21/12/2017 Daily Politics

Hello and welcome to

the Daily Politics.

He's gone - Theresa May

has sacked Damian Green,

after an inquiry found he'd made

'misleading statements'

about pornography found

on his office computer.

The Prime Minister has lost a close

ally and her third cabinet

minister in two months.

This year has seen Theresa May's

fortunes transformed for the worse,

a lot worse, while Jeremy Corbyn

ends within reach of power -

unless he isn't.

We'll look back at

the highs and the lows of 2017.

You know what, it's been

a busy year in politics.

And who knows what

the next 12 months could hold?

So we've come here to London's

West End to ask Christmas shoppers,

are you feeling optimistic

or pessimistic about 2018?

And it isn't Christmas until we've

revealed which well-known political

figure has put on the white beard

to become this year's

Daily Politics Secret Santa.

All that in the next hour of this

Daily Politics Christmas Special,

our last programme of 2017.

And the very best one

to present, it says here.

Andrew and Jo wrote that before

they went off Christmas shopping

and left me behind to fill in.

What a year it's been

in politics, though.

We'll look back, and look forward

to another one in 2018.

And joining me for all of it,

four guests we'd all love to see

turning up on our doorstep singing -

MPs Peter Bone and Jess Phillips,

and the journalists

Zoe Williams and Harry Cole.

Welcome to all of you.

First today, let's talk

about the big story

that broke last night,

just as MPs were voting

on the withdrawal bill

in the Commons, the news that

Theresa May had sacked her deputy

and old university friend,

the First Secretary

of State Damian Green.

His job had been hanging

in the balance since the beginning

of November after claims

of inappropriate behaviour

towards a journalist,

and claims he had viewed pornography

on a computer in his office.

He denied both and still does,

but an official inquiry found he'd

made untrue and misleading

statements denying he even knew

about the pornography,

and for that he had to go.

He is the third minister

to resign in two months.

So a big political story to end

the year, and Ellie Price

is here with the details.

John, thank you.

Damian Green was being investigated

by an official at the Cabinet Office

after allegations that he made

unwanted advances and sent

inappropriate messages

to the writer and journalist,

Kate Maltby, in 2015.

He was also being investigated

about public statements he made

about claims by police that

pornography was found

on his parliamentary computer.

Officers had raided his office back

in 2008 during a separate

investigation into

Home Office leaks.

Damian Green strongly denied both

of these accusations and has

maintained his innocence throughout.

The Cabinet Office report said

he had made "inaccurate

and misleading" statements

by denying he knew about

the discovery of the pornography,

and had breached

the ministerial code.

Regarding Kate Maltby,

the investigation found

there were "competing

and contradictory accounts"

and it was "not possible to reach

a definitive conclusion"

on the appropriateness

of Damian Green's behaviour.

Although they added that Ms Maltby's

account was "plausible".

The report finishes by saying that

Damian Green maintains his innocence

over claims he viewed pornography

on his Parliamentary computer

and the investigation reaches

"no conclusion" on this matter.

In her letter to Damian Green,

Theresa May expressed "deep

regret" at his departure

but said his actions "fell short"

of the conduct expected

of a cabinet minister.

In his reply, Damian Green

admitted his statements

about the pornography

could have been "clearer".

And apologised that

they were "misleading".

He also apologised to Kate Maltby

for making her feel uncomfortable.

John.

Thanks very much.

Let's talk now to our political

correspondent, Alex Forsyth.

Alex, hello, what are you picking up

now on this sacking, what have you

heard from Downing Street? And the

House of Commons?

The overwhelming

thing you get, especially from

Theresa May's letter to Damian Green

is the regret at the fact he had to

go. It cannot be estimated how close

these two were, they met at

university 40 years ago, they were

in parliament at the same time, they

are close friends and allies, he was

her trusted confidant, that comes

across in the opening few lines of

her letter. She sets it out clearly.

There's no doubt Theresa May didn't

want to have to make this decision

but because of that breach of the

ministerial code that only talked

about, she felt she had no choice.

It's interesting, there are a number

of Conservative MPs pointing the

finger at the role of police. There

were two officers who made public

the fact that pornography had been

found on computers in Damian Green's

office. They have been criticised by

not least the Metropolitan Police

commissioner looking into the fact

that they disclosed confidential

information, and now a number of

Conservative MPs saying that perhaps

that was not the right thing to do.

Theresa May herself, in her letter

to Damian Green, said she had

concerns about the action of police.

I do think there's a sense that

while Theresa May felt that she had

little choice but to take this

course of action that she wanted to

avoid, there are bigger questions

about what happened more broadly

when it came to the raid on Damian

Green's offers a number of years ago

and what was found subsequently.

It's worth saying that the police

officers who disclose that

information said they felt compelled

to do so because it was in the

public interest and they feared a

cover-up but on that front I think

there is more to come. When it comes

to Theresa May and her government

there is no doubt that she cuts a

lonely figure at the top having lost

Damian Green.

