08/02/2017 Daily Politics


08/02/2017

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Morning folks - welcome to the Daily Politics.

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The Commons gets its final say today on the Bill authorising

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Have the Government offered MPs a concession with a vote

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The Speaker is no stranger to controversy, but has

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he overstepped the mark by condemning the leader of the free

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world and banning him from Parliament during his state visit?

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Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn are still allowed in

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They will face each other at PMQs at midday.

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We'll bring you that live and uninterrupted.

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MPs take aim at the sea birds that have become a seaside pest.

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All that in the next 90 minutes of the very finest public service

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broadcasting and with us for the duration today and looking

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about as relaxed as two anxious holidaymakers protecting their fish

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and chips from aerial bombardment, the Schools Minister, Nick Gibb

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and the Shadow Transport Secretary, Andy Macdonald.

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First this morning - was it or wasn't it a concession?

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Yesterday the Brexit Minister, David Jones, told MPs

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that they would get a vote on the deal that Theresa May

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brings back at the end of Brexit negotiations.

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It would be a vote on the divorce settlement and Britain's

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new relationship with the EU and would happen before a vote

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in the European Parliament to ratify the deal.

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Labour's Brexit Secretary, Kier Starmer, welcomed it

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as a meaningful concession - others said that MPs

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Let's have a listen to some of those exchanges in the Commons.

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I can confirm that the Government will bring forward a motion

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on the final agreement to be approved by both Houses

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We expect and intend that this will happen before

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the European Parliament debates and votes on the final agreement.

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Minister, I am very grateful for that intervention.

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That is a huge and very important concession about the process

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The argument I have made about a vote...

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The argument I have made about a vote over the last three

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months is that the vote must cover both the article 50 deal and any

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I know that for my colleagues, that is very important,

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and that that vote must take place before the deal is concluded.

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is a debate right at the end of the process

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and a point, we don't know where exactly,

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but seemingly right at the dog days of the process,

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and a choice at that point between the deal that is on offer,

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which in my view is likely to be a bad deal

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because it is predicated itself

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on our leaving the single market, leaving the customs union,

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the rock-hard Brexit that we all feared, and no deal.

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then as the minister has confirmed here today,

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what the country will face

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is exiting the European Union on WTO terms.

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Nick Gibb, is it a concession? It is a clarification. What is new

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yesterday is the date. It'll happen before a vote in the European

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Parliament. The Prime Minister has always been clear the Parliament

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would have a vote in terms of the deal on the process and she is

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confident, the Government is confident we will get a good deal

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with the European Union. It is in both our interests to secure that

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deal and I think we will. Why is it different are from what the Prime

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Minister said in her now famous Lancaster House speech only three

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weeks ago, "The Government will put the final deal that is agreed

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between the UK and the EU to both Houses of Parliament before it comes

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into force." That's what I said. That has been the position for

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sometime since that speech. What is new yesterday is the timing. That's

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it? A clarification? Yes, clarification of when it'll take

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place. So why, Andy Macdonald Macdonald did Kier Starmer say "It

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was a huge and important concession." We heard the minister

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say that the draft agreement would come before Parliament, not the

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final agreement, to be debated and voted upon. This was a huge shift.

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What we were offered in the past at latch caster House, the final

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agreement will come before Parliament, yes or not. This will

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not be the final agreement, a draft agreement. What is the difference?

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Because it can be amendedes and period ex-stoneded for transitional

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arrangements. Can it be amended? I don't think it K it is about

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bringing the final draft agreement to Parliament and the Prime Minister

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will only bring an agreement to Parliament that she thinks is a good

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deal and that will take place after a considerable period of

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negotiation. It is in all our interests. The interests of the

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European countries and Britain to have a good deal that ensure that is

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we can continue trading on favourable terms, with industry in

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Germany and France and throughout the European Union. If you vote

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against it, this final draft agreement. You don't send the

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Government back to renegotiate, my understanding of the Government's

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line is - then we crash out shall as some people put it, on World Trade

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Organisation rules. That's at final option, I suppose. But at the end of

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the day, it is up to the Government to come back and persuade the House.

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They have the majority. They have to persuade their own side this

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represents a good deal. Of course, I don'tunder stand where the

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concession comes from. This is what the Government has been saying it'll

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doo for some time. It'll have a vote. Do it'll do. But it is not a

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vote to go back and think again, it is a vote to either accept the draft

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deal or we leave on non-negotiated terms. There is a huge chunk missing

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here. Because there are two sides to this. It is the divorce settlement

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itselfp and the new terms of dealing, both elements are to be

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brought before the House. That's been clarified by the Government and

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that is to be welcomed. Except you just can't change them. Well they

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have to persuade the House that it is acceptable and if we have a

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system scrutiny and examination, and we are examining between the

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pro-Serbs the Government have to come up to something acceptable. --

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between the process. Well you are between a rock and hard place, you

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may not think it is good enough, you vote against t you end up in a hard

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place, you fall off the rovenlingted That is he at pressure on the

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Government to make sure they come back with a deal that's acceptable

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and persuades Parliament. That's where the pressure will apply. Am I

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right this thinking you will have this vote five months before we are

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due to leave? Well, we'll have the vote when the agreement has been

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reached. All this Bill is about, a simple Bill we have been debating

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this week and last week, it has two clauses. One clause is the title and

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the other clause is about Article 50. You will forgive me. I'm asking

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about the time. Is it your understanding, I think it is what

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from what ministers were saying, it'll come about five months before

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we are due to leave? If that's what the minister said then that's the

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timing but the key thing is that the Parliament is being given a vote on

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the terms of the agreement and MPs have to take the same level of

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responsibility that ministers are taking as they negotiate... However

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they vote, we leave. Yes. So, it is a Hobson's choice? Well, the same

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choice ministers V the British people have said they want us to

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leave the European yuvenlt -- ministers have. And leave the

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European Union and the Prime Minister has said we will be leaving

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the European Union. Between now and then we'll negotiate the best-deal

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possible and I'm confident she will and we will bring that to

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Parliament. The decision of whether we stay or not in the European Union

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has been taken and Parliament has to deliver on the decision of the

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British people. What makes you think, what makes any of you think,

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whether you are Brexit or Remain, what makes you think a deal would be

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ready five months before we are due to come out? As someone who has

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covered Brussels negotiations, I have never seen Brussels operate

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like that. I have been covering events where they were so late they

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had to stop the clock in order to meet the timetable? Well there are

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huge anxieties about trying to get through this under that tight time

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scale because it is tight, you are absolutely right but what it means

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is, if we don't get a deal that's acceptable. It is effectively a bad

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deal and that's what we have to recognise. It has to persuade people

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in that time scale. All I would say is - we must be sensible about this.

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If it isn't done, there must be a transitional arrangement or

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extension of the period. Those are the options available but that must

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come from the EU as well. The practiceticalities of Parliament

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voting against this would leave the Government in an impossible

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position, would it not? The Government would have done a deal,

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it says, "This is the best we can get." Then presents this final draft

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to the British Parliament. The British Parliament says no. What are

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the Europeans going to think? The British Government would've had its

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legs cut beneath its knees, they are not going to of give us a Bert deal?

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These are the decisions Members of Parliament will be taking. -- a

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better deenchts they'll have to take that into account when they have to

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vote on the agreement. This is an important decision all of us will be

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taking. So far on the vote in the Bill. So far on the debates on the

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issue, there has been overwhelming support to deliver the verdict of

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the British people. I have absolute confidence that the deal that will

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be brought will be a favourable deal that we will support. Sure and time

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will tell. And we'll want to vote for that deal. We are still unclear

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how some Labour people are going to vote tonight. Clive Lewis, the

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Shadow Business Secretary, he was doorstepped this morning. He let's

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listen to what he said. REPORTER: Is this going to be your last day in

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the Shadow Cabinet? I have to make a decision on how I vote, haven't I?

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How long have you been there for? It is so cold. If I start running, you

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are not going to run after us. I don't think we have it in us. Can

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you tell us which way you are going to vote? I don't know. I'm going to

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make my mind up. A lot on my plate. A lot on everyone's plate. We will

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see what happens in the lobbies. You guys will be the first to know. Is

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it your intention to back your leader? It is my decision to back my

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constituents and I have to think about the Labour Party. It is a

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tough kau. I think lots of MPs are having a tough time on this. One

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final thought, if you defy the whip will you resign your position in the

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Shadow Cabinet? I think if you defy the whip you do resign, that's the

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protocould. I have been having aer long, hard think, like lots of MPs,

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and I'll make a decision later today and you'll all get to hear about it.

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If Clive Lewis does defy the whip and votes against the Labour

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position and he resigns, which he has clearly independenticated that's

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what he would do, how big a crisis is that for the Labour Party? Well,

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it's not to be welcomed. We don't want Clive to go nowhere other than

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stay in the Shadow Cabinet. He is a fantastic member of that Shadow

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Cabinet. It'll not be a crisis for the Labour Party or Shadow Cabinet

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Really? I don't think so. I think we have to remember if we have a three

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line whip we're recognising the country did vote to leave the

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European Union and we accept that entirely. We are a national party.

