:00:40. > :00:44.Hello and welcome to the Daily Politics.
:00:45. > :00:47.As Boris Johnson joins the list of ministers calling for the 1%
:00:48. > :00:50.public sector pay cap to be lifted, what price Cabinet
:00:51. > :00:54.And if the cap is lifted, how will it be paid for?
:00:55. > :00:56.Brexit could have big implications for Ireland.
:00:57. > :00:59.We'll be talking to a former ambassador who thinks it shouldn't
:01:00. > :01:13.During the campaign come up my recognition factor is suffered a bit
:01:14. > :01:18.of a setback when a picture of me was mistakenly substituted with a
:01:19. > :01:22.And as new MPs line up to make their first contributions
:01:23. > :01:24.in the Commons, we'll give them some tips on making the
:01:25. > :01:32.And with us for the whole of the programme today,
:01:33. > :01:34.two new MPs performing that other important rite of passage
:01:35. > :01:37.of life at Westminster - being guests of the day on the Daily
:01:38. > :01:41.It's Labour's Sarah Jones, she's the new MP for Croydon Central,
:01:42. > :01:47.and the Conservative Bim Afolami, he's the new MP for
:01:48. > :01:56.Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has this morning joined the ranks
:01:57. > :01:59.of ministers calling on his own government to consider
:02:00. > :02:01.lifting the pay cap for many public sector workers.
:02:02. > :02:05.But what exactly is the cap, and how many people does it affect?
:02:06. > :02:08.Some five million people work in the public sector in the UK -
:02:09. > :02:14.A third of them work for the NHS, and another third in education.
:02:15. > :02:22.Others work in local government, the police and the armed forces.
:02:23. > :02:25.To employ them all costs around ?180 billion a year, just over
:02:26. > :02:30.Public sector employees have seen their pay restricted
:02:31. > :02:34.Between 2011 and 2013, pay was frozen for all
:02:35. > :02:47.Since 2013, public sector pay has risen by 1% each year.
:02:48. > :02:50.However, some have been earning more - because automatic 'progression
:02:51. > :02:54.pay' means they move up the pay scale as they gain experience.
:02:55. > :02:58.The Government currently plans to extend the 1% cap
:02:59. > :03:02.to 2019-20, which is predicted to save around ?5 billion.
:03:03. > :03:06.In setting public sector pay, the Government has been
:03:07. > :03:08.following the recommendations of the eight independent pay review
:03:09. > :03:13.They report at different times of year.
:03:14. > :03:18.Pay rates for this year have already been set for all workers,
:03:19. > :03:20.but the Government could yet decide to lift the cap
:03:21. > :03:25.Well, we're joined now by Jonathan Cribb,
:03:26. > :03:30.from the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
:03:31. > :03:37.Many people think it is time to give public sector workers a bigger pay
:03:38. > :03:40.rise. Can you tell us what has been happening broadly the private sector
:03:41. > :03:45.and public sector pay over the last seven years? Yes, there is a
:03:46. > :03:52.relatively simple story that has happened since the recession.
:03:53. > :03:56.Between 2008 and 2011, private sector pay fell in real terms
:03:57. > :03:59.sharply while public sector pay continued to rise at roughly the
:04:00. > :04:04.same rate as it was before the recession. In 2011, private sector
:04:05. > :04:10.pay began to recover and pay restraint was introduced in the
:04:11. > :04:15.public sector. That means when we are sitting here in 2017, public and
:04:16. > :04:21.private sector pay have now grown at roughly the same rate when we look
:04:22. > :04:26.all the way back to 2070 2008 over that 10-year period. When you look
:04:27. > :04:36.at public sector pay now, what would the cost be for a rise in line with
:04:37. > :04:41.inflation? If public sector pay was increased in line with inflation for
:04:42. > :04:44.the next two years, that was the proposal for the Liberal Democrat
:04:45. > :04:52.Party at the last election. That would cost about ?4.1 billion per
:04:53. > :04:56.year in 2019 the extra amount the Government would need to give the
:04:57. > :05:03.departments and local government for those departments not have to make
:05:04. > :05:10.cuts elsewhere. It pay does not go further than the 1% cap in place at
:05:11. > :05:15.the moment, will public sector pay generally fall behind the private
:05:16. > :05:19.sector in the next few years? According to the office for budget
:05:20. > :05:27.responsibilities forecast, that was be the case -- the Office for Budget
:05:28. > :05:35.Responsibility's forecast. And that could exacerbate recruitment and
:05:36. > :05:44.retention problems in the public sector. Bim, inflation is running at
:05:45. > :05:49.2.9%, it is it time to end the 1% pay cut for public sector workers?