No mushroom cloud in

the Tory party about this, we

remember David Davis in the Cabinet,

he threw a protective arm around

Damian Green when this went to a new

level if you days ago. He said

effectively through intermediaries

that he would be prepared to walk if

Damian Green was the victim of a

police revenge operation. He's not

going to go?

It doesn't sound like

that, he's kept quiet is this all

broke publicly last night but

various people are suggesting he's

got no intention to resign at this

stage. The Prime Minister's

spokesman was asked about it and he

said there were conversations

between David Davis and Theresa May

that will remain between them but

there's no sense he's going

anywhere. It sounded like it was a

threat made that he has rowed back

from. I think around the Cabinet

table at least, this resignation

about what has happened here, the

fact that Theresa May had to take

some course of action, given the

findings of the enquiry. What is

interesting to note is when Theresa

May was first given those enquiry

findings on Monday, this was a

Cabinet Office enquiry, she took the

decision to ask her independent

adviser on the ministerial

standards, to look at them. He did

so on Tuesday and reported back

yesterday. Theresa May really did

take a pretty close examination of

what was found, to see what course

of vaccine she has to follow.

Whether she felt she had a choice

around that. Who knows? She has been

clear on her level about extreme

sadness at Damian Green's departure.

Alex, thank you. -- the cause of

action she has to follow. What does

this sacking mean for Theresa May's

strength when we are talking about

the Prime Minister, she had no

choice but to sack Damian Green, is

that the truth? She said he lied and

he had to go.

Is pretty open and

shut, there's not a lot of ambiguity

in telling the truth around this.

Once you've set on two separate

occasions that something was not

true, I don't think she could have

just ignored it. I don't know if

somebody stronger could have served

it.

Is not necessarily the

misdemeanour that gets you but it's

always the light, going back to the

beginning, he...

Why do none of

these people watch the West Wing?

No

doubt that Theresa May fought to

keep him. Everybody's been asking

what is going to happen over the

last few weeks and no doubt that the

timing is admirable, she has jetted

off to Poland, MPs are going away

for the Christmas break. If this

happened three weeks ago, pre-,

maybe getting progress on the Brexit

talks? When she was in a weaker

position? She has firmed up her

position in the party, but Europe on

the brunt foot and slipped out the

results. While obviously it is bad

news, no way losing three Cabinet

ministers in two months is bad news!

It's not as devastating as it could

be.

I don't agree on waiting until

it's Christmas and then they forget.

She will not be hauled into the

Commons tomorrow to talk about it.

Let me go to the other side of the

table... Peter, a very happy

Christmas to you. A lot more

Christmas to come, you've no idea!

What's the feeling you've picked up

on the Tory side about the way this

came out? The police leaking

information about an investigation,

that was not meant to happen?

Everybody thought that Damian would

be cleared, and had he said two

things that were not true, it

wouldn't have been a problem, he has

done nothing illegal and has

completely denied looking at

pornography. I absolutely believe

him on that. But if you lie to

someone, if you lie to the Prime

Minister, you are out basically. As

simple as that. But the other side

of it, it is the police thing. I

think it is quite extraordinary. I'm

a great fan of the police generally

but there's been a number of cases

now where staff has been leaked to

newspapers or to the public which

should have remain confidential. If

you have a situation where police

can raid your property on the basis

that it is on a warrant looking for

certain information, you find

something else and then you put that

in the public domain, we have got a

really...

That is why these rules

exist.

It is very worrying.

Let me

asked all of you, do you feel sorry

for Damian Green this morning? I'm

picking up from you, Jess, because I

missed you to like that! You don't

feel sorry for him?

I don't, at all.

On a human level, I was about to

swear, but I won't! He's in a

rubbish situation, he's going home

for Christmas. As somebody who has

worked with victims my whole life, I

know that they feel guilty about

their wives and children, and the

families, and the jobs of the people

that they make accusations about.

They rack themselves and they say, I

would come forward. I know his wife,

his girlfriend. The person who

should feel guilty as the person who

does the thing wrong.

These claims

would not have come forward if

somebody didn't come forward. Sue

Gray, the Cabinet ethics watchdog

found her account credible. That's

the only reason the police, however

they justify it to themselves, came

forward. It's a he said, she said,

situation and it's very clear that

this would not have happened if

somebody hadn't come forward.

Whispers were that Damian Green felt

that he was going to be cleared...

He put up on Instagram a picture of

himself in a Christmas jumper!

Let's

call a spade a spade. The man lied,

and the reason he did that, during a

public investigation into him, is

because he is entitled and he felt

like he was going to get away with

it and nothing bad was going to

happen. He still felt a level of

impunity, to lie about it to the

public.

It's interesting, isn't it?

Where does it leave Theresa May?

What she had to do? Replacing Damian

Green in that role isn't going to be

easy.

The job was to show her up

last time she was in dire straits,

in June after the election. She

called on her closest friend to

bring him in as a shield, to help

her with Brexit and see off any

challenges, and basically get her

machine up and running again.