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Oi know people are in all manner of difficulties because we come from

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constituencies that voted to remain but we have to make that decision

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and stick to it. Can you reassure a worried nation a concerned nation,

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that Diane Abbott will be fit enough to vote tonight? Andrew, I think you

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probably spend more time speaking to Diane Abbott than I do. Not since

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she joined the Shadow Cabinet, no. #1450e did make her apologies and

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said she was poorly. It is not my choice to go behind that. I don't

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know what she will do. Is it true a colleague suggested to have a three

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line whip to force you all to abstain in this vote? No, I don't

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know who? Barry gardener? Within which context? Within the Shadow

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Cabinet. It wasn't discussed? No. Because,

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Emily Thornbury, who we now also call, Lady Nugee, has said that that

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would be absurd, that Labour would not have a position on the most

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important issue currently facing Britain. That is right. It would be

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ludicrous. Just one final thing, Nick Gibb - does this, now after the

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February recess, this now goes to the Lords. Does the Lords have any

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concerns for you? No, I'm confident that the House of Lords will also

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ratify this Bill. It is a simple Bill and the people have spoken

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clearly and given that it went - well hopefully will go through the

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Commons without aamendments, I'm sure the same will happen in the

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House of Lords. We shall see, all that after the recess which starts

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on Thursday night. Now, The Speaker John Bercow's

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decision to announce that President Trump would not be

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permitted to address Parliament in Westminster Hall has raised

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questions of whether the Speaker is upholding the traditional

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neutrality of the role. Whilst his words were praised

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by many in the Labour Party and the SNP, some Conservative MPs

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have said that The Speaker should It's not the first time that

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Mr Bercow has courted controversy. He was once an admirer

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of Enoch Powell and a member of the right-wing

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Conservative Monday Club. It was an involvement

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he would later describe as and as an MP, John Bercow

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started adopting He resigned from the frontbench

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after supporting gay adoption He fell out with David Cameron just

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before he became leader in 2015 - Abandoning hopes of a ministerial

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career, he became Speaker in 2009 with the help of support

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from Labour MPs. But David Cameron's government

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became increasingly frustrated at his perceived bias and ministers

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launched a plot to get rid of him just before

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the 2015 General Election. As Speaker, he has been lauded

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by some for championing the power of the Parliament

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over the Government. But he's also upset traditionalists

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by ditching the wig traditionally worn by Speakers -

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yesterday he announced that Commons His chosen coat of arms incorporates

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the motto "All are Equal". He's come a long way from the young

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admirer of Enoch Powell. Now, yesterday, Lord Fowler,

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the Speaker of the House of Lords, criticised John Bercow for failing

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to consult him before making his He also suggested the power

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to veto visiting leaders from addressing Parliament,

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which is currently held by the two speakers

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and the Lord Great Chamberlain, should be taken away and a "better

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way in which such decisions can be Back in the House of Commons, Bercow

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was also under fire from MPs. The Prime Minister,

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in the view of many of us, managed to secure a very favourable

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outcome of what was And whilst I was keen yesterday not

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to accuse you of an executive order in respect of another matter,

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I do hope, Mr Speaker, that you will help us to ensure

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that we can have full confidence in your impartiality,

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because that is the way that this I was honestly and honourably

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seeking to discharge I think in the interests

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of the House, we should move on to other matters, but I thank him

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for what he has said. We are joined now from Central Lobby

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by the former Culture Secretary John Whittingdale.

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You told Sky News yesterday that you got what he had done was damaging to

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the national interest. Why? There are two problems. The first is

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obviously that it was a personal attack on President Trump. I have my

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differences with President Trump, but we have to recognise that he is

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the elected leader of our closest ally and to attack him in those

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terms will not help our relations at a time when we are trying to build a

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stronger relationship with the United States. The second problem is

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that it put the Speaker firmly on one side in a controversial matter,

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when the chair needs to remain impartial. Do you think this raises

:18:08.:18:14.

the issue of who, in the end, should decide who gets to speak to

:18:15.:18:19.

Parliament, whether in Westminster Hall, which is the ultimate honour,

:18:20.:18:23.

or the world gallery or other places? Should be taken away from

:18:24.:18:27.

what are known as the three current key-holders of the speakers and the

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Lord on the Lord Great Chamberlain? Lord Fowler's statement yesterday

:18:35.:18:37.

was good. He suggested that there should be some mechanism which will

:18:38.:18:42.

allow proper consideration, rather than just having the common Speaker

:18:43.:18:48.

fire off without consulting anybody. But in this instance, had it been

:18:49.:18:54.

decided that it was not appropriate for an invitation to come to

:18:55.:18:58.

Parliament to be issued, I would have preferred the Speaker to have

:18:59.:19:03.

said privately to the Prime Minister, please don't ask, because

:19:04.:19:06.

the answer may be no and I don't want to damage our relationship.

:19:07.:19:12.

Therefore, it's better that this matter wasn't raised. There was no

:19:13.:19:16.

need to make the statement yesterday, because the matter had

:19:17.:19:20.

not even arisen yet. Why do you think you did it? I think John

:19:21.:19:24.

Bercow likes playing to the gallery and I am afraid this was a bit of

:19:25.:19:27.

grandstanding. And it was popular on the Labour and SNP benches. Does he

:19:28.:19:34.

pay any consequence for this? A number of your colleagues are

:19:35.:19:38.

unhappy about it. Is there a price to be paid, or does he still command

:19:39.:19:42.

a majority in the House for this sort of thing? The Speaker's

:19:43.:19:47.

position is one which is rarely ever challenged. I respect the chair,

:19:48.:19:51.

just as my colleagues were saying in Parliament yesterday. But John

:19:52.:19:55.

Bercow, when he was elected in 2009, said that he would serve nine years.

:19:56.:20:01.

So he is coming to the end of his term if he keeps to that in any

:20:02.:20:06.

case. I suspect you will start to see people speculating about what

:20:07.:20:10.

happens next. And do you think that what he has done reinforces the case

:20:11.:20:14.

for him sticking to his original timetable on the part? Well, he was

:20:15.:20:19.

very clear that he would serve just the nine years and then step down. I

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would expect him to fulfil that pledge. John Whittingdale, thank you

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for joining us. I get the feeling the clock is ticking. Let's get

:20:29.:20:33.

reaction from our guests. Nick Gibb, John Bercow said yesterday he was

:20:34.:20:37.

acting honestly and honourably in vowing to block Donald Trump

:20:38.:20:40.

speaking in parliament. Do you believe him? Well, I am one of the

:20:41.:20:43.

few conservative members of Parliament who voted for John to be

:20:44.:20:49.

Speaker back in 2009, and he has been a very good Speaker. He has

:20:50.:20:53.

improved the rights of backbenchers. He is pacey in terms of his chairing

:20:54.:20:57.

of Question Time. We get through the order paper more. That is why MPs

:20:58.:21:02.

like him. They do. He has also modernised the House of Commons. But

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he can overstate the significance of what he said. We have a good

:21:08.:21:11.

relationship with the United States which goes back a long way. The

:21:12.:21:16.

Prime Minister was the first head of government to visit the president

:21:17.:21:20.

after he was inaugurated, and I think that relationship will be

:21:21.:21:22.

unaffected by statements by the Speaker. But do you believe he acted

:21:23.:21:30.

honourably and within his remit? I wish he hadn't said what he said. He

:21:31.:21:33.

doesn't speak for the government on this issue. But I think you can

:21:34.:21:37.

overstate whether this matter is, what the Speaker of the House of

:21:38.:21:42.

Commons says. You don't think it is important, in his role as Speaker,

:21:43.:21:48.

making the comments he did about a president of the United States? It

:21:49.:21:54.

is insignificant? Well, I wouldn't have said that, but you can

:21:55.:21:58.

overstate the importance. Except that it is about the Parliamentary

:21:59.:22:01.

side of the state visit. So in a way, it does come in his remit and

:22:02.:22:05.

he would have a say with the other two key-holders, as Andrew called

:22:06.:22:11.

them. So in a sense, it is crucial if he speaks out against it. Why

:22:12.:22:15.

should Trump be invited to speak in parliament, which comes under John

:22:16.:22:20.

Bercow's remit? He can decide these things, but the state visit will go

:22:21.:22:23.

ahead whether or not there is a speech to the joint Houses of

:22:24.:22:27.

Parliament. The relationship between the United Kingdom and the United

:22:28.:22:30.

States will not be affected by the decision. The relationship is good.

:22:31.:22:34.

The relationship between the Prime Minister and President Trump is

:22:35.:22:38.

good. She secured his backing for Nato. And you don't think that will

:22:39.:22:43.

be damaged by what John Bercow has said? No. Do you think Jeremy Corbyn

:22:44.:22:50.

should have commented on it? He's supportive of John Bercow in terms

:22:51.:22:53.

of speaking out against Donald Trump and his visit. Was it the right

:22:54.:22:58.

thing for him to do? I do think it was right for him. As the father of

:22:59.:23:02.

two disabled children, I remember very well the scenes of that

:23:03.:23:05.

would-be candidate mocking somebody with cerebral palsy. I don't want to

:23:06.:23:10.

be in the same room as a person who would behave in that way, and his

:23:11.:23:15.

comments and attitude towards women and the other offences that are

:23:16.:23:18.

well-known, I find deeply uncomfortable. John Bercow was right

:23:19.:23:23.

to lay out how we want to conduct ourselves in our country. There are

:23:24.:23:29.

many who will agree with you in personal terms when it comes to what

:23:30.:23:34.

President Trump has said, but do you think he's just virtue signalling

:23:35.:23:39.

here, John Bercow? Isn't it the case that there have been otherworldly

:23:40.:23:42.

donors who are known for oppression and rights abuses who have had on,

:23:43.:23:48.

if not of addressing both Houses of Parliament, but certainly of

:23:49.:23:51.

addressing MPs in the world gallery? Yes. We have also had Nelson Mandela

:23:52.:23:56.

and Barack Obama address us. It is an honour to be earned. And so

:23:57.:24:02.

quickly into somebody's President Xi... Had President Xi Jinping of

:24:03.:24:07.

China earned it? I understand the point you are making, and it is

:24:08.:24:10.

difficult when you have that obvious conflict. But I am saying that this

:24:11.:24:16.

candidate and now the president of the United States has made his

:24:17.:24:19.

attitudes towards women and disabled people abundantly clear and it is

:24:20.:24:25.

right that we draw a line and say that is not acceptable. Do you think

:24:26.:24:29.

the Emperor of Kuwait, in terms of their views towards women, is that

:24:30.:24:33.

acceptable? The red carpet was rolled out by John Bercow when he

:24:34.:24:39.

came to visit. That is for John Bercow to judge on each occasion. He

:24:40.:24:42.

has made his point with this particular invitation, and I think

:24:43.:24:48.

he made the right comments. He speaks for a lot of people modelled

:24:49.:24:52.

in this country, but the United States as well. Do you think has

:24:53.:24:56.

gone beyond what should be a neutral position in terms of his

:24:57.:25:00.

impartiality? We have already stated that there was a controversy and a

:25:01.:25:04.