:05:50. > :05:53.There is definitely a case to be made that the 1% pay cut has been in
:05:54. > :05:59.place for too long. That case has been made, not just by me now and my
:06:00. > :06:04.maiden speech on Wednesday, but by several Conservative MPs. The
:06:05. > :06:09.question is, where'd we focus that? Is that generally a rise in all
:06:10. > :06:12.areas of the public sector, is it for all public sector workers? I
:06:13. > :06:16.would like a focus on the lowest paid public sector workers. Because
:06:17. > :06:21.they are the people of greatest need. And it is worth saying that
:06:22. > :06:26.public sector pay still is about 13% higher than private sector pay when
:06:27. > :06:30.you take the average. Although if you look at a number of graphs, it
:06:31. > :06:39.shows private sector pay is overtaking public sector pay broadly
:06:40. > :06:43.speaking. Well, that 30% number is over the last ten, 15 years. Really,
:06:44. > :06:47.I think the focus as far as I am concerned is in the lowest paid
:06:48. > :06:52.public sector workers if we can do something. If the pay review body
:06:53. > :06:55.says the cap should go, would you agree with that? We have to listen
:06:56. > :07:00.to the pay review body, that is why we have these bodies. Is it an area
:07:01. > :07:06.of weakness for the Government, so says Theresa May's Chief of Staff?
:07:07. > :07:09.In the seat Sarah Jones now has taken. Reflecting on the reasons why
:07:10. > :07:15.he lost the seat comment you agree with him? He knows he seat better
:07:16. > :07:18.than I do. It was an issue that came up in my campaign, in my
:07:19. > :07:22.constituency, so it is definitely an issue for the Government. But we
:07:23. > :07:27.have to make sure we deal with these things responsibly. Is it
:07:28. > :07:29.responsible for Cabinet ministers to publicly make this argument without
:07:30. > :07:36.having decided what the overall policy is going to be? I think
:07:37. > :07:40.Cabinet ministers, like all Members of Parliament, have their own views
:07:41. > :07:43.on a range of different subjects. I'll welcome politics where we can
:07:44. > :07:49.discuss views on a range of different subjects. In public? That
:07:50. > :07:52.is a reason we are in this programme, the talk in public in
:07:53. > :07:58.different areas of policy. You are different to a member of Cabinet,
:07:59. > :08:00.there is something called collective responsibility and should people
:08:01. > :08:04.like Michael Gove and Boris Johnson be talking about this publicly
:08:05. > :08:10.before a decision? I cannot speak about what they have said. Labour
:08:11. > :08:14.would scrap the 1% cap on public sector pay, how much of a pay raise
:08:15. > :08:18.would you like to see them get? We have to look at the reality on the
:08:19. > :08:23.ground in terms of the NHS and teachers. In our campaign, we would
:08:24. > :08:26.see time after time people leaving the public sex -- public services
:08:27. > :08:30.because they are under huge pressure and not being paid enough. We need
:08:31. > :08:35.to listen to what the pay review body say because they are the
:08:36. > :08:40.experts, and take a view as to what we can do and what is fiscally
:08:41. > :08:44.possible. In our manifesto, we would have taken measures to increase the
:08:45. > :08:49.funding we have so I think we need to look at what the pay review body
:08:50. > :08:53.says and reflect on the reality we see in hospitals and schools on the
:08:54. > :08:56.ground where people need to get paid a decent wage to keep them doing
:08:57. > :09:03.those jobs. What is a decent wage the usual words, and your colleague
:09:04. > :09:09.Jonathan Ashworth called it a fair Perez, how much? We have seen nurses
:09:10. > :09:13.getting about 14% loss in their income so we need to put that up. I
:09:14. > :09:17.do not know what that figure should be, I need to listen to the pay
