:00:36. > :00:41.The Prime Minister is on her way to America
:00:42. > :00:45.She'll say the UK and the US can lead the world again.
:00:46. > :00:49.But Mr Trump may lead her into controversy, as he reaffirms
:00:50. > :00:57.The government is about to publish legislation asking parliament
:00:58. > :01:00.to approve triggering Article 50 and the formal process
:01:01. > :01:04.of leaving the EU. We'll bring you all the latest.
:01:05. > :01:08.Official figures show the British economy is beating forecasts again,
:01:09. > :01:11.The Chancellor says there are still uncertainties ahead.
:01:12. > :01:22.We'll look at how the UK has fared since the vote to leave the EU.
:01:23. > :01:29.And they're all over Westminster - we'll tell you all you need to know,
:01:30. > :01:32.and more, about the division bells that keep an MP's day
:01:33. > :01:43.And with us for the whole of the programme today,
:01:44. > :01:45.it's the financial analyst and commentator, Louise Cooper.
:01:46. > :01:48.She used to work in the City, but decided to leave the Square
:01:49. > :01:50.Mile, presumably to find a more rewarding career.
:01:51. > :01:53.Unfortunately, she ended up being a journalist.
:01:54. > :01:56.Welcome back to the show anyway, Louise.
:01:57. > :01:59.So, Theresa May arrives in America later today -
:02:00. > :02:02.it's something of a diplomatic coup for the Prime Minister,
:02:03. > :02:05.as she will be the first world leader to meet new US President
:02:06. > :02:18.She's expected to say that Britain and America can
:02:19. > :02:24."rediscover our confidence" and "lead together again".
:02:25. > :02:27.No doubt Mr Trump will agree with that.
:02:28. > :02:30.Meanwhile, Mr Trump has been busy, moving to deliver on many of his
:02:31. > :02:33.campaign pledges, including advancing his plans for a wall
:02:34. > :02:36.with Mexico, killing off a major multilateral trade deal,
:02:37. > :02:42.and reducing funding for abortions, among other things.
:02:43. > :02:46.Not necessarily policies the UK would want to be associated with.
:02:47. > :02:48.Overnight he's also repeated his position on waterboarding -
:02:49. > :02:51.that's an interrogation technique considered by many
:02:52. > :03:03.Here is the President talking to ABC News.
:03:04. > :03:09.When they're chopping off the heads of people because they happen to be
:03:10. > :03:13.Christian in the Middle East, when Isis is doing things not heard of
:03:14. > :03:18.since medieval times, would I feel strongly about water boarding? We
:03:19. > :03:25.have to fight fire macro with tyre. No. I am going with General Mattis.
:03:26. > :03:31.I am going with my secretary. I am going to go with what they say. But
:03:32. > :03:35.I have spoken as recently as 24 hours ago with people at the highest
:03:36. > :03:37.level of intelligence, and I asked them the question.
:03:38. > :03:45.And the answer was, "Yes, absolutely."
:03:46. > :03:51.That was the president of the United States in a long interview that went
:03:52. > :03:56.out on the ABC network last night in America. Ten o'clock East Coast
:03:57. > :03:57.time. The water boarding remarks have got the headlines.
:03:58. > :03:59.We're joined now by the commentator and Republican, Charlie Wolf.
:04:00. > :04:09.Welcome back. Would you describe or might consider water boarding as a
:04:10. > :04:14.form of torture? Not as it was done at once Mowbray, going by a legal
:04:15. > :04:20.definition established by the attorney general, it did not meet
:04:21. > :04:23.the standards of torture. What the Japanese did in the Second World
:04:24. > :04:30.War, yes, that would be torture. Do you accept it is now illegal in the
:04:31. > :04:34.United States? I know that President Obama did not use it. And I
:04:35. > :04:42.understand it is not being used at present. It is illegal, according to
:04:43. > :04:46.Senator McCain. Do you except it is illegal as things stand? As things
:04:47. > :04:52.stand, probably. I haven't researched that but I will take his
:04:53. > :04:59.word. It is an important too loud side of the tool box. President
:05:00. > :05:01.Trump said he would bring back water boarding and a hell of a lot worse
:05:02. > :05:07.than water boarding. Can we agree that a hell of a lot worse than
:05:08. > :05:12.water boarding would amount to torture? I think it wouldn't be a
:05:13. > :05:16.legal standard, would it? But you also have to remember with Donald
:05:17. > :05:22.Trump, he speaks as a New York businessman. He does not speak as a
:05:23. > :05:30.politician. New York businessmen into torturing? No. He speaks in a
:05:31. > :05:33.way that is not precise. He says he would bring back water boarding and
:05:34. > :05:41.he would bring back a hell of a lot worse. We can sit here and quantify.
:05:42. > :05:47.To him it is probably more, I will go out and do whatever it takes. But
:05:48. > :05:57.he said he would rely on his secretary of defence, General
:05:58. > :06:01.Mattis, and the new head of the CIA. And also, let's not forget, three
:06:02. > :06:08.people were water boarded at Guantanamo Bay and it did actually
:06:09. > :06:13.work. You are aware, will Mr Trump be aware of what the British Foreign
:06:14. > :06:18.Secretary has described as the objection to torture which remains
:06:19. > :06:23.unchanged? That's fine. I don't see water boarding as it was done at
:06:24. > :06:28.Guantanamo Bay. That is your opinion. Many others do. I think
:06:29. > :06:33.that is why there were moves to make it illegal. Mr Obama didn't do it.
:06:34. > :06:37.Here is the question though. Why raise this at all? Given that he
:06:38. > :06:45.said he's not going to do it, why raise it at all? You're smarter than
:06:46. > :06:48.me. Is it -- isn't it interesting that Donald Trump has a way of
:06:49. > :06:51.soaking the oxygen out of a room and getting people to talk about
:06:52. > :06:56.everything else but whatever they want to talk about. For instance, we
:06:57. > :07:02.had that march on Saturday, millions across the world. That one went down
:07:03. > :07:06.the news agenda very quickly when he brought up, I can't even remember
:07:07. > :07:10.what it was, but everybody started talking about what he said. I think
:07:11. > :07:14.it was a complaint about the numbers at the inauguration. He has this
:07:15. > :07:25.ability to move on the news agenda and most people bite. When you do
:07:26. > :07:32.look at this, and I watched the whole interview, and I've read the
:07:33. > :07:35.transcript, he gets it both ways. He says he is up for water boarding or
:07:36. > :07:42.even worse, he said that during the campaign. That plays to his base.