2-faced approach when it came to some world leaders and different

:25:05.:25:09.

with Donald Trump. I don't think he has overstated. He asked a question,

:25:10.:25:12.

a point of order was raised and he responded to it in a frank way. John

:25:13.:25:19.

has been a superb Speaker, standing up for the backbenchers, and I would

:25:20.:25:23.

not want to see his position affected. There are reports of a

:25:24.:25:26.

no-confidence motion that might be tabled against John Bercow. Would

:25:27.:25:31.

you support that? I will take a position on that issue at the time,

:25:32.:25:35.

but I think he has been a very good Speaker. He has improved the rights

:25:36.:25:39.

of backbenchers. He has a certain style that doesn't appeal to

:25:40.:25:42.

everybody, but you can overgrow this issue. As he said himself in the

:25:43.:25:48.

House, we should move on. And on that, we will!

:25:49.:25:52.

Now, it's with great dismay that some of my colleagues have learned

:25:53.:25:55.

of the difficulties someone called David Beckham -

:25:56.:25:57.

I'm told he is an association footballer -

:25:58.:25:59.

has had in securing himself a knighthood.

:26:00.:26:01.

Despite charity work, warm words about the Queen and even

:26:02.:26:03.

expressing his undying love for the union between England

:26:04.:26:06.

and Scotland, he remains just plain old Mr Beckham.

:26:07.:26:09.

I know how he feels, I've been trying to ingratiate myself

:26:10.:26:11.

to the establishment for years and haven't got so much

:26:12.:26:14.

Actually, I do have a Blue Peter badge! The script writer didn't know

:26:15.:26:27.

that. But don't worry, David,

:26:28.:26:28.

we've got something you can Yes, just tell us

:26:29.:26:30.

when this happened - and here's a clue, David,

:26:31.:26:33.

it was before you were born. # There'll never be anyone else

:26:34.:26:37.

but you for me # Never ever be, just couldn't be

:26:38.:27:14.

anyone else but you... # What do you want if

:27:15.:27:20.

you don't want money... ..render easier finding a solution

:27:21.:27:25.

to trade problems throughout Europe. NEWSREEL: The designer has given

:27:26.:27:31.

them an attractive look. Not even the heaviest

:27:32.:27:34.

passenger can daunt it. # I've waited so long,

:27:35.:27:37.

a lifetime, it seems # For someone to step right

:27:38.:27:44.

out of my dreams To be in with a chance of winning

:27:45.:27:51.

a Daily Politics mug, send your answer to our special quiz

:27:52.:27:58.

email address - Entries must arrive by 12.30 today,

:27:59.:28:01.

and you can see the full terms and conditions for Guess The Year

:28:02.:28:07.

on our website - that's It's coming up to midday here -

:28:08.:28:10.

just take a look at Big Ben - and that can mean only one thing,

:28:11.:28:19.

yes, Prime Minister's And that's not all,

:28:20.:28:22.

Laura Kuenssberg is here. You will have seen the doorstepping

:28:23.:28:34.

this morning of Clive Lewis. Sounds like he's going to defy the three

:28:35.:28:38.

line whip. It is clear that that that is a likely outcome, and I also

:28:39.:28:44.

think, from my understanding, that it will also be crystal clear, if he

:28:45.:28:49.

decides to vote that way, he will therefore resign. Although there has

:28:50.:28:52.

been confusion with what happened last week, there were Labour shadow

:28:53.:28:55.

ministers and frontbenchers who abstained but still seemed to be in

:28:56.:28:59.

their jobs, in his case it is clear that if you goes that way, he is

:29:00.:29:03.

going to go. Diane Abbott, in contrast, is thought to be solid.

:29:04.:29:07.

She is thought to be on the side of Jeremy Corbyn's decision to have a

:29:08.:29:11.

three line whip, but never say never. Have we had an updated

:29:12.:29:15.

medical bulletin about her? Some body suggested that she had been

:29:16.:29:24.

given Migraleve, but that was a naughty suggestion. It is a

:29:25.:29:27.

fascinating thing about the Brexit machinations as they proceed that

:29:28.:29:30.

this is just as if not more painful for the Labour Party than for the

:29:31.:29:34.

Tory party, and that is such a reversal. For decades, it was all

:29:35.:29:38.

about Tory splits on this. That is totally now on its head. I am just

:29:39.:29:43.

wait for that Mike Candlelight vigil has worked for Diane. You were

:29:44.:29:51.

tweeting # Prather Diane. Absolutely. The power of prayer has

:29:52.:29:58.

been vindicated. Let's go straight to the chamber.

:29:59.:30:09.

In addition to my duties I shall have further such meetings today Mr

:30:10.:30:15.

Speaker, the Government chose to launch the pupil premium at a school

:30:16.:30:20.

in Chesterfield where 70% of people receive free school meals. The

:30:21.:30:24.

headteacher, Dave Shaw was running the Great North Run for a cancer

:30:25.:30:29.

charity. However, her new schools' funding formula means that the

:30:30.:30:32.

junior school now face the biggest cuts in all of Derbyshire. Running

:30:33.:30:38.

for cash is now the only alternative to sacking staff. Will she go to the

:30:39.:30:43.

finish line and tell Dave Shaw how this is a fairer funding formula?

:30:44.:30:50.

Well, I'm pleased to say that in the local authority that covers the

:30:51.:30:53.

honourable gentleman's constituency, we have seen an increase of over

:30:54.:30:58.

17,000 children at good or outstanding schools since 2010.

:30:59.:31:02.

That's down to Government changes and the hard work of teaches and

:31:03.:31:06.

other staff in the schools. For a very long time, it has been the

:31:07.:31:10.

general view - and I have campaigned on this for a long time - that

:31:11.:31:15.

actually we need to see a fair funding formula for schools. What

:31:16.:31:23.

Government has brought forward is a consultation on a fairer funding

:31:24.:31:28.

formula. We look at the results of that fairer funding formula and will

:31:29.:31:32.

bring forward our firm proposals in due course.

:31:33.:31:37.

Over the course of the last 12 months, as part of the Defence

:31:38.:31:43.

Select Committee, I have' had the opportunity to look into the

:31:44.:31:47.

historic Iraq team and how we as a country deal with more historical

:31:48.:31:50.

allegations for our servicemen and women, not only for us who serve but

:31:51.:31:57.

for many members across this House it has been a deeply disturbing

:31:58.:32:01.

experience. I know the Prime Minister gets it but will she double

:32:02.:32:05.

her and her Government's commitments to get a grip on this historical

:32:06.:32:11.

process, so that never again, will our servicemen and women be

:32:12.:32:15.

exposed... I'm sure the whole House will want to join me in praising the

:32:16.:32:19.

bravery and commitment of all those who Seb in our Armed Forces. I would

:32:20.:32:23.

like to thank my honourable friend for the work he is doing on the

:32:24.:32:26.

Defence Committee because of course he brings personal expertise to that

:32:27.:32:31.

work. Those who serve on the front line deserve our support when they

:32:32.:32:34.

get home. I can assure my honourable friend of the Government's

:32:35.:32:38.

commitment to that. All troops facing allegations receive Legal Aid

:32:39.:32:41.

from the Government, with the guarantee that this will not be

:32:42.:32:47.

claimed back. In relation to the issue he has referred to, we are

:32:48.:32:51.

committed to reducing its case load to a small number of credible cases

:32:52.:32:54.

as quickly as possible and I recognise the action that has been

:32:55.:32:57.

taken in relation to the individuals he has referred to, I think it is

:32:58.:33:03.

absolutely appalling when people try to make a business out of chasing

:33:04.:33:08.

after our brave troops. Thank you, Mr Speaker.

:33:09.:33:21.

Mr Speaker, nine out of ten NHS Trusts say their hospitals have been

:33:22.:33:26.

at unsafe levels of overcrowding. One in six Accident Emergency

:33:27.:33:31.

units in England are set to be closed or downgraded. Could the

:33:32.:33:35.

Prime Minister please explain how closing A departments will tackle

:33:36.:33:39.

overcrowding and ever-growing waiting lists? First of all, can I

:33:40.:33:45.

extend my thanks and I'm sure that of the whole House to the

:33:46.:33:52.

hard-working staff in the NHS who do a great job, day-in and day-out,

:33:53.:33:58.

treating patients. Yes we recognise there are heavy priors on the NHS.

:33:59.:34:02.

That's -- pressures on the NHS. That's why, this year we are funding

:34:03.:34:08.

the NHS at 1.3 billion pounds more than the Labour Party promised at

:34:09.:34:13.

the last election. He refers specifically to Accident

:34:14.:34:17.

Emergency. What is your response in Accident Emergency? We see 600

:34:18.:34:24.

more A consultants. 1,500 more A doctors and 2,000 more paramedics.

:34:25.:34:27.

It's not about standing up and making a sound bite and asking a

:34:28.:34:31.

question, it is about delivering results and that's what this

:34:32.:34:38.

Conservative Government is doing. Mr Speaker, congratulating A staff is

:34:39.:34:41.

one thing, paying them properly is another. I hope she managed to see

:34:42.:34:50.

the BBC reports on the royal Blackburn A department which

:34:51.:34:54.

showed that pep had to wait up to 13 hours and 52 minutes to be seen.

:34:55.:35:00.

Shocking. A major cause of the pressure on A is the 4.6 billion

:35:01.:35:07.

cut in the social care budget since 2010. Shocking. Earlier this week,

:35:08.:35:25.

Liverpool's very esteemed adult social care director resigned

:35:26.:35:31.

saying, "Frankly, I can't see social services surviving after two years".

:35:32.:35:37.

"That's the maximum." People are suffering and we are really only

:35:38.:35:41.

seeing the tip of the iceberg. Mr Speaker, what advice does the

:35:42.:35:46.

Government have to the people of Liverpool in this situation?

:35:47.:35:50.

SHOUTING THE SPEAKER: Order, order. It is bad

:35:51.:35:56.

enough that when members who are within the curt ledge of the chamber

:35:57.:35:59.

shout. Those who are not, absolutely should not do so. It is a

:36:00.:36:03.

discourtesy to the House of Commons. Nothing more, nothing less. Please

:36:04.:36:07.

don't do it. The Prime Minister. Well, he refers

:36:08.:36:18.

at an early stage in his question to Blackburn oo. Imehappy to say

:36:19.:36:24.

compared to 2010 there are more hospital doctors and more nurses in

:36:25.:36:27.

the Blackburn East Lang kashire Hospital's NHS Trust. He went on to

:36:28.:36:30.

talk about waiting times and waiting times can be an issue. Where is it

:36:31.:36:37.

that you wait a week longer for pneumonia treatment? That you wait a

:36:38.:36:41.

week longer for heart disease treatment? That you wait seven weeks

:36:42.:36:49.

longer for cataract treatment? 11 weeks longer for hernia treatment

:36:50.:36:52.

and 21 weeks longer for a hip operation? It's not in England, it's

:36:53.:36:57.

in Wales. Who is in power in Wales? Labour. Mr Speaker, my question was

:36:58.:37:11.

about the comments from the director of social care in Liverpool and why

:37:12.:37:14.

the people of Liverpool are having to suffer these great cuts.

