:00:00. > :00:00.there is more work to be done. It is not the end of the journey, or the
:00:00. > :00:00.start. Sorry to disappoint remaining
:00:00. > :00:08.colleagues, we must now movd on to urgent questions. Chris Bry`nt.
:00:09. > :00:21.Mr Speaker, or the reader of the House met a statement on short money
:00:22. > :00:26.and the policy development grant? Constitutional Reform Minister. Mr
:00:27. > :00:29.Speaker, as the Shadow Leaddr of the House of Lords, the elector`l
:00:30. > :00:35.commission has been undertaking changes to the policy development
:00:36. > :00:39.grant and they have been in discussions about parallel changes
:00:40. > :00:44.to short money, which includes the parties as well. I can confhrm that
:00:45. > :00:48.we plan to initiate further conversations on short monex
:00:49. > :00:51.shortly. There will be time and opportunity for Jews to be dxpressed
:00:52. > :00:54.on all sides of the House and I am sure if the Shadow Leader rtns true
:00:55. > :00:58.to form he will use these opportunities well. I am acpuired
:00:59. > :01:02.under the terms of the political parties collections and refdrendums
:01:03. > :01:06.act to the statutory instrulent before the House about the shoes of
:01:07. > :01:11.the policy developed ground between the parties to reflect the results
:01:12. > :01:14.of the recent general electhon. This statutory instrument is nearly ready
:01:15. > :01:18.and will be made available soon which will then be thereford
:01:19. > :01:23.scrutinised by the House of the West so, in the usual way.
:01:24. > :01:29.Mr Speaker, does the Ministdr agree that it cannot be right for
:01:30. > :01:32.opposition parties to be under resourced, particularly when the
:01:33. > :01:36.government have increased substantially from taxpayers money
:01:37. > :01:41.the resources they receive from their own special advisers? Mr
:01:42. > :01:45.Speaker, those are not my words they are the words of Sir Gdorge
:01:46. > :01:48.Young when he was the Conservative shadow Leader of the House, arguing
:01:49. > :01:53.for even more short money for the Tories win the Labour government is
:01:54. > :01:58.treble that for them in 1998. In opposition, the Prime Minister said
:01:59. > :02:02.he would cut the number and cost of special advisers but in govdrnment
:02:03. > :02:06.he has appointed 27 more spdcial advisers than before and thd cost
:02:07. > :02:12.has risen to the taxpayer bx ?2 5 million each year. There is a word
:02:13. > :02:17.for that, Mr Speaker, but it is -- it is not parliamentary. In
:02:18. > :02:21.opposition the Conservatives spiked ?46 million each year in short money
:02:22. > :02:26.but in government they want to cut that by 20% for the opposithon.
:02:27. > :02:30.There is a word for that but it is not parliamentary. How can ht be
:02:31. > :02:34.right for the government to cut the policy development grant to
:02:35. > :02:39.political parties by 19% whdn it is not cutting the amount of money
:02:40. > :02:43.spent on special advisers of its own? Surely history has taught us
:02:44. > :02:47.that an overwhelming executhve is always a mistake. Surely, if a party
:02:48. > :02:50.in government needs financi`l support in addition to the civil
:02:51. > :02:56.service, it is in the national interest that all of the opposition
:02:57. > :02:58.parties should be properly resourced as well? The government havd briefed
:02:59. > :03:02.journalists that they will publish these proposals on short money
:03:03. > :03:06.tomorrow in the recess and that is basically what the minister
:03:07. > :03:11.admitted. But surely this is above all else a matter for this House?
:03:12. > :03:15.Short money was created by this House and amendments must bd agreed
:03:16. > :03:22.by this House, so surely thhs House should hear about this first. So why
:03:23. > :03:27.is the Leader of the House lade no attempt to meet me or any of the
:03:28. > :03:30.other political parties for proper consultation on this? Why dhd he
:03:31. > :03:33.fail to turn up for premeethng meeting sister did and why hs the
:03:34. > :03:38.Leader of the House not doing his proper job and stabbing at this
:03:39. > :03:42.dispatch box today? Mr Speaker, what is the word for this behaviour, is
:03:43. > :03:48.it shabby, tawdry or downright cynical?
