25/10/2017 Daily Politics

Morning, folks.

Welcome to the Daily Politics.

How much wiggle room

does the Chancellor have

for his Budget next month?

Latest figures show the economy

picked up a little bit of speed

in the third quarter of this year.

Could that mean a small rise

in interest rates next week?

Labour MP Jared O'Mara should be

suspended according to two

MPs from his own party.

He denies abusing a young woman

in an incident in March.

We'll have the latest.

When will Parliament vote on a

Brexit deal? David Davis said it

could happen after March 20 19.

And we'll full coverage of today's

big parliamentary clash -

Prime Minister's Questions will be

live and uninterrupted from midday.

All that in the next 90 minutes.

With me for the duration

the Business Minister Margot James

and the Shadow Treasury

Minister Anneliese Dodds.

Welcome to you both.

Jared O'Mara is the Labour MP who

defeated Nick Clegg in the Sheffield

Hallam seat in the election and has

been in trouble since the website

Guido Fawkes published details of

comments he made many years ago and

then more today from 2009, and an

allegation we will show you more

recently. As we came on air, the

Labour Party announced Jared O'Mara

had been suspended. The Labour whip

has been withdrawn from him pending

an investigation into what he is

alleged to have said. That will now

go one. He will not be covered by

the Labour whip until the

investigation is finished.

Sophie Evans told this programme

yesterday that O'Mara verbally

abused her while out

in with friends - a claim

more recent that he strongly denies.

JoCo asked Sophie what

exactly he said to her.

Some of the things

are not broadcastable.

But there were some

transphobic slurs in there.

He called me an ugly

BLEEP.

I just thought, wow,

he's not a very nice man,

and kind of just forgot about it.

I knew that he was

kind of involved in

politics, but I had no idea

at the time that he was running

for MP for Sheffield Hallam,

which is my constituency.

The news this morning Jared O'Mara

the Labour MP, the whip has been

suspended, taken away while the

investigation goes on.

Labour should

have done this from the start? To be

fair, the allegations and

information about what he said has

only come out the last couple of

days and Labour acted quickly,

saying they need to be an

investigation. The suspension has

been agreed as of now and it is

important we have a proper

investigation and find out what has

happened. Jared O'Mara came to the

PLP meeting on Monday night and

apologised, but an apology is not

enough we need an investigation. It

shows it is being taken seriously.

It is Labour Party process that if

someone is investigated, you suspend

them during the investigation and

that did not happen.

I am not sure

that is always the case.

I quote one

saying they have rules in the Labour

Party, we suspend and investigate

and make a decision, fellow Labour

MP.

About that specific person,

perhaps but generally the Labour

Party will deal with issues within

the rules, which I do not think say

you have to suspend an individual

but clearly the party came to the

decision in this case it was right

to suspend him while the

investigation goes on and it should

happen because what he said was not

acceptable and we need to find out

if the latest allegations are true.

Jared O'Mara was essentially chosen

to stand against Nick Clegg by the

NEC. He was essentially forced onto

the constituency. Did not one in the

NEC vet him?

As you know all

candidates certainly for the Labour

Party and most other parties are

chosen through an accelerated

process, normally they would be

chosen by a vote through members...

Does the NEC not to vet candidates

they are essentially forcing onto

the constituency?

There was a panel

and in my case there was a panel

formed from the NEC that would go

through the different candidates and

party at the investigation will be

finding out exactly how that process

went.

He had been a Labour candidate

before, so this was the second time,

so he was known to the party, it was

not the constituency decision, it

was an NEC decision he stand against

Nick Clegg. Did not one in Labour

headquarters vet him?

You are also

required, as a candidate, to say if

there is anything in your history

that could cause embarrassment to

the party and it is important to

people take that seriously.

He

must've said no. I do not know. If

you said yes, surely you would not

let him run? There has to be a

balance. If you knew he had said

things that cannot be repeated on

daytime television, if he had said

these things, the homophobic, the

sexist comments, racist comments

about Spaniards and Danes, are you

telling me, if you knew that, he

would have been allowed to stand as

a candidate?

It would not have been

my decision and I do not think as an

elected politician it would be right

for me to choose.

Would your party

have allowed him to stand?

I would

say around this, on Monday evening,

he said that he was very embarrassed

and ashamed about what he said back

then and accepted it was wrong and

said he had changed as a person. We

have had more recent allegations

since but the issue is, if you have

people, who in the past held views

that are horrible, but they now

renounce the views and say they are

ashamed of them and they are a

different person and want to work to

help the people they were being

horrible about before, should we say

in every case we turn our backs?

Only when a Tory says it, that is

the Labour attitude. When it is

Tories, they should be hung, drawn,

quartered. When it is a fellow

Labour MP you say he is on a

journey.

He is being investigated. I

am not saying it is the case with

him. I have never been like that, to

be fair. In the past, if they were

announced it and said they regretted

it and want to right wrongs, that is

the right thing to do.

The most

recent remarks involving Angelina

Jolie, I think. In some ways more

horrendous than the previous ones,

they were in 2009 and he had already

been a Labour candidate.

I have not

seen the most recent remarks but

there is an investigation within the

Labour Party that will decide about

his future within the party which is

the right thing to do. It is

appropriate we look at evidence and

decide the way forward.

Mr Omar Rowe

denies the allegations made on the

Daily Politics yesterday. -- Jared

O'Mara denies those allegations from

yesterday on the programme. The

original ones are from 15 years ago

and he has apologised. He was very

young 15 years ago. Should he be

allowed to apologise and get on with

it?

If it just pertains to remarks

made as a young man and he said he

was going through a troublesome

patch, I do not feel, these days, we

can necessarily condemn people out

of hand, never shall they represent

people in Parliament, for remarks

made at a young age. I am

sympathetic to the decision by the

Labour Party not to suspend him

straightaway. The more recent

allegations are more serious and

need to be investigated. Sophie who

was on a few minutes ago seemed a

credible witness and serious

allegations to be answered.

We will

see how the investigation goes.

Brexit Secretary David Davis says

Parliament may not get a chance to

vote on any deal with the EU before

we leave. He has been speaking in

the Commons to the Brexit Select

Committee.

Let's listen. You have

made two observations, the first is

your answer when you said it is

possible Parliament might not vote

on the deal until after the end of

March 20 19. I am summarising

correctly what you said?

In the

event we do not do the deal until

then.

That was Hilary Benn, the

chairman of the Brexit Select

Committee. We used him to clarify

what had been said.