:37:15.:37:18.

Liverpool has asked to meet the Government on four occasions. The

:37:19.:37:22.

crisis is so bad that until yesterday, Mr Speaker, David Hodge,

:37:23.:37:27.

the Conservative leader of Surrey County Council, planned to hold a

:37:28.:37:31.

referendum for a 15% increase in council tax. And at the last minute

:37:32.:37:40.

it was called off. Can the Prime Minister tell the House whether or

:37:41.:37:45.

not a special deal was done for Surrey? The decision as to whether

:37:46.:37:52.

or not to hold a referendum in Surrey is entirely a matter for the

:37:53.:37:57.

local authority in Surrey. In Surrey County Council. The right honourable

:37:58.:38:02.

gentleman has raised the issue of social care, which we've exchanged

:38:03.:38:06.

on across this Despatch Box before and as I've said before, we do need

:38:07.:38:10.

to find a long-term sustainable solution for social care in this

:38:11.:38:13.

country. So I recognise the short-term pressures. That's why we

:38:14.:38:17.

have enabled local authorities to put more money into social care. We

:38:18.:38:24.

have provided more money over the next two years, ?900 million more

:38:25.:38:26.

will be available for social care. But we also need to look at ensuring

:38:27.:38:31.

that good practice is spread across the whole of the country. We can

:38:32.:38:38.

look at places like Barnsley, North Tyneside, St Helen's, Rutland,

:38:39.:38:43.

towards the end of last year, no delayed discharges attributed to

:38:44.:38:46.

social care in those councils. We need to look long-term and that's

:38:47.:38:51.

why the Cabinet is driving a review w the relevant department, to find a

:38:52.:38:54.

sustainable solution, which the Labour Party ducked for far too

:38:55.:39:01.

long. My question was, whether there had been a special deal done for

:39:02.:39:05.

Surrey. The #4r50eder said they had many conversations with the

:39:06.:39:08.

Government. We know they have because I've been leaked copies of

:39:09.:39:16.

text be send by by the Tory leader intended to somebody called Nick who

:39:17.:39:21.

works for ministers in the Department for Communities and Local

:39:22.:39:24.

Government and this text reads "I'm advised that DCLG officials have

:39:25.:39:28.

been working on a solution and that you will be contacted me to agree a

:39:29.:39:43.

memorandum of understanding." Ah. Will the Government now publish this

:39:44.:39:48.

memorandum of understanding and while they are about it, will all

:39:49.:39:56.

councils be offered the same deal? What we have given all councils is

:39:57.:40:01.

the opportunity to raise a 3% precept on the council tax for that

:40:02.:40:06.

go to go into social care. He talks about understanding. What the Labour

:40:07.:40:14.

Party fails to understand... THE SPEAKER: Order. There is far too

:40:15.:40:18.

much noise. Mr Pound calm yourself, you are supposed to be a senior

:40:19.:40:20.

statesman. Order. And Mr Rotherham, you should

:40:21.:40:32.

reserve your shouting for the stands at Anfield. Prime Minister.

:40:33.:40:39.

As I say, all councils have the opportunity to raise the 3% precept

:40:40.:40:43.

to put that funding into the provision of social care. What the

:40:44.:40:46.

Labour Party fails to understand is that this is not just a question of

:40:47.:40:50.

looking at money, it is a question of looking at spreading best

:40:51.:40:53.

practice and finding a sustainable solution. And I have to say to him,

:40:54.:40:58.

that if we look at social care provision across the entire country,

:40:59.:41:02.

the last thing social care providers need is another one of Labour's

:41:03.:41:07.

bouncing cheques. Mrnchts speaker, I wonder if it is

:41:08.:41:11.

anything to do with the fact that the Chancellor and Health Secretary

:41:12.:41:14.

both represent Surrey constituencies? Mr Speakerers there

:41:15.:41:25.

was a second text from Surrey County Council leader to Nick and in the

:41:26.:41:31.

second text it says "The numbers you indicated are the numbers that I

:41:32.:41:36.

understand are acceptable for me to accept and call off the R." Now I've

:41:37.:41:44.

been reading a bit of John Le Carre, and apparently R means, referendum.

:41:45.:41:49.

It's very subtle, all this. He goes on to say in his text to

:41:50.:41:56.

Nick "If it is possible for that info to be sent to myself, I can

:41:57.:42:02.

then revert back soonest. Really want to kill this off." So, how much

:42:03.:42:09.

did the Government offer Surrey to kill this off? And is the same

:42:10.:42:15.

sweetheart deal on offer to every council facing the social care

:42:16.:42:23.

crisis, created by her Government? I've made clear to the right

:42:24.:42:27.

honourable gentleman what has been made available to every council,

:42:28.:42:30.

which is the ability to raise the precept. And I have to say to him...

:42:31.:42:38.

THE SPEAKER: Order. As colleagues know, I never mind how long Prime

:42:39.:42:43.

Minister's Questions takes. The questions must be heard and the

:42:44.:42:45.

answers must be heard. The Prime Minister. I have to say to

:42:46.:42:49.

him, he comes to the despatch broks making all sorts of claims. Yet

:42:50.:42:53.

again what we get from Labour are alternative facts. -- Despatch Box.

:42:54.:43:03.

What they really need is an alternative leader.

:43:04.:43:12.

Mr Speaker, my question was - what deal has been offered to Surrey that

:43:13.:43:19.

got them to call off a referendum and will the same deal be offered to

:43:20.:43:25.

every other council going through a social care crisis? Mr Speaker,

:43:26.:43:31.

hospital wards are overcrowded. 1 million people aren't getting the

:43:32.:43:35.

care they need. And family members, mostly women, are having to give up

:43:36.:43:40.

work to care for loved ones. Every day that the Prime Minister fails to

:43:41.:43:47.

act, this crisis gets worse. So will she, finally, come clean and provide

:43:48.:43:51.

local authorities with the funding they need to fund social care

:43:52.:43:57.

properly, so that our often elderly and vulnerable people can be treated

:43:58.:44:02.

with the support and dignity that they deserve in a civilised society?

:44:03.:44:08.

The deal that is on offer to all councils is the one I have already

:44:09.:44:14.

set out. Let me just be very clear with the right honourable gentleman,

:44:15.:44:19.

because as ever, he stands up and consistently asks for more spending.

:44:20.:44:25.

More money, more funding. What he always fails to recognise, what he

:44:26.:44:29.

fails to recognise is that you can only spend money on social care and

:44:30.:44:36.

on the National Health Service if off strong economy to deliver the

:44:37.:44:40.

wealth that you need. There is a fundamental difference between us.

:44:41.:44:46.

When I... THE SPEAKER: Order. I'm sorry there is still too much noise

:44:47.:44:51.

in the chamber. People observing our proceedings here and on the outside

:44:52.:44:55.

what the questions heard and the answers heard and they will be.

:44:56.:44:56.

Prime Minister. There is a difference between us,

:44:57.:45:01.

when I talk about half a trillion pounds, that's the money we will be

:45:02.:45:05.

spending on the NHS this Parliament. When Labour talk about half a

:45:06.:45:08.

trillion pounds, tss the money they want to borrow. Conservatives

:45:09.:45:12.

investing in the NHS, Labour bankrupting Britain.

:45:13.:45:19.

Thank you, Mr Speaker, there are significant challenges facing this

:45:20.:45:25.

great nafgs ours, Prime Minister, one of which is tackling mental

:45:26.:45:28.

health, particularly for young people. The pressures of juggling

:45:29.:45:34.

school life, family life and staying safe and feeling valued online are

:45:35.:45:37.

more difficult than ever, would the Prime Minister agree to meet with me

:45:38.:45:41.

and my team to discuss the Mental Health Act that we have been working

:45:42.:45:46.

on and developing, an app to give young people a tool box to help them

:45:47.:45:48.

in the times of crisis? I am interested to hear of this.

:45:49.:45:59.

Mental health is an area where we do need to put more of a focus and make

:46:00.:46:02.

progress. I am pleased to say that something like 1400 more people are

:46:03.:46:08.

accessing mental health services every day. But more needs to be

:46:09.:46:13.

done. We are putting ?68 million into improving mental health care

:46:14.:46:15.

through digital innovation, which sounds as if it fits right into what

:46:16.:46:19.

my honourable friend is looking at. There will be a particular focus on

:46:20.:46:23.

that with children and young people's mental health in mind. He

:46:24.:46:26.

might want to look out for the Department of Health and the

:46:27.:46:28.

Department for Education joint green paper that they will publish in

:46:29.:46:34.

October. Angus Robertson. Last night, parliamentarians from across

:46:35.:46:39.

the chamber and across the parties voted overwhelmingly against the UK

:46:40.:46:44.

Government's Brexit plans in the Scottish Parliament. If the United

:46:45.:46:53.

Kingdom is a partnership of equals, will the Prime Minister compromise

:46:54.:46:57.

like the Scottish Government and reach a negotiated agreement before

:46:58.:47:02.

invoking Article 50, or will she just carry on regardless? As the

:47:03.:47:13.

right honourable gentleman knows, when the UK Government negotiates,

:47:14.:47:16.

it will be negotiating as the government for the whole of the

:47:17.:47:22.

United Kingdom. We have put in place the JNC arrangements through various

:47:23.:47:26.

committees which enable us to work closely with the devolved

:47:27.:47:28.

administrations identify the particular issues that they want to

:47:29.:47:36.

see represented as we put our views together. We have said we will

:47:37.:47:39.

intensify the discussions within that arrangement and that is what

:47:40.:47:47.

we'll do. Angus Robertson. When the Prime Minister was in Edinburgh on

:47:48.:47:50.

the 15th of July last year, she pledged that she would "Not trigger

:47:51.:47:56.

article 50 until she had an agreed UK-wide approach. So given that the

:47:57.:48:01.