:09:18. > :09:22.review bodies. But we do need to see a pay rise. And this is where Labour
:09:23. > :09:26.had been talking for many months about this, we need to have a
:09:27. > :09:29.conversation, what is the role of the state and providing the public
:09:30. > :09:33.services that we need? You said it had to be fiscally responsible as
:09:34. > :09:39.the IFS have estimated that if you were to rise, increase our big
:09:40. > :09:44.sector pay in line with the private sector pay, it costs about ?6.3
:09:45. > :09:52.billion a year by 2020, rising to ?9.2 billion a year by 2022. Labour
:09:53. > :09:56.budgeted for ?4 billion. Can the country afford those sorts of pay
:09:57. > :10:00.rises? If you look at the police force and the firemen who went above
:10:01. > :10:03.and beyond in the last couple of weeks and months in terms of doing
:10:04. > :10:10.their jobs, we need to give what we can. And you prepared to do 6.3
:10:11. > :10:14.billion, 9.2 billion by 2020? I would listen to the pay review
:10:15. > :10:17.bodies and do what we can. We would not be having this conversation if
:10:18. > :10:20.it was not for the Labour Party calling for these things and it is
:10:21. > :10:23.great they are having the same conversation, but we need to look at
:10:24. > :10:28.this collectively and sensibly and do what we can. There is a measure
:10:29. > :10:31.of agreement here that the independent pay bodies are important
:10:32. > :10:35.and they need to be listened to and I hope that is something possibly we
:10:36. > :10:41.could work on a cross-party and make sure once we listen to those pay
:10:42. > :10:46.bodies, then debate. Let's unpack this 1% pay cut. Some people had
:10:47. > :10:52.been receiving an annual pay increase of more than 1%. Which is
:10:53. > :10:58.noted by the NHS pay review body, 54% of NHS staff in England with
:10:59. > :11:03.Jude to receive pay increments of 3%, 4% on average in 2016-2017 some
:11:04. > :11:09.the cap does not apply across the board. So do you accept that are
:11:10. > :11:16.variations in terms of people being paid more than 1%? Yes, and what I
:11:17. > :11:19.said at the beginning, it is really important to focus, I think, in the
:11:20. > :11:25.lowest paid public sector workers at the moment. That was also included
:11:26. > :11:28.in the freezer and the 1% pay cap and did not apply to those at the
:11:29. > :11:34.lowest end, do we not look at those above that. I think you have got to
:11:35. > :11:39.look at a range and we could come up with a different definition of the
:11:40. > :11:43.lowest paid, but the important point is it is an important is system and
:11:44. > :11:47.you have different areas within the public sector and it is eight
:11:48. > :11:51.different pay review bodies, or several and we need to listen to
:11:52. > :11:55.what all of them say. But the central point is this is definitely
:11:56. > :12:03.the time to look again at the 1% and Seve we can lift it. In the timing,
:12:04. > :12:07.I do think there is an issue of not leaving people unsure of what is
:12:08. > :12:13.happening for the next six months. We have noises about wanting to do
:12:14. > :12:16.something, the pressure now from us should we need to do something
:12:17. > :12:21.sooner rather than later because there is so much uncertainty. And
:12:22. > :12:25.generous pensions in some parts of the public sector should also be
:12:26. > :12:28.looked at in the round when looking at pay? Pensions will always be part
:12:29. > :12:34.of the package. But the main point is, the debate and how it is moving
:12:35. > :12:36.in to a situation where I think the public and politicians are saying it
:12:37. > :12:37.is time to fund these things properly.
:12:38. > :12:44.The question for today is: MPs are reportedly worried
:12:45. > :12:49.Is it: a) The ghost of former Commons clerk 'Simon Stone'.
