | |
funeral expenses to deal with the issue he raises. David McIntosh. | :44:48. | :44:55. | |
Northamptonshire has, for a long time, been affected by a growing | :44:56. | :44:58. | |
population without the right level of funding for public services. Can | :44:59. | :45:03. | |
my right honourable friend assure meet the current reviews into the | :45:04. | :45:07. | |
funding formulas for school, policing and health will reflect the | :45:08. | :45:11. | |
population growth in Northampton and the rest of the county so services | :45:12. | :45:13. | |
get the funding they need? I can say we have protected the | :45:14. | :45:23. | |
schools budget in relation to funding per pupil and we have | :45:24. | :45:26. | |
protected the police budget. As we look at various ways we are funding | :45:27. | :45:31. | |
public services in the constituency and County of Northampton, we will | :45:32. | :45:36. | |
look at the very issue of what is right in terms of the need of the | :45:37. | :45:41. | |
local area and the numbers. Angus Robertson. It is with sadness we | :45:42. | :45:52. | |
learn of the death... No doubt the Prime Minister and right honourable | :45:53. | :45:54. | |
colleagues will extend their condolences to the family, friends | :45:55. | :46:00. | |
and colleagues of a serviceman who has died so tragically. The Prime | :46:01. | :46:05. | |
Minister says she wants to tackle international and domestic tax | :46:06. | :46:08. | |
avoidance and serious criminality. On these benches we support this. If | :46:09. | :46:14. | |
she were told that specific UK financial vehicles are being used | :46:15. | :46:18. | |
for tax avoidance and other serious commonality, what would you do about | :46:19. | :46:27. | |
it? -- criminality. Can I first of all say, I'm sure the whole House | :46:28. | :46:32. | |
would wish to pass on condolences of the friends and family of the | :46:33. | :46:38. | |
service man who died. We have done a significant amount in terms of tax | :46:39. | :46:43. | |
avoidance. What should anybody do if they have evidence of people | :46:44. | :46:47. | |
avoiding tax? I suggest he speaks to HMRC. Scottish limited partnerships | :46:48. | :46:54. | |
were established by this House in 1907 are now being aggressively | :46:55. | :46:59. | |
marketed internationally, especially in Eastern Europe. The International | :47:00. | :47:04. | |
Monetary Fund has warned on the risk imposed and the fight against global | :47:05. | :47:07. | |
money laundering and against organised crime. It is a matter of | :47:08. | :47:15. | |
public record that SLP 's affected as France for child abuse and have | :47:16. | :47:24. | |
been part of corruption in Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Moldova and include | :47:25. | :47:29. | |
the arms industry. Given the seriousness of this industry and the | :47:30. | :47:33. | |
Prime Minister's and to deal with criminality but the lack of | :47:34. | :47:36. | |
progress, will she agreed to meet with me to discuss a joint way | :47:37. | :47:43. | |
forward? The right honourable gentleman raises issues around | :47:44. | :47:46. | |
criminality and investigations into criminal activity that is taking | :47:47. | :47:51. | |
place and he talks about the issue of websites peddling child abuse and | :47:52. | :47:55. | |
child sexual exploitation. It is in order to increase our ability to | :47:56. | :47:59. | |
deal with this criminal activity that we created the National Crime | :48:00. | :48:03. | |
Agency, we have been ensuring we have been working on other issues | :48:04. | :48:07. | |
with the city like money-laundering, and we are looking at the whole | :48:08. | :48:13. | |
question of how we can ensure we are taking effective action on criminal | :48:14. | :48:23. | |
activity. I am pleased to say, he keeps saying, well I meet with him? | :48:24. | :48:26. | |
As he knows, I do meet with him on occasions. I am always happy to meet | :48:27. | :48:29. | |
the right honourable gentleman. If he wants to talk to me about dealing | :48:30. | :48:32. | |
with criminal activity, I will be a good tell him about the work that | :48:33. | :48:36. | |
has been done under this government working with the city on | :48:37. | :48:39. | |
money-laundering and enhancing our ability to deal with the sort of | :48:40. | :48:44. | |
criminal activity he is talking about. Does the Prime Minister agree | :48:45. | :48:47. | |
it is disappointed with it. Here from the Leader of the Opposition | :48:48. | :48:53. | |
any welcome for the huge boost to manufacturing and employment that | :48:54. | :49:00. | |
have come from the Nissan decision? Does she agree that demonstrates | :49:01. | :49:02. | |
great confidence in the UK with benefits throughout the supply | :49:03. | :49:11. | |
change, including companies like Automotive Installations, in my | :49:12. | :49:15. | |
constituency. It is extremely disappointing that the leader of the | :49:16. | :49:21. | |
position has not actually welcomed, unlike his colleague, the honourable | :49:22. | :49:26. | |
member for Sunderland West and Washington, who has welcomed the | :49:27. | :49:30. | |
fact that these jobs have been saved in her constituency and in the | :49:31. | :49:34. | |
supply chain around the country. It is that supply chain which is every | :49:35. | :49:42. | |
bit as important. I know that Automotive Installations are | :49:43. | :49:47. | |
receiving money and I wish them all the best for the future. What | :49:48. | :49:54. | |
assurances can the Prime Minister give to the agri- food sector right | :49:55. | :49:59. | |
across the United Kingdom that it would be given the important status | :50:00. | :50:02. | |
that is required when it comes to any Brexit negotiations? I can | :50:03. | :50:10. | |