:03:49. > :03:54.I should start by apologising for not meeting Chris Grayling, the
:03:55. > :03:59.Leader of the House. I am stre that the Shadow Leader is looking forward
:04:00. > :04:02.to his weekly Army so, but hn the meantime, I hope will take this in
:04:03. > :04:08.the spirit of having the other policy Minister, responding to this
:04:09. > :04:16.question and to treat this seriously for his later work out with the
:04:17. > :04:20.Leader of the House. I would also like to clarify one further point if
:04:21. > :04:25.I can, Mr Speaker, which is I did not see that we were launchhng
:04:26. > :04:29.proposals, I said we were l`unching further consultations, it is
:04:30. > :04:34.consultations involve a dialogue and consultations involve a dialogue and
:04:35. > :04:41.for that means that the shadow Leader of the House's assaults is
:04:42. > :04:45.blunted. People on all sides of the House must contribute as soon as
:04:46. > :04:50.this consultation is launchdd. I should point out, Mr Speaker, and
:04:51. > :04:56.this is an important point which the Shadow Leader of the managed to
:04:57. > :05:00.gloss over. Unlike the imprdssion given by his remarks, short money
:05:01. > :05:04.has risen substantially over the course of the last five years. It
:05:05. > :05:11.has gone up, Mr Speaker, by more than 50%. It is more than 50% higher
:05:12. > :05:15.than previously and if we m`ke no changes, over the net coursd of the
:05:16. > :05:23.next few days, it will conthnue to rise further. Mr Speaker, the voters
:05:24. > :05:30.have had to tighten their bdlts over the last five years...
:05:31. > :05:35.Order, order. The minister's remarks, I appreciate this hs a high
:05:36. > :05:43.octane issue but I urge that it should be treated seriously and the
:05:44. > :05:48.Minister must be listened to and be heard and then there will bd full
:05:49. > :05:53.opportunity for colleagues to question the honourable gentleman.
:05:54. > :05:58.Mr Perman was. Thank you, Mr Speaker. The country will not
:05:59. > :06:03.understand why politician should be exempt from having to deal with the
:06:04. > :06:07.effects of the financial deficit, which we were bequeathed by the last
:06:08. > :06:12.Labour government. -- Mister Penrose. The only reason we had to
:06:13. > :06:17.tighten our belts as a nation was because of the Wapping deficit we
:06:18. > :06:19.were left by the Labour govdrnment. It cannot be right that polhtician
:06:20. > :06:24.should argue that they should be in summary exempt a special cl`ss and
:06:25. > :06:28.not have to do their bit. Money has gone up by 50% so far and it will
:06:29. > :06:33.continue to rise every do not do anything. I would expect thd country
:06:34. > :06:40.would expect us as politici`ns to do our bit. And to set an example.
:06:41. > :06:44.I have great sympathy for mx honourable friend, the minister who
:06:45. > :06:50.has been sent you to be shotted at by the honourable gentleman. I doubt
:06:51. > :06:57.he is the author of this policy or that he has responsibility for
:06:58. > :07:04.determining these outcomes. But it is quite clear from these exchanges
:07:05. > :07:08.that the government, if the policy is as reasonable as he insists, then
:07:09. > :07:12.the government has handled this matter in a clumsy matter. The
:07:13. > :07:20.opposition feels aren't consulted. Or is it that there is an agenda
:07:21. > :07:26.behind this change, which is rather more political and its intent? Can I
:07:27. > :07:29.inform the House that my colmittee has already had correspondence from
:07:30. > :07:34.another conservative Select Committee cheer expressing concern
:07:35. > :07:38.about this. We are looking hnto this matter and we are going to require
:07:39. > :07:41.action for this matter becatse I think all sides should have a fair
:07:42. > :07:48.hearing and these matters c`n be agreed by consensus.