:12:50. > :12:51.b) The mythical rock which brings MPs good luck.
:12:52. > :12:54.c) The extra weight that new MPs gain due to an unhealthy lifestyle.
:12:55. > :12:57.Or d) The unusually large pips in apricots in the Commons canteen?
:12:58. > :13:00.At the end of the show, Sarah and Bim will give
:13:01. > :13:12.Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is now, in the words of his deputy leader
:13:13. > :13:14.Tom Watson, "completely secure" following the party's better
:13:15. > :13:19.Mr Watson said at the weekend that meant there was no need to rush
:13:20. > :13:22.through measures that would give members more power in the party's
:13:23. > :13:24.ruling body and the right to nominate leadership candidates.
:13:25. > :13:26.But does everyone in the Shadow Cabinet agree?
:13:27. > :13:29.Here's the Justice Secretary, Richard Burgon, speaking to Andrew
:13:30. > :13:41.I do believe that all parties, including the Labour Party, need to
:13:42. > :13:44.be made more democratic. We have got membership of well over half a
:13:45. > :13:49.million and I would like the members to have more say in our party's
:13:50. > :13:53.policies and in the way the party is run.
:13:54. > :14:01.What does he mean by being more democratic? I have been in the
:14:02. > :14:04.Labour Party 25 years and I have not met a member of the Labour Party who
:14:05. > :14:08.does not have strong views on virtually everything. We have more
:14:09. > :14:12.members as well which is fantastic and there is a question about how we
:14:13. > :14:17.run the party and how democracy works within the party, so what say
:14:18. > :14:22.the people have? In policy-making, the decisions... And should members
:14:23. > :14:27.have more say? Yes, there will be a big debate about this over the
:14:28. > :14:30.coming months. The key point is, Jeremy Corbyn is our leader and
:14:31. > :14:34.enormously popular now and he has done very well in terms of the
:14:35. > :14:37.election and that is clear. The slightly different conversation is
:14:38. > :14:42.how do we make sure the party runs as democratically as possible? Were
:14:43. > :14:47.you a fan of Jeremy Corbyn before the election? I did not vote for
:14:48. > :14:51.Jeremy, but he is responsible for my victory, I would say. Election
:14:52. > :14:53.campaign was one of the most extraordinary I have ever seen,
:14:54. > :15:00.having been in the party for many years. The shift was quite tangible
:15:01. > :15:04.in terms of the opinion of everybody that we would talking to and I think
:15:05. > :15:08.the more that we heard from Jeremy and the framing of the debate that
:15:09. > :15:13.was him being so clear about what we wanted rather than Theresa May being
:15:14. > :15:18.so weak was extraordinary and I think he did very well. Do you agree
:15:19. > :15:22.with moves within the party to take the power of electing or selecting
:15:23. > :15:31.the next leader out of the hands of MPs and going
:15:32. > :15:37.We haven't got any proposals on the table yet, we will have a debate at
:15:38. > :15:43.conference. But do you broadly agree with that? I think absolutely the
:15:44. > :15:46.MPs have a huge role to play and the membership has a huge role to play
:15:47. > :15:50.and we need to work out the balance and I don't know what that is. But
:15:51. > :15:55.would you like to see a lower threshold for nominations for
:15:56. > :15:58.leadership candidates? We will be talking about it locally in our
:15:59. > :16:02.general committee this week and we will see where we end up, but as I
:16:03. > :16:04.said everyone in the Labour Party will have a view about this and we
:16:05. > :16:21.will reach some kind of agreement at conference. Your new party chairman
:16:22. > :16:24.said Labour is too broad a church, do you agree with him? I don't think
:16:25. > :16:27.there's any question about that, all of the major political parties are
:16:28. > :16:30.brought a church. We are united, the question is who was in charge of the
:16:31. > :16:32.Conservative Party at the moment, who is running the country and I
:16:33. > :16:36.think those questions are to be answered and much more significant.