:07:43. > :07:47.But even says he is not going to do it because he is listening to mad
:07:48. > :07:51.dogmatics. He is a tough guy, he doesn't think it should be done. And
:07:52. > :07:56.the new head of the CIA doesn't think it should be done. So he heads
:07:57. > :08:05.the base but he doesn't do it. Smart. What I find disease beaks to
:08:06. > :08:09.his experts and they say it works. And yet the Guardian... He didn't
:08:10. > :08:16.say it works. He said it wasn't illegal in Guantanamo Bay. The
:08:17. > :08:19.Chapter, forgive me, his name escapes me, the guy who designed the
:08:20. > :08:24.programme has been on several interviews and he can tell you how
:08:25. > :08:28.it is working. General Mattis has said it didn't work. He would rather
:08:29. > :08:33.go into an interrogation with a cigarette and a beer. In most cases
:08:34. > :08:39.that probably works. But if you have talent Sheikh Mohammed sitting down,
:08:40. > :08:45.he is not going to say anything to you unless you give him permission.
:08:46. > :08:52.It's interesting you say that. There is also the potential backlash from
:08:53. > :09:01.violent extremism if America goes down this route under Trump. There
:09:02. > :09:06.was a piece in the Guardian by a former air force colonel who said
:09:07. > :09:10.this threatens the National Security of America if we do this. So there
:09:11. > :09:14.are questions about whether it works, whether it is illegal. On top
:09:15. > :09:19.of that, it could provoke a far worse situation than we have
:09:20. > :09:25.already. It may or may not. If you are in a war that everything is at
:09:26. > :09:30.cost, you are fighting for your life, democracy, then I'm not going
:09:31. > :09:35.to worry too much about the PR aspects. I feel you have to do what
:09:36. > :09:40.you have to do. Now listen, one of the things that we lost out in that
:09:41. > :09:43.war was PR. We are still seeing pictures of people in orange
:09:44. > :09:48.jumpsuits. That was day one when they were coming off the tarmac so
:09:49. > :09:55.they didn't get hit by other planes. Propaganda. It violent extremist
:09:56. > :09:58.backlash is not PR. It threatens the national security of America. They
:09:59. > :10:06.will use propaganda whatever you do. Do you bent to them or do what you
:10:07. > :10:13.need to do? General Mattis, the new defence secretary, he says he has
:10:14. > :10:20.never found it useful referring to water boarding and torture. The new
:10:21. > :10:26.head of the CIA says he would -- he would not comply with a presidential
:10:27. > :10:32.order to do water boarding. The Senate congressional -- and
:10:33. > :10:37.congressional investigations into water boarding found almost no
:10:38. > :10:45.examples of it working and found that the negative images created of
:10:46. > :10:51.America, supposedly a civilised land of liberal, culture and values, far
:10:52. > :10:57.outweighed any intelligence. I would discard the congressional report. I
:10:58. > :11:02.would leave it to the commanders. It was used three times. People think
:11:03. > :11:11.everybody got their orange jumpsuit and got water border. You cant leave
:11:12. > :11:16.whether a country tortures or not to its commanders? The protocols were
:11:17. > :11:24.in place. It was done to a very exacting standard. Let's not forget,
:11:25. > :11:28.this was after 9/11 when we had no idea what was coming around the
:11:29. > :11:32.bend. They had to do whatever was necessary to protect the United
:11:33. > :11:37.States of America. Can we agree that despite the interview last night, it
:11:38. > :11:41.is highly unlikely to happen? Exactly, but were still talking
:11:42. > :11:41.about it. You know why. Thank you very much.
:11:42. > :11:46.Theresa May will give President Donald Trump
:11:47. > :11:49.a gift tomorrow, to remind him of his links to Scotland.
:11:50. > :11:52.Is it tickets to see Trainspotting 2 at the Maidenhead
:11:53. > :12:00.A bound collection of Robert Burns poems?
:12:01. > :12:05.Or a quaich - a Scottish friendship cup?
:12:06. > :12:13.At the end of the show, Louise will give us the correct answer.
:12:14. > :12:20.We've had the latest figures growth figures for the UK
:12:21. > :12:22.economy this morning, and they're once again more positive
:12:23. > :12:24.than forecasters had predicted, showing this was the fastest-growing
:12:25. > :12:29.economy in the G7 group of advanced nations last year.
:12:30. > :12:32.And although the indicators are far from all positive, the Confederation
:12:33. > :12:34.of British Industry says that UK manufacturing is "firing
:12:35. > :12:47.So let's have a look under the bonnet of the British economy,
:12:48. > :12:51.with a snapshot of some of the most important figures.
:12:52. > :12:59.for National Statistics, GDP grew by 0.6% in the last three
:13:00. > :13:08.This is an early estimate. They tend to be revised.
:13:09. > :13:12.That means growth of a solid 2% for the whole of 2016.
:13:13. > :13:18.The employment rate is currently 74.5% -
:13:19. > :13:21.that's the joint highest it's been since records began in this
:13:22. > :13:30.And the unemployment rate is also historically very low at 4.8%.
:13:31. > :13:34.And figures out yesterday showed that 1.72 million cars were built
:13:35. > :13:42.We haven't built that many cars in this country since 1999.
:13:43. > :13:44.But it's not all good news for the automotive sector -
:13:45. > :13:47.investment in the industry dropped by about a third
:13:48. > :13:55.to ?1.66 billion in 2016. It was ?2.5 billion in 2015.
:13:56. > :13:59.We don't know if that is just the investment cycle or people holding
:14:00. > :14:01.back because of uncertainty. It reached a 31-year-low last
:14:02. > :14:16.October, but has rebounded It has rebranded a bit since then.
:14:17. > :14:18.Still well below where it started. -- rebounded.
:14:19. > :14:22.it's currently at 1.6%, according to the CPI index.
:14:23. > :14:29.That's the highest it's been since July last year.
:14:30. > :14:32.So those are some of the economic indicators, although of course,
:14:33. > :14:35.Let's have a listen to the Chancellor Philip Hammond
:14:36. > :14:40.as he responded to this morning's growth figures.
:14:41. > :14:48.The figures today, which are very good, show the resilience of the UK
:14:49. > :14:52.economy. And points to the bright future we have as we go into this
:14:53. > :14:54.period of negotiation with the European Union based on the very
:14:55. > :14:57.clear agenda that the Prime Minister set out last week.
:14:58. > :15:00.We're joined now by two economists, that noble profession which was said
:15:01. > :15:03.to have suffered its Michael Fish moment after the financial
:15:04. > :15:05.It's Danny Blanchflower and Liam Halligan.
:15:06. > :15:19.So the economy growing by around about 2% is not great but it is
:15:20. > :15:22.better than anybody else in the G7. It is not what the Remain campaign,
:15:23. > :15:35.the Chancellor, the OECD bank said. Well, the Bank of England acted.
:15:36. > :15:42.Don't smile, the Bank of England acted. And the indicators were bad
:15:43. > :15:50.in August, so they cut rates. Absolutely. They cut rates, they did
:15:51. > :15:55.QE, which raised confidence. And from here, the indicators are not
:15:56. > :15:59.great. Investors in tensions and employment intentions are very weak.