:07:49. > :07:52.Mr Speaker, I welcome the chairman's pledge of a further consult`tion, I
:07:53. > :07:56.believe that will give us ftrther opportunities to air any issues
:07:57. > :07:59.about this, in addition to `nd possibly parallel with, the
:08:00. > :08:05.consultation that I have just mentioned in my earlier rem`rks
:08:06. > :08:11.I declare interest as the n`tional secretary of the SNP, I echo the
:08:12. > :08:15.remarks on short money. The House of Lords is growing, specials `dvisers
:08:16. > :08:20.are growing, but we have bedn stripped back. One rule for Tory
:08:21. > :08:25.cronies, one will for the others. On the policy development grant, this
:08:26. > :08:32.is a series issue for headqtarters, especially in smaller partids and
:08:33. > :08:34.over the prospect of a cut. Will he take on board the recommend`tions of
:08:35. > :08:36.the electoral commission and what opportunities will do beford further
:08:37. > :08:42.consultation and cross-partx relations on this issue?
:08:43. > :08:46.The honourable gentleman is correct, the policy development grant has a
:08:47. > :08:49.different mechanism and must be dealt to a statutory instrulent
:08:50. > :08:53.rather than another kind of house resolution. That instrument will be
:08:54. > :08:57.read whereupon the honourable gentleman and anyone else whll have
:08:58. > :09:00.the opportunity to debate it. He is correct to say that the electoral
:09:01. > :09:03.commission has been consulthng carefully on recommendations for
:09:04. > :09:08.what the revised shares shotld be to look at the results of the last
:09:09. > :09:10.general election. I look forward to his comments.
:09:11. > :09:14.Two points, on behalf of my constituents. I agree with the
:09:15. > :09:18.Shadow Leader of the House that the growth in the number of special
:09:19. > :09:23.advisers has got completely out of hand. If the government want
:09:24. > :09:27.sensible policy advice, it should speak to its backbenchers, we are
:09:28. > :09:32.the ones, after all, in touch with our electorate. The second point I
:09:33. > :09:35.would like to make is that there should be some mechanism for
:09:36. > :09:39.measuring the effect of this on the opposition because where I `m
:09:40. > :09:43.sitting, it would seem to bd the pro rata, the SNP offer a more dffective
:09:44. > :09:50.opposition than the present Labour Party.
:09:51. > :09:55.Mr Speaker, the Shadow Leaddr of the House of Lords, he has a st`ndard
:09:56. > :09:59.format, the rhetorical device he has used on previous occasions. One of
:10:00. > :10:02.the words he has not used in shambles, which is perhaps what my
:10:03. > :10:07.honourable friend is suggesting about their performance on one or
:10:08. > :10:11.two issues at least. On the point about that matter, I can confirm
:10:12. > :10:17.that the cost started to fall since the last general election and that
:10:18. > :10:20.is important as part of the answer. Also, I endorse his point that
:10:21. > :10:24.governments, in order to relain in touch with the feelings of the House
:10:25. > :10:25.and the electorate, must listen to the backbenchers as well as others
:10:26. > :10:37.very carefully. I was forging and enough to be the
:10:38. > :10:46.Leader of the House to put through the settlement of money to which he
:10:47. > :10:50.has referred. -- fortunate dnough. The Conservative Party was
:10:51. > :10:56.politically on its knees, and financially as close to it `s it had
:10:57. > :10:57.been. We had experienced ond of the features of the proposals bding
:10:58. > :11:13.considered, freezing the gr`ndad that it had been cut. We had
:11:14. > :11:25.experienced inflation of ten to 15%. The money has gone up for the last
:11:26. > :11:28.five years due to us. There is a crucial difference between the
:11:29. > :11:35.situation when she was in charge under current situation. Thd
:11:36. > :11:42.differences we have a huge deficit to deal with. They had inherited an
:11:43. > :11:47.economy which was doing well, and a set of finances which were hn a fast
:11:48. > :11:51.wrong position. The differences the deficit, the reason for the deficit
:11:52. > :11:59.is opposite me. That is the reason why politicians and the rest of the
:12:00. > :12:04.country have two tighten our belts. Would my honourable friend, despite
:12:05. > :12:06.the outrage Brit, remind us again how much short money has wrhtten
:12:07. > :12:23.since 2010. I am delighted the government is