Will Parliament get a vote on the

deal?

Parliament has agreed, the

government agreed for a vote on the

deal by Parliament and that was

agreed in March.

So there will be a

vote. Whatever, assuming a deal is

done, what ever is agreed with

Michel Barnier and David Davis, the

deal is there, Parliament will get a

vote for and against?

That is what

Parliament agreed in March. When

will that vote the? You heard what

David Davis said. I think the

government is confident of getting a

deal before the actual deadline of

March 19. In any case, we are

pressing for an implementation

period of approximately two years

after that date.

That will be part

of the deal?

We would hope to get

that agreed sooner than the final

deal because we need that certainty.

The implementation period will be

part of the deal? The implementation

period I imagine would be part of

the deal that we have to remember

nothing is agreed until everything

is agreed and I would not want to be

too pronounced on that but the

objective the Prime Minister set

out, which is a two-year roughly

implementation period will be

agreed, hopefully by the end of this

year, early next.

You say it is

clear, but it is not clear, some of

the finest minds in the building

spent the morning trying to work out

what David Davis was saying. Let me

continue with basic questions. What

would be the point of a vote in

parliament after March 2019? When in

effect we would have left?

You only

played a short clip from the hearing

and my impression from what David

Davis was saying was that, in

theory, if the negotiations went up

to midnight on D-Day, Parliament

might have a vote immediately

afterwards. What with the? I think

his tone was such that would be

unlikely.

He he raised it. The

committee raised it. He answered it

saying yes. If there were a vote

after 2019 on a deal, the deal has

been done, it went to the wire,

which has happened in Europe, but

the vote cannot happen until after

the end. Surely the Parliament's

choices Hobson's Choice, to vote for

the deal or to vote to leave without

a deal.

That is the choice? I think

we are getting ahead of ourselves.

We want to negotiate the

implementation period and we have

had a good response from Europe in

that they also want that and that

should be in place.

If it goes to

the wire, there will not be a vote

until after the Article 50 process

is done and dusted?

If the

implementation period is agreed as

part of the overall length of time,

there will not be any change.

Either

we get out with the deal, or get out

without one. Parliament having a

vote is no real choice on that.

I

think if there is a serious threat

of Britain leaving without a deal we

will know before March 20 19.

That

is not what David Davis said this

morning so it is not that clear.

What do you make of it? I think we

are in a worrying situation. The

Prime Minister sowed more seeds of

confusion because she said, and does

not seem to have gone against this,

that we could not sort out the

transition deal until we sort of the

trade deal which is part of the

final deal. The government seems all

over the place and it is worrying

because it has an impact on

businesses already and on individual

citizens, particularly EU citizens,

so I implore the government to get

more of a grip on this.

Will the

trade deal, the future relationship

with the EU, be part of the deal, or

will it be decided in the

transition?

I would hope that would be part of

the deal. Article 50 actually states

when we leave the European Union we

leave with our future arrangements

agreed, at least in principle. So I

expect

You don't know?

I think what

you have to remember, Andrew, there

are two parties to this negotiation.

But I am remembering - I am not

asking about the EU's position. I am

trying to get the Government's

position and you are not able to

tell me.

The Government's position

is that we will leave the European

Union in March 2019 with an

proximate length of two years for an

implementation period for business

to get used to...

I asked if there

would be a trade teal or not.

I

would hope...

You would hope.

Of

course.

We will see if things get

clarified as the day goes on. It was

a confusing session in place that

MrDavis had with the Commons Select

Committee:

Committee.

The latest figures show that

economic growth has picked up

month, and has prompted fresh

speculation that a rise in interest

rates could be in the offing

when the Bank of England

meets next week.

So how is the economy doing?

Elizabeth Glinka is

here with the details.

That's right, Andrew.

The economy is estimated to have

grown by 0.4% in the third

quarter of this year.

That's a slightly higher growth rate

than we saw in the previous quarter.

Earlier this month, the Office

for Budget Responsibility

said that productivity,

that's the amount generated

by each worker per hour,

has grown by just 0.2% per year

on average over the last five years.

However, the monthly deficit,

that's the amount the Government

borrows every month,

fell to £5.9 billion in September.

That's the lowest

Government borrowing in any

September since 2007.

But inflation remains high,

it's currently at 3%,

according to the latest figures,

and that will squeeze people's

incomes and spending power.

The unemployment rate

is still at an historic low,

it's currently at 4.3%

which is the joint lowest

it's been since 1975.

And next week the Bank

of England will have to decide

whether to raise the interest rate.

Last month, the bank

hinted that the rate,

which is currently a quarter

of a percent, may rise

in the near future.

That would be bad news for people

with mortgages and other debts.

And Philip Hammond will, of course,

have to make all these figures add

up in his Budget which is exactly

four weeks away on

Wednesday 22nd November.

Let's speak now to our economics

editor Kamal Ahmed, who's

at the Francis Crick Institute

in central London where

the Chancellor has been

visiting this morning.

In the glorious sunshine as well in

this late autumn. So growth a wee

bit better than the case in the

first and second quarters, but --

rises the chance of interest rates

too, what's your take on it?

I

think, as you say, it's sunnier here

today, and I have just been with the

Chancellor at the Francis Crick

Institute where he has announced

more money for science research, £17

million. They won't be hanging the

bunting out at the Treasury, but he

felt in a slightly better mood about

the economic news. It's not

euphoria, but it's resilience as he

would describe it, the economy at

the moment. That's around services,

we are still buying stuff. The

consumer is still feeling confident,

despite that income squeeze that you

have been talking about. Also

manufacturing, of course, sterling

has declined in value, meant that

exports, for example, abroad are

more competitive. That seems to be

reflected in the manufacturing

figures. Still big problems over

productivity. I have spoken to the

Chancellor, he is under pressure

from some Cabinet ministers, on

housing, for example, saying we

should borrow more. Cool note on

that to me from the Chancellor. I

think he still is trying to reveal

he is a true fiscal Conservative as

he would describe himself, he wants

to get that budget into balance by

the middle of the next decade.

Didn't seem to signal he wanted to

open the taps to me, despite the

claims from education, from health,

from housing, that more money needs

to be spent. So he says he still

wants to go steady as we go. He said

Brexit uncertainty was still there.

Certainly today a sense of slightly

better news on the British economy

and, frankly, that notion of

resilience, there is still momentum

in the way we are performing.

Thank

you.