:16:37. > :16:40.Did you think you would be in a position as a new MP where Jeremy
:16:41. > :16:48.Corbyn was considered safe and secure in his future but Theresa May
:16:49. > :16:52.less so? I expected the Conservative Party would have a majority and it
:16:53. > :16:57.was obviously a very difficult night for us. It's been a difficult week
:16:58. > :17:02.subsequent to the election for us. I think what we are not hearing is
:17:03. > :17:08.that actually the divisions within the Labour Party are still deep and
:17:09. > :17:11.still quite substantial, in particular around Trident and the
:17:12. > :17:14.economic policy that effectively the hard left leadership wants to pursue
:17:15. > :17:20.which a lot of areas of the Labour Party don't want to pursue. But they
:17:21. > :17:25.do have an agreed policy on Trident, yes Jeremy Corbyn doesn't agree but
:17:26. > :17:30.there is a settled view. But it is a bit odd if your leader doesn't agree
:17:31. > :17:33.with the party policy. He may look safe and secure now but when we
:17:34. > :17:47.start to see these divisions open up I think he will be less so. Do you
:17:48. > :17:50.think mandatory reselection would be a good idea? There's already a
:17:51. > :17:52.process where the committee can... Sure, but mandatory reselection? I
:17:53. > :17:55.think all of these things need to be discussed. We are much larger party
:17:56. > :17:58.than we were, we need to have these conversations but the real question
:17:59. > :18:04.is how we will hold to account a government which is very weak, which
:18:05. > :18:06.is buying votes. Who was running it, we don't know and that's the real
:18:07. > :18:08.issue. The effect of Brexit on Ireland has
:18:09. > :18:11.so far focused on what it might mean for the border
:18:12. > :18:13.between Northern Ireland But in a report out today
:18:14. > :18:20.for the Policy Exchange think-tank, the former Irish ambassador
:18:21. > :18:22.Ray Bassett argues that allowing the EU to negotiate Brexit
:18:23. > :18:25.on Ireland's behalf may be a mistake, and the country
:18:26. > :18:33.should even consider Welcome to the programme. Why are
:18:34. > :18:41.you arguing Ireland should leave the single market and the customs union?
:18:42. > :18:48.Because circumstances have changed. Ireland in general wanted the UK to
:18:49. > :18:52.stay inside the EU but now it has changed and the UK are certainly
:18:53. > :18:57.leaving the EU, and it looks like they are leaving the single market
:18:58. > :19:02.and Customs union, we have to decide whether our best course is to stick
:19:03. > :19:06.with the remaining 26 or to look at the whole issue of maintaining our
:19:07. > :19:13.customs and free trade with the United Kingdom and may be seeking a
:19:14. > :19:20.new arrangement with the rest of the EU. But what is the best course of
:19:21. > :19:24.action for us. But why would Ireland prioritise the UK with a population
:19:25. > :19:30.of 65 million people over 26 member states with almost 500 million
:19:31. > :19:38.people? Because we have much greater connections with the UK. In a poll
:19:39. > :19:41.in Dublin, 56% of people in Ireland polled said they felt the
:19:42. > :19:49.relationship with the UK was more important than its relationship with
:19:50. > :19:52.the rest of Europe. Ireland and Britain have so many connections
:19:53. > :19:55.it's by far the most important bilateral relationship, so we have
:19:56. > :20:01.got to look, if we break that relationship as part of the EU, what
:20:02. > :20:07.do we get on the other side. The EU was moving in a direction that we
:20:08. > :20:15.don't particularly like. 88% of Irish people polled also believe the
:20:16. > :20:20.UK should stay in the European Union, so are you a lone voice? If
:20:21. > :20:26.it came to a choice and there was a hard Brexit most people said they
:20:27. > :20:30.would prefer to see us in an arrangement that didn't break up
:20:31. > :20:34.with the United Kingdom. But why should it break a relationship with
:20:35. > :20:41.Ireland? Ministers have been very keen to stress that relations should
:20:42. > :20:48.remain close with Ireland. Relations should remain closed but if you look
:20:49. > :20:53.at Michel Barnier, their priority with regard to Ireland is that
:20:54. > :20:57.whatever happens with Ireland the outcome must maintain the integrity
:20:58. > :21:07.of the union's legal order, so they are saying there will be customs
:21:08. > :21:13.posts and Ireland will be in the same situation as every other
:21:14. > :21:18.countries. We share the common jurisdiction for hundreds of years.