If

William Hague wanted this job he

could have it in a heartbeat?

I

don't think he wants it! The show is

now on the road again, Downing

Street operations are up to

strength. The chief of staff, things

are motoring now.

You are basically

saying because she has a full

commitment of members of staff...

I

don't think it is necessary to pull

someone out of a job they are doing

already to make them in this already

seeped up job which was created at a

time when literally half the Downing

Street were becoming MPs or fired or

quit! There's going to be an empty

building.

If there is to be a

replacement, there may not be in

this position, who would it be? Who

do she trust that much who doesn't

want to be Prime Minister? Karen

Bradley is in the Cabinet...

I think

Harry was right, the person they

would not look too is William Hague

but there is an issue. I understand

that Damian was running the Cabinet

Office operation of coordinating

everything, especially to do with

Brexit. Somebody's got to be put in

that role. Perhaps a junior

minister...

They have three men

doing it already, can't they do it?

The people in charge of Brexit.

No,

I would...

You can tell by the way

that Brexit is going how

meticulously coordinated it has

been!

You noticed that. I would

think that we are going to have to

have someone promoted.

Give us a

tip? Hull Dominic Raab, he would do

a good job. He would be a junior

Cabinet member.

You all know that we

are all Brexiteers now! That's

absolutely clear!

Speak for

yourself!

In the Conservative Party,

I know that you want a second

referendum and want to stay in...

Your site has been proven to have

not much of a relationship with the

truth, which was your comment there.

It showed

A lot of talk this morning about how

it has left Theresa May battered and

bruised, you can't lose a senior

colleague without bumps and bruises.

I think she will be all right and

will survive this. I have predicted

Theresa May will resign every 20

minutes for the last six months.

Extraordinary in PMQ 's yesterday,

literally, her main point was

showing off she was still Prime

Minister.

Six questions on the NHS.

We are going to move on.

So Theresa May has lost another

cabinet minister and an old friend.

It seems the Prime Minister knew

she was going to give him the sack

yesterday afternoon,

before she had to sit through two

hours of questioning

by parliament's Liaison Committee,

that's made up of the heads of each

Commons select committee.

Let's have a look at

Yvette Cooper questioning her.

They're not virtual,

they have to be physical.

Are you ruling out cameras

at the Northern Ireland border?

What I'm saying is that,

as part of our negotiations,

we will be ensuring that there is no

hard border between Northern Ireland

and the Republic of Ireland.

That can be achieved

in a number of ways,

and I'm not going to sit

here at the moment...

A camera's a camera.

And I am not going to say

precisely how we achieve that,

because we are going

into a negotiation.

OK, that's also baffling.

On the process, now that

amendment seven is in,

can you confirm that there will

be a vote on a statute for

the withdrawal treaty is ratified?

We can speak now to someone

who was watching Theresa May's

every movement yesterday,

Times sketchwriter Patrick Kidd,

who this morning writes of that

committee that the Prime Minister

'displayed all the humanity

of a Toyota production line'.

You'll be off her Christmas

card list then Patrick?

Yes, I have been bumped off the

Christmas card list, I got one last,

I got one from Nigel Evans, but

nothing from Theresa May, which

means I have done my job well.

What

did you make of how she handled

herself yesterday on what we now

know to be a tough day than it

seemed to be.

It was a tough day for

her, we had primaries does questions

went on for nearly the full hour.

She was asked about the NHS, the

middle of winter, everyone is saying

budgets are tight, and she shouldn't

be winning on the NHS. But she did

have a good day. Backbenchers

drummed their feet on the floor and

said, more. That sent her off in a

buoyant mood. She had nearly two

hours in front of the Justice league

of select committee. Nicky Morgan,

chairman of the treasuries, was one

of them. There are people like

Yvette Cooper, who have been nemesis

going way back. She did the Theresa

May thing. We have talked about it

before, Geoffrey Boycott was her

hero as a child, she did the full

defensive blocking show, nothing

flash, and kept them out.

The

Justice league, we liked that. Who

was wonder woman?

Rachel Reeves was

wearing a jacket made out of genuine

Muppet fur, so that was the best

outfit.

You can call her a machine,

you did, in your piece, but robots

don't look as if they are somewhere

us, and she does look like that

quite a lot of the time, are you

being unfair?

That is partly my job.

She has had a horrid year. She has

lost a majority, lost her 20 point

lead in popularity. She opens a

cupboard and finds a years worth of

detritus... But she is a survivor,

and robots are built to last,

perhaps, and it helps that no one

really wants her... They don't want

the bad bits of the job, and there

are lots of bad bits of being Prime

Minister at the moment. She is

there, the poor woman, for quite a

while to come. Apart from losing her

close friend yesterday, which will

be a bit like having Christmas and

finding a rancid Satsuma in the

stocking, I think she had a good

day.

What about Theresa May, the

tough woman, she is often called

tough, but we also know, when the

exit poll came in on election night,

she shed a tear, but we don't blame

her for that. Is she tough or simply

stubborn?