So, growth is rising again. The

fiscal deficit is down. Unemployment

is as low, has never been lower

since Harald Wilson was in Downing

Street. It's not quite what

Remainers like you told us would

happen to the British economy.

It's

important nobody talks down the

British economy, I am proud of it.

There are two areas that weren't

covered in the otherwise very good

reports there. First of all, around

living standards. We have had the

longest squeeze on wages in Britain

since Napoleonic times. When people

are spending a lot is driven by debt

which is concerning, we are seeing

record levels of consumer debt.

Secondly, we need to put Britain

into the context of other comparable

countries. We are 31st out of 34OECD

countries at the moment for our GDP

growth. That's not a record we

should be proud of. We are behind

the eurozone countries when it comes

to growth. Yes, a little bit more

growth, that's positive. But put us

into international comparison...

Your side of the Brexit argument

didn't tell us growth was going to

continue. Didn't tell us the deficit

would continue continue to come

down. Rather than unemployment

continue to fall, you told us it

would soar. So you were wrong?

I

never made claims saying that birds

were going to fall out of the sky

the day after...

I didn't mention

birds, just talked about jobs and

growth.

I have a lot of concerns

about the problems with the British

economy and you can see that in

international comparison. Yes, we

may have a little tick up in GDP

growth, but as I said, into

comparison with other developed

countries, we are really doing very,

very poorly.

Actually that's not

quite true. You are taking it

short-term. Since the great crash,

all right, you tell me, compare the

growth rates of the eurozone since

the great crash with Britain, what

answer do you get?

Actually, since

the great crash we have had the

slowest growing three quarters

recently in Britain.

That's been

this year. This economy is now about

8% bigger than it was before the

crash. How big is the eurozone

economy?

In overall terms, some of

those countries fell faster than we

did. Greece, etc had enormous

problems. Currently...

No, how big

is it?

I can't tell you off the top

of my head.

It's still smaller, I

will tell you. Britain and America

have. You don't know your figures.

The eurozone, is that actually,

people's as growth is kicked in,

people's incomes have been going up.

That has not happened in Britain. We

are unique pretty much...

We are not

going up in 2011, 12, 13. Let me

come to Margaret James. You told us

growth would collapse, the deficit

would rise, joblessness would soar

in the short-term. You were wrong,

as well.

Well, certainly the

Treasury forecasts were wrong, yes.

I certainly didn't use any of those

Treasury forecasts in anything that

I campaigned on or wrote about.

It

was just George Osborne was it?

It I

appreciate it sounds like I am

trying to disown it. I would never

have gone with those rather extreme

projections.

Did you say that to

George Osborne at the time, you

didn't believe the projections?

I

said it to everybody involved in the

campaign that I knew at the time,

yes.

You didn't cast doubt on them

in public?

I never used them.

Because I thought they weren't the

real problem. The real worries for

me were much longer term. It was

really around foreign and direct

investment, which accounts for

approximately 50% of our economy,

inspired by foreign direct

investment in the British economy.

The FDI doesn't account for 50% of

GDP.

In terms of the number of

companies foreign investors invest

in and drive, it is a huge

proportion. I think it is almost

50%.

Have you seen signs of that

falling?

I think there are concerns.

I think that we need to be alive to

those concerns.

Is FDI falling?

It's

not falling yet.

You are the

business Minister.

There are threats

on the horizon. We have managed, I

think, if I could just finish, we

have managed to allay a lot of the

concerns in the short-term about

foreign direct investment in

industries like the auto industry.

The key word is yet, in area answer.

Exactly.

So you still fear it could

fall?

We have to be alive to this.

This is why it's so important that

we secure a good deal on our exit

from the European Union. And we give

investors, both British investors

and foreign investors confidence

that we can continue to trade

effectively and easily with the

single market.

The British economy

has slowed this year. Even with the

latest figures for quarter three

which show a bit of a rise again. Do

you put that down to Brexit?

Well,

the British economy is, the last

quarter is slightly better than

people forecast.

Overall, it's

slowed.

I think...

Probably less.

That was the figure I was given this

morning. It's a respectable level of

growth, considering the adjustment

we are making and obviously the

uncertainty that Brexit has aroused,

we have to take that on board and

despite the economy is growing. And

the other things that were outlined

in the film.

Of the major economies,

who is growing more slowly than us

this year?

Of the G7 we will have to

wait...

Not just that, make it the

G20.

There is no doubt our growth

has slowed relative to our

neighbours. But don't forget that it

was fast above our neighbours prior

to the beginning of this year.

Who

is growing more slowly now?

Within

the G7 I think that, we will have to

wait until the year end, we will be

one of the slower growing economies.

Among the OECD countries, only

Portugal and Turkey are growing more

slowly.

You always have the answer

to questions you pose, Andrew. Let's

wait until the year end.

Very well.

Not long to go, actually!

How many shopping days to Christmas!

Let's not go there.

The big news today isn't Brexit,

it isn't the GDP figures,

it isn't even Donald Trump.

It is, of course, the news that

Jeremy Corbyn has agreed to appear

on the hit Channel 4 show Gogglebox.

As you would expect,

there's been a lot of speculation

about what Mr Corbyn's favourite

show will be.

Could it be that BBC

documentary on manhole covers?

Perhaps it's a Gardeners World

special on allotments.

Well, wonder no longer,

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That's bbc.co.uk/Daily Politics.

It's coming up to midday here.

Big Ben is there. Dark clouds

behind. It's sunny here, though,

despite the best efforts of the

scaffolders to hide that beautiful

face. Prime Minister's questions

will be with us in a few minutes.

What do you think is going to

happen, what areas do we believe

will be covered by the front bench

exchanges?

We will see. You would

imagine the Prime Minister might be

invited to take up where David Davis

left off, although Jeremy Corbyn as

herself seen in the past is a little

bit allergic to the subject of

Brexit, something to do one imagines

with divisions on the Labour

benches. We will see. It may be very

tempting. Why do I say that? David

Davis, the Secretary of State has

been giving evidence to MPs on a

Commons committee this morning. We

know David Davis, amiable chap

though he is is not the sort of guy

to duck a fight. Watching that

committee, I am sure you were

watching too, it looked at times

like the political equivalent of a

special forces training video.

He is

ex-special forces.

Might or might

not come in handy. We saw the

Secretary of State effectively

telling the House of Commons,

including some on his own side who

will not I think be happy with this,

telling them we could get to the

point at the Brexit negotiations

right to the midnight hour, the last

minute, and then the deal is done.