:21:19. > :21:22.Almost every organisation in Ireland is linked into the UK organisation
:21:23. > :21:28.and we don't know what the final format of Brexit is, but there is a
:21:29. > :21:33.danger the EU would prioritise itself and the maintenance of its
:21:34. > :21:38.integrity over these unique and special relationship between Ireland
:21:39. > :21:42.and Great Britain. But couldn't Ireland benefit from Brexit? It is
:21:43. > :21:49.in the eurozone which has found new confidence if you like following the
:21:50. > :21:52.of Emmanuel Macron. There could be a tightening of the relationships
:21:53. > :21:56.between those countries in the eurozone. Ireland has done well in
:21:57. > :22:01.terms of having one of the lowest corporation rates in the EU whilst
:22:02. > :22:06.still adhering to rules and regulations, so what's not to like
:22:07. > :22:10.for Ireland? You have just touched on it. Emmanuel Macron has picked
:22:11. > :22:17.out Ireland as his target in terms of trying to get a consolidated
:22:18. > :22:21.corporation tax rate, a common tax rate across Europe. There huge
:22:22. > :22:25.pressures coming on Ireland now to raise its tax rate and our biggest
:22:26. > :22:29.ally in doing that along with the Netherlands has been the UK. We will
:22:30. > :22:35.find it difficult to maintain that type of relationship that we had in
:22:36. > :22:38.the past without the UK. OK, Ray Bassett, thank you very much.
:22:39. > :22:41.When an MP speaks for the first time in the Commons after their election
:22:42. > :22:45.It's an opportunity for them to praise their constituency,
:22:46. > :22:47.set out their priorities, and sometimes even raise a smile.
:22:48. > :22:50.Let's have a look at a few of them from recent,
:22:51. > :22:54.It is a very great privilege to be standing here
:22:55. > :22:57.I want to stress that this speech tonight, Mr Deputy Speaker,
:22:58. > :23:00.is not a maiden speech, as I've been specifically instructed
:23:01. > :23:03.by the Speaker that whatever maiden status I may have once possessed
:23:04. > :23:13.It is daunting on these occasions to have members of one's family
:23:14. > :23:18.Worse, I feel, to have them sitting in the chamber.
:23:19. > :23:19.Any increase in aggregate supplementary credit
:23:20. > :23:22.approvals issued will result in an increase in PSBR.
:23:23. > :23:24.We had great generals, like John Churchill,
:23:25. > :23:25.Duke of Marlborough, who was rewarded with
:23:26. > :23:28.Blenheim Palace for his victories in the War of the Spanish
:23:29. > :23:38.As on this side of the House, we settle our own issue
:23:39. > :23:40.of succession, Spanish or otherwise, I can, er...
:23:41. > :23:44.We are now in the ridiculous situation whereby because I am
:23:45. > :23:48.an MP, not only am I the youngest, but I am now also the only 20 year
:23:49. > :23:51.old in the whole of the UK that the Chancellor's prepared
:23:52. > :23:55.When I moved into my new office, on the very first morning
:23:56. > :23:58.I was there, the first telephone call I received, I eagerly
:23:59. > :24:00.picked up the receiver to see who this could be,
:24:01. > :24:03.only to discover that the person on the other end of the line only
:24:04. > :24:09.There is no offsetting effect on PSBR for any notional release
:24:10. > :24:15.The now ageing VC10s which thunder down the runway loaded with fuel
:24:16. > :24:17.for our fighter aircraft are fondly known locally as Prescotts,
:24:18. > :24:19.because they are able to refuel two Jaguars simultaneously.
:24:20. > :24:31.During the campaign, my recognition factor suffered a bit
:24:32. > :24:33.of a setback when one campaign profile mistakenly substituted
:24:34. > :24:35.a picture of me with a photo of a brick wall.