absolutely assure the honourable gentleman that we are determined, | :50:11. | :50:14. | |
first of all, to get the best possible deal on exiting the | :50:15. | :50:17. | |
European Union for the British people. We're looking at the various | :50:18. | :50:22. | |
sectors. We are very conscious of the importance of food in the | :50:23. | :50:26. | |
agricultural sector across the United Kingdom and particularly of | :50:27. | :50:29. | |
the importance to that sector to Northern Ireland. We will be doing | :50:30. | :50:33. | |
all we can to listen to the representations made by the Northern | :50:34. | :50:37. | |
Ireland Executive and make sure we have the best deal possible for | :50:38. | :50:43. | |
agri- food sector. Last week's announcement on accelerated access | :50:44. | :50:46. | |
to medicines report will make a positive impact to the lives of | :50:47. | :50:49. | |
children and adults with a rare genetic and un-diagnosed condition. | :50:50. | :50:53. | |
Decades patients have struggled to get access to this medicine. The | :50:54. | :50:57. | |
progress made but I honourable friend from Mid Norfolk will make | :50:58. | :51:01. | |
massive progress on that. Will the Prime Minister confirmed that if the | :51:02. | :51:05. | |
programme is successful to the first five to ten drugs in the first year | :51:06. | :51:11. | |
it will be extended further drugs in the following years? You are right | :51:12. | :51:14. | |
to welcome the accelerated access you and to pay tribute for our | :51:15. | :51:21. | |
honourable member for Mid Norfolk who has placed life sciences in the | :51:22. | :51:25. | |
UK on the agenda and ensure we are able to sue the UK developing at | :51:26. | :51:29. | |
best possible place to develop new drugs. That is what we want to see. | :51:30. | :51:34. | |
With regard to the recommendations from the review, the Department of | :51:35. | :51:36. | |
Health will be responding to those shortly. I think this is an | :51:37. | :51:41. | |
important element in terms of our ability to accelerate that access to | :51:42. | :51:45. | |
drugs, which is to the benefit of patients. Recent weeks have seen | :51:46. | :51:50. | |
three government ministers express three different views on what will | :51:51. | :51:54. | |
happen while industry cries out for clarity. Not Brexit, surprisingly | :51:55. | :51:59. | |
enough but the oil and gas industry. Can I asked the Prime Minister will | :52:00. | :52:03. | |
she bring forward additional support for this industry in the Autumn | :52:04. | :52:06. | |
Statement or is she happy to sit back and see more jobs lost? I say | :52:07. | :52:12. | |
to the honourable gentleman, of course we understand the challenges | :52:13. | :52:17. | |
the UK oil and gas industry are facing and we take those very | :52:18. | :52:21. | |
seriously. I also say to him that is why we have established the oil and | :52:22. | :52:25. | |
gas authority and why we have taken action. The 2.3 billion package of | :52:26. | :52:30. | |
measures in the last two budgets to make sure the North Sea continues to | :52:31. | :52:34. | |
attract investment and safeguard the future of this vital national asset. | :52:35. | :52:39. | |
We have taken a range of measures. We understand the concerns about the | :52:40. | :52:43. | |
oil and gas industry and assess what the Government has taken action. -- | :52:44. | :52:51. | |
and that is why. Watch as the airport and the Medway industrial | :52:52. | :52:57. | |
estate are home to a number of science SMEs which are doing wonders | :52:58. | :53:04. | |
to our economy. I would like to congratulate the decision to take a | :53:05. | :53:08. | |
cohort of SMEs to help increase trading relationships with emerging | :53:09. | :53:13. | |
economies. Can I ask if her dedication will continue in ensuring | :53:14. | :53:17. | |
all parts of our economy are able to seize the opportunities that present | :53:18. | :53:25. | |
themselves as we leave be you? You are right about the importance of | :53:26. | :53:29. | |
small and medium-sized businesses and obviously as she has referenced | :53:30. | :53:33. | |
in the technology industry. That is why I am pleased in my trip to India | :53:34. | :53:39. | |
I will be taking leading small and medium-sized businesses in life | :53:40. | :53:42. | |
sciences and technology sectors. It is important to get them to forge | :53:43. | :53:49. | |
trading links with India. As we look at the races for leaving the | :53:50. | :53:52. | |
European Union we will be taking the interests of all sectors into | :53:53. | :54:00. | |
account. -- the arrangements. Tartar speciality is a big employer in my | :54:01. | :54:05. | |
constituency. It's workforce is worried by the period of uncertainty | :54:06. | :54:12. | |
and acted by Tata Steel. With the Prime Minister use her trade visit | :54:13. | :54:17. | |
to India to secure the future production of steel in Britain and | :54:18. | :54:23. | |
convey the importance of Tata Steel acting as a responsible owner and | :54:24. | :54:31. | |
seller of its UK assets? I can assure the honourable lady we | :54:32. | :54:33. | |
recognise the importance of steel and the importance of temper macro | :54:34. | :54:41. | |
in the United Kingdom. That is why we have had discussions with Tata in | :54:42. | :54:47. | |
the United Kingdom and we will continue to sow do. -- the | :54:48. | :54:55. | |
importance of Tata. My constituency apparently contains more powers than | :54:56. | :55:06. | |
any other. This means world class cheese. Can the Prime Minister | :55:07. | :55:11. | |
ensure West Country farmers that in best deal for Britain the interests | :55:12. | :55:16. | |
of the agricultural industry and farming community will be foremost | :55:17. | :55:19. | |