Scottish Parliament has voted overwhelmingly against her approach,

:48:02.:48:08.

and all bar one MP representing a Scottish constituency in this House

:48:09.:48:12.

of Commons has voted against her approach, she does not have an

:48:13.:48:20.

agreed UK-wide approach. As the Prime Minister knows, a lot of

:48:21.:48:25.

people in Scotland watch Prime Minister's Questions. So will she

:48:26.:48:29.

tell those viewers in Scotland when she intends to keep her word to

:48:30.:48:35.

Scotland or not? We are ensuring that we are working with the

:48:36.:48:39.

Scottish Government and the other devolved administrations as we take

:48:40.:48:44.

this matter forward. I would just remind the right honourable

:48:45.:48:47.

gentleman of two things. First of all, the Supreme Court was clear

:48:48.:48:50.

that the Scottish parliament does not have a veto on the triggering of

:48:51.:48:57.

article 50. The bill that is going through the House is obviously

:48:58.:49:00.

giving the power to the government to trigger article 50. I would also

:49:01.:49:05.

remind him of this point, because he constantly refers to the interests

:49:06.:49:09.

of Scotland inside the European Union. An independent Scotland would

:49:10.:49:18.

not be in the European Union. Mr Speaker, the people of Rossendale

:49:19.:49:23.

and Darwen warmly welcome Government's housing White Paper.

:49:24.:49:26.

Will my right honourable friend confirm that when it comes to

:49:27.:49:30.

providing more security for renters, building more affordable homes and

:49:31.:49:35.

helping people buy their own home, it is this party, the Conservative

:49:36.:49:39.

Party, that is fixing our broken housing market? Am happy to agree

:49:40.:49:46.

with my honourable friend. Our broken housing market is one of the

:49:47.:49:49.

greatest barriers to progress in Britain today and the housing White

:49:50.:49:54.

Paper brought out by my right honourable friend II for communities

:49:55.:49:58.

and local government sets out the steps we will take to fix it and my

:49:59.:50:01.

honourable friend is right. It is the Conservatives who are going to

:50:02.:50:05.

support local authorities to deliver more of the right homes in the right

:50:06.:50:08.

places to encourage faster build-up of developments. I'm sure everybody

:50:09.:50:12.

recognised the problem of planning permission that are given and then

:50:13.:50:17.

not built out, and create the conditions for a more competitive

:50:18.:50:21.

and diverse housing market. We are setting out the response abilities

:50:22.:50:23.

of all parties in building the homes that Britain needs. Does the Prime

:50:24.:50:32.

Minister agree that in a 21st century parliament, the rules should

:50:33.:50:36.

not able any member to speak for longer than 58 minutes in a

:50:37.:50:38.

three-hour debate? Does she agree that the rules of the House should

:50:39.:50:42.

be changed to prevent filibustering and French other members from all

:50:43.:50:45.

sides of the House get that our share of the time available? I have

:50:46.:50:53.

to say, I find that a rather curious question from the honourable

:50:54.:50:56.

gentleman. Last night, as it happens, I was out of the House

:50:57.:51:03.

between the two votes. I switched on the BBC Parliament channel and I saw

:51:04.:51:07.

the honourable gentleman speaking. I turned over to something else. I

:51:08.:51:18.

switched back. I saw the honourable gentleman still speaking! I switched

:51:19.:51:25.

over to something else. I switched back and the honourable gentleman

:51:26.:51:29.

was still speaking. He is the last person to complain about

:51:30.:51:36.

filibustering in this House. Mrs Theresa Villiers. Mr Speaker,...

:51:37.:51:45.

Order! Mr Hughes, you seem to be in a state of permanent overexcitement.

:51:46.:51:49.

Calm yourself, man, take some sort of medication and it will soothe

:51:50.:51:54.

you. We must hear Mrs Williams. As we prepare in this House to take

:51:55.:51:58.

back control over our laws on agriculture, was she agree to use

:51:59.:52:04.

Brexit as an opportunity to strengthen, not weaken the rules

:52:05.:52:07.

which safeguard the welfare of animals? My right honourable friend

:52:08.:52:14.

raises an important point which is of concern are many people in this

:52:15.:52:19.

house and outside. We should be proud in the UK that we have some of

:52:20.:52:23.

the highest animal welfare standards in the world. Indeed, one of the

:52:24.:52:27.

highest scores for animal protection in the world. Leaving the EU will

:52:28.:52:31.

not change this. I can assure my right honourable friend that we are

:52:32.:52:36.

committed to maintaining and where possible, improving standards of

:52:37.:52:39.

welfare in the UK while ensuring that our industry is not put at a

:52:40.:52:48.

competitive disadvantage. Last week, the Russian Duma decriminalised

:52:49.:52:53.

violence against women and children. I trust the government will

:52:54.:52:57.

encourage Russia to rethink this aggressive approach which could

:52:58.:53:00.

realise a domestic violence. Does she agree that ratify the Convention

:53:01.:53:04.

would send a message to Russia and the world of the priority that

:53:05.:53:09.

should be placed on ending gender-based violence? I am proud

:53:10.:53:13.

that in this country, we have strengthened the law on domestic

:53:14.:53:16.

violence and violence against women and girls. We see this as a

:53:17.:53:20.

retrograde step by the Russian government, repealing existing

:53:21.:53:23.

legislation sends out absolutely the wrong message on what is a global

:53:24.:53:28.

problem. We have joined others in both the Council of Europe and the

:53:29.:53:36.

OSCE in criticising this decision. Each year, the NHS reportedly spends

:53:37.:53:44.

?80 million more than it needs to on prescriptions for basic painkillers

:53:45.:53:46.

that can be sourced much more cheaply. Yet at the same time,

:53:47.:53:50.

secondary breast cancer patients face being denied life extending

:53:51.:53:58.

drugs. May I ask my right honourable friend to review this poor

:53:59.:54:01.

allocation of resources and give breast cancer sufferers the hope

:54:02.:54:07.

that they deserve? This is obviously an important issue that my

:54:08.:54:10.

honourable friend has raised. I understand that on the point of

:54:11.:54:14.

basic medication, it is in the fact that the NHS pays more for basic

:54:15.:54:17.

painkillers than on the high street. In fact, their prices are lower. In

:54:18.:54:24.

the case of the drug, it is right that difficult decisions are made on

:54:25.:54:27.

the basis of clinical evidence. I understand that Nice is undertaking

:54:28.:54:30.

a comprehensive assessment before making a final recommendation and in

:54:31.:54:34.

the meantime, the drug is still available to patients. Last month, a

:54:35.:54:42.

report was published on historical institutional abuse in Northern

:54:43.:54:47.

Ireland. Given the uncertain political institutions in Northern

:54:48.:54:50.

Ireland, if the executive is not up and running within a month, will the

:54:51.:54:55.

Prime Minister commit to implementing a report on historical

:54:56.:54:59.

institutional abuse in full? This was obviously an important review

:55:00.:55:05.

and of course we have our inquiry into historic child abuse taking

:55:06.:55:12.

place in England and Wales. I recognise the point the honourable

:55:13.:55:16.

gentleman makes about looking ahead to the future. We obviously have the

:55:17.:55:19.

elections on the 2nd of March. There were then be a period of time for an

:55:20.:55:25.

executive to be put together. I would encourage all parties to work

:55:26.:55:29.

to ensure that an executive can be put together in Northern Ireland to

:55:30.:55:32.

maintain the devolved institutions. I don't want to see the benefits

:55:33.:55:36.

that have come of progress being undone at this stage. I am sure that

:55:37.:55:42.

looking ahead, whatever is necessary will be done to ensure that the

:55:43.:55:45.

findings of that report are taken into account and acted on. The Prime

:55:46.:55:53.

Minister has been clear in her negotiating objectives as we prepare

:55:54.:55:58.

to leave the European Union. But with the Prime Minister agree with

:55:59.:56:04.

me that regions like the West Midlands, part of which I represent,

:56:05.:56:08.

needs a voice in those negotiations to ensure that we take the

:56:09.:56:14.

opportunities presented by Brexit to raise investment in education,

:56:15.:56:17.

skills and infrastructure in the region to ensure that her vision of

:56:18.:56:21.

a global Britain represents the interests of all the regions of

:56:22.:56:25.

England as well as the broader United Kingdom? I agree with my

:56:26.:56:31.

honourable friend. When we negotiate as a United Kingdom, we will be

:56:32.:56:35.

negotiating for the whole of the United Kingdom and taking account of

:56:36.:56:39.

all parts of the United Kingdom. We have ambition in terms of making the

:56:40.:56:42.

Midlands and engine for growth. It is about growing the region's

:56:43.:56:46.

economy and more jobs. That is why money has been put into funding the

:56:47.:56:50.

Birmingham rail hub, for example. Of course, the West Midlands will be

:56:51.:56:53.

getting a strong voice nationally with a directed irate elected mayor

:56:54.:56:59.

in May. I believe Andy Street will be a very good mayor for the West

:57:00.:57:04.

Midlands. In welcoming the honourable gentleman back again to

:57:05.:57:07.

the chamber, I call Mr Ronnie Campbell. Looking pretty slim as

:57:08.:57:18.

well, Mr Speaker! Mr Speaker, I had five months under the health service

:57:19.:57:25.

in Newcastle, under the auspices of Professor Griffiths, a marvellous

:57:26.:57:34.

surgeon. He just about saved my life. But there was a flip side.

:57:35.:57:37.

That is the best side of the national health and it has been

:57:38.:57:41.

wonderful, the service I got. But there is a flip side, which is what

:57:42.:57:49.

we are seeing today. We now have dedicated nurses who are called

:57:50.:57:52.

corridor nurses. They are in the corridor, looking after patients on

:57:53.:57:57.

trolleys. That is not the way we want our health service to run. Get

:57:58.:58:02.

your purse open and give them the money they want. As the Speaker

:58:03.:58:08.

said, I welcome the honourable gentleman to his place again in this

:58:09.:58:15.

chamber. And I commend the surgeon and all those who have treated him

:58:16.:58:19.

in the National Health Service that has enabled him to be here today and

:58:20.:58:25.

to continue his duties. As we know, there are surgeons, doctors, nurses

:58:26.:58:29.

and other staff up and down the NHS day in and day out, saving lives. We

:58:30.:58:32.

should commend them for all that they do. The north-east is a good

:58:33.:58:38.

example of some of the really good practice that we see in the National

:58:39.:58:41.