:24:36. > :24:47.We're joined now by the Labour MP Paul Flynn.
:24:48. > :24:50.He's written a book about how to be an MP.
:24:51. > :24:57.Do you remember what you said in your maiden speech? I followed the
:24:58. > :25:01.precept of don't change the speech, change the audience, so I made a
:25:02. > :25:04.speech I have done a hundred times before with a good opening line and
:25:05. > :25:11.a good finishing line and as short a period as possible in between the
:25:12. > :25:16.two. That's when you did yours, would you still give that advice as
:25:17. > :25:20.the main components to new MPs? Yes, you have to stick to the ritual
:25:21. > :25:24.because it's a terrifying experience. They go from the fear,
:25:25. > :25:29.and you longer you put off the hurdle the higher it becomes. You
:25:30. > :25:32.have the fear beforehand and the joy afterwards of having done it. There
:25:33. > :25:37.have been some wonderful maiden speeches over the years. Stephen
:25:38. > :25:40.Pound actually ran down his constituency, couldn't find anything
:25:41. > :25:49.good to say about it except an elephant died their 100 years ago
:25:50. > :25:53.and the elephant was so embarrassed by dying there he crawled over the
:25:54. > :25:56.boundary to do it, a very funny speech. We have seen remarkable
:25:57. > :26:02.maiden speeches of people who have made a great impression. The MP for
:26:03. > :26:10.North West Durham made a very impassioned speech that went on to
:26:11. > :26:19.make a hit on the web as well but it was based on her experience as a
:26:20. > :26:23.worker in the mental health... And the new member of Kensington was
:26:24. > :26:27.brilliant, faced with this awful calamity and she combined that and
:26:28. > :26:38.spoke with great authority, pointing out there are many poor people, poor
:26:39. > :26:47.children in Kensington as there are in Lanark. You have been through it,
:26:48. > :26:51.was it frightening, Bim? Yes it was beforehand, but this is testament to
:26:52. > :26:56.more senior colleagues, people really want you to do well. So you
:26:57. > :27:00.feel they are wanting you to succeed. They laugh at your
:27:01. > :27:08.admittedly not terribly funny jokes and that gives you that confidence
:27:09. > :27:11.which then allows you to go for it. The speaker congratulated you on
:27:12. > :27:20.your maiden speech, I have never heard of it before. Unique, I think.
:27:21. > :27:25.There you go! And what was the main thrust of your speech? I talked
:27:26. > :27:29.about my predecessor, Peter Lilley, the I talked about my constituency
:27:30. > :27:36.and constituents, and the I talked about education and how important it
:27:37. > :27:45.was, important for a 21st-century skill -based economy, then I talked
:27:46. > :27:55.about a just society at the end. I haven't written mine yet, it gets
:27:56. > :28:02.more scary as I go. I have ask two questions and that was scary enough.
:28:03. > :28:08.When do you do it? You write to the speaker and ask, and choose a
:28:09. > :28:14.particular debate. Anything in it that you know you will say already?
:28:15. > :28:17.Education will be a huge part of it and my responsibilities as an MP of
:28:18. > :28:20.course. There's just time before we go
:28:21. > :28:23.to find out the answer to our quiz. MPs are reportedly worried
:28:24. > :28:26.about the Westminster stone. A) The ghost of former
:28:27. > :28:38.Commons clerk 'Simon Stone' b) A mythical rock that
:28:39. > :28:40.brings luck c) The extra weight that new MPs gain
:28:41. > :28:43.or d) The large apricot So, Sarah and Bim, what's
:28:44. > :28:46.the correct answer? C, the extra weight
:28:47. > :28:49.new MPs are said to gain That's all for today.
:28:50. > :28:53.Thanks to our guests. I'll be back with all
:28:54. > :28:55.the big political stories of the day tomorrow,
:28:56. > :28:57.and we're on at the earlier time of 11am again because of Wimbledon -
:28:58. > :29:01.do join me then.