:16:00. > :16:07.It takes time for things to have an effect. Fortunately, the market
:16:08. > :16:11.reacts. It was interesting that you offered a model at the time that
:16:12. > :16:15.presumed no policy change but it was predictable the bank would have
:16:16. > :16:24.reacted. To that extent, the models were misleading. Do you accept that
:16:25. > :16:29.the cut of 25 basis points... It was a PR driven cut. Danny says the
:16:30. > :16:33.economy turned on a sixpence because we cut interest rates. But here we
:16:34. > :16:39.are, the Treasury said we would have an immediate and profound economic
:16:40. > :16:42.shock. You know that was silly. It was repeatedly described as fact by
:16:43. > :16:51.the Chancellor of the day and yet here we are with manufacturing PMI
:16:52. > :16:58.above 56%, services growth above 56%. Buoyant GDP numbers. I agree
:16:59. > :17:01.that the longer Brexit goes on, the more uncertainty there is about
:17:02. > :17:05.Brexit, the more that will affect investment going forward but for now
:17:06. > :17:14.at least, the UK economy remains resilient. Why did you smile?
:17:15. > :17:19.Because cutting rates from 0.5% to 0.25%, I cannot understand how that
:17:20. > :17:23.would have any effect on the economy. QE might have helped but
:17:24. > :17:26.you cannot go any further. What more can they do to stimulate the
:17:27. > :17:31.economy, that is the fundamental problem. The bank, what the Bank of
:17:32. > :17:35.England did had very little effect. I agree with some of it and disagree
:17:36. > :17:40.with some of it. Essentially, what they are showing is that the bank is
:17:41. > :17:44.on the case and that had an impact. But you are right, the bank does not
:17:45. > :17:49.really have very far to go. The reality is that the bond market, we
:17:50. > :17:52.are buying the bonds of American companies so there is a limit to
:17:53. > :17:55.what the Bank of England can do. The reality is that the recession is
:17:56. > :18:00.coming and they come every eight or ten years. We are eight years in. If
:18:01. > :18:05.you are eight or ten years on, that is what the cycle is. And you are
:18:06. > :18:10.quite right to say that the bank is scared and it has nowhere to go. So
:18:11. > :18:21.we have a recession, with or without Brexit? We would be. I would just
:18:22. > :18:27.say, I think the time it Brexit was really bad because of a section was
:18:28. > :18:30.coming soon. -- I think the timing of Brexit was really bad because a
:18:31. > :18:35.recession was coming soon. The danger that we face is the potential
:18:36. > :18:38.expulsion of the Eurozone as it goes through political turmoil, not that
:18:39. > :18:43.I wish it to happen, but the euro has so many internal
:18:44. > :18:47.inconsistencies. The even greater danger is the unwinding of this
:18:48. > :18:56.absurd QE policy which Danny and other central bank policymakers have
:18:57. > :18:59.commented. When I look at the models that got the predictions wrong, the
:19:00. > :19:04.reason they got it wrong was very little to do with whether there was
:19:05. > :19:07.more QE or a minuscule cut in interest rates, it was because they
:19:08. > :19:15.assumed that the British consumer would be as frightened of Brexit as
:19:16. > :19:19.they work. -- as they were and the savings ratio would rise in consumer
:19:20. > :19:22.spending would fall. That did not happen, indeed the savings ratio
:19:23. > :19:29.fell. They got it wrong for that reason. Can you not accept, coming
:19:30. > :19:32.on to the future which is always more uncertain, although sometimes
:19:33. > :19:35.the past is uncertain for economists... You do not know where
:19:36. > :19:40.you are, where you are going or where you have been. That sums up
:19:41. > :19:47.economics. Let me ask, before we move onto this year, can you not
:19:48. > :19:52.accept that you and these forecasters, you got it wrong and
:19:53. > :19:56.the economy has performed better than even the Brexiteers thought it
:19:57. > :20:01.was going to. I think that is true. I agree with that. It is certainly
:20:02. > :20:06.performed better than I would've thought. But... The result was a
:20:07. > :20:11.butt. But I think the consumers have behaved in a way that I had not
:20:12. > :20:22.expected. It is entirely unsustainable. -- there is always a
:20:23. > :20:28.but. The survey is very weak. We have wage growth falling, if you
:20:29. > :20:34.take the RBI, that is at 2.5%. Very soon, there we are, 2.5... You are
:20:35. > :20:42.warning us about inflation now, that is ironic. But you know I am right.
:20:43. > :20:45.You know I am right. Danny, we all know that depending on what
:20:46. > :20:50.statistics you pick, you can say anything. The US has 1 million
:20:51. > :20:55.different sets of economic data and economists still cannot tell us what
:20:56. > :20:59.is going to happen. Pick out one piece of economic data, Liam can
:21:00. > :21:02.pick out another, you can say it is bearish or you can say it is
:21:03. > :21:07.bullish. You have to look at a whole load of them. With all respects, the
:21:08. > :21:11.GDP number is pretty hard to spin in an advanced economy. However much
:21:12. > :21:18.the Treasury tries. I will give you a spent, 1.4% of GDP per capita plus
:21:19. > :21:23.the data we have out today, you will not like this. This is now proven to
:21:24. > :21:28.be the slowest recovery in 300 years. But we knew that already. And
:21:29. > :21:34.that is not the UK, that is the US and Europe and everywhere. But hang
:21:35. > :21:41.on... Hold on a minute. Most economies have had a pretty slow
:21:42. > :21:45.recovery. We are now 9% higher in GDP terms than before we went into
:21:46. > :21:51.the crash. The Eurozone this year only got back to that level. There
:21:52. > :21:56.is nothing unusual about it. Everybody has been slow to recover.
:21:57. > :22:01.And some, like Italy, and chunks of Europe, have not recovered at all.
:22:02. > :22:05.Andrew, I am the last person in the world is to say that you should have
:22:06. > :22:09.been in the euro area, without your own central bank and currency. It
:22:10. > :22:15.was crucial to have that, to have people like me able to cut rates and
:22:16. > :22:19.do the QE that he hated, because the fiscal authorities had no idea what
:22:20. > :22:22.they were doing. The reason the last seven years or so has been the time
:22:23. > :22:26.of the central bank is because of the utter incompetence of the fiscal
:22:27. > :22:30.authorities. Moving onto this year and possibly next year, just because
:22:31. > :22:35.of the forecasters getting last year's wrong and it is irrefutable
:22:36. > :22:41.that they did, Danny has admitted that, does that mean they will get
:22:42. > :22:46.this year wrong? What do you say to the city, concerned that growth is
:22:47. > :22:54.going to fall below 1.5% this year? Are they going to be proved right or
:22:55. > :22:57.wrong again? I am actually pretty bearish for this year because the
:22:58. > :23:04.longer that the political classes string out this slow motion Brexit
:23:05. > :23:07.madness, the more incentive to invest will be prevented. For the
:23:08. > :23:10.most part, practical business people, whatever they were saying on
:23:11. > :23:14.the airwaves, they realised that once Brexit had happened, we should
:23:15. > :23:18.just get on with it and it was not going to affect us that much. If
:23:19. > :23:21.they see the political class is making a car crash out of this,
:23:22. > :23:28.spreading uncertainty over the next five or ten years, getting the UK
:23:29. > :23:31.into a never-ending referendum, that will hit our credit rating. It is
:23:32. > :23:37.the first time I have ever agreed with anything he has said. I will do
:23:38. > :23:41.my best to change that. It is quite a lively debate and you are doing a
:23:42. > :23:47.good job, Andrew! What do you think is the prognosis for this year? Do
:23:48. > :23:53.you think we could do better than the city? It is really interesting
:23:54. > :24:01.that there is this consensus and it is all about consumer spending and
:24:02. > :24:05.inflation going up. That is basically what everybody is saying.