Health Service. I want to see that good practice being spread across

:58:42.:58:48.

the NHS across the whole country. Dr Sarah Wollaston. I am not alone in

:58:49.:58:51.

hearing from family 's long settled here in Britain who are deeply

:58:52.:58:54.

worried that they could be separated after we leave the European Union. I

:58:55.:58:58.

know that the Prime Minister will not want that to happen, and I

:58:59.:59:04.

wonder if today, she could reassure all our constituents that those who

:59:05.:59:07.

were born elsewhere in the European Union but settled here in the UK are

:59:08.:59:10.

married or in partnerships with British citizens, will have the

:59:11.:59:17.

right to remain? My honourable friend raises an issue that is of

:59:18.:59:20.

concern to members across this House. As she says, it is of concern

:59:21.:59:25.

to many individuals outside of this House who will want reassurance

:59:26.:59:29.

about their future. I want to be able to give that reassurance, but I

:59:30.:59:34.

do want to see the same reassurance for UK citizens living in the EU.

:59:35.:59:41.

But when I trigger article 50, I intend to make it clear that I want

:59:42.:59:45.

this to be a priority for an early stage of the negotiations so that we

:59:46.:59:48.

can address this issue and reassure the people concerned. Just two weeks

:59:49.:00:01.

ago, a 15-year-old left school and was stabbed four times and died.

:00:02.:00:08.

Three days earlier, a 19-year-old was stabbed to death in Wembley. And

:00:09.:00:16.

just a few months earlier, two of my young constituents were killed and

:00:17.:00:18.

the police said it was a case of mistaken identity. They were

:00:19.:00:25.

22-year-old and a 27-year-old. Next week, I am eating the deputy Mayor

:00:26.:00:29.

of London to discuss this issue and other issues. The Prime Minister

:00:30.:00:34.

meet with me, fellow MPs and my borough commander to talk about this

:00:35.:00:38.

issue and the sycamore project which we would like to see rolled out in

:00:39.:00:40.

London and beyond? Can I express obviously the

:00:41.:00:50.

condolences of the whole House to the familiar lanes friends to all of

:00:51.:00:54.

those she referred to in her question who of been so brutally

:00:55.:00:57.

stabbed and attacked and suffered from knife attacks she refers to.

:00:58.:01:00.

Obviously this is an important issue. It is a particularly

:01:01.:01:03.

important issue for London but it is one that we want to see addressed. A

:01:04.:01:09.

lot of good work that has been done. I'm in the aware of the sycamore

:01:10.:01:12.

project she has referred to but would be happy to hear more details

:01:13.:01:16.

of it. From medics at Kingston Hospital to

:01:17.:01:26.

researchers at Kingston university, and staff at growing electronics

:01:27.:01:30.

businesses, Kingston's workforce is enriched by highly-skilled workers

:01:31.:01:33.

from abroad so. Can my honourable friend refirm after we leave the EU

:01:34.:01:38.

we'll continue to welcome highly-skilled worksers from the EU

:01:39.:01:40.

and beyond. I thank my honourable friend for his question. We are very

:01:41.:01:45.

clear that we dop want to bring the numbers of net migration down but we

:01:46.:01:48.

also want to ensure that the brightest and best are still welcome

:01:49.:01:52.

here in the United Kingdom. And that's why I think people want to

:01:53.:01:55.

see the UK Government making decisions about people who are

:01:56.:01:57.

coming here from the European Union, but we are very clear about the

:01:58.:02:03.

importance, as I said in my speech in Lancaster House, there will still

:02:04.:02:06.

be immigration from the European Union into the UK and we want to

:02:07.:02:09.

ensure that the brightest and best are able to come here.

:02:10.:02:13.

Yesterday the Brexit minister claimed that Parliament will have a

:02:14.:02:18.

meaningful vote on the final EU deal. But account Prime Minister

:02:19.:02:22.

confirm that under her plans Parliament will either have to

:02:23.:02:27.

accept what the Government offers or fall back on WTO rules? And in the

:02:28.:02:31.

event there's no deal, there'll be no vote at all? Isn't the reality

:02:32.:02:41.

this is just take it or leave it and it is not a meaningful concession,

:02:42.:02:50.

it's a con? We have been very clear. I said in my Lancaster House speech

:02:51.:02:54.

that there would be a vote on the final deal. There were a number of

:02:55.:02:58.

questions on what exactly that meant. We will bring forward o

:02:59.:03:02.

motion on the final agreement for approval by both Houses of

:03:03.:03:05.

Parliament and before the final agreement is concluded. We do

:03:06.:03:08.

expect. I know this has been an issue for a number of honourable and

:03:09.:03:14.

right honourable members. We do expect and intend that will happen

:03:15.:03:16.

before the European Parliament debate before it votes and debates

:03:17.:03:23.

on the final agreement. As the Prime Minister knows,

:03:24.:03:26.

Trafford Schools are the best in the country. But they are also in one of

:03:27.:03:32.

the F40 worst-funded areas but perversely the draft funding formula

:03:33.:03:36.

would actually cut funding to are Trafford Schools not increase T when

:03:37.:03:41.

she reviews the draft proposals l she look, please for a new formula

:03:42.:03:46.

that guarantees that all of the worst-funded areas are increased in

:03:47.:03:52.

funding, not cut? My honourable friend raises, again, an important

:03:53.:03:55.

point that I know is a matter which is on the minds of a number of

:03:56.:03:59.

honourable and right honourable friends. As I said earlier, I think

:04:00.:04:03.

the current system of funding is unfair, it is not transparent. I

:04:04.:04:06.

think it is out of date. I want to see a session at the that does

:04:07.:04:10.

support our aspiration to ensure that every child has a good school

:04:11.:04:14.

place. But, in looking at these reforms I can assure my honourable

:04:15.:04:17.

friend that we want to get this right. It is why we are consulting

:04:18.:04:21.

and why we will look very closely at the responses to that consultation.

:04:22.:04:27.

Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. Npower have announced a 9.8%

:04:28.:04:31.

increase on dual fuel bills which even the former boss, the former

:04:32.:04:38.

tsar has described as shocking. EDS announced a 8.4% electricity hike

:04:39.:04:41.

and it is reported that British Gas is preparing its 11 million customs

:04:42.:04:46.

tomorrow Merse for a 9% increase. Ofgem has moved to protect those on

:04:47.:04:50.

prepayment ministers with a cap on energy bills. I ask the Prime

:04:51.:04:55.

Minister why doesn't she demand similar protection for the majority

:04:56.:05:00.

of customs Merse who are being ripped off as the CMA has said to

:05:01.:05:07.

the sum of ?1.4 billion. The Right Honourable lady might have missed

:05:08.:05:10.

the fact that where we have said that markets aren't working we will

:05:11.:05:15.

look at the measures needed and the energy market is one we are looking

:05:16.:05:23.

at at the moment. In the spirit of neutrality. The Prime Minister's

:05:24.:05:28.

Lancaster House was a call to put the divisions behind us. Does my

:05:29.:05:31.

right honourable friend agree that this is a vision that everyone in

:05:32.:05:36.

the House should support, that the more united we are, the stronger our

:05:37.:05:44.

negotiating position will be. THE SPEAKER: The honourable gentleman

:05:45.:05:49.

must be concerned. Does she share my surprise that certain members

:05:50.:05:54.

opposite that disagreeing with their current party leader, can cause

:05:55.:05:57.

headaches, that some may not have learned.

:05:58.:06:04.

Can I say to my honourable friend, he is absolutely right that I think

:06:05.:06:09.

the country wants us, in this House, and everybody in the country, wants

:06:10.:06:12.

to unite behind the Government's work to ensure that we get the

:06:13.:06:17.

best-possible deal for the UK, as we leave the European Union, and I

:06:18.:06:20.

believe that we can get a deal that actually is going to be in the

:06:21.:06:24.

interests both of the UK and of the European Union. I had hoped that I

:06:25.:06:28.

was going to be able to welcome the Shadow Home Secretary to the front

:06:29.:06:31.

bench in time for the vote that's going to take place later tonight.

:06:32.:06:34.

Perhaps members of the Labour Party are starting to realise the only

:06:35.:06:40.

real headache is their leader. Thank you, very much, Mr Speaker.

:06:41.:06:49.

Does the Prime Minister agree with the Director-General of the World

:06:50.:06:53.

Trade Organisation that if Britain were to leave the EU on WTO terms,

:06:54.:07:01.

it would cost ?9 billion in lost trade each year? What we want to do

:07:02.:07:06.

is to ensure that we negotiate a deal with the European Union that

:07:07.:07:11.

enables us to have the best-possible deal in trading with and operating

:07:12.:07:16.

within the European Union single market in goods and services. I

:07:17.:07:19.

believe that's possible, precisely because, as I have just said n

:07:20.:07:23.

response to my honourable friend the member for Lincoln, I believe that

:07:24.:07:28.

is a deal that is good, not just for but for the EU as well.

:07:29.:07:34.

The Prime Minister rightly argues for true parity of esteem between

:07:35.:07:39.

mental and physical health but parent in York have been sold that

:07:40.:07:43.

their children must wait up to a year for an assessment by the child,

:07:44.:07:49.

now adolescent mentalhealth services. As the Department of

:07:50.:07:51.

Health actually does not currently record these figures, would the

:07:52.:07:55.

Prime Minister consider making the monitoring fted waiting times a

:07:56.:07:58.

requirement? My honourable friend has raised an important point. As I

:07:59.:08:03.

set out a few weeks ago, the Government will be reviewing the

:08:04.:08:07.

separation of CAMs services across the country because I recognise some

:08:08.:08:10.

of the concerns that honourable members have made. We want to ensure

:08:11.:08:14.

that children and young people have easy access at the right time to

:08:15.:08:17.

mental health because of the evidence that a significant

:08:18.:08:20.

proportion of mental health problems that arise later in life actually

:08:21.:08:27.

sta of children and adolescents. We have made more money available to

:08:28.:08:30.

support transformation in children and young peep's mental health but

:08:31.:08:36.

the Shadow Health Secretary - sorry, the Health Secretary... -- young

:08:37.:08:41.

people's mental health. He is in his place as well.