Problem with that is these MPs want

a vote for parliament on the deal

which would mean effectively

presenting parliament with a fait Au

Complete. There are scenarios if we

get to that. They all add up to one

or other constitutional crisis. Also

in the course of this interesting

interview session he spoke of the

negotiations to come and made it

clear in his view he was sticking

absolutely to the idea of concluding

all negotiations until the moment at

the moment of exit in March of 2019,

if not before, including trade.

So

his aim is to get a trade deal as

part of the overall deal.

The whole

thing done by that deadline. Even

though Michel Barnier has spoken

about three years to get that trade

deal done. Others in the field who

know something about it have spoken

about much longer periods. There was

David Davis ambition but the choice

on offer effectively was do the

whole deal by then, or we go away,

there is no deal, it's WTO. The

World Trade Organisation rules and

the threat in the background or

inducement was you don't want that

any more than we do. We will see.

You mentioned the midnight hour,

what a great programme that was.

Let's go over to the House of

Commons.

Mr Speaker... Mr Speaker. I'm sure

all members across the house will

wish to join me in wishing all of

the home nations teams the best of

luck in the rugby league World Cup

starting this week. This morning I

had meetings with ministerial

colleagues and others and in

addition to my duties in this House

I will further meetings today.

Social care services in England are

in crisis. Since 2010 the local

council in Manchester had its annual

social care budget cut by 32

million. By March the government

will have taken 6.3 billion out of

social care. Why won't the Prime

Minister match Labour's commitment

to invest 8 billion in social care

in the budget?

As I have said in

this House we recognise the pressure

on social care as we see an ageing

population. There are short-term and

medium term and long-term answers

and in the short-term we have made

extra funding available to local

authorities and the announcement

made in the budget was for an extra

£2 billion for local authorities and

in the medium term we need to ensure

best practice is observed in local

authorities and NHS trusts and in

some cases delayed discharges are

higher than others and in the

long-term we need a sustainable

footing for social care which is why

we will be publishing an open

consultation on ideas and proposals

to ensure we can have that system in

future.

The Prime Minister will be

aware of the roles supported housing

plays with many vulnerable people in

Torbay. What reassurance can she

give about the ongoing support the

government is giving to those vital

services?

He raises an important

issue and something we have looked

at closely. Since my right

honourable friend the first

Secretary of State commissioned work

on this when he was Work and

Pensions Secretary. I confirmed we

will publish our response to that

consultation on Tuesday, 31st of

October and it will look at a range

of issues, and we need to ensure

funding is right so all providers

are able to access it effectively

and we need to look at issues such

as the increase in service charges,

making sure we are looking at cost

control in the sector. As part of

our response to the review we will

not apply if the cap to supported

housing and we will not implement it

in the wider social rented sectors.

The details will be made available

when we publish our response.

Jeremy Corbyn.

Mr Speaker, Mr Speaker, I joined the

Prime Minister in wishing the rugby

league team the best in the

competition and I hope they win it.

Last week, the house voted by 299-0

to pause the roll-out of Universal

Credit. Will the Prime Minister

respect the will of the house?

As I

have said we acknowledge that there

are concerns people have raised and

as we have been rolling it out we

have listened to those changes have

been made. Perhaps I could update

the house on where we are on the

roll-out of Universal Credit.

Currently, people claiming benefits,

8% are on Universal Credit and by

January next year it will rise to

10%. The roll-out is conducted in

three phases and the intention is it

will complete by 2022. It is being

done in a measured way and I am

pleased to say four out of five

people are satisfied or very

satisfied with the service they are

receiving. Universal Credit helps

people into the workplace and make

sure work pays and that's what the

system should do.

I would have

thought that if only 8% of the

roll-out has taken place, and 20% of

the people in receipt are

dissatisfied, that is the cause for

thought, maybe a pause in the

process. Last week only one

Conservative MP had the courage of

their convictions to vote with us on

suspending Universal Credit

roll-out. For... Then, Mr Speaker, a

Conservative member of the Welsh

Assembly, Angela Burns said, and I

quote, for the life of me I cannot

understand why a six week or four

week gap is deemed acceptable. She

called Universal Credit Kallis at

best and downright cruel at worst

and concluded by saying she is

ashamed of her government. Can the

Prime Minister ease her colleague's

shame by pausing and fixing

Universal Credit?

We have been

making changes to the implementation

as it has gone through the roll-out.

Let's be clear about why we

introduced Universal Credit. It is a

system...

Members are getting

overexcited. The question has been

put and the answer will be heard.

We

introduced Universal Credit is a

more straightforward system that

ensures the work pays and helps

people into the workplace. Let's

look at what happened in the system

under Labour. Under Labour the low

paid page tax and had it paid back

to them in benefits. Under Labour,

people were trapped on a life of

benefits for years. Under Labour,

the number of workless households

doubled. Labour's benefits system

cost households extra £3000 a year.

What the Conservatives have done is

give the low paid a pay rise, given

the work as a tax cut and ensure we

have the benefit system that helps

people into work.

Under Labour, 1

million children were lifted out of

poverty. Under Labour we introduced

the principle of the national

minimum wage, opposed by all Tories

over there. If the Prime Minister is

not prepared to listen to Angela

Burns, perhaps she could listen to

the architect of Universal Credit,

The Right Honourable member for

Chingford, who said one of the

reasons I resigned from the

government was I did not actually

agree with the additional waiting

days. This is something the

government needs to look at. Does

the Prime Minister agree with him?

This is not just the answer I have

given three or four times in this

PMQs but in previous PMQs. As we

look at Universal Credit roll-out we

look at the way in which we

introduce it. He talks about what

happened under Labour and I am happy

to talk about what happened under

Labour.

Order! Too much noise and

finger-pointing on both sides of the

chamber. The responses from the

Prime Minister will be heard as more

questions from the opposition and

every other member, without fear or

favour.

Under the Labour Party, The

right honourable gentleman is

talking about rolling out of a new

benefit system. Let's think about

what happened when the Labour Party

rushed to introduce tax credits. I

was not the only member of

Parliament who had people in my

constituency surgery who had filled

in the force properly, given their

information to the authorities, and

years later, the government came

back and landed them with bills for

thousands of pounds. That is what

happens when you rush into a system

rather than introducing it properly,

as we are.

I thought we had passed

the threshold last week when the

Prime Minister was going to answer

questions but we have not achieved

that yet. Labour introduced working

tax credits to help people on low

pay out of poverty and it made a

very big difference. The sad truth

is that Universal Credit is in such

a mess that councils are forced to

pick up the Bill. An example,

Croydon Council, which piloted the

scheme, is now spending £3 million

of its own budget to prevent tenants

from being evicted due to rent

arrears caused by Universal Credit.