:12:24. > :12:27.cutting short money, and few things have seized me more. Does the
:12:28. > :12:31.Minister agree that this is public money and the public will rdsent
:12:32. > :12:34.this being spent on politichans to do more politics? Does he agree that
:12:35. > :12:40.the rules on short money nedd to reflect the fact that the cost of
:12:41. > :12:43.doing politics, policy and research and communication has come down
:12:44. > :12:49.Google is at our fingertips, we do not need an army of researchers we
:12:50. > :12:55.do not need a whole departmdnt of press officers. Does he agrde the
:12:56. > :12:58.public will resent using public money to pay for spads who have
:12:59. > :13:04.watched too much television to come to this House at public expdnse I
:13:05. > :13:08.would agree with very large parts of that. The public will look `t these
:13:09. > :13:16.contributions from the publhc purse funded by taxpayers, and thdrefore
:13:17. > :13:19.taxpayers who do not have a choice. People will wonder why the political
:13:20. > :13:26.classes think that they shotld be exempt, particularly becausd it is
:13:27. > :13:29.far more possible nowadays to do this work in an efficient f`shion
:13:30. > :13:34.and to deliver greater efficiencies than in the past. Believe that he in
:13:35. > :13:38.the past has turned down sole potential allocations of short money
:13:39. > :13:42.or policy development grant to which he was entitled, and I would
:13:43. > :13:48.compliment him on that principle standard. As someone who managed
:13:49. > :13:53.short money and the policy development grant when we wdre in
:13:54. > :13:58.opposition, I do think that there are political elements of what we
:13:59. > :14:03.need to function effectivelx in a democracy. However, I do recognise
:14:04. > :14:09.that the grants have increased significantly, but I would gently
:14:10. > :14:12.said to the front bench that when making proposals about the future of
:14:13. > :14:18.these sums of money and how they will be spent, due consider`tion
:14:19. > :14:23.should be made of the risks of the money being spent more broadly in
:14:24. > :14:34.political parties, and the opportunities that exist to fund
:14:35. > :14:43.this work outside of parties. He is absolutely right and he spe`ks as he
:14:44. > :14:49.mentions from personal experience. Whoever is in government, the
:14:50. > :14:52.guiding studies there has to be someone in opposition, and therefore
:14:53. > :15:00.we have to come up with rulds which we are all happy to live with which
:15:01. > :15:02.other side we are on. The government is setting to one side all the
:15:03. > :15:07.conventions to dealing with issues of this kind. There is no precedent
:15:08. > :15:11.for the government proceeding in the way that it is. In fact what the
:15:12. > :15:20.government is doing does not amount to more than bowling of that
:15:21. > :15:25.bullying of Parliament, teaching it as if it was unfavoured dep`rtment
:15:26. > :15:36.of government. Will the Leader of the House tell us -- sorry, will the
:15:37. > :15:42.Minister tell us what he has done to defend the interests of Parliament
:15:43. > :15:49.rather than the narrow political interests of a Conservative
:15:50. > :15:56.Government? The fact that wd have been undertaking some inforlal
:15:57. > :16:01.discussions means that therd are plenty opportunities for cross party
:16:02. > :16:10.views. There is no intention to subvert the will of Parliamdnt and
:16:11. > :16:13.whatever the proposals, it will have to come back for debate and passed
:16:14. > :16:19.through the size when they materialise. Could he tell le in
:16:20. > :16:22.cash terms how much money wd are talking about, and if he dods not
:16:23. > :16:35.know, would he write to me `bout it, please? Can he reassure me that the
:16:36. > :16:41.parties in this House will be fully involved in all consultations, and
:16:42. > :16:56.will he be in mind that a flat cut in the short money and development
:16:57. > :16:59.has particular disadvantage on small parties. We will make sure that all
:17:00. > :17:06.political parties are involved in the consultations. If this hs about
:17:07. > :17:11.responding to the deficit, could the Minister explain how it is then
:17:12. > :17:20.justified when the number of spads has gone up at an extra cost of over
:17:21. > :17:24.?2 million. The cost of spads has started to fall in the currdnt
:17:25. > :17:28.parliament, and it is important to remember that the total amotnt of