in her mind question that will she popped down to Somerset soon for | :55:20. | :55:23. | |
perhaps a chunk of cheddar and drop of cider? We are grateful to the | :55:24. | :55:28. | |
honourable gentleman. The Prime Minister. His invitation for West | :55:29. | :55:35. | |
Country cheese and cider is an invitation which is difficult to | :55:36. | :55:39. | |
refuse. I look forward at some stage of coming down into Somerset and | :55:40. | :55:43. | |
being able to sample those products. He is absolutely right about the | :55:44. | :55:48. | |
importance of our agricultural sector to economies across the UK, | :55:49. | :55:54. | |
but particular parts of the UK rely heavily on the agricultural sector. | :55:55. | :55:59. | |
We will be taking their needs and considerations into account as we | :56:00. | :56:02. | |
negotiate the best possible deal for this country leaving the EU. This | :56:03. | :56:09. | |
morning, the High Court ruled that the Government has comprehensively | :56:10. | :56:13. | |
failed to properly tackle air pollution. Which does the Prime | :56:14. | :56:17. | |
Minister feel is worse? The Government losing in the High Court | :56:18. | :56:21. | |
for a second time or the 40,000 early deaths that may result from | :56:22. | :56:27. | |
air pollution every year in the UK? I have been asked about equity in | :56:28. | :56:34. | |
this chamber previously at PMQs. -- air quality. We always recognise | :56:35. | :56:38. | |
there is more for the Government to do. We have been doing a lot in this | :56:39. | :56:43. | |
area. We have been putting extra money into actions that will relieve | :56:44. | :56:48. | |
the issues around are quality. We recognise that Defra needs to look | :56:49. | :56:51. | |
at the judgment made by the courts and we had to look again at the | :56:52. | :56:56. | |
proposals we will bring forward. Nobly in this Has doubts the | :56:57. | :57:00. | |
importance of the issue of air quality. There is more to do and we | :57:01. | :57:12. | |
will do it. Thank you, Mr Speaker. The Prime Minister will remember | :57:13. | :57:15. | |
visiting the Witney constituency recently. Chipping Norton has been | :57:16. | :57:20. | |
short listed for the great British high street awards. Does she join me | :57:21. | :57:24. | |
in congratulating the small businesses on Chipping Norton and | :57:25. | :57:27. | |
Tammy what support the Government offers to the small businesses in | :57:28. | :57:34. | |
our market towns? -- and tell me. Can I take this opportunity, my | :57:35. | :57:39. | |
first opportunity in this chamber, to welcome my honourable friend to | :57:40. | :57:43. | |
this chamber and for his excellent result in the by-election? Can I | :57:44. | :57:47. | |
just say, his question brings back many happy memories for me. As a | :57:48. | :57:55. | |
child, Chipping Norton was our local town and I use together and spend my | :57:56. | :57:58. | |
pocket money assiduously in the shops in Chipping Norton, so I have | :57:59. | :58:01. | |
done my bit for his high-street and we are clear, as the Government, | :58:02. | :58:07. | |
that business rates and issues regarding that will support local | :58:08. | :58:12. | |
businesses. We are always grateful for extra information and we have | :58:13. | :58:18. | |
now had it. This government's record on immigration detention is | :58:19. | :58:26. | |
disgraceful. Amid concern over plans to get a short-term detention centre | :58:27. | :58:33. | |
near Glasgow airport, will she use this as an bush unity to rethink her | :58:34. | :58:43. | |
detention policy? -- and opportunity. A lot of work has been | :58:44. | :58:47. | |
done by the Government on the issue of immigration detention and the | :58:48. | :58:51. | |
number of changes have taken place. An Independent review took place the | :58:52. | :58:58. | |
year or so ago on the question of detention of people. I would say, it | :58:59. | :59:02. | |
is important that where there are people who are due to be removed | :59:03. | :59:07. | |
from this country, and the prospect is that actually they could be lost | :59:08. | :59:12. | |
in the system if they are not being detained, there are circumstances in | :59:13. | :59:17. | |
which it is right to detain people in the immigration estate. We need | :59:18. | :59:20. | |
to make sure we have got that right and that is why a lot of work has | :59:21. | :59:24. | |
been bananas. The fundamental point, I suspect he does not think we | :59:25. | :59:30. | |
should detain anybody in relation to immigration enforcement but we | :59:31. | :59:34. | |
believe they should rightfully be detained before they are removed | :59:35. | :59:39. | |
from this country. When people make fun of Christianity in this country, | :59:40. | :59:45. | |
it rightly turns the other cheek. When a young gymnast, Louis Smith, | :59:46. | :59:50. | |
makes fun of another religion widely practised in this country, he is | :59:51. | :59:53. | |
hounded on Twitter by the media and suspended by his association. For | :59:54. | :00:01. | |
goodness sake, this man received death threats and we have all looked | :00:02. | :00:04. | |
the other way. My question to the Prime Minister is, what is going on | :00:05. | :00:09. | |
in this country? I no longer understand the rules. I understand | :00:10. | :00:16. | |
the level of concern my honourable friend has raised in relation to | :00:17. | :00:21. | |
this matter. This is a balance that we need to find. We value freedom of | :00:22. | :00:27. | |
expression and freedom of its buses like a speech in this country. That | :00:28. | :00:31. | |
is essential in underpinning our democracy. We also value tolerance | :00:32. | :00:36. | |