Does the Prime Minister think it is

right or fair that hard-pressed

local authorities, having their

budget cut by central government and

having to dip in what little they

have got left to prevent people

being evicted when they know it is

the responsibility of this

government and its Universal Credit

system that is causing the problem.

Labour introduced working tax

credits and then called back

thousands of pounds from people

working hard. He raises the issue of

rent arrears. Members have concerns

over people managing budgets to pay

their rent. The majority, for the

majority, it is not an issue,

managing their budget and after four

months, the number of people on

Universal Credit in arrears has

fallen by one third. We recognise

the issue so we're working with

landlords and have built flexibility

into the system so landlords can be

paid directly. Nobody can be legally

evicted from social housing due to

short-term rent arrears. I think

that is an important point to get

across to people. I come back to the

essential point about Universal

Credit. It is about a welfare system

that helps people into work and

makes work pay and does not trap

people in benefits for years.

I note

the Prime Minister could not say

anything about people being evicted

from the private rental sector

because of Universal Credit

problems. The costs are driven by

low pay and high rents. In 2015 the

then Chancellor promised £9 and our

living wage. In the March budget who

was sneaked out the minimum wage

would only reach £8 75. The welfare

state was not created to subsidise

low-paying employers and

overcharging landlords. Will the

budget in November put the onus

back...

Order! I expect better of

you. You were better behaved when

you were at Oxford University. What

has happened to you, man?

Calm

yourself. My question is this, will

the budget in November put the onus

back on to employers to pay a decent

wage so that workers can make ends

meet?

Of course we want to ensure

there are higher paid jobs, that is

why we are investing in the economy

and why we are investing in

infrastructure and in schools for

young people and why we are

introducing a modern industrial

strategy. He says that he did... The

welfare system was not created to

subsidise employers paying low

wages. That is what Labour's working

tax credit system did!

The Government's own social mobility

commission reported that low pay was

endemic in the United Kingdom, one

in four workers permanently stuck in

low paid jobs. That's why Labour

backs a real living wage of £10 per

hour to make work pay. This

Government doesn't really know

whether it's coming or going. They

say... Mr Speaker, the Conservative

Party and the Government says they

have full confidence in universal

credit. But won't vote for it. They

say they will end the NHS pay cap

but won't allocate any money to pay

for it. The communities Secretary

backs £50 billion of borrowing on

housing, but the Chancellor says

it's not policy. The Brexit

Secretary says they're planning for

a no deal Brexit. The Chancellor

says they're not. Isn't the case, Mr

Speaker, this Government is weak,

incompetent, divided and unable to

take a decision...

Order, order!

Order. I said that the responses

from the Prime Minister would be

heard. And the remarks of the right

honourable gentleman will be heard.

You can try to shout him down and

other members can try to shout the

Prime Minister down. It won't work.

End of. Jeremy Corbyn.

Isn't it the

case that this Government is weak,

incompetent and divided and unable

to take the essential decisions

necessary for the good of the people

of this country?

Now, I will tell

the right honourable gentleman, of

course we want to see people earning

higher wages. Of course we want, as

we are doing, to be able to ensure

we can invest in our public

services. But the way to do that,

the way to have a higher standard of

living, to have higher wages, to

invest in our public services, to

have a better future for people in

this country, is to build and

continue to build that stronger

economy and you don't build a

stronger economy by losing control

of public finances. You don't build

a stronger economy by uncontrolled

borrowing. You don't build a

stronger economy by hitting people

with the highest taxes in our

peacetime history. You don't build a

stronger economy by voting against

progress in our Brexit negotiations.

And you don't... You don't build a

stronger economy by planning for

capital flight and a run on the

pound. That's what Labour would do

and we will never let it happen.

Thank you, MrSpeaker. Some people in

Plymouth are campaigning by way of a

petition to say that lifeboats must

be launched immediately a fishing

vessel is overdue, I believe this is

irresponsible and puts our valiant

lifeboat crews in peril if they

don't know where they're going. We

know this in Cornwall. Would the

Prime Minister look at making safety

grants available so that all fishing

boats can have an AIS locater beacon

on board, this cost well under £4

million, even if every registered

fishing vessel under 15 metres got a

full grant for covering the whole

cost, my late husband had one of

these aboard his boat.

Can I thank

my honourable friend for raising

this issue and as she has just said

I know this is an area where she

tragically has personal experience

and I would like to commend her for

the work she has done in this

important area and for championing

these causes. I think she is right,

launching a lifeboat whenever a

fishing vessel is overdue may be the

wrong decision, it could as she says

be dangerous for the crew involved,

that's why the coastguard do take

time to gather valuable information

before deciding how best to respond.

On the issue she has raised, there

are a number of grants available

from various safety schemes and I

would encourage all those involved

in fishing to make the most of those

grants that are available.

Thank

you, MrSpeaker. Does the Prime

Minister agree with me that

migration is key to delivering

sustainable economic growth?

What I

think is absolutely key is to ensure

that we have controlled migration in

this country, that's what the people

of this country want and that's what

this Government is delivering.

An

American couple moved to Scotland

and invested £400,000 to run an

award-winning guesthouse in

Inverness. They contribute to their

community in the local economy. Yet,

they will be deported because of a

retro spective change by how was

rules. Will the Prime Minister meet

with me to discuss this case and the

systemic problems with UK migration?

My right honourable friend, the Home

Secretary, is happy to meet with the

honourable friend in order to

discuss this specific case he has

raised. It's absolutely right is

that the Home Office does work to

ensure that the immigration rules

are being properly applied and that

action is being taken according to

those rules.

Now it is time to hear

MrSimon Hoare.

Thank you, I have

composed myself. I was greatly

cheered last week as I am sure many

colleagues were, the German

Chancellor say that a final deal

with regards to protection is going

to happen. Does my right honourable

friend agree with my assessment that

we are going to get a good deal,

that works for our country, for the

European Union and possibly more

importantly, for my conconstitute

yepts of North Dorset.

I do agree

with my honourable friend, I believe

that we are - our job is to get the

bes Brexit deal for Britain. I we

can. I believe it's a deal that will

benefit the United Kingdom, that

will benefit the United Kingdom

across all parts of the UK,

including his constituency. That we

maximise the benefits from leaving

the EU, while ensuring we maintain

the greatest possible access to EU

markets. That's what we are

continuing to work on, that's what

vision I set out in my Florence

speech, and the European Union as we

know are now preparing their

response to that.