Probably a bit of both. We

don't see the vulnerable woman. I

think she has a heart, of course she

does, she would find it very hard

not to be pained by a lot of this,

especially losing an old friend. I

think we saw Theresa May at her best

a couple of times earlier this year

when there was a crisis, the day

after the Ariana Grande concert, I

think she gave a really good

statesman-like response. The trouble

is crisis follows crisis, follows

crisis, and after a while, it is a

shambles all around you. But she is

a divider. She begins each day with

Gloria Gaynor playing on her record

player. And she is still there,

famously Margaret Thatcher didn't

show an ability until she left

Downing Street, until you saw tears.

That was one of her finest moments

after the terrorist attack, you are

no more qualified of answering this

than anyone else, but do you think

Theresa May wishes she was somewhere

else and not primaries at all just

now?

Just now, yes. I wonder, she

loves to get away from things. When

she goes on holiday, she went to

Snowdonia at Easter, walking in the

Swiss Alps as if I were her, I would

get away with Philip, who has been

her rock, she has the most important

job in politics at the moment.

Patrick Kidd not being nice about

Theresa May, but that is his job,

isn't it.

As it's our final show of the year

we're going to take a look back

at some of the defining

moments of 2017.

There were plenty of them,

but nothing confounded expectations

quite as much as June's snap general

election, although obviously

all of us here saw the result

coming a mile off.

Let's take a look.

I have just chaired a meeting

of the cabinet, where we agreed

that the government should

call a general election.

You're joking.

Not another one!!

# Over and over and over and over

# Like a monkey

with a miniature cymbal

# The joy of repetition

really is in you

It's about providing

a strong and stable

leadership this country needs.

This is a programme of hope.

Winning those 56 seats

will be a huge challenge

for Nicola Sturgeon's party.

Ruth Davidson has predicted

that we've hit peak now,

that the only way is down.

This party...

Hello.

Nothing has changed.

Nothing has changed.

The Prime Minister

is not here tonight.

She can't be bothered,

so why should you?

I get to decide when I take the bins

out, not if I take the bins out.

LAUGHTER

And what we're saying

is the Conservatives are

the largest party.

Note, they don't have

an overall majority at this stage.

I'm sorry for all those candidates

and hard-working party workers.

Theresa May is a dead woman walking,

it's just how long she's

going to remain on death row.

That's why I've chosen to step down

as leader of the Liberal Democrats.

I'm standing down today

as the leader of Ukip

with immediate effect.

Deal or no deal, Mrs Foster?

Today, we have reached an outcome

that is good for the United Kingdom.

We're going to turn now

to a regular feature

of the Daily Politics Christmas

special, that's where we demonstrate

beyond doubt why it is that

most TV quiz shows are pre-recorded

and not broadcast live.

Yes, it's our quiz of the year.

And we've decided to pit

our MPs against our journalists,

so it's Zoe and Harry up

against Peter and Jess.

And just to ratchet up the tension

I can confirm that absolutely

nothing is at stake beyond

the very limited bragging rights.

You can take them away with you on

your Christmas holidays.

You may have noticed

there are buzzers in front of you,

so let's hear them one at a time.

Zoe you go first.

Not my spaniel...

He is an easy one

to begin with. Stand by your bosses.

Here's an easy one to begin with,

who can tell me what drink

was blamed for leadership plots

against Theresa May this summer?

Nothing has changed.

A bottle of

Merle O?

It was present over. I

thought that was an easy one. Let's

take a look at the Ukip leader

discussing social care with some of

the other leaders in the election

debate in May.

I think BLEEP is absolutely right.

BLEEP.

Sorry.

Thank you.

My fault. Sorry. Accident.

Women's names...

You've done it twice now.

Have I? I'm sorry about that.

Here is the question, what name did

Paul Nuttall mistakenly call Leanne

Wood?

Nothing has changed.

Was it

Natalie?

That is a point, we are

keeping score, for Harry. Which of

these is the odd one out and why?

Jam... A manhole cover... State...

And a copy of the morning Star

newspaper...

Not my spaniel.

Jeremy

Corbyn is vegetarian, but he is an

enthusiastic about all the other

things.

You are right.

Especially

manhole covers.

They are apparently

a rich variety of manhole covers,

and they are about the individual

person that makes them.

I want to

keep the sense of momentum going.

Which Parliamentary candidate s used

this custom piece of audio to reach

out to voters online?

Who was first?

Great night.

It was

great night. Did anyone else know

that? -- Greg Knight will we need to

get on, stand by your buzzards.

The next round is all about Brexit,

contain your excitement, look at

Peter, he looks like someone that

has woken up and found something

under the Christmas tree. This is

Theresa May giving her Lancaster

house Peat enzuigiri.

It is right the government should

prepare for every eventuality, but

do so in the knowledge that a

constructive and optimistic approach

to negotiations to come is in the

best interests of Europe and the

best interests of Britain.