:24:06. > :24:09.It must be wrong. That is kind of what I think. Because so often the
:24:10. > :24:14.consensus is wrong, I think we might have a booming year in the context
:24:15. > :24:20.that 2% is good and the US only grew at 1.6%. In the context of really
:24:21. > :24:24.slow growth, I think the UK could do all right. Let me give you some
:24:25. > :24:32.reasons why it might be better. One, there is going to be massive
:24:33. > :24:37.Keynesian trouble in our biggest national export market, the United
:24:38. > :24:41.States. Secondly, our biggest export market in terms of the regional
:24:42. > :24:48.bloc, the Eurozone, is still going to grow about 1.5% this year. It has
:24:49. > :24:52.not grown much recently, since the great financial crash. Sterling has
:24:53. > :24:57.had an amazing competitive devaluation which will help, and
:24:58. > :25:02.average earnings could still stay ahead of inflation. If that was to
:25:03. > :25:06.happen, wouldn't the city consensus be wrong? I think inflation will
:25:07. > :25:12.rise and I think wage growth will fall. But I live in America and I
:25:13. > :25:21.think the chances of a large fiscal stimulus taking place in June 20
:25:22. > :25:27.17th is almost zero. -- taking place in 2017. Because you need people in
:25:28. > :25:32.place to comment at. -- to implement it. He needs 4000 people in place to
:25:33. > :25:40.implement it and he has only employed 30. You do not need people
:25:41. > :25:42.in place to cut taxes. But we have a position where the people in
:25:43. > :25:47.Congress are going to do this and when you listen to the nominations,
:25:48. > :25:52.just to start with, if you abolish... Trump says I will not
:25:53. > :25:55.abolish Obamacare or touch Medicare, Medicaid or Social Security, and the
:25:56. > :25:59.nominees in those positions say exactly the opposite, we have a
:26:00. > :26:06.budget rector in places as the main thing we need to do is to reduce the
:26:07. > :26:13.budget. -- budget director in place. The likelihood of it having an
:26:14. > :26:17.impact in 27 is zero. Congress will take the tax cuts but they will not
:26:18. > :26:24.allow the spending rises. I think it will end up as a debt ceiling
:26:25. > :26:31.crisis, as was imposed on President Obama. A lot of the Republicans are
:26:32. > :26:36.hawkish and that means tax cuts. And rates may well rise, because the Fed
:26:37. > :26:42.may well raise rates. There is no doubt about that. But we have to
:26:43. > :26:46.bring this to an end. I'm going to park it there and get it measured.
:26:47. > :26:53.The two of you are now saying they will not be a Trump injection this
:26:54. > :26:59.year. Maybe because of other reasons. You have made your bed and
:27:00. > :27:04.you will now lie on it and you will be held to account. If you are both
:27:05. > :27:10.wrong, yet again. It might be less than I thought, actually. I am very
:27:11. > :27:20.disappointed, I am not having you two back again! Who thought that
:27:21. > :27:22.economic Scooby so much fun? I didn't. -- who thought that
:27:23. > :27:24.economics could be so much fun. Now do you know your single market
:27:25. > :27:26.from your Customs Union? Well, of course you do,
:27:27. > :27:28.because you watch And you've just watched
:27:29. > :27:30.that discussion. But just in case there's a hint
:27:31. > :27:34.of doubt in your mind about some terms being used as we discuss
:27:35. > :27:37.the economy and Britain's exit from the EU, here's Adam to bring
:27:38. > :27:49.a much needed sense of direction. Bamboozled by Brexit jargon? Let me
:27:50. > :27:53.give you some directions. The single market is a set of policies designed
:27:54. > :27:59.to reduce the barriers to the trade of goods and services between member
:28:00. > :28:03.states within the EU. It is a combination of laws, common
:28:04. > :28:07.standards, recognising others regulations, and rulings by the
:28:08. > :28:12.European court of justice. EU countries are members and others
:28:13. > :28:15.have varying degrees of access. Next... Customs union, which means
:28:16. > :28:21.that the EU has a common external border for goods. Member states
:28:22. > :28:25.apply the same import taxes on products from outside the EU with no
:28:26. > :28:29.customs duties on products traded inside. It also means that trade
:28:30. > :28:36.deals are done by the EU, not individual countries. The World
:28:37. > :28:41.Trade Organisation. The World Trade Organisation overseas the global
:28:42. > :28:46.export rules for countries that do not have free Tate deals between
:28:47. > :28:52.each other. -- free trade. The EU will fall back on terms brokered by
:28:53. > :28:56.the WTO until they make their own arrangements. There is a big debate
:28:57. > :29:04.as to whether that will be a good or bad option for Britain. Here in the
:29:05. > :29:07.city, the jargon gets technical because we're talking about
:29:08. > :29:13.passports and equivalence. A passport means that a firm
:29:14. > :29:16.registered with regulators in one EU company can -- EU country can
:29:17. > :29:22.operate in all 27 other countries. Its cousin is equivalence, which
:29:23. > :29:26.means that the EU recognises the regimes of countries outside the EU
:29:27. > :29:29.in terms of regulation and although it is less and seven passports, it
:29:30. > :29:32.means that those firms can do fewer things. And now you can speak on
:29:33. > :29:43.Brexit and the economy. I think we have a reasonably good
:29:44. > :29:47.idea of the single market and how the government doesn't feel it wants
:29:48. > :29:56.to negotiate a free-trade deal with the single market. It is more
:29:57. > :30:01.equivocal on the Customs Union, with sets the external tariffs on the EU.
:30:02. > :30:10.Can you be half in and have either the Customs Union? I can't see how
:30:11. > :30:13.we can be in it. If you are going around the world doing trade deals,
:30:14. > :30:21.selling goods to the rest of the world, how can you stay within a
:30:22. > :30:27.custom union that forces external tariffs -- Customs union. We can't
:30:28. > :30:33.have the EU telling us what those tariffs can be. We can't stay. I
:30:34. > :30:40.think that is the position of Liam Fox. Perhaps David Davis, to. But
:30:41. > :30:45.not necessarily yet the Prime Minister, who has said the Customs
:30:46. > :30:49.Union is not a binary choice. If she comes away from the Oval Office with
:30:50. > :30:57.a sense that America really is up for a major trade deal, and are even
:30:58. > :31:02.prepared to start work, none of it can be implemented until if and when
:31:03. > :31:06.we leave. But to get down to what the shape of it would be, is there
:31:07. > :31:15.not a high chance that she ditches the Customs Union? Look, Trump is
:31:16. > :31:19.elected. He is what he is, whether you agree with his policies or not.