The Prime Minister

has previously stated her commitment

to apprenticeships. However, in my

constituency the apprenticeship levy

has not been helping those for whom

it was designed. What steps will she

take to ensure apprenticeships help

those from lower income backgrounds?

Well, apprenticeships are important.

We have already in the Government

from 2010 to 2015, we saw two

million more apprenticeships

created.

The important point about

apprenticeships is that this is an

opportunity for young people, not to

feel they just have to be -

encouraged to go down an academic

route when that doesn't work for

them. When I meet apprentices they

say, many of them this is the best

thing they've done and we want to

make sure it's available for all

those who will benefit from it.

Can

the Prime Minister assure me that

the right road, school places, post

boxes and of course especially

healthcare provision will be in

place to support both my new

constituents and the up withes I

have got at the moment.

Well, can I

first of all congratulate my

honourable friend and say that I am

pleased that the district is doing

what we recognise we need to do to

build, to tackle dysfunctional

housing marringet, which is to build

more homes. She is right,

infrastructure is also an important

part of that. That's why we have

committed to £15 billion for road

investment strategy, over half a

trillion will be spent on the NHS in

England during this parliament. A

record £41 billion will be spent on

core funding for schools this year.

That I am pleased to say is the

record of Conservatives in

Government.

In 24 hours the people

of Dundee will wave off the bid for

the 2023 European capital of

culture. A fantastic bid which will

generate some 1500 jobs and add 5%

to local GDP. Can I ask the Prime

Minister, notwithstanding her

current difficulties with Europe, to

back this bid, given it comes from

the most innovative and forward

looking city in the whole of the UK.

Well, can I say to the honourable

friend that of course we are always

willing to back bids from any city

in the United Kingdom to become the

European City of Culture. But I

welcome the fact that Dundee has put

a bid forward. And is part of this.

As I say, we want to support all

cities in the United Kingdom who are

doing it.

It is a criminal offence

for those like teachers in a

position of trust to have a sexual

relationship with those young people

under 18. But a constituent came to

me recently distressed about exactly

such a relationship between his

17-year-old daughter and a middle

aged driving instructor. Now while

if consensual it's not illegal, I am

concerned that there might be risks

to young drivers being groomed by a

predatory instructor. Does my right

honourable friend agree that driving

instructors are by the nature of

their work in a position of trust,

should be covered by the same rules

as teachers and if so would she ask

the relevant Minister to work with

me on this?

I am concerned to hear

the case of of his constituent

raised and I recognise the position

and the role that driving

instructors play. Can I say to my

honourable friend I think it's

something that I will ask the

appropriate department to look at

and to get in touch with him to get

further details of this case.

In

March 2019 the Prime Minister told

this house that parliament would be

given a meaningful vote on the tems

of the Article 50 withdrawal bill.

This morning, in the Brexit Select

Committee the Secretary of State

told us that vote may not take place

until after March 2019. Can the

Prime Minister please explain how

it's possible to have a meaningsful

vote on something that's already

taken place?

As the honourable

friend knows we are in negotiations

with the European Union but I am

confident that we will - the

timetable under the Lisbon Treaty

does give time until March 2019 for

negotiations to take place. But I am

confident, because it is in the

interests of both sides, it's not

just this parliament that wants to

have a vote on that deal, but

actually there will be ratification

by other parliaments that we will be

able to achieve that agreement and

that negotiation in time for this

parliament to have the vote that we

committed.

We enter a week of

commemorations around the centenary

of the balance Ford declaration.

Would the Prime Minister rededicate

us to the pursuit of peace and

justice for both the Israelis and

the Palestinians, but celebrate with

pride our small national

contribution to the creation of a

democracy in the Middle East, a

sanctuary for those who suffered

from anti-Semitism and fear its rise

again and in the state of Israel a

true friend of the United Kingdom.

Well, can I first of all say to my

honourable friend that we are proud

of the role that we played in the

creation of the state of Israel and

we will certainly mark the centenary

with pride. I am also pleased at the

good trade relations and other

relationships that we have with

Israel and that we have are building

on and enhancing. We also must be

conscious of the sensitivitying some

people do have about the declaration

and we recognise that there is more

work to be done. We remain committed

to the two-state solution in

relation to Israel and the

Palestinians. That is an important

aim. I think it's important that we

all recommit to ensuring that we can

provide security, stability and

justice for both Israelis and

Palestinians through such a lasting

peace.

Trying to get a decision on

the Swansea tidal lagoon is becoming

like Groundhog Day. Can I ask the

Prime Minister when she will be

ready?

I say to the honourable lady

as she knows this raises a number of

complex issues, we are grateful for

the review that was conducted and

the relevant department is still -

the business department is

considering this and we will respond

in due course.

Does the Prime

Minister agree that as we leave the

EU and take control of our land

management policy our manifesto

commitment to planned 11 million

trees is a critical part of a

holistic countryside management

framework which we can now build to

ensure long-term home grown wood for

our housing industry alongside

increasing our natural carbon

capture potential and reducing flood

risks.

Well, my honourable friend is

absolutely right, we did commit in

our manifesto to plant 11 million

trees. We are putting that at the

heart of our work to protect the

environment for future generations.

I am pleased to say that since April

2015 we have planted just over two

million trees. But we do have much

more to do and we will be continuing

to work with landowners and

stakeholders on this particular

issue. But it is also about the role

that trees play in reducing flood

risks and helping to hold carbon

dioxide.

The banister has spoken on mental

health.

Can I thank her for that?

When she was Home Secretary she

outlawed police cells used for those

in mental health crisis but today

parts of the system are in crisis.

In my constituency, children, young

people and families, weighted two

years for autism assessments. The

Secretary of State agrees it is not

acceptable. Can I ask the Prime

Minister if she will turn her

well-intentioned statements into

action?

We are taking a number of

courses of action and he has raised

the issue of the autism diagnosis

and the length of time it takes. I

know my right honourable friend the

Health Secretary has looked into

this and will do so because we are

clear we want to insure adults and

children should not have to face too

long for period of diagnosis to take

place. The Department of Health is

working with partners to address

these issues. And the clinical

guidance sets out assessment should

begin within three months of

referral. It is within the

Department of Health to work in

those areas to make sure it is

possible to achieve.