Which of

these... It is the next question in

its as I am getting overexcited.

Theresa May at Lancaster in January.

Was it don't behave like the

Nazis... Or don't... It was

something about the Second World

War.

We will give you a point. That

is pretty much exactly it.

I'm sure

he didn't quite say that.

Zoe, you

are ahead. 2-1.

You have got to pull

your way.

I didn't believe in

cross-party working.

On the subject

of elections, let us look at that, I

would like to hear your thoughts on,

do we accept that a Corbyn led

government is a very real... Leave

the buttons alone eczema you can

take them home. Do we think that a

Jeremy Corbyn government now is a

real possibility? You are shaking

your head.

I don't think so. The

problem Theresa May had in the

election, she spend the first four

weeks of trying to convince voters

that she needed an election because

Jeremy Corbyn was a credible threat

to Britain and could actually win.

It dragged on and dragged on, but

actually, if he is not going to win,

we might as big for him anyway. Next

time, she might do that, and because

he got Labour back, he is now a

threat. People realise he could be

on the steps of power, the floating

voters... Or didn't bother coming

out...

The thing is, Harry, and this

is why your predictions for what

happened in the election are worse

than mine is because you don't take

any notice of how popular he is. You

can't see it. You see customary, and

you think it is silly kids. You

think it is rent a crowd... There is

actually a groundswell of support

for him, which you can't ignore.

I

am not ignoring it.

You are ignoring

it.

Argue taking into account that

if you look at the opinion polls,

they come out every five minutes, he

is ahead in some of the polls, you

could argue with the government, the

Labour Party should be miles ahead,

but has Jeremy Corbyn peaked?

We

talk about the past and say, the

polls say this, but they have been

wrong for at least seven years now

and they are wrong because asking

people to predict how they feel

about a way to vote is not a good

way of finding out how they will

vote. It doesn't work. The polls say

to everybody, these two parties are

neck and neck. The point is, the

polls of 41-41, how do you feel? ...

Theresa May. It doesn't actually...

It has never formally been polled.

They don't exist.

The fear of the Jeremy Corbyn

government unites your party, your

side are an absolute terror. Is that

the case?

I don't think it is

absolute terror...

Something like

terror, when it goes on for a while,

on the governing side, there may be

some opposition, that might not be

such a bad thing?

The situation is,

in the electoral cycle, we've been

in power a long time and therefore

the opposition is about time that

they won. Oppositions cannot win

elections. It is all in Theresa

May's hands. She's got to do two

things. She's got to have a

successful Brexit and secondly we've

got to stop banging on about Europe

for the next election because that

will be on

something totally different. In the

last one we fought on Brighton.

Brexit was not really thought about

Brexit either. It was the leaders on

the NHS.

No, it's not...

Guys,

guys...

This is like Christmas at my

house!

There's 20 years of

conversation about it. Of course it

was a factor. The idea that it was

the deciding factor in the only

reason people voted for Brexit,

nonsense.

Next time around the

Tories will not make the kind of

howling gap we saw in the last

election...

Of course they well!

Setting out a social care policy,

instantly turning off your most

reliable supporters.

Somebody said I

reckon there will be eight bullet

points on how they will govern...

There is a 90 page document drop and

you think, what have they done?

Jess, do you believe that Jeremy

Corbyn will be Prime Minister?

No,

I'm not sure, is the answer. I don't

know when the election will be. I'm

not convinced there will be one

before 2022. Why would they be so

stupid?

Why aren't you convinced?

I'm interested.

An election doesn't

just happen by accident, it has to

be called by the house. And it has

to be called by a two thirds

majority, so they have to instigate

it. It has to be instigated by the

Prime Minister. The Tories love

anything, they love power. Why on

earth would they do it? They've had

a shocking time, to have their

majority slashed.

I think you are

overestimated in how chaotic it's

going to get.

We don't mind a bit of

chaos. We will move on.

What did Jeremy Corbyn give to

Michel Barnier? I won't disqualify

you from this round on that basis!

All of our contestants... Except

Jess! Was it a Jeremy Corbyn scarf,

an Arsenal shirt, a home-grown

marrow or a list of potential

reforms?

Nothing has changed!

An

Arsenal shirt with" Michel Barnier

Number 10" on the back?

Is Michel

Barnier an Arsenal fan?

No, Jeremy

Corbyn is.

Peter, a chance for you

to get into the game.

You are

lacking... I am going to bow out!

David Davis is a man who does not do

things by halves. How many pluses

did he add to a Canada style deal

between Canada and the EU... Zoe?

How many?

There were three... You

are correct. So he is running away

with this.

She comes in before we

are allowed to press! She is

disqualified!

I think it's within

the rules of the game.

Harry can

pick it up!

In June, Donald Tusk

said that the EU was built on

impossible dreams and that one of

those was Britain wanting to reverse

the decision to leave. But, what was

the iconic British song that he used

to illustrate the point?

Go, Harry,

go!

In June?

Nobody has got this.

The answer is John Lennon's

"Imagine".