to others, tolerance in relation to religion. This is one of the issues | :00:37. | :00:41. | |
we have looked at in the counter extremism strategy the Government | :00:42. | :00:45. | |
has produced. I think we need to ensure it is right that people can | :00:46. | :00:50. | |
have that freedom of expression but in so doing that right has a | :00:51. | :00:56. | |
responsibility as well. That is a responsibility recognise the | :00:57. | :01:01. | |
importance of tolerance to others. Mr Speaker, today's daily record | :01:02. | :01:07. | |
leads on DWP issues. Is the Prime Minister aware Telephone call to the | :01:08. | :01:09. | |
Department for Work and Pensions by a severely disabled person of a | :01:10. | :01:16. | |
carer can cost up to 45p a minute. This is a considerable sum from the | :01:17. | :01:21. | |
Social Security entitlement. Should a disabled citizen pay this price or | :01:22. | :01:24. | |
does the Prime Minister agree with me that we should end this telephone | :01:25. | :01:30. | |
tax on the most honourable in our society? The honourable gentleman | :01:31. | :01:34. | |
raises an issue that has been raised on a number of occasions in this | :01:35. | :01:38. | |
House. The Government is in promoting new guidelines in relation | :01:39. | :01:41. | |
to the operation of these telephone lines and a number of lines are | :01:42. | :01:47. | |
being reduced. The Government has recognised this issue and is taking | :01:48. | :01:54. | |
action. The last 18 months have been hell for commuters in my | :01:55. | :01:58. | |
constituency in Lewis at using the southern row network. Last night a | :01:59. | :02:02. | |
journey which should have taken an hour took over four hours. And I | :02:03. | :02:06. | |
begged the Prime Minister to intervene on the southern network? | :02:07. | :02:10. | |
Why we have a country that works for everyone we have a railway that | :02:11. | :02:15. | |
works for no one. I feel for my honourable friend in relation to the | :02:16. | :02:19. | |
journey she had to go through last night and the extended time that | :02:20. | :02:24. | |
tip. We have my right honourable friend, the Secretary of State | :02:25. | :02:27. | |
transport, who has taken action in recent weeks in relation to the | :02:28. | :02:32. | |
improvements are necessary. We have stepped in to invest ?20 million to | :02:33. | :02:37. | |
tackle the breakdown on the southern row network that has proven so | :02:38. | :02:42. | |
difficult to passengers. -- southern rail. I recognise the degree of | :02:43. | :02:47. | |
concern. The Secretary of State transport is working on this to | :02:48. | :02:54. | |
ensure those improvements. Has the Prime Minister spotted the ludicrous | :02:55. | :02:59. | |
refusal by Fifa, the footballing federation, to let our players wear | :03:00. | :03:04. | |
poppies at the forthcoming Scotland - England game? Will he tell the | :03:05. | :03:08. | |
respective associations that in this country we decide when to wear | :03:09. | :03:13. | |
poppies? And they will be wearing them at Wembley. I think the stance | :03:14. | :03:21. | |
that has been taken by Fifa is utterly outrageous. Our football | :03:22. | :03:25. | |
players want to recognise and respect those who have given their | :03:26. | :03:31. | |
lives for our safety and security. I think it is absolutely right they | :03:32. | :03:36. | |
should be able to do so. It is for our football associations but a | :03:37. | :03:39. | |
clear message is going from this House. We want our players to be | :03:40. | :03:43. | |
able to wear those poppies. I have to say two feet, before they start | :03:44. | :03:49. | |
telling us what to do, they ought to sort their own house out. -- I have | :03:50. | :04:00. | |
to say to Fifa. Could I congratulate my right honourable friend on her | :04:01. | :04:03. | |
recent announcement of a task force to stamp out the file business of | :04:04. | :04:13. | |
modern slavery? Would she join me in congratulating my constituents, Mike | :04:14. | :04:16. | |
Emberson, and the men I trust on their ten years of work with the | :04:17. | :04:20. | |
victims and the 70 places they now provide across their homes for these | :04:21. | :04:32. | |
most unfortunate women? -- Menai. I have met with representatives from | :04:33. | :04:36. | |
the Menai Trust. It is right we continue our momentum in the fight | :04:37. | :04:45. | |
against modern slavery. Too much slavery is taking place on the | :04:46. | :04:48. | |
streets and in the towns and villages of this country. That is | :04:49. | :04:53. | |
why the task force I have setup will continue that momentum. We will be | :04:54. | :04:57. | |
relentless in our pursuit of ensuring we eradicate modern | :04:58. | :05:04. | |
slavery. Thank you, Mr Speaker. In July, the Armed Forces charity | :05:05. | :05:07. | |
published an in-depth survey of nearly 1000 working age veterans. | :05:08. | :05:12. | |
85% thought the UK did not give them enough support. Only 16% thought the | :05:13. | :05:17. | |
Armed Forces covenant was being implemented effectively. What is the | :05:18. | :05:21. | |
Prime Minister doing personally to change this? We absolutely recognise | :05:22. | :05:28. | |
the debt we owe to our veterans. That is why we have the Armed Forces | :05:29. | :05:38. | |
covenant. We recognise the support necessary for veterans. He talks | :05:39. | :05:41. | |
about what we can do. One thing we can do is to help people coming out | :05:42. | :05:45. | |
of the Armed Forces actually find their way into the world of work. | :05:46. | :05:48. | |
That is quite is important that we have a system which helps them to | :05:49. | :05:52. | |
find a support necessary to get into the world of work and we have an | :05:53. | :05:56. | |