:08:42.:08:47.

I haute Shadow Health Secretary will agree with me we need to review CAM

:08:48.:08:52.

services and are giving the right support to children and young

:08:53.:08:57.

people, adolescents with mental health problems and we'll look at

:08:58.:09:00.

the issue my honourable friend has raised.

:09:01.:09:03.

Many honourable members in this House have recently made the long

:09:04.:09:08.

journey up to West Cumbria for the by-election and we've all

:09:09.:09:12.

experienced the states of our roads and local railways. It's taken a

:09:13.:09:17.

by-election for transport ministers to look seriously and show any real

:09:18.:09:23.

interest in this. Can I is ask, is the Prime Minister planning a trip

:09:24.:09:26.

herself, so she too can experience why we need proper investment from

:09:27.:09:30.

this Government into our transport infrastructure in West Cumbria? We

:09:31.:09:34.

are putting more money, the Government is putting more money

:09:35.:09:36.

into infrastructure investment across the country but you have to

:09:37.:09:40.

say to her, the Labour Party had 13 years to improve transport in West

:09:41.:09:43.

Cumbria and didn't do anything about it. Thank you, Mr Speaker. I

:09:44.:09:54.

recently visited a world class coach-building manufacture based in

:09:55.:09:57.

my constituent and heard about their exciting plans for the future. With

:09:58.:10:01.

my right honourable friend join me in emphasising the importance of

:10:02.:10:04.

skills and manufacturing for our economy, especially as we look to

:10:05.:10:09.

leave the European Union? Can I thank my honourable friend for

:10:10.:10:16.

drawing our attention to the example of Woodall Nicholson and say how

:10:17.:10:20.

pleased we are to hear they have good plans for the future. Can I say

:10:21.:10:25.

he is right, as we leave the EU we will be doing that from a position

:10:26.:10:28.

of strength. He is right that skills and manufacturing are an important

:10:29.:10:31.

of our economy for the future that's why in the industrial strategy we

:10:32.:10:34.

are looking at how we can develop the excellence we already have in

:10:35.:10:37.

the UK, for the prosperous, growing economy for the future.

:10:38.:10:44.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. The Prime Minister's right honourable friend,

:10:45.:10:48.

the member for Rushcliffe last week pointed out that her aspiration to

:10:49.:10:54.

achieve barrier-free tariff-free trade with the single market,

:10:55.:10:58.

getting all the benefits but paying none of the cost, was actually akin

:10:59.:11:04.

to disappearing down the rabbit hole to wonderland. Mr Speaker, I think

:11:05.:11:10.

she makes a very interesting choice for Alice. But, if she doesn't

:11:11.:11:17.

manage to achieve that Higham Biggs, would she produce an analysis of

:11:18.:11:22.

what trading on WTO rules would actually mean for our economy, so we

:11:23.:11:30.

can make a proper choice? Can I say I commend my right honourable friend

:11:31.:11:33.

the member for Rushcliffe for the significant service he has given to

:11:34.:11:37.

this House and his constituents over the years. He and I have have worked

:11:38.:11:43.

well over a number of years although I have to say when I was Home

:11:44.:11:46.

Secretary and he was Justice Secretary, I used to say that I

:11:47.:11:51.

locked him up and he let them out. Can I say to the Right Honourable

:11:52.:11:56.

lady, as far as this Government is concerned, we believe it is possible

:11:57.:12:00.

within the two-year time frame to get the agreement, not just for our

:12:01.:12:04.

withdrawal from the European Union, but also the trade arrangements that

:12:05.:12:08.

will ensure that we have a strong, strategic partnership with the

:12:09.:12:09.

European Union in the future. In my right honourable friend's

:12:10.:12:22.

meeting with Binyamin Netanyahu this week, did she press the only way to

:12:23.:12:26.

get a lasting peace settlement is for young Palestinians and Israelis

:12:27.:12:31.

to look Ford to a job, a sharing prosperity and a life without fear,

:12:32.:12:35.

does she agree the only way to achieve this is face-to-face

:12:36.:12:39.

negotiations? And will she join the Israeli Prime Minister in pressing

:12:40.:12:43.

the Prime Minister of the Palestinian authorities for

:12:44.:12:48.

face-to-face negotiations? My right honourable friend does make a very

:12:49.:12:52.

important point about this. We continue as a Government a

:12:53.:12:56.

Conservative Government in the UK to believe that the two-state solution

:12:57.:13:00.

is a right one. That means a viable Palestinian state but also a safe

:13:01.:13:05.

and secure Israel. And, of course, it is for the parties to negotiate.

:13:06.:13:10.

Obviously there are others on the international arena who are doing

:13:11.:13:14.

their work to facilitate an agreement in the Middle East. But,

:13:15.:13:18.

ultimately it is for the two parties to agree a way forward. THE SPEAKER:

:13:19.:13:20.

Order. There was a good old-fashioned PMQs

:13:21.:13:42.

ambush today. Jeremy Corbyn managed to get hold of some specks r text

:13:43.:13:46.

and put the Prime Minister in a spot. Surrey council faced with

:13:47.:13:51.

social cuts in other areas, decided to hold a referendum allowing it to

:13:52.:13:54.

increase council tax by 15%. If you try to go by more than 5, you have

:13:55.:14:00.

to call a referendum. Thiefs an embarrassment for the Conservative

:14:01.:14:03.

Government in doing it and the text seemed to involve the head of Surrey

:14:04.:14:11.

council, David Hodge, doing some -- this was an embarrassment for the

:14:12.:14:16.

Conservative Government. It was somebody called Nick. We

:14:17.:14:24.

think it may have gone to the wrong Nick, Nick Forbes a Labour

:14:25.:14:27.

politician who works at the local association. And this is courtesy of

:14:28.:14:33.

Guiedo Fox who got the "I understand you could chat this afternoon,

:14:34.:14:36.

grateful if we could speak about the way forward." The rely is", hi,

:14:37.:14:41.

David I haven't asked to speak to you, it is always a pleasure s this

:14:42.:14:45.

something the Local Government Association is trying to set up?"

:14:46.:14:51.

And Surrey then replies "I'm advised that the departmental officials and

:14:52.:14:54.

my director of finance have been working on a solution and have a

:14:55.:14:59.

memo of understanding." This Nick then says, "Do you know what it is b

:15:00.:15:04.

sorry I'm going clueless here." This suggests to us, rather than going to

:15:05.:15:12.

Nick King, Sajid Javid's SPAD, it went to Nick Ford at the "Local

:15:13.:15:16.

Government Association." The key text here would seem to be again,

:15:17.:15:20.

David Hodge, leader of Surrey council saying to Nick, "I have

:15:21.:15:25.

received clarification from my Chief Executive (and I have just spoken to

:15:26.:15:28.

various people) that the numbers you independenticated are the numbers

:15:29.:15:31.

that I understand are acceptable for me to accept and call off the

:15:32.:15:37.

referendum." So the clear implication here is that the leader

:15:38.:15:43.

of Surrey council, assumes he is doing a deal, some kind of deal that

:15:44.:15:47.

allows him not to proceed with this referendum to increase council tax

:15:48.:15:51.

by 15%. We are trying to piece this together as we go along but it is

:15:52.:15:55.

undoubtedly putting the Government on the back foot at the moment.

:15:56.:15:58.

Exactly what the deal is we don't know but as Mr Corbyn said if this

:15:59.:16:04.

deal was available to Surrey, an area which includes the

:16:05.:16:07.

constituencies of the Chancellor and the Health Secretary, for example, a

:16:08.:16:11.

staunch Tory area s this available to councils throughout? We will come

:16:12.:16:14.

back to this in a minute Laura has been pouring over what she knows but

:16:15.:16:19.

let's hear because you picked up on this too, and reflected in the

:16:20.:16:20.

e-mails. And as a result, people for Jeremy

:16:21.:16:30.

Corbyn had a good primer on Asos questions in contrast to last week.

:16:31.:16:34.

A viewer indeed says, I am sure overwhelmed A doctors and nurses

:16:35.:16:37.

will be reassured by the Prime Minister's kind words. They might

:16:38.:16:41.

have preferred greater investment government interference. PS, I agree

:16:42.:16:48.

with Nick, the memorandum of understanding one as opposed to Nick

:16:49.:16:53.

Clegg. Another says Jeremy Corbyn is more effective when he hammers

:16:54.:16:55.

through on health care. It was a good ploy to avoid mentioning

:16:56.:17:00.

Brexit. Talk of sweetheart deals is effective mudslinging rhetoric. It

:17:01.:17:04.

will make the news and united Labour for a day or two. Ian in Altrincham

:17:05.:17:08.

says after a terrible few weeks at PMQs, Jeremy Corbyn stormed back to

:17:09.:17:12.

be, admittedly on safe ground of the NHS and social care, but Mrs May was

:17:13.:17:17.

flawed, not answering Coggan's questions, reduced to insulting NHS

:17:18.:17:34.

Wales. Laura, we are now forced to call this Nickileaks! You stole my

:17:35.:17:37.

line! This could be extremely embarrassing for the government with

:17:38.:17:42.

a clear suggestion from Jeremy Corbyn and from these texts that

:17:43.:17:46.

Surrey Council, of course an area around with Tory MPs, some of them

:17:47.:17:51.

very senior, Jeremy Hunt, the Health Secretary, being one of them, which

:17:52.:17:55.

has somehow been given a special favour in terms of the numbers that

:17:56.:17:58.

are talked about in this text. The key phrase is that the numbers are

:17:59.:18:04.

acceptable for me to call off the referendum. That is clear evidence,

:18:05.:18:09.

not a slam dunk, because we have not seen the origin of these texts, that

:18:10.:18:14.

somehow a solid Tory area has been given a special deal to avoid their

:18:15.:18:18.

being an embarrassing referendum to put up council tax, which would be

:18:19.:18:21.

very unpopular. Theresa May didn't have answers at PMQs. They will be

:18:22.:18:25.

scrabbling to come up with some kind of response to this. This could be

:18:26.:18:34.

extremely embarrassing. Big question of how this came to light. Could it

:18:35.:18:37.

be Nick Forbes, the leader of Newcastle City Council and a senior

:18:38.:18:41.

figure at the Local Government Association? This could be extremely

:18:42.:18:44.

awkward in an area we have discussed so many times in the last few weeks.