Tomorrow at

Cornwall airport the bloodhound will

carry out its first test run in the

next step on its quest to achieve

the land speed record. Will the

Prime Minister join me in wishing

the team, especially the driver Andy

Greene a successful test run and

does she agreed these projects show

the UK continues to lead the world

in innovation in science and

engineering?

I am very happy to join

him in wishing the team well and I

have met some of the members of the

team. I agree with the point he

makes that this continues to show

what a world leader in science and

innovation UK ears. We have some of

the best universities with four in

the world top ten and more Nobel

prizewinners than any country

outside of the United States. I am

sure we will all be proud of the

Bloodhound team.

Does the Prime

Minister agree that as a result of

the potential downgrading of

Huddersfield Royal Infirmary, 479

professionals lost, over 300

hospital beds cut and a 90 minute

journey to the nearest A&E are not

in the best interests of

constituents? And will she meets to

discuss the detrimental impact this

will have on the area?

The principle

we want to base their decisions on

is service changes should be based

on clear evidence and led by

clinicians who best understand what

the local needs are. I understand

that councils have referred the

changes to the Health Secretary and

I know he will consider those issues

carefully and come to a decision in

due course.

Next year sees the

centenary of the first woman member

of Parliament. Would my right

honourable friend tell us what

leadership and encouragement to the

women and girls in his constituency

to take part in public life is a

member for Sheffield Herm has shown

in his remarks?

Can I say --

Sheffield Hallam. It is important we

mark the centenary and recognise the

role women have played in this House

and in public life. I want to see

young women and women able to see

this House is the place they want to

come to, they want to contribute to

their society, want to respond to

needs of local constituents and make

a difference to people'slives. That

is what I am in it for and why I

encouraged women to come into this

House and I'm pleased to say we have

more women on our benches ever

before. Finally, all of us in this

House should have due care and

attention to the way in which we

refer to other people. And should

show women in public life the

respect they deserve.

Yesterday the

Scottish Parliament voted by 91-28

to ban fracking in Scotland. Could I

ask why the Prime Minister would not

consider following Scotland's lead

and introducing a moratorium on the

rest of the UK in order that there

can be an evaluation of the health

and environmental consequences of

this controversial technology and in

order of the public can be

consulted?

This is an issue on which

he and I will disagree because I

think shale gas has the potential to

power economic growth and it will

support thousands of jobs in the oil

and gas industry and other sectors

and it will provide a new domestic

energy source. We have more than 50

years of drilling experience and one

of the best records for economic

development while protecting the

environment. Shell wealth funds will

provide additional resources and

local councils will be able to

retain hundred per cent collected

from shale gas developments. We will

bring in further proposals but this

is a potential new source of energy

and it is right we use this and take

the benefits for the economy and

people'sfutures.

I'm sure the Prime

Minister is aware of the terrifying

incident on Sunday where a gunman

held hostages at a bowling alley in

my neighbouring constituency

Nuneaton, a facility enjoyed by my

constituents. Will she join me in

praising the excellent work in

Warwickshire Police and West

Midlands ambulance did in ensuring

the situation was brought to a swift

conclusion without casualties?

Can I

say of course we were concerned to

hear of the incident and I am happy

to join him and the honourable

member for Nuneaton in commending

the professionalism and bravery of

Warwickshire Police in bringing this

to a swift conclusion and to the

Ambulance Service in ensuring there

were no injuries. The emergency

services do an amazing job and this

is the sort of incident when they do

not know whether this is the sort of

thing they will have to be called to

and I was pleased to welcome

emergency services personnel to a

reception in Downing Street on

Monday, and what they all say and

always say is they were just doing

their job but my goodness me, what a

job they do.

On the 29th of March, I

asked the Prime Minister if she

would help the people of new ferry

after the huge explosion that

devastated the town centre. She said

she was happy to help and they would

be support offered to the community.

Two weeks later she called a general

election and her government seems to

have forgotten about the people in

new ferry. While she may have

forgotten, my constituents have not.

I ask again, precisely when will

Heard government put their hands in

their pockets so the people in new

ferry can rebuild their town and

lives?

The government has not

forgotten about the issue and I

understand that we are waiting for

the local council to produce

proposals and a business case and we

will look at those seriously.

In

acknowledging the hard work of the

men and women at RAF Benson in my

constituency for the work they did

in the Caribbean, will she

acknowledged the Puma to helicopter

was ready and available for work in

the Caribbean within a couple of

hours of having arrived?

I am very

happy to commend the work of those

at RAF Benson and those in the

military and volunteers who provided

support after the devastating

hurricanes that took place and I am

also happy to agree with him that

contrary to some stories put about,

we were there, on time, and able to

act quickly in getting people

support.

We can all agree no one

should ever be persecuted on account

of their sexuality. Last week at the

Pink News awards, the Prime Minister

said we had come a long way on LGBT

rights that there is more to do. Can

I ask to start that work today by

promising that never again will the

Home Office deport LGBT asylum

seekers to countries where they are

unlikely to be persecuted with the

instruction that they pretend to be

straight?

Can I say to the

honourable lady this is an issue

that we take seriously. I think I'm

right in saying the Conservative

government changed the rules on

asylum seeking to introduce the

category of those who could face

persecution in their home of origin

because of their sexuality. I am

pleased that was done and I am sure

the Home Office treats all cases

with a sensitivity that is

appropriate.

As of 2016, 17% of the

premises in Scotland were without

superfast broadband compared to 11%

for the UK as a whole. Will she join

me in calling on the Scottish

Government to do more and

constructively engage with

departments in Westminster to

deliver this crucial service in

communities in Scotland?

Can I

say...

Can I say? Order! All sorts

of curious hand and finger gestures

are being deployed, each trying to

outdo the other in terms of

eccentricity but I am interested in

hearing the Prime Minister's reply.

Can I say that we all recognise the

importance of broadband and fast

broadband being available to people

but he is right, the members of the

Scottish Nationalist party come to

Westminster. They spend a lot of

time talking about Powell is for the

Scottish Government. It is time the

Scottish Government got on with

using its powers for the benefit of

people in Scotland.

Mr Speaker, in

the past fortnight we have heard the

announcement of the loss of many

hundreds of jobs in Lancashire at

BAE Systems sites which is a hammer

blow to workers and families. Today

I want to raise a proposed closure

impressed and that will mean the

loss of another 180 jobs. We keep

hearing the hype about the Northern

Powerhouse. Why are aerospace and

trade manufacturers in the North

shedding jobs by hundreds?