economy providing jobs that people need. This week it is wind energy | :05:57. | :06:04. | |
week. The devell at the offshore wind sector is vital to my | :06:05. | :06:12. | |
Cleethorpes constituency. Can you ensure the governor will continue to | :06:13. | :06:14. | |
work with the industry to develop future jobs for young people with | :06:15. | :06:22. | |
emphasis on training? I am happy to reassure my honourable friend that | :06:23. | :06:25. | |
the Government will continue to work with this industry. It has been an | :06:26. | :06:30. | |
important development for the United Kingdom and an important part of the | :06:31. | :06:34. | |
amount of energy we are now generating from renewables. As he | :06:35. | :06:38. | |
said it does provide jobs and we need to ensure we look at training | :06:39. | :06:42. | |
for people to be able to take up those jobs. That is why skills is | :06:43. | :06:49. | |
part of the work we are doing on our future industrial strategy. Will the | :06:50. | :06:53. | |
Prime Minister agree with me that it is highly irresponsible and | :06:54. | :06:58. | |
dangerous for people to talk up the prospects of increased violence in | :06:59. | :07:01. | |
Northern Ireland as a result of us are leaving the U? People should | :07:02. | :07:08. | |
used the agreed institutions set up under various agreements, not stand | :07:09. | :07:13. | |
outside them or create new ones. Can she assure me it will not result in | :07:14. | :07:18. | |
an impeding of the way that people in countries within the UK connect | :07:19. | :07:24. | |
with each other? I am very happy to get the right honourable gentleman | :07:25. | :07:27. | |
that assurance in relation to movement around the United Kingdom. | :07:28. | :07:33. | |
No change will take place. It is right that what we will do in Brexit | :07:34. | :07:38. | |
is ensure it is a good deal for the whole of the United Kingdom. Those | :07:39. | :07:41. | |
who wish to encourage violence off the back of that frankly should be | :07:42. | :07:45. | |
ashamed of themselves. It is absolutely essential that we all | :07:46. | :07:48. | |
work together to make a success of this and get the best possible | :07:49. | :07:52. | |
opportunities for people across the whole of the United Kingdom. Will | :07:53. | :08:00. | |
she join me in praising Henley-on-Thames for receiving its | :08:01. | :08:02. | |
first tranche of community infrastructure money at the higher | :08:03. | :08:08. | |
rate because it has a neighbourhood plan? Will she join me in saying | :08:09. | :08:13. | |
this is the best means of giving communities a say over planning | :08:14. | :08:19. | |
issues? I am very happy to congratulate both my neighbouring MP | :08:20. | :08:22. | |
and congratulate Henley-on-Thames for achieving that. He is right. | :08:23. | :08:28. | |
Neighbourhood plans are a crucial part of the planning system. That is | :08:29. | :08:31. | |
the way in which a local people can have a real say over what is | :08:32. | :08:45. | |
happening in their local area. Thank you, Mr Speaker. Can I add my | :08:46. | :08:49. | |
congratulations to my honourable friend and member for St Helens? | :08:50. | :08:54. | |
Moving swiftly from midwives to doctors, is the Prime Minister aware | :08:55. | :09:00. | |
that doctors in Doncaster are facing a crisis in primary care? As GPs | :09:01. | :09:04. | |
retire, it is proving almost impossible to get new ones to take | :09:05. | :09:10. | |
over their practices. Because of restrictions in the health and | :09:11. | :09:15. | |
social care act, NHS bodies cannot take necessary action, for example | :09:16. | :09:19. | |
to put in salaried GPs. Will she do something about this quickly because | :09:20. | :09:22. | |
otherwise many of my constituents will be left without a doctor? Mr | :09:23. | :09:32. | |
Speaker, can I say, because I did not after my unfortunate mistake I | :09:33. | :09:36. | |
made earlier about the right honourable gentleman, I failed to | :09:37. | :09:39. | |
add my congratulations to her honourable friend, the member for St | :09:40. | :09:46. | |
Helens. I am happy now to do. On the point of GPs, it is important that | :09:47. | :09:52. | |
we see the number of GPs coming through so that we can replace those | :09:53. | :09:57. | |
who are retiring. Over the last six years we have seen thousands more | :09:58. | :10:02. | |
GPs in our NHS that is why my right honourable friend, the Secretary of | :10:03. | :10:06. | |
State for Health, is ensuring we have a programme to bring forward | :10:07. | :10:10. | |
more GPs, more doctors into training, so we can ensure places | :10:11. | :10:16. | |
like her constituency and others around this House actually have GPs | :10:17. | :10:17. | |
in the numbers they need. Prime Minister's Questions come to | :10:18. | :10:33. | |
an end a little earlier by the standards of the current speaker. | :10:34. | :10:38. | |
Jeremy Corbyn asked about the cut in work allowances on universal credit. | :10:39. | :10:44. | |
Those of you who watched the Sunday Politics last weekend will know what | :10:45. | :10:49. | |
is involved. He said it leaves people worse off. He also talks | :10:50. | :10:52. | |
about than the rising number of people being sanctions on benefits | :10:53. | :10:54. | |
and it led to people becoming homeless. That was the gist of the | :10:55. | :11:10. | |
main exchanges. It all started after, the Prime Minister seemed to | :11:11. | :11:16. | |
think Jeremy Corbyn had just had a granddaughter. What I understand is, | :11:17. | :11:22. | |
there is a background to this. As a Labour MP, former whip called, | :11:23. | :11:31. | |
McGinn. He hacked to deliver his own baby. Mr Corbyn began PMQs by | :11:32. | :11:38. | |
congratulating him on the happy news. Theresa May for some reason. | :11:39. | :11:45. | |