:18:45.:18:48.

It is really difficult for the government. They don't have an

:18:49.:18:51.

answer right now on social care. Nick Gibb, can we confirm that you

:18:52.:18:58.

are not the Nick involved in this? Definitely not. There are a lot of

:18:59.:19:03.

Nicks around. Can we also establish that it is now impossible for the

:19:04.:19:08.

government to avoid explaining to us what deal has been done between

:19:09.:19:13.

central government and Surrey County Council? These are routine

:19:14.:19:19.

discussions that take place between the DC Oti and councils in the

:19:20.:19:22.

country as part of the local government financial settlement.

:19:23.:19:25.

They take place every year as they did under Labour. The final

:19:26.:19:29.

settlement will be published later this month. The House of Commons

:19:30.:19:35.

votes on it, so this is routine. But it cannot be routine if Surrey

:19:36.:19:38.

Council were planning a referendum to increase council tax by 50%. They

:19:39.:19:43.

have seen a cut in their central government grant since 2010 of ?170

:19:44.:19:49.

million at a time when a man for the services that that 170 million was

:19:50.:19:53.

meant to cover has been rising. So in real terms, it is a lot more.

:19:54.:19:59.

They wanted a 15% rise. They have to put that to a referendum. Something

:20:00.:20:03.

has been done, as we know from the texts. Let me get the reply -

:20:04.:20:10.

something was done to stop a referendum. It is a crony deal

:20:11.:20:14.

between Tories and Tories. That is clearly the implication. Well, the

:20:15.:20:18.

budget settlement in Surrey is a matter for Surrey County Council. I

:20:19.:20:22.

understand they voted it through last night. But these discussions

:20:23.:20:26.

between different councils of all political colours up and down the

:20:27.:20:31.

country take place every year as local authorities settle their

:20:32.:20:33.

financial agreements with the government. No secret memorandum.

:20:34.:20:41.

David Hodge thinks he was doing a deal. It is now clear that he

:20:42.:20:45.

thought he was sending it to Nick King, special adviser to Sajid

:20:46.:20:50.

Javid, but in fact sent it to a different Nick, Nick Forbes at the

:20:51.:20:56.

local government authority. And he of course is a Labour politician. I

:20:57.:21:03.

need to get reaction from you. I am gobsmacked. A good attempt, Nick,

:21:04.:21:07.

but to say this is routine, are you saying this happens on a routine

:21:08.:21:12.

basis that dodgy deals are done if you are in a Tory council and uterus

:21:13.:21:16.

may referendum, you get what you want? Somebody has to resign over

:21:17.:21:20.

this. This is a disgrace. There are people up and down the country

:21:21.:21:23.

suffering these cuts and if you press the button with your Tory

:21:24.:21:27.

mates, you get a good deal? It is an outrage and this is going to run and

:21:28.:21:31.

run. People had better lance this boil quick, or we will see all these

:21:32.:21:37.

documents published. We want to see it all fully disclosed, because this

:21:38.:21:41.

will haunt you if you don't get it right. There will be a demand for

:21:42.:21:44.

total transparency on this. It is not as if there are any security

:21:45.:21:49.

implications. Indeed, and we understand John Ashworth will call

:21:50.:21:57.

for an inquiry. He will suggest that all the correspondence around this

:21:58.:22:00.

should be published. The classic question, if there is nothing to

:22:01.:22:03.

hide and it is all routine, why should it not be out in the public

:22:04.:22:10.

domain? We will see what happens. The whole financial settlement is

:22:11.:22:17.

voted on by the House of Commons. We will see the numbers as they come

:22:18.:22:22.

out. The local government finance settlement was announced after the

:22:23.:22:25.

Autumn Statement. As we discussed at the time, it was delayed for a bit

:22:26.:22:29.

longer because local government leaders were fighting for an

:22:30.:22:32.

expected there to be something extra for them about social care. But

:22:33.:22:37.

there was not. So this row is pushing at a bruise that is already

:22:38.:22:43.

extremely painful. Won't it be the number that is the key? It is worth

:22:44.:22:48.

referring back to the text. "The Numbers you indicated", says David

:22:49.:22:53.

Hodge, "Other numbers I've understand are acceptable for me to

:22:54.:22:58.

call off the referendum". If this text is genuine - we haven't got

:22:59.:23:02.

hold of David Hodge yet or broken to whoever the Nick was - but this

:23:03.:23:10.

seems... What makes this politically difficult is that this is a Tory

:23:11.:23:14.

government, dealing with the Tory heartlands. You don't get more Tory

:23:15.:23:18.

than sorry. Ian McLeod used to refer to it as the deep South. And we know

:23:19.:23:26.

what he meant by that. It is interesting that they were so

:23:27.:23:31.

anxious to do some kind of deal. I would suggest that there was never

:23:32.:23:36.

any chance that Surrey, Tory heartland, was going to vote for a

:23:37.:23:40.

15% increase in council tax. My understanding is that they had voted

:23:41.:23:46.

for increases in the past. Not 15%. Probably not. But these issues do

:23:47.:23:50.

take place because you have to make sure that the figures are correct.

:23:51.:23:55.

We get this in school funding as well. The local authority sometimes

:23:56.:23:58.

comes to us and says, we put the wrong figures in the wrong box, can

:23:59.:24:05.

we have a mission to get extra money from the department? We look at

:24:06.:24:10.

those things every year. I am glad you mentioned school funding,

:24:11.:24:14.

because you will be glad to know that that is what we are going to

:24:15.:24:18.

move on to. We can talk to Toby Perkins, the Labour MP who asked the

:24:19.:24:21.

first question at PMQs, which was about the proposed changes to the

:24:22.:24:25.

government's funding formula for schools. What are your concerns?

:24:26.:24:30.

Well, the school that the government launched the pupil premium in in my

:24:31.:24:36.

constituency is facing the biggest cuts in Derbyshire. It is a very

:24:37.:24:40.

deprived school. 70% of the children are on free school meals. My sense

:24:41.:24:45.

is not only that there is not enough money generally for schools, but

:24:46.:24:49.

that the schools that need that support are facing the biggest cuts.

:24:50.:24:53.

Now we have the headteacher of that school running the Great North Run

:24:54.:24:57.

not for charity, but to try and prop up his core funding so he doesn't

:24:58.:25:01.

have to sack staff. We have the schools minister here. Why are the

:25:02.:25:06.

schools in that constituency, which is in a fairly deprived area, going

:25:07.:25:10.

to lose money and funding from this new formula which the Prime Minister

:25:11.:25:13.

said would be fairer? We are spending record amounts of money on

:25:14.:25:20.

school funding, ?40 billion. But there is increased demand. Yes, so

:25:21.:25:24.

it will rise to deal with that over the rest of the parliament to 42

:25:25.:25:28.

billion by 2019. We had to address the historic unfairness of the way

:25:29.:25:32.

the money was distributed. It is based on 2005 data which is out of

:25:33.:25:37.

date. It is based on an amalgamation of all kinds of grants which went to

:25:38.:25:41.

different parts of the country over a period of time. People have

:25:42.:25:46.

complained for years that this is unfair, so we have grasped the

:25:47.:25:50.

nettle. It is undoubtedly controversial, but we have set a

:25:51.:25:54.

series of principles like deprivation, low prior attainment of

:25:55.:25:57.

pupils and English as a second language. We have consulted on that

:25:58.:26:01.

and got agreement and have applied that two schools based on current

:26:02.:26:04.

data. You will find that some schools lose, because they have been

:26:05.:26:09.

funded more generously in the past. Toby Perkins, have your school is

:26:10.:26:13.

being funded more generously in the past? Derbyshire is one of the 40

:26:14.:26:17.

councils that are underfunded generally. But specifically, we are

:26:18.:26:24.

seeing the school that has the third greatest level of deprivation in all

:26:25.:26:27.

of Derbyshire being the one that gets the biggest cuts. The

:26:28.:26:31.

government are cutting the schools that have the kids with the biggest

:26:32.:26:36.

level of deprivation. It is not just people on the opposition like Toby

:26:37.:26:40.

Perkins. Graham Brady, a Conservative MP, has that

:26:41.:26:44.

historically, funding in his constituency has been extremely low.

:26:45.:26:48.

So it has led the Conservative leader of Kent County Council to say

:26:49.:26:51.

we welcome the new funding formula, but are we getting the right spots?

:26:52.:26:58.

We are. We are putting a great deal of money into deprivation. Then why

:26:59.:27:03.

is the school losing out? The anomaly is not the new funding

:27:04.:27:07.

formula. The anomaly is what happened before. We are having to

:27:08.:27:13.

address historic anomalies. For example, in London ten years ago,

:27:14.:27:18.

27% of pupils were eligible for free school meals. That figure is now 18%

:27:19.:27:22.

because of the increased prosperity of inner London. They are still the

:27:23.:27:26.

best funded part of the country. And now you are going to cut funding.

:27:27.:27:32.

But it is fairer now. 50% of schools will gain and 46% will see a small

:27:33.:27:38.

fall. But 1000 rural schools will have their budgets cut and the

:27:39.:27:42.

proposed formula. The whole idea was to help some of these rural schools

:27:43.:27:45.

in the government claim have lost out to areas like London. But

:27:46.:27:52.

schools will gain which never had it in the past. The point is, when you

:27:53.:27:56.

are creating a fairer national funding formula based on current

:27:57.:28:00.

data and you apply those numbers to the current year, you will see some

:28:01.:28:03.

schools rise and some schools fall. But overall, we are spending more on

:28:04.:28:07.

schools that we have ever done. We have to leave it there. In the

:28:08.:28:12.

interest of fairness, the Surrey County Council leader David Hodge

:28:13.:28:15.

has said that Surrey's decision not to proceed with a 15% council tax

:28:16.:28:22.

increase was ours alone. There has been no deal between Surrey County

:28:23.:28:29.

Council and the government. But these texts have to be expensive but

:28:30.:28:32.

we need to tell you what the year was. Whack that red button. It was

:28:33.:28:40.

1959. That is it for today. The one

:28:41.:28:51.

O'Clock News is starting on BBC One. We will be back tomorrow with

:28:52.:28:55.

another edition of the Daily Politics here on BBC Two. Bye-bye.

:28:56.:29:01.

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