:17:29. > :17:37.short money comes to dramathcally more than the cost of spads or
:17:38. > :17:40.anything like that. This government and the party opposite have formed
:17:41. > :17:44.when it comes to rigging thd electoral playing field. Thd party
:17:45. > :17:57.opposite may have broken thd law by spending above the legal lilit in
:17:58. > :18:03.by-elections. Now they intend to slash short money which enstres they
:18:04. > :18:08.can hold government to accotnt. Will these cuts be the final chapter in
:18:09. > :18:20.our transition from a multiparty state to a 1-party state. -, 1-party
:18:21. > :18:25.state that Robert Mugabe wotld be at home in. I do not know wherd to
:18:26. > :18:34.start with this. The short `nswer is no. These proposals come on the back
:18:35. > :18:38.of the government's attack on Labour's funding by the trade union
:18:39. > :18:42.Bill. It is clearly part of a partisan move to hit the opposition,
:18:43. > :18:47.if the government unveiled advantage, while leaving thdir own
:18:48. > :18:51.funding base of big donors untouched. Can the Minister confirm
:18:52. > :19:02.that this government is now in favour of rigging the rules to suit
:19:03. > :19:05.themselves? She will be not surprised to hear that I disagree
:19:06. > :19:16.strongly with almost every word I am very happy to confirm th`t we are
:19:17. > :19:18.going to an evidence session with a House of Lords select committee on
:19:19. > :19:20.the trade union Bill later today, where we will have an opportunity to
:19:21. > :19:38.debate this in greater depth. When in government, we provhded
:19:39. > :19:41.money for the opposition parties, particularly toadies. Is he aware
:19:42. > :19:46.that what he is announced whll be seen as sheer spite against the
:19:47. > :19:49.opposition party, particularly the main opposition party. The
:19:50. > :19:53.government should be thoroughly ashamed of taking such a me`sure
:19:54. > :20:03.together with other measures in order to introduce what was rightly
:20:04. > :20:07.said. I am terribly sorry to disagree with such a senior and
:20:08. > :20:12.experienced member of the House but I must remind him and others that
:20:13. > :20:18.the public at large have had several years of tightening their bdlts
:20:19. > :20:23.They have all had to contribute to try to close the financial gap that
:20:24. > :20:28.we were left by the previous government, and therefore available
:20:29. > :20:31.just not understand. They whll judge politicians and political classes
:20:32. > :20:41.extremely harshly if we're not willing to do our bit and m`ke this
:20:42. > :20:48.work as well. Can I just sax that there is a great sense of f`irness
:20:49. > :20:54.with the public at large, and with his backbenchers. Belt tightening
:20:55. > :20:57.does not wash well when thex look at the fundraisers that the
:20:58. > :21:04.Conservative Party is harbotring at the moment. And if this camd to this
:21:05. > :21:08.House of Commons for a vote, I would warn him that reasonable people who
:21:09. > :21:15.value democracy and a healthy opposition in this place wotld not
:21:16. > :21:20.give him a majority. These leasures all will come to this House for a
:21:21. > :21:24.vote, and quite rightly. Thdy will be subject to democratic scrutiny in
:21:25. > :21:27.due course. He will have his opportunity to try to persu`de
:21:28. > :21:32.others of his point of view. Again, I would draw up racial disthnction
:21:33. > :21:36.between the provision of public money funded by taxpayers who do not
:21:37. > :21:40.have a choice about whether or not the choice goes to political
:21:41. > :21:47.parties, and fall into the political donations made by whoever it may be,
:21:48. > :21:55.people should have a choice about them, and the desire crucial
:21:56. > :22:03.distinction between them. The development grant is vital for
:22:04. > :22:09.developing ideas. If the UK Government is serious about cutting
:22:10. > :22:13.the costs of politics, why does not reduce the membership of ovdrbloated
:22:14. > :22:18.other House? We are serious about cutting the cost of politics. We
:22:19. > :22:28.have plans to reduce the size of this chamber to 600 MPs, as agreed
:22:29. > :22:32.under the last Parliament. @nd while the number of peers is going up the
:22:33. > :22:36.cost of the other House is falling, and I am sure he will welcole that
:22:37. > :22:40.news. I am sure he would also welcome the news that they `re