Jeremy Corbyn was talking about the birth of his own granddaughter. When | :11:46. | :11:49. | |
she discovered that was not the case, immediately blamed her former | :11:50. | :11:54. | |
Chief Whip and I think current Transport Secretary, Patrick | :11:55. | :11:59. | |
McLaughlin for giving her duff news. So there we go. I am sure you all | :12:00. | :12:05. | |
wanted to know that. Made it clear. Jeremy Corbyn looked surprised. We | :12:06. | :12:11. | |
all looked surprised. The big story to come out of this was nothing to | :12:12. | :12:19. | |
do with that. It was when asked about Fifa's ban on teams wearing | :12:20. | :12:27. | |
poppies this weekend that it is outrageous that players should not | :12:28. | :12:39. | |
wear poppies this weekend, and before anything else and worrying | :12:40. | :12:42. | |
about poppies, it should sort its own house out. | :12:43. | :12:48. | |
Just a little bit on the common McGinn scenario. Someone said | :12:49. | :12:54. | |
politicians really shouldn't do jokes or witty observations. Ian | :12:55. | :13:02. | |
White lycees, Theresa May was able to whack Jeremy Corbyn with the | :13:03. | :13:06. | |
welfare party tag as David Cameron used to. She seemed to be | :13:07. | :13:10. | |
uncomfortable under questioning from Angus Robertson from the SNP. | :13:11. | :13:16. | |
Christopher says, one of Jeremy Corbyn's failure is his inability to | :13:17. | :13:20. | |
follow up on the answer the Prime Minister gives him, he just moves on | :13:21. | :13:26. | |
to the next question. Bill Taylor says, why didn't Jeremy Corbyn bring | :13:27. | :13:30. | |
up the Orgreave enquiry. People thought it was going to be announced | :13:31. | :13:34. | |
by the government, but Amber Rudd, the Home Secretary, decided not to | :13:35. | :13:39. | |
give it the go-ahead because Labour did nothing about it. And someone | :13:40. | :13:48. | |
else says, do these people trawl through the obituaries to express | :13:49. | :13:53. | |
condolences. It is mostly people we have never heard about. It is morbid | :13:54. | :14:06. | |
and gruesome. Strange week with as oceans and | :14:07. | :14:13. | |
babies being delivered. The question about poppies and F came from a | :14:14. | :14:18. | |
Labour backbencher. It may be the Prime Minister wasn't aware that was | :14:19. | :14:26. | |
coming. But I would suggest for her to say it is utterly outrageous that | :14:27. | :14:31. | |
if it did come up, she knew what she would say about it? It seems she was | :14:32. | :14:36. | |
ready with an answer and an attack on Fifa, not the most difficult | :14:37. | :14:42. | |
people to attack, given what has happened at Fifa and she felt very | :14:43. | :14:46. | |
strongly about it and she was ready with the answer. And after a scrappy | :14:47. | :14:53. | |
session of PMQs, that was the standout answer. Something that will | :14:54. | :14:59. | |
be picked up on across-the-board. Whether what the British Prime | :15:00. | :15:03. | |
Minister says about Fifa's own rules and if they should apply is not | :15:04. | :15:12. | |
clear. Most voters in this country think it is ridiculous that Fifa can | :15:13. | :15:17. | |
set out a ruling that the English, Scottish and Welsh football teams | :15:18. | :15:21. | |
cannot wear poppies this weekend. Jeremy Corbyn concentrated on what | :15:22. | :15:29. | |
would be the cuts to some of the help on universal credit as it is | :15:30. | :15:33. | |
introduced. Which has the effect of making, for the working poor who are | :15:34. | :15:41. | |
dependent on benefits to top up their pay, the marginal rate of tax, | :15:42. | :15:47. | |
the loss of benefits, becomes a much higher than was originally | :15:48. | :15:51. | |
envisaged. Mr Corbyn didn't quote any Tory backbenchers and this, that | :15:52. | :15:54. | |
the Prime Minister is under pressure. He could have quoted Iain | :15:55. | :16:01. | |
Duncan Smith, who has said he believes these cuts should be | :16:02. | :16:05. | |
stopped. And forgive the brief history lesson, lasted the | :16:06. | :16:09. | |
government was pressured into dropping the planned cuts, but they | :16:10. | :16:15. | |
kept up with the planned cuts for universal credit. That will replace | :16:16. | :16:19. | |
the tax credit system. So the immediate cuts to families, which | :16:20. | :16:24. | |
would have been significant to people on tax credits, was deferred. | :16:25. | :16:29. | |
It didn't disappear and it will take place, if as scheduled, under | :16:30. | :16:34. | |
universal credit. People receiving tax credits will move onto the | :16:35. | :16:38. | |
universal credit system and the amount of support they will get will | :16:39. | :16:42. | |
be less than had been planned. But there isn't at the stage, any signed | :16:43. | :16:49. | |
the government will back down on this the Autumn Statement. The | :16:50. | :16:51. | |
campaign around it may gather momentum, but at this stage it | :16:52. | :16:55. | |
doesn't feel like the amount of pressure built up on George Osborne. | :16:56. | :17:02. | |
I will not ask you to pre-empt what is in the Autumn Statement, but the | :17:03. | :17:05. | |
Prime Minister has made a big deal of the just managing classes from | :17:06. | :17:16. | |
which, is the working poor. So therefore, we can judge her on this, | :17:17. | :17:20. | |
we can now look at what she does compared with the rhetoric on the | :17:21. | :17:25. | |
steps of Downing Street. In two ways, the working poor are about to | :17:26. | :17:30. | |
take a hit. One is the way Laura has been talking about, less of a top up | :17:31. | :17:33. | |
because of the cuts being made to their pretty low pay. The second, as | :17:34. | :17:40. | |