Yes, one of the

weirder...

LAUGHTER

Yes, let's look back at some of the

big moments of 2017...

No deal for Britain is better than a

bad deal for Britain...

The Supreme Court ruled

that the government cannot trigger

Article 50 without

an act of Parliament

authorising it to do so.

The ayes to the right, 494.

The noes to the left, 122.

So here it is.

Thank you and goodbye.

TRANSLATION:

The UK decided to leave

the EU, not the other way around.

And the consequences

are substantial.

A football shirt?

Barnier?

Barnier, you're now

playing for Arsenal.

The UK will honour commitments

we have made during the period

of our membership.

We will not accept any form

of regulatory divergences that

separates Northern Ireland

economically or politically

from the rest of the UK.

Sufficient progress has not

been made on the strict

terms of the divorce.

This was a difficult negotiation

for the European Union

as well as for the United Kingdom.

Here is the moment that Peter Bone

has been waiting for like a child

waiting for snow to fall on

Christmas Eve! Does the government

have a plan for Brexit? A Cabinet

minister ended with an agreement,

maybe, because the agreement was

that you should have your cake and

eat it as a Brexit policy? When it

comes to goods and services but

without the obligations that go with

single market membership, does

anyone, even you, believe that is

possible?

It's perfectly reasonable

to accept the fact that there are

£70 billion more of goods than we

export to them. Of course, they are

going to agree to it.

Services,

80%...

You cannot have one without

the other.

You can, as Michel

Barnier pointed out.

Why would we

let themselves tonnes of goods to us

and not let us export our services?

It's an extraordinary position to

say that we will boycott them until

they accept us...

When did the word

"Boycott" come into it? They are not

trivialised by behaviour.

Wing there

will be an implementation period and

then we will live happily ever

after.

What if they say no?

That is

their gambit. It is a negotiation,

of course everybody is going to take

their hardest lines in public.

As we

saw two weeks ago, last week, at the

end of the day, when push comes to

shove, deals get done. Shove Anier

is saying that there is no treaty

that the EU have done, and what he

didn't say was that they offered

services in the Canadian free trade

deal and the Canadians didn't want

it.

It is leaders around the

European Union.

They are much more

divided, the 27 leaders around the

EU are much more divided on what

they won the trade deal to look

like. The commission had to take a

hard line because it is their job to

protect. If you look at countries

like Poland, and if you look at

France and what Germany wants, what

Greece wants, Italy wants... The

Italians are making positive noises.

At the end of the day it's up to

them.

Can I ask, Jess, do you think

that the Labour Party is going to

fully swing behind close and

thorough alignment with the European

Union? Going all the way towards a

new single market customs union? You

would like to lean that way but

you've got a leader who doesn't

really think that way I

I'm not

going to speak for him but the

suggestion was it was seven out of

ten, I believe. I think the Labour

Party, when all is said and done,

all they care about, or suddenly all

I care about, is the prosperity of

the people in this country and

that's the top and bottom of it, for

me. Car manufacturing in my

constituency is the single biggest

employer, it always has been and we

really have to be very careful. I

think the Labour Party will

eventually get into a position where

there is the red Line and it cannot

be crossed.

Don't you need a lot

more Labour supporters to swing that

idea?

If you look at the

constituencies that will heavily

leave, now they are trying to get a

Brexit dispensation so they don't

have their fishing industry affected

by it. Most people are changing

their minds and heavily leave areas

are seeing what the impact will be.

I don't know if people in my

constituency who voted to leave her

change their mind but they filled

the sense of belonging that they

hoped it would give to them, Britain

being in charge of things, these

things matter. I did a survey on

each and every one of my

constituents, 61% voted to leave and

every single one prioritised being

out of the single market.

Let me

ask, there's only -- does anybody at

this table really believe that it

would be possible to conclude a

fully fledged trade agreement in

time for March 20 19.

If you look at

Lancaster house and Florence, we had

another speech in January, and one

in early February, that will be the

framework of the deal.

The Prime

Minister said a full-fledged deal?

I

think it is ambitious, you cannot

sign a free trade agreement with the

EU until we have left it.

Every they

inched towards it, they fall apart

themselves.

Let's move on...

I bet

£100 we will not leave the EU.

How

much did you bet?

£100.

There's no

going back on this!

It's time for the final round of the

quiz, this is about other things

that have been done in 2017. This is

George Osborne arriving on first day

as editor of the Evening Standard...

As editor he's enjoyed

heaping opprobrium -

well that's the polite name for it -

on the PM.

But can you name one

of his other jobs?

Harry? He is a strategic advisor to

Blackrock.

That's correct, and I

will keep it open. Any other jobs?

Is he still do something about

wallpaper?

LAUGHTER

Yes! I think he still has an

interest in the family firm, I

donate if he does a lot of

management in that firm. That

doesn't count as a job.

Another one,

one more? He is the chairman of the

northern Powerhouse partnership?

I

will not give you a point for that.

You've already got one!