I

recognise this is a worrying time

for workers involved. Obviously, we

will ensure through the Department

for Work and Pensions they have

support to look for new jobs which

includes the rapid response service

which gives particular support to

people in these areas. In relation

to the decision by BAE Systems, I

assure the house we will continue to

promote this industry and I hope all

Labour members will continue to

promote the defence industry. I am

glad that last month we signed a

statement of intent with Qatar and

last year the Ministry of Defence

spent £3.7 billion with Bae and are

working with them to maximise export

opportunities for Typhoons in Hawks

to retain jobs in the UK.

When it

comes to tackling homelessness,

prevention is better than cure, so I

am delighted the government backed

my Homelessness Reduction Act. One

of the obstacles to people is

putting together a deposit for rent

and help with the rent. Will my

right honourable friend look at a

scheme that will provide 32,000

people a year the opportunity to

rent for an investment of £3.1

million per year, and not only that,

to save the public purse up to £1.8

billion over a three-year period?

I

thank him for the issue he has

campaigned on, the issue of

homelessness and preventing

homelessness and I am pleased we

supported his Homelessness Reduction

Act and I think that will be an

important contribution. I understand

on the specific issue he has raised,

he has made a representation to the

Chancellor and I am sure he will

look at that representation

carefully. On the general issue of

helping people to buy and helping

with deposits, I'm pleased to

announce the extra £10 million of

the to buy scheme, which makes a to

people to get into homes.

The

workforce, the unions and management

at Bombardier in Belfast deserve

credit for the way they responded to

the threats coming from the United

States and Boeing, which is a threat

to their jobs. Can the Prime

Minister given assurance she will

continue building on the good work

that has happened through herself

the Secretary of State for business

and also the Northern Ireland

Secretary and work with the unions

and management to ensure the threat

of tariffs is removed. The C series

is a success story and thousands of

jobs in Belfast are protected and

across the United Kingdom, as well?

I am very happy to give that

commitment. A lot of work has been

done in relation to this by myself

and by the Business Secretary and

Chancellor and other ministers with

their opposite numbers in America

and Canada. We will continue to do

that work. Most recent announcement

made in relation to Airbus and the C

series is important, but we want to

ensure those jobs stay in Northern

Ireland because we recognise the

importance of the jobs for the

economy of Northern Ireland and for

the people and their families.

Order.

Jeremy Corbyn went on universal

credit. He probably thinks he is

scratching -- scratching at a

bruise. We have some figures. Only

8% of those in receipt of benefits

are now being covered by the

rollout. 10% by January and won't

finish until 2022. The Prime

Minister claimed four out of five

subject to this rollout are

satisfied. Jeremy Corbyn pointed out

that meant 20% were not happy with

what happened and caused problems

getting into rent arrears and so on.

Then a walk down memory lane on

Labour's welfare policies versus

Tory welfare policies. Going all the

way back to Labour's introduction of

tax credits. Jeremy Corbyn finished

on the problem of low pay and rising

rents and problems with universal

credit being paid in time, of which

there have been a number of cases.

Interestingly, earlier on, the Prime

Minister made an important

announcement, particularly for those

in the private rented sector, if you

are on low pay in the private

represented sector you qualify for

what is called local housing

allowance. MrOsbourne when he was

Chancellor had frozen that allowance

and as inflation is getting higher

that becomes a cut in real terms.

Although we haven't got all the

details it would seem that freeze on

LHA, which goes to the poorer of the

1. 5 million private renters, then

that freeze is now over. It could be

worth several hundred pounds, I

understand. We will get more details

of that as the day goes on. It was -

the announcement was rather hidden.

I think the Prime Minister may also

referred they were going to look at

the social housing element of this,

as well. You have been following

this, haven't you?

Yes, I think she

just said they would be looking at

the cap on the local housing

allowance...

Which was the freeze.

Indeed. There has been changes that

have meant that much wider areas are

covered. For example, for a high

cost we are assessed as having the

same cost as the whole of

Oxfordshire. I think she was talking

about social rented sector. If it

was...

Not the private side?

I think

that would have a very big impact,

just covering councils, I hope this

will be adequate funded because a

lot of them are already very

stretched but I suppose we need to

see the detail.

There are 4. 5

million people who now rent

privately, households, not people.

It's a big increase, twice what it

was in the year 2000. Partly because

people can't afford their own homes

any more. 1. 5 million of these

people are on the poorer end of the

income scale, they depend on this

LHA to be able to pay their rent. It

would be a case for doing something

about them too if they're not

covered.

As you rightly say, people

in social housing are all covered by

that now. You make a good point

about the rising rents in the

private sector. I think that we will

hear more details today about a

separate proposal to use at least a

third of the savings that we managed

to make from the freeze that has

come to an end.

The freeze has come

to an end?

I believe so.

For private

as well as social?

No, for social -

we have made savings and we are

going to make a third of those

savings available to areas in the

country where private rents are even

higher than the average. So that we

are doing something to help people

who are renting in the private

sector.

Well, you will be aware,

according to the ONS that the

problem, because the demand for

private rent has been growing so

much and this applies not so much,

people on low incomes find it hard

to meet the rent rises, particularly

if they have problems with universal

credit and so on, according to the

ONS the ending of private sectors

tenancies is the single biggest

cause of statutory homelessness in

England. These are people made

homeless because they - the rent has

gone up in the private sector and

they can't afford the rent rise.

That would seem to be rather serious

social problem.

I quite agree, I

think it is a serious problem that's

why we are trying to address it at

the higher end of rent increases in

areas where they are significantly

above the average. There will be

money made available to assist

people.

Briefly

If I may that's

short-term, we need to deal with

precious in the first place, if you

are taking money from a previous

cost savings that's going to run out

quickly. We need to have a long-term

solution and Labour set out some

ways.

One of the ways is to build

more houses.

When are you going to

do that?

The Prime Minister is going

to take charge of this area of

policy, she has the former housing

Minister...

We know all that.

We

will see progress.

We will keep an

eye on whether there is that

progress, we have heard it before. I

want to talk about Brexit. Before we

do, more on this story about whether

parliament would get a vote on the

final Brexit deal before we leave in

March 2019.

The Brexit Secretary this

morning suggested that,

if negotiations went up to the wire,

that any Parliamentary vote

might not happen till

AFTER we leave in 2019.

Number Ten has issued

a clarification saying,

"the Government's intention

and expectation is to get a deal

in good time for the vote to happen

before we leave in March 2019.