inflation rises, their benefits are not indexed linked, so they get hit | :17:41. | :17:45. | |
in that way and it could be a real terms cut for them. I don't quite | :17:46. | :17:50. | |
understand at the moment how she lives up to that working pro | :17:51. | :17:54. | |
rhetoric. What you are not taking into account is the national living | :17:55. | :17:59. | |
wage, the work going on to see that people are going into work. The | :18:00. | :18:06. | |
record levels of employment. As she said during PMQs, work should always | :18:07. | :18:11. | |
pay and the balance supporting those on welfare, but also those paying | :18:12. | :18:15. | |
for it as well. She made a clear point for those who aren't on high | :18:16. | :18:21. | |
wages but are equally contributing to the welfare system. It is that | :18:22. | :18:27. | |
overall balance she is articulating, the pathway to employment and the | :18:28. | :18:31. | |
life opportunity it brings. There are more working poor, but when 1.2 | :18:32. | :18:38. | |
million get the rise in the national minimum wage, what marginal rate of | :18:39. | :18:46. | |
tax will they pay on it? We have the ?7 20 at the moment in relation to | :18:47. | :18:50. | |
the national living wage and that will increase steadily. But what | :18:51. | :18:57. | |
marginal rate of tax will they pay? I will not pre-empt the Autumn | :18:58. | :19:02. | |
Statement. For some people it could be as high as 75%, when you take | :19:03. | :19:08. | |
into account the tax they pay and the benefits they will lose. Another | :19:09. | :19:16. | |
?100, which could be a lot of money for the working poor, they lose ?75 | :19:17. | :19:22. | |
of it. Would you do extra work for ?100 knowing he would lose ?70? It | :19:23. | :19:30. | |
is giving the sense of opportunity for people to yes, move into | :19:31. | :19:34. | |
employment. The welfare system is there as a hand up, to help people | :19:35. | :19:40. | |
through difficult opportunities. But as the Prime Minister also | :19:41. | :19:44. | |
indicated, we have this issue of sanctions, which the Leader of the | :19:45. | :19:49. | |
Opposition highlighted. There are a relatively small number of people | :19:50. | :19:52. | |
who are sanctions, but it is right we have the sense of helping people | :19:53. | :19:57. | |
into employment and if they don't play by those rules, then obviously | :19:58. | :20:05. | |
there are sanctions that can operate. I didn't ask about | :20:06. | :20:07. | |
sanctions, if the idea is to make work pay and encourage people to get | :20:08. | :20:13. | |
into work and to keep more of what they own, I don't understand how | :20:14. | :20:19. | |
taking away 75% of the extra effort they make is encouraging work to | :20:20. | :20:26. | |
pay. The point is, you have a welfare system where work should | :20:27. | :20:31. | |
always pay, the basic sense of employment and the wages you | :20:32. | :20:37. | |
receive. The richest people in this land don't face a marginal rate of | :20:38. | :20:43. | |
75%. If they did, there would be rushed to the Borders. But we expect | :20:44. | :20:48. | |
the working poor to marginal rates of tax up to that level. It used to | :20:49. | :20:53. | |
be higher, one stage it was over 90%. But 75, with seeing too many | :20:54. | :21:00. | |
people, to discourage trying to do a bit more, particularly if you are | :21:01. | :21:05. | |
already in a job that is hard work, minimum wage, long hours and no huge | :21:06. | :21:10. | |
remuneration. Then you are told you will get a pay rise. You think, | :21:11. | :21:17. | |
good, I deserve it. But then you are told, by the way he will only get | :21:18. | :21:21. | |
25% of that pay rise. It is not fair, is it? We are taking steps to | :21:22. | :21:29. | |
ensure work will always pay, in relation to where the welfare cap is | :21:30. | :21:42. | |
in relation to employment. We are only judging Theresa May, the Prime | :21:43. | :21:46. | |
Minister, by the yardstick she has set herself. We will see what the | :21:47. | :21:53. | |
Autumn Statement is, we will come back to you in a minute. What do you | :21:54. | :21:59. | |
make of the Prime Minister saying to Jeremy Corbyn, you don't agree in | :22:00. | :22:02. | |
assessments, you don't agree in sanctions or any limits to welfare, | :22:03. | :22:10. | |
is it true? It is not true at all and Jeremy Corbyn hasn't said that. | :22:11. | :22:15. | |
We said if you have a system, it needs to operate fairly. So you do | :22:16. | :22:20. | |
believe in sanctions? If people consistently break the rules in | :22:21. | :22:22. | |
relation to benefits and entitlements, then of course. But | :22:23. | :22:27. | |
they should be a last resort. What we have seen is a plethora of | :22:28. | :22:30. | |
sanctions to people who shouldn't have been sanctioned and that is why | :22:31. | :22:35. | |
they end up in situations where they rely on food banks or homeless. | :22:36. | :22:40. | |
Final thought, Laura? You saw this row between David Cameron and Ed | :22:41. | :22:47. | |
Miliband, we will see this row over the next years between Theresa May | :22:48. | :22:51. | |
and Jeremy Corbyn. Partly because the way the Tories took about this, | :22:52. | :22:55. | |
you have people on welfare and people who are in work. Most people | :22:56. | :23:02. | |
on benefits have jobs, so there is a slight either intentional | :23:03. | :23:04. | |
misunderstanding or a fundamental different worldview. Because they | :23:05. | :23:12. | |
are the just managing? This may trip Theresa May. She said this is the | :23:13. | :23:16. | |
party that understands working class people. It is her ambition to place | :23:17. | :23:20. | |
herself in that sense, but it will have to go a long way to match up | :23:21. | :23:25. | |