:31:20. > :31:24.He is the man we have to negotiate with. Theresa May said hold her nose
:31:25. > :31:29.and do a deal. That is what she is there to do. I think it is
:31:30. > :31:32.irrelevant what the EU thing. I cannot see how the EU political
:31:33. > :31:38.class can be anything other than extremely hard on us. We, of the
:31:39. > :31:41.country, have opened up the possibility of the country leaving
:31:42. > :31:45.the EU. The political class of Europe do not want anybody else
:31:46. > :31:50.contemplating that. I almost think we have no option but to leave the
:31:51. > :31:57.EU completely and do as many trade deals out there with as many people.
:31:58. > :32:03.We should go hell for leather with -- for that deal with the US.
:32:04. > :32:10.Everything from outside the Customs Union comes in at the same tariff
:32:11. > :32:13.rate, so there is no arbitrageurs between one country and another.
:32:14. > :32:20.Anything that comes into Britain can go to France as part of the free
:32:21. > :32:23.terms of the single market. If we are either the Customs Union, that
:32:24. > :32:28.will not be the same any more. Will there not be complicated rules of
:32:29. > :32:33.origin problems as we bring stuff in, say the parts of a car? We
:32:34. > :32:38.import them from outside the U, they go into the car, we exported to
:32:39. > :32:43.Germany, and the Germans say, hang on, a lot of this stuff has come
:32:44. > :32:47.from outside the EU? This is the complexity of it. We do not have
:32:48. > :32:56.enough trade experts that understand this in great detail. I have got
:32:57. > :33:01.your calf, Andrew! This is one of the problems we have country. We do
:33:02. > :33:06.not have the nitty-gritty detail. We do not have enough experts. We have
:33:07. > :33:13.hyped it off to the EU for the last four decades. Does that mean then
:33:14. > :33:17.that it is unrealistic to think in the two years when Brexit is
:33:18. > :33:22.triggered, two things have to happen. One is we have to agree the
:33:23. > :33:25.terms of the divorce. But secondly, and this is the free trade
:33:26. > :33:31.arrangement the Prime Minister once, we have to agree our relationship
:33:32. > :33:38.going forward after 2019? Can be -- can that be done in two years? I'm
:33:39. > :33:43.not a politician. I would expect it will be difficult. The other thing
:33:44. > :33:47.everybody is terrified of is the default option to the WTO. Clearly
:33:48. > :33:53.for some industries that would be problematic. But I don't know why we
:33:54. > :33:58.are so terrified of defaulting to WTO rules. Wouldn't that mean
:33:59. > :34:03.tariffs? The average tariff on goods is something like 3%. There are
:34:04. > :34:10.certain areas where the tariffs are higher or lower. If you look at what
:34:11. > :34:16.sterling has depreciated, although again, be a bit careful saying
:34:17. > :34:20.sterling has collapsed. The dollar is strong for other reasons. If you
:34:21. > :34:24.look at the sterling euro rate, we have been at this level many, many
:34:25. > :34:29.times over the last ten years. But it is still good news for trade.
:34:30. > :34:40.Probably better and more important than any defaults to the PTO. If you
:34:41. > :34:46.want more of our Brexit definitions, have a look at our Twitter account.
:34:47. > :34:49.Now there's been a significant moment in the Commons this morning,
:34:50. > :34:51.as Britain makes its way out of the European Union.
:34:52. > :34:54.If you've been paying attention, you'll recall that on Tuesday,
:34:55. > :34:56.judges at the Supreme Court ruled that the government must seek
:34:57. > :34:58.the approval of Parliament before triggering Article 50,
:34:59. > :35:00.the formal process of leaving the EU.
:35:01. > :35:02.Well, ministers have accepted the ruling, and this morning
:35:03. > :35:05.they responded by bringing a bill to the House of Commons.
:35:06. > :35:11.It's only 133 words long. So it could be tweeted out quite quickly.
:35:12. > :35:17.And it's not quite the shortest built on record but it is pretty
:35:18. > :35:23.close. It contains only two clauses. The Prime Minister may notify under
:35:24. > :35:30.Article 50 the United Kingdom's intention to withdraw from the EU.
:35:31. > :35:37.And this section has effect despite any provision made by or under the
:35:38. > :35:41.European Communities Act of 1972 or any other enactment. 1972 being the
:35:42. > :35:47.year we passed legislation to join the U. -- like the EU. A few minutes
:35:48. > :35:51.ago the bill received its first reading in the House of Commons to
:35:52. > :36:01.the delight of many MPs. Presentation of Bill.
:36:02. > :36:09.Mr secretary David Davis. Notification of withdrawal bill.
:36:10. > :36:16.Second reading, what they? Tomorrow! Tomorrow.
:36:17. > :36:18.Order. For an historic moment it wasn't exactly a packed house. Maybe
:36:19. > :36:20.some didn't know it was coming. To make sense of this,
:36:21. > :36:30.we're joined by the constitutional Give me your overview of this? What
:36:31. > :36:33.do you make of it? We hear a lot about the sovereignty of Parliament
:36:34. > :36:36.at the rim problem for Parliament as the people. Parliament has been
:36:37. > :36:42.required to do something which is unprecedented in its history. They
:36:43. > :36:48.need to votes for something that most MPs arrogance, namely Brexit.
:36:49. > :36:52.About 75% of MPs are for Remain. Are they to vote on this bill according
:36:53. > :36:56.to their views of what is best for Britain? Or are they to vote on the
:36:57. > :37:00.result of the referendum? The government says it accepts the
:37:01. > :37:06.result of the referendum. MPs now have to make up their minds. That
:37:07. > :37:11.makes it different from, say the 1975 referendum to stay in the
:37:12. > :37:17.common market because a majority of the Commons wanted to stay in. It
:37:18. > :37:20.makes it different from the referendum in Scotland and evolution
:37:21. > :37:25.because the majority of Parliament wanted to stay in. It -- this is
:37:26. > :37:27.unprecedented in the sense that the people have voted a different way
:37:28. > :37:34.from the consensus view of Parliament itself? Absolutely. There
:37:35. > :37:40.are only two parties that favour Brexit. The DUP, the Democratic
:37:41. > :37:44.Unionist of Northern Ireland, with nine MPs, and Ukip with one MP. That
:37:45. > :37:51.is not representative of the country. Can this be amended, this
:37:52. > :37:55.short build? This is the difficulty. The government have deliberately
:37:56. > :37:59.framed the bill very tightly, hoping that amendments will be ruled out of
:38:00. > :38:04.order. The bill will go to the committee of the whole house, which
:38:05. > :38:08.is chaired by the Deputy Speaker, whom I think you are interviewing
:38:09. > :38:15.later. We have all the superstars on this programme. It is entirely at
:38:16. > :38:20.his discretion what counts as a regal amendment, one that is within
:38:21. > :38:26.the scope of the bill. Would it be reasonable to say, we will trickle
:38:27. > :38:34.Article 50 provided you stay in the single market? Of the Scottish
:38:35. > :38:38.Nationalists could ask for a veto for the Scottish parliament. Your
:38:39. > :38:43.guess is as good as mine. The Deputy Speaker decides. It is in his
:38:44. > :38:50.discretion. There is no appeal from his decision. When the SNP
:38:51. > :38:57.threatened 50 amendments, to big a round number, they don't necessarily
:38:58. > :39:01.get most of the... They could all be called, are none of them could be
:39:02. > :39:05.called? That's right. The government could timetable the bill so it gets
:39:06. > :39:10.through in a limited amount of time. The key question is whether certain
:39:11. > :39:13.amendments can be discussed. The one I mentioned about only being able to
:39:14. > :39:16.trigger Article 50 if the Scottish parliament is being given a veto.