At Labour conference this year,

the organisers had to abandon plans

for the Labour leader to do what?

Was it...

I was giving you some options! I

will disqualify you again. These are

the options...

Carve himself

a Corbyn Stone.

Walk on water.

Turn water into wine.

Or hold a photo opportunity

on a ram-packed train.

It is the water one.

You are right,

it is the water one.

Wait, no,

somebody tell me this...

He wanted

to build a platform floating in the

sea!

On the beach. It would have

been a great moment.

He's known sometimes as box office

or spreadsheet Phil,

but what one word did

Chancellor Philip Hammond give

to describe himself?

Umm... I actually don't know.

Peter,

you must know.

The words I want to

use for the Chancellor and ones that

you are thinking!

Nobody is going to

get this. The answer is "Fiscal"

you are thinking!

Nobody is going to

get this. The answer is "Fiscal".

Fiscal Philip. Nicknames are

supposed to be fun, that one doesn't

quite qualify!

How much did David Cameron's

shepherd's hut cost?

£20,000.

I think that is actually

correct.

20 4000.

It was £25,000.

For a shed in the garden. Score

keepers, we are giving Jess a point,

because Peter wants to back her up.

We've been looking at the year

that's on the way out,

but 2018 promises to be just

as eventful and unpredictable.

But is it something people

are looking forward to,

or are they tempted to hide

behind the sofa?

Elizabeth Glinka's been

out with the moodbox

for the final time this year.

You know what, it has been a busy

year in politics, and who knows what

the next 12 months could hold? We

have come to do West End to ask

shoppers if they are feeling

optimistic or pessimistic about

2018.

Optimistic. I think it can't

get any worse. I'm fairly confident

that we will strike some sort of

deal with Brexit.

I would say

pessimistic for politics Radwan.

Pessimistic cause of Trump.

Given

where we are, I would say we can

only be optimistic that things

change.

I feel like things couldn't

get worse, but I feel optimistic

with the hope there might be a new

movement full of young people with

Jeremy Corbyn at the head of it.

It

is new year, Christmas time, how can

you be anything but optimistic?

Optimistic, especially with Brexit

coming up.

Optimistic because I

think that the stranglehold is

loosening.

Do you feel optimistic or

pessimistic?

I would like to think

she would say optimistic.

Look, it is panto time.

Oh, no it

isn't.

Oh, yes it is.

Pessimistic about Corbyn.

You are

pessimistic about Corbyn. Why is

that?

He is an idiot.

When things

get to a particular level of bad,

there has to be a backlash the other

way.

I feel optimistic. I am moving

to South Korea.

I am feeling

realistic, actually. Feeling

realistic is often misconstrued as

feeling as a mystic.

What is

happening with Brexit Bizet 's? I

don't know which way to turn.

I have

a good job, I'm in love.

Look, baby

Christmas pudding.

Evenly balanced,

kind of thing.

That sounds quite

Zen.

It is quite Zen.

The only thing

that's constant nowadays is change,

so we had to be adaptable to change.

Maybe it is the Christmas spirit,

but shoppers here in the west end of

London are feeling, on the whole,

pretty optimistic. I better get

going. I have not done any shopping,

so Merry Christmas.

That was Elizabeth Glinka with

the entirely unscientific moodbox.

Let's get the thoughts of our panel

on the year ahead...

By the way, Peter, have the extreme

Brexiteers loosened their

stranglehold?

I don't know any, I am

moderate. It is difficult for me to

judge.

This is a difficult question,

but I will ask you anyway, this was

a year when pundits got it wrong, no

one saw what was happening next,

what do you reckon might be the big

shock of this coming year that

proves the pundits wrong all over

again?

I think what is going to

happen is Theresa May, by October,

will deliver Brexit. She will go on

to become a national hero. That is

no more unrealistic than President

Trump or Jeremy Corbyn, or us

winning the referendum. That is an

absolute possibility, and I hope it

comes true. She has worked

exceptionally hard. Whatever you

think of her, the Prime Minister has

worked exceptionally hard. I can't

believe how much she does every

single day. And have to deal with me

as well! A terrible job! She is the

right person to go on and lead us in

future.

A genuinely touching moment

of self-awareness.

That prediction

is ridiculous. She does a full eight

hours?? I'm sorry, she is the Prime

Minister. Most people would give

their right arm to be the Prime

Minister. It is so terribly hard for

her rhetoric I'm afraid to say, she

has ultimate power to change things.

What is your shop? -- shock.

It is a

continuity answer, I think we will

be where we are right now by the end

of next year. I don't think there

will be a big upset at the front of

each party.

Zoe.

I think Brexit

negotiations will derail. The Labour

Party will finally say, we are

anti-Brexit or nothing. I think that

will happen. As Brexit negotiations

derail, the Conservative Party will

do look West.

They will make solid and decisions

about when to call an election, and

that will vanish because they will

be all over the place.

Look at the

Labour side for me, Harry.