the rhetoric she is hoping to make the centre of her mission, if you | :23:26. | :23:30. | |
like. We will continue to monitor the rhetoric and the policy. | :23:31. | :23:35. | |
Penny Mordaunt on the programme said there were no plans to reverse those | :23:36. | :23:40. | |
cuts, but no plans is not quite the same. | :23:41. | :23:43. | |
Michael Heseltine said he had no plans to stand against Margaret | :23:44. | :23:49. | |
Thatcher. What about the Alsatian? That wasn't consulted. Coming back | :23:50. | :24:02. | |
to Theresa May's comment about Fifa banning the home countries wearing | :24:03. | :24:12. | |
poppies. Wales face Serbia. The further forbids what it calls | :24:13. | :24:16. | |
political imagery. Answering a question from the Labour MP Steve | :24:17. | :24:22. | |
McCabe during PMQs, Theresa May said the flesh should think again. I | :24:23. | :24:26. | |
think the stand is being taken by Fifa is outrageous. Our football | :24:27. | :24:31. | |
players have won to recognise and respect those who have given their | :24:32. | :24:38. | |
lives for our safety and security. It is absolutely right they should | :24:39. | :24:43. | |
be able to do so and it is for our football associations, but a clear | :24:44. | :24:46. | |
message is going from this house. We want our players to wear those | :24:47. | :24:51. | |
poppies. I have to say to Fifa, before they tell us what to do, they | :24:52. | :24:56. | |
jolly well should sort their own house out. We are joined by the | :24:57. | :25:02. | |
associate editor of the Daily Mirror, Kevin Maguire. She is right, | :25:03. | :25:08. | |
isn't she? This is a rerun of an argument five years ago when a | :25:09. | :25:12. | |
compromise was reached that England players will wear a black armband | :25:13. | :25:17. | |
with poppies on it. But the reason it has breached the rules, the | :25:18. | :25:27. | |
commercial symbols, we see the poppy as a symbol of remembrance, others | :25:28. | :25:32. | |
will see it differently. If you allow something, let's remember they | :25:33. | :25:35. | |
raise money for serving soldiers, not just of those from previous | :25:36. | :25:41. | |
wars. But what about the red Army benevolent fund wants to be on the | :25:42. | :25:44. | |
Russian shirt or the People's Army of China in North Korea or they want | :25:45. | :25:52. | |
an anti-Israeli slogan of the Revolutionary guards in Iran want to | :25:53. | :25:55. | |
have a go at Iraq. You open the door and lots of people will be calling | :25:56. | :25:58. | |
for symbols that we would find offensive. But remembering the war | :25:59. | :26:05. | |
dead, is it the same as a political statement? It is a political side to | :26:06. | :26:09. | |
any war and the money is raised for serving troops now, including those | :26:10. | :26:19. | |
who fought in Iraq, Afghanistan, two hugely controversial conflicts | :26:20. | :26:23. | |
around the world. It is ridiculous we have a clear symbol where we | :26:24. | :26:28. | |
remember our war dead, remembering those who have given their lives in | :26:29. | :26:32. | |
service of their country and we have a situation where there is | :26:33. | :26:36. | |
precedent, other sports are allow this and Fifa are standing in the | :26:37. | :26:40. | |
way of this. I don't understand why they are taking this stance and it | :26:41. | :26:47. | |
is so ridiculous. If Fifa said yes to everybody would be adorned in all | :26:48. | :26:50. | |
sorts of political symbols that would be more controversial? I think | :26:51. | :26:58. | |
Fifa should keep out of it, and I agree with Theresa May. Fifa should | :26:59. | :27:05. | |
look at their corruption and people dying building stadiums for the next | :27:06. | :27:09. | |
World Cup. I have been watching football the decades, I have got the | :27:10. | :27:18. | |
grey hair. But the truth is, in England, clubs never used to put the | :27:19. | :27:22. | |
poppy on their shirts. This only started a few years ago. You would | :27:23. | :27:27. | |
have great anniversaries for the First World War, Second World War, | :27:28. | :27:33. | |
they didn't have Fifa. Then all of a sudden, a football game, awash with | :27:34. | :27:37. | |
money and a terrible image, has latched onto the poppy to show it | :27:38. | :27:43. | |
cares. Should they were the poppy? Absolutely I think they should. Do | :27:44. | :27:48. | |
you advise them to wear it and get the fine? I suppose then they can | :27:49. | :27:56. | |
give somebody else another bong. They are not going to kick the | :27:57. | :28:00. | |
country out of a competition or deduct points, so I presume it is a | :28:01. | :28:07. | |
fine. Would it open the floodgates to other countries? All of a sudden | :28:08. | :28:10. | |
we would find ourselves are objecting to symbols on other | :28:11. | :28:14. | |
country's shirts. Thank you for joining us today on the subject of | :28:15. | :28:16. | |
poppies. There's just time to put you out | :28:17. | :28:19. | |
of your misery and give You press the button, Jo. | :28:20. | :28:45. | |
Congratulations, Roger. He writes great songs. No, that is his | :28:46. | :28:50. | |
brother. BBC One news coming up. Jo and I | :28:51. | :28:55. | |
will be here tomorrow with more of the Daily Politics. Love to see you | :28:56. | :28:57. | |
then. Goodbye. He's a scientist, | :28:58. | :29:02. | |
brilliant apparently. But you may be bringing people over | :29:03. | :29:04. | |
here who did things during the war. I will not work for you. I will not | :29:05. | :29:13. | |
work for the British Government. Let us not let the past haunt | :29:14. | :29:18. | |
all of our actions. You've got to do something! | :29:19. | :29:22. | |
It's only you that can! | :29:23. | :29:26. |