:39:17. > :39:22.The Deputy Speaker will have to decide if that amendment is to be
:39:23. > :39:28.discussed. That amendment would not get through, would it? No, they
:39:29. > :39:32.won't get through but they would be discussed and give the SNP a further
:39:33. > :39:38.scope for grievance. Five days, we are told MPs will have. Yes,
:39:39. > :39:42.presumably the timetable motion will be accepted. That doesn't
:39:43. > :39:47.necessarily follow. In 2012, House of Lords reform was scuppered when
:39:48. > :39:50.Conservative MPs refused a timetabling motion. What about the
:39:51. > :39:55.House of Lords, where the consensus against Brexited even stronger? The
:39:56. > :39:59.House of Lords is more of a problem for the government. It does not have
:40:00. > :40:05.a majority. Even more important, it has no control over the timetable or
:40:06. > :40:11.scope of amendments. The Lords has no power to rule any amendments out
:40:12. > :40:15.of order. The only constraint is itself of -- sense of self
:40:16. > :40:18.restraint. Should a pit itself against not only the government and
:40:19. > :40:23.the House of Commons, but the people? I think it would be unwise
:40:24. > :40:29.for them to do that. Self restraint or self-preservation? Absolutely
:40:30. > :40:33.right. Or the Prime Minister could call a general election if the House
:40:34. > :40:39.of Lords appears to thwart the will of the government and the people.
:40:40. > :40:44.Would that be an election not just about Brexit but about the future of
:40:45. > :40:48.the House of Lords? That may be the case. The Liberals, the strongest
:40:49. > :40:52.these days on the powers of the Lords, it could be they curtail the
:40:53. > :41:00.powers of the Lords after their budget in 99 was thrown out by the
:41:01. > :41:04.Lords. I think it would also probably result in a landslide
:41:05. > :41:08.Conservative victory in the general election, with liberal -- which
:41:09. > :41:11.Liberal Democrat peers would presumably not want. Lots to take
:41:12. > :41:14.into account. Thank you for joining us.
:41:15. > :41:16.Now, is the government planning to weaken workers' rights
:41:17. > :41:20.It's something we discussed on the show earlier in the week,
:41:21. > :41:23.and it's become a central claim made by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
:41:24. > :41:25.He argues that Theresa May is planning a "bargain-basement
:41:26. > :41:26.Brexit", a reference to the Prime Minister's
:41:27. > :41:31.threat that if the EU tries to punish Britain
:41:32. > :41:34.in negotiations, then the government would change our economic model
:41:35. > :41:40.Let's have a listen to the exchanges at Prime Minister's
:41:41. > :41:52.What's the PM -- what the Prime Minister is doing is petulantly
:41:53. > :41:58.aiming a threat at our mock -- add our public services with her threat
:41:59. > :42:02.of a bargain basement Britain. Is priority our struggling NHS, those
:42:03. > :42:07.denied social care, children having their school funding cut? Or is it
:42:08. > :42:12.once again further cuts in big business taxation to make the rich
:42:13. > :42:17.even better off? One of the objectives I set out in my plan for
:42:18. > :42:21.negotiation was to protect workers' rights. He talks about threats to
:42:22. > :42:25.public services. I'll telling what the threat to public services would
:42:26. > :42:32.be. A Labour government borrowing 500 million extra pounds. That would
:42:33. > :42:35.destroy our macroeconomy and mean no funding for our public services.
:42:36. > :42:37.That was yesterday. I'm joined now by the Conservative
:42:38. > :42:49.MP Nadhim Zahawi and Welcome. Bargain basement Britain,
:42:50. > :42:53.Ben Bradshaw, is a good line. A good sound bite. It doesn't sound a
:42:54. > :42:59.future for Britain in the 21st century. But the Prime Minister and
:43:00. > :43:05.the Chancellor have never used these words? Those are Jeremy's words.
:43:06. > :43:09.Some people quite like a bargain, don't they?! But I know what he
:43:10. > :43:13.means. The issue for me is that Philip Hammond was clearly using
:43:14. > :43:18.this as a threat but one he didn't want to fulfil, because he made it
:43:19. > :43:24.clear he wanted us to stick with our social market economy, European
:43:25. > :43:27.mature democratic economy. So are not quite sure that using a thread
:43:28. > :43:32.that you don't actually want to carry through is particularly
:43:33. > :43:39.effective. -- threat. If it goes pear shaped, that was the situation,
:43:40. > :43:46.it's impossible to do a kind of deal without an agreement. We moved to an
:43:47. > :43:52.alternative economic model. What would be the headline features of
:43:53. > :43:57.that? First of all, the Prime Minister has been very clear on
:43:58. > :44:05.this. I am going to come to workers' rights in a minute. That was not my
:44:06. > :44:10.question. What would an alternative economic model looked like? Just
:44:11. > :44:21.give me a couple of things that would be different.
:44:22. > :44:27.The objective is to bring in more taxes and therefore encourage more
:44:28. > :44:32.investment. To protect people's work, to protect the economy. If you
:44:33. > :44:41.look at WTO, for example, which is where we could enter up, the average
:44:42. > :44:44.mean tariff is 4.9%. I think the advantage on foreign exchange and
:44:45. > :44:54.what we were doing in aggressively pursuing trade deals with America,
:44:55. > :44:59.Australia... We have never applied a beggar thy neighbour. WTO rules are
:45:00. > :45:01.something you take if you go out without a deal. It's not an
:45:02. > :45:10.alternative economic model. How would we run our economy differently
:45:11. > :45:14.if this scenario plays out? What you would do is create a strongly tax
:45:15. > :45:22.advantageous economy for investment. That's what you would look at.