Last

night showed the divisions, the

Brexit divisions, they will rear

their head again. The Cabinet, the

divisions in the Cabinet on Brexit

are on a smaller scale. Basically,

everyone is firing in the same

direction, it is how fast they get

there. Philip Hammond and Amber Rudd

are said to be the ones that are

trying to stick closer to Europe,

but at the end of it, they are

saying, what is the Buddha Brexit if

we can't divert on something? Labour

is much more fundamental, it is a

pro-EU backbench, and that will rear

up.

The CORBA nights and the

momentum movement -- they have a

stranglehold of the party now.

I

don't recognise that to be the fact.

I have had local selections in my

CLB. There will be no answers

whatsoever.

I don't recognise this

momentum as a big Marxist... Some

momentum branches are massive, some

are small, and...

Some of them are

lovely.

Even, Jess, without

punishment or ideological

deselection is and the rest of it,

the ideological march of Corbyn goes

on. Bringing down neoliberal

economics.

I think you are wrong. I

figured pragmatic and central

approach is coming out of leadership

at the moment.

To the centre? It is

too far to say attacking the centre,

but I think...

Unions are ones

making the shots.

The unions are

making a noise about the single

market, and they make a very good

left-wing case for staying in.

We

can expect that, because it is this

time of year, there will be a winter

NHS crisis compounded by a winter

homelessness crisis. That will cause

problems for the government.

It is

already causing problems.

Once we

get past Brexit, you have got to

look to these other issues.

There

are people dying on the streets of

Birmingham, can we not wait?

Carry

on, Peter.

It is amazing that your

vanity project is more important

than the homelessness in my

constituency.

I think the NHS is an

important thing, social care is

perhaps even more important. The

homeless issue, it depends in which

part of the country you are in, and

we need a credible approach to that.

That is probably what the next

election.

The Tory party tried to

fight the election on those issues,

and look what happened to them.

Some

idiot thought up a manifesto, but I

never read the manifesto. It

destroyed the campaign.

We can't

afford social care or the NHS, we...

Something cross-party.

I am talking

about the ridiculous idea that the

second anyone mentions the NHS,

people like the Guardian jumped down

their throats.

No one is saying,

don't touch it. Everyone is saying,

funded properly.

That have a

grown-up conversation.

I will wind

this up now, Harry and Zoe, because

we have got to the part of the show

that matters to me. This is the bit

I have been looking for.

When you think of Christmas

traditions - what springs to mind?

Christmas pudding?

The Queen's message?

Reruns of Dad's Army?

Peter Bone's Christmas

card about Brexit?

Well, what about that other,

almost as ancient tradition.

I speak of course of

the Daily Politics Secret Santa.

Yes, as usual we've asked a famous

political figure to dress up

as Father Christmas.

Previous occupants of

the big red suit include such

luminaries as Jeremy Corbyn.

And look where he ended up...

And Peter Bone.

And look where he ended up.

So it's up to my panel to guess

who is under that beard...

Do we get a question first? About...

Here are some clues, it is not as

hard as that. Here are some clues,

Peter. He is a former member of the

European Parliament. He used to be a

Remainer, but now he supports

Brexit. You can press your button if

you've got it. You have all got it.

Zoe, you were first.

Are you Stanley

Johnson, by any chance?

Is this the

moment to reveal myself?

Yes, it is.

Who are you?

I am he, I am he, and

my job is to give you all Christmas

presents. Happy Christmas,

everybody. Lovely to see you. I will

take them out. I have come from the

North Pole. Look at this.

Let's see

what it is.

Merry Christmas. A big

one. This is for Harry. You can open

it now.

Thank you very much.

Look at

that. A Jeremy Corbyn Christmas

jumper.

Show us your T-shirt, Peter.

Peter Bone's is brilliant.

I love

it.

Look at Harry's jumper. Zoe,

what have you got?

Whatever it is, I

do think I can wear it, so that is

no fun.

Tell us what it is.

The

beautiful poetry of Donald Trump.

Read a bit.

I cherish women, joiner

is expensive, no more apologies,

take the offensive.

That is the Donald Trump Book Of

Poetry. How is life with you? You

came out of these liberty jungle.

I

rather enjoyed being in the jungle,

because I lost nine kilos. There is

beans and rice, and there has beens,

it was fine.

It must be wonderful

for you to be the star.

Right at the

end of my career, I finally

recognised in my own right, fine.

Why shouldn't I be pleased about

that??

Stanley, you have been

waiting for this, I will give you

this call the business journalists

scored six points, the politicians

scored four. Well done.

It has been good to have you all on

the show. Enjoy the Christmas

holiday, Peter Uihlein will be

looking at your photo album of Don

Claude Juncker will

2018 should be every bit as good as

the stories from this year. I wish

you a good one at home with the

family away from all this stuff.

That's all for today.

Thanks to our guests.

There's no This Week tonight,

and no Daily Politics

until the 8th of January.

Do join Jo then, and in the meantime

have a very happy Christmas.

Bye bye.

Have a good one.