:45:23. > :45:25.Because what we've never done is what was done in Luxembourg, a
:45:26. > :45:32.beggar thy neighbour kind of policy. We have never followed that. That is
:45:33. > :45:41.a tax haven. The difference here, this is hypothetical, we inject ?60
:45:42. > :45:46.billion into the EU 27 every year in demand. They don't want to lose that
:45:47. > :45:50.demand and have us without a deal. So this idea that we won't get a
:45:51. > :45:53.good deal is for the birds. The Spanish foreign minister said today
:45:54. > :45:59.he wants to start negotiations on a trade deal today.
:46:00. > :46:08., because I am not, to what the alternative economic model will be?
:46:09. > :46:15.-- are you any wiser, because I am not. No, but the geography is
:46:16. > :46:17.smaller than that Fischer, with a large small workforce that does not
:46:18. > :46:22.enjoy the employment rights Theresa May says she wants to preserve in
:46:23. > :46:28.this country. Well, let me as steel, do you believe that workers' rights
:46:29. > :46:31.are at risk, given the government has said quite clearly that it
:46:32. > :46:37.believes, it claims, it promises that they will not be? Yes, and the
:46:38. > :46:42.reason for that is that I cannot see us getting a better deal than we
:46:43. > :46:46.have at the moment. When you talk about WTO rules, for sheep farmers
:46:47. > :46:50.in Devon, that is a 51% tariffs if we fall back on that. Something has
:46:51. > :46:53.to be done to keep us competitive and the only thing I can think of
:46:54. > :46:58.this law or regulation on food quality, the environment, and worse
:46:59. > :47:02.workers' rights. The mayor tell you what will kick in is the law of
:47:03. > :47:06.comparative advantage. For national leaders, they will look at the
:47:07. > :47:10.economy, where we are strong, like financial services, and it will be
:47:11. > :47:14.no good for the EU to weaken ourselves in that area because they
:47:15. > :47:19.will weaken themselves. I cannot see us going to a place where we will
:47:20. > :47:21.not have a good deal. The Spanish Foreign Minister yesterday said,
:47:22. > :47:25.let's not wait, let's start negotiating for a deal with the UK
:47:26. > :47:29.because they think we are an important trading partner. All of
:47:30. > :47:34.this Armageddon scenario is just not true. What do you make of the
:47:35. > :47:37.mayoral London's remarks that he has been in discussion with the
:47:38. > :47:42.government, because busy Brexit has a huge location for the City of
:47:43. > :47:45.London, that he does not see any threat to workers' rights? I am sure
:47:46. > :47:48.he has been given those assurances and that is what the ministers are
:47:49. > :47:52.saying publicly but the logic of this Armageddon scenario was falling
:47:53. > :47:57.back on WTO rules or not getting a better deal than we have at the
:47:58. > :47:59.moment. If I was city calm, I would be saying what he is saying because
:48:00. > :48:04.he wants to hold the government and ministers to what they have said in
:48:05. > :48:08.public. -- if I was Sadiq Khan. That is the problem with your party, you
:48:09. > :48:14.are flip-flopping. You either agree that there will be protection for
:48:15. > :48:20.workers' rights and we move on or the same thing you are doing over
:48:21. > :48:25.triggering Article 50, because you are worried about your northern
:48:26. > :48:29.seats which voted overwhelmingly for Brexit. Therefore you are
:48:30. > :48:32.oscillating between positions. We are going over some well trodden
:48:33. > :48:42.ground. What is your reaction to the Brexit bill? I think the
:48:43. > :48:46.restructuring to the debate is the most -- I think the restriction to
:48:47. > :48:52.the detail is the most important thing and will impact on what is to
:48:53. > :48:55.come. We have weeks on the Maastricht Treaty and days on the
:48:56. > :48:58.legislation but I hope that all the opposition parties, including the
:48:59. > :49:03.Labour Party, will vigorously oppose any programme aimed at enforcing
:49:04. > :49:07.this straitjacket on Parliament. Is your party going to enforce a three
:49:08. > :49:10.line whip to vote for this bill? I don't know but every single Labour
:49:11. > :49:14.backbencher who spoke at the business statement just now in
:49:15. > :49:18.response to that announcement was outraged and made it very clear that
:49:19. > :49:23.three days on such a huge issue was completely unacceptable, so... The
:49:24. > :49:27.Guardian has just reported that the Shadow Cabinet has decided on a
:49:28. > :49:34.three line whip. To oppose the programme motion? To support Article
:49:35. > :49:38.50. Well I think that is a great pity. I do not know why we're doing
:49:39. > :49:43.that because we are supposed to be in opposition. The opposition's job
:49:44. > :49:46.is to oppose. But it is in the national interest. The government
:49:47. > :49:51.has denied the ability to negotiate. This is not a piece of legislation
:49:52. > :49:54.from Europe. We are not talking about negotiation, we're talking
:49:55. > :49:58.about the only chance MPs will have to voice their view about hard
:49:59. > :50:04.Brexit. Do you expect that there will be a major rebellion on
:50:05. > :50:07.backbenchers? If it comes to a vote, I imagine that there will be a
:50:08. > :50:11.considerable number of Labour MPs and one would hope any MP who cares
:50:12. > :50:14.about the sovereignty of Parliament, who would not support a programmed
:50:15. > :50:19.motion of that type. And do you expect that could be a rebellion in
:50:20. > :50:24.line with the three line whip, perhaps within the Shadow Cabinet? I
:50:25. > :50:28.cannot speak for my Shadow Cabinet colleagues. You will have to ask
:50:29. > :50:29.them. When I get the chance, I will but I am grateful to you both.
:50:30. > :50:43.BELL RINGS. No, it's not the bell that tells us it's lunchtime at the
:50:44. > :50:44.BBC or even the fire alarm. It's the division bell,
:50:45. > :50:46.which sounds throughout the parliamentary estate
:50:47. > :50:49.and beyond, to let MPs and peers know that a vote,
:50:50. > :50:51.or division, as it is known, Ellie, who's always
:50:52. > :51:09.very a-ppealing... Do you see what I did there, has
:51:10. > :51:13.more. It is what happens when the speaker needs MPs to vote on
:51:14. > :51:18.something. A division. The doors would normally be shot but the
:51:19. > :51:22.speaker will shout, division, and there is usually someone else on the
:51:23. > :51:28.door who will shout, and it is up to the doorkeeper to do something about
:51:29. > :51:33.it. Once division has been shouted, I will lift up the road here and
:51:34. > :51:38.press the button, for the division bells to go off. You have to do it
:51:39. > :51:42.as quickly as possible? As soon as the vision is shouted, I will shout
:51:43. > :51:51.division and press the button. The bells go off for two minutes around
:51:52. > :51:57.the palace itself, the outbuildings, and some of central London. Then the
:51:58. > :52:00.members have eight minutes to get to the lobbies to vote. And if they do
:52:01. > :52:10.not get back in time, tough, the doors are locked. So here is what
:52:11. > :52:14.happens. Division, clear the lobby. The bells, the bells, are all run
:52:15. > :52:19.the Parliamentary estate but it is not just in here. -- are all around
:52:20. > :52:23.the Parliamentary estate. There are 384 bells around the area, and they
:52:24. > :52:27.are meant to be within an eight minute radius of the Commons so MPs
:52:28. > :52:32.can lead it back to vote. So let's put it to the test. This is the red
:52:33. > :52:36.Lion pub on Whitehall and this is its division bell. Not that one,
:52:37. > :52:41.this one. It doesn't look like much but apparently it doesn't work that
:52:42. > :52:44.well, but in theory MPs can go for a quiet drink and still be back in
:52:45. > :52:55.Parliament in time if they are suddenly needed for a aye or a no.
:52:56. > :52:59.Or they could be here, one of many restaurants with a bell of its own.
:53:00. > :53:03.This one is better to look at, but that slap up meal may be cut short.
:53:04. > :53:08.There are hotels and conference centre is fitted with division
:53:09. > :53:14.bells. But for some of them, getting back to the Commons is a bit of a
:53:15. > :53:15.challenge. Especially if you're walking. I am not sure what the
:53:16. > :53:18.rules are. Taxi! And who better to tell us more
:53:19. > :53:22.about this than the man who is often called upon to trigger a division
:53:23. > :53:25.in the Commons? It's the Principal Deputy
:53:26. > :53:33.Speaker, Lindsey Hoyle. Welcome to the programme. You of the
:53:34. > :53:36.moment. You have been referenced several times but not to do with
:53:37. > :53:39.bells. How do you know that they can get there in eight minutes? Do you
:53:40. > :53:46.have teams of clerks doing time trials? They were extended. We had a
:53:47. > :53:50.member who suffered a heart attack trying to make the division and they
:53:51. > :53:58.were very generous and expended it by a minute. -- and extended it.
:53:59. > :54:01.Eight minutes as the norm and hopefully people are warned in
:54:02. > :54:05.advance so they are ready to leave and on their way. But I would say
:54:06. > :54:09.that if you were on the top floor in one of the outer buildings, get in
:54:10. > :54:13.the left quickly, get to the ground floor because you do not want to
:54:14. > :54:19.fall the whips for missing the vote. What is the furthest away you can be
:54:20. > :54:23.and hear the bell? I think you have covered quite a few of the outlying
:54:24. > :54:30.areas, including public houses. That restaurant is a fair wok. I know
:54:31. > :54:33.that you would probably have to be Linford Christie to have a good
:54:34. > :54:36.chance at making it in eight minutes. If you know that division
:54:37. > :54:42.is coming, you will have a taxi waiting. Some of the MPs who can
:54:43. > :54:47.afford of -- can afford to live in this part of Westminster, would they
:54:48. > :54:50.have had bells in their home? At one point they did. The wealthier
:54:51. > :54:54.members, like Michael is time, he may well have done, but I was not
:54:55. > :55:02.going into individual names. Michael Portillo? You have to be called
:55:03. > :55:09.Michael to have a bell on. It seems to be a trend. Or a good bank
:55:10. > :55:13.account. -- have a bell at home. Do you think he has bells on his trains
:55:14. > :55:17.these days? What happens if the bell does not work? You will be warned
:55:18. > :55:21.but if you are outside the estate, we get a message to say that the
:55:22. > :55:26.bell is not working and that we had no time. We give extra time we know
:55:27. > :55:29.there is an issue or the left has failed. You have that ability to
:55:30. > :55:34.say, let's take a sensible view about this, we know it is not their
:55:35. > :55:40.fault that the bell did not ring. It is that ability to extend it. A bell
:55:41. > :55:47.is very quaint, but I like the sound of a bell. But it is 2017. Shouldn't
:55:48. > :55:52.they be messaged on Whatsapp? The one thing that will come, not only
:55:53. > :55:56.will the bell starts swinging on your television or in the office, it
:55:57. > :56:00.will also say division. There are other methods and you will still
:56:01. > :56:07.have people going around shouting, division. So we have different kinds
:56:08. > :56:13.of ways of getting the message out but at least people respond to the
:56:14. > :56:15.bell. It is amazing. I'm sure my colleagues thought there was a vote
:56:16. > :56:21.when they left a minute ago. Is it like padlocks dog? They hear the
:56:22. > :56:29.sound and they start running. -- Pavlov's dog. Over in the house,
:56:30. > :56:35.when the bill goes, they usually say, look after my drink. I always
:56:36. > :56:39.say, what are you going to vote on and nine times out of ten, they have
:56:40. > :56:43.no idea. There is always a good whip to advise you, don't worry. You're
:56:44. > :56:48.the man of the moment, chairing two of the parliamentary events. The
:56:49. > :56:53.great repeal Bill and the Article 50 bill. You have to decide what
:56:54. > :56:58.amendments are taken? I will be looking into that when it comes,
:56:59. > :57:01.yes. Are you looking forward to this? Like everything, it goes with
:57:02. > :57:06.the job. I am very lucky to have such a good job and with the job
:57:07. > :57:09.comes responsibility. This is one of those responsibilities. Decisions
:57:10. > :57:15.have to be taken and you can take advice as well. The bottom line,
:57:16. > :57:18.when it comes, I will ensure to do the job as best I can. And it will
:57:19. > :57:24.be great training to be the next speaker. But we have a good speaker.
:57:25. > :57:30.He is going next year, he says. I have had the privilege of working
:57:31. > :57:34.with the speaker, and we are all on the team together. In fairness, he
:57:35. > :57:39.is going nowhere. There is no vacancy. I am amazed. It seems that
:57:40. > :57:47.Ladbrokes are running this to make some money. How very cynical. I
:57:48. > :57:48.think there is evidence in his denial. He is the next speaker.
:57:49. > :57:52.There's just time before we go to find out the answer to our quiz.
:57:53. > :57:54.The question was, what gift will Theresa May give Donald Trump
:57:55. > :57:57.tomorrow to remind him of his links to Scotland?
:57:58. > :57:59.Was it tickets to see Trainspotting 2 at the Maidenhead
:58:00. > :58:03.A bound collection of Robert Burns poems?
:58:04. > :58:05.Or a quaich - a Scottish friendship cup?
:58:06. > :58:07.So Louise, what's the correct answer?
:58:08. > :58:09.It's a quaich - a Scottish friendship cup.
:58:10. > :58:13.Although bizarrely, Mr Trump does not drink. Try to pronounce it. You
:58:14. > :58:21.keep on saying lock, like Loch Lomond. It's loch. I have to do
:58:22. > :58:29.everything on this programme. But you do raise a good point, what is
:58:30. > :58:33.the point of giving a quaich to a man who doesn't drink? It is not
:58:34. > :58:40.appropriate for diet Coke. We all know it must be iron brew. I did
:58:41. > :58:43.Scottish drink. -- a good Scottish drink. Maybe we should bring a
:58:44. > :58:51.bottle of diet Irn Bru over. The One O'Clock News is starting
:58:52. > :58:57.over on BBC One now. I will be back next week with the
:58:58. > :59:00.whole cast