:22:41. > :22:48.ongoing political discussions about how other reforms might be `ffected
:22:49. > :22:54.in the House of Lords. If the money for democracy is cut and thd
:22:55. > :23:02.Ellerman clad pantomime of the House of Lords is further bloated, is it
:23:03. > :23:12.likely to bring shameless hxpocrisy into disrepute? -- ermine-clad. I
:23:13. > :23:18.think I get his drift. I wotld take his point that there are concerns
:23:19. > :23:21.over the overall size of thd House of Lords. It is important to not
:23:22. > :23:27.forget they had managed to reduce their total costs. There ard ongoing
:23:28. > :23:31.cross-party discussions on how the question of the overall sizd might
:23:32. > :23:33.be addressed and I wouldn't courage their Lordships to continue these
:23:34. > :23:41.discussions and produce somd proposals short with. This lorning
:23:42. > :23:47.the Minister has talked abott tightening belts. But his p`rty took
:23:48. > :23:53.every penny of the 4.8 millhon of the short money they were offered
:23:54. > :23:59.each year. I cannot speak about what happened when we were in opposition,
:24:00. > :24:04.but I can confirm is that on occasion we have handed back the
:24:05. > :24:13.policy development grant because we were unable to spend it so ht was
:24:14. > :24:17.important to return it. 63% of the British population did not vote for
:24:18. > :24:23.this government. They need to have their voices heard when polhcies
:24:24. > :24:26.hurt them. This is about delocracy. Could I ask the Minister if he could
:24:27. > :24:30.start the consultation after my honourable friend's select committee
:24:31. > :24:38.has reported? We would like to start the
:24:39. > :24:44.consultation shortly and given the level of interest evident, hf we
:24:45. > :24:47.divide that, we would be crhticised. I would like to get on with it soon
:24:48. > :24:53.if we can and allowed the thme for people to respond over a period of
:24:54. > :24:56.weeks. I am sure that my right honourable friend, the chairman of
:24:57. > :25:00.the Select Committee, would understand that timetable and time
:25:01. > :25:06.his committee's investigations appropriately.
:25:07. > :25:09.Thank you, the Chancellor of the Exchequer has increased pay to one
:25:10. > :25:14.of the special advisers by `s much as 42%. Why on earth can it be
:25:15. > :25:18.justified that the Chancellor of Exchequer lectures the rest of us to
:25:19. > :25:25.tighten our belts but it dods not seem to apply to him?
:25:26. > :25:28.The total cost of spads since the general election has started to
:25:29. > :25:34.fall. Thank you, this cannot be t`ken in
:25:35. > :25:37.isolation. The fact that thd government does not like to be held
:25:38. > :25:43.to account, that is why we have the Trade Union Bill, that is why
:25:44. > :25:45.charities are being gagged hn the charities Bill and why you `re
:25:46. > :25:49.cutting the money to the opposition. The truth is you might be able to
:25:50. > :25:54.win a vote but you cannot whn the argument.
:25:55. > :26:00.Mr Speaker, I continue to come back to this point. It is perfect with
:26:01. > :26:04.possible to undertake the policy racing and policy development tasks
:26:05. > :26:08.more cheaply than before as the honourable gentleman who represent
:26:09. > :26:12.you get mentioned. The rest of the country will not understand why when
:26:13. > :26:17.the rest of the country has to become more efficient there are
:26:18. > :26:20.politicians can whether our own nests, it would be hard to justify
:26:21. > :26:25.that kind of action. Jim Fitzpatrick.
:26:26. > :26:28.You said at the beginning that the minister was one of the most
:26:29. > :26:33.courteous in the House and hndeed he is. He has been in denial note for
:26:34. > :26:36.the best part of 30 minutes, that he not accept that the impresshon
:26:37. > :26:41.gained outside with the combination of the Trade Union Bill att`cking
:26:42. > :26:45.Labour Party funds, the boundary review which is likely to f`vour the
:26:46. > :26:49.Tory Party and the reduction of Short money and parliaments
:26:50. > :26:53.development money, gives thd impression that the governmdnt is
:26:54. > :26:58.acting like the bully in thd Hague round, it is having an impact on the
:26:59. > :27:03.integrity of the parliament and our democracy?
:27:04. > :27:07.I am glad he mentioned the boundary review because it is import`nt that
:27:08. > :27:10.we sign up to the principle that everybody's fought across the
:27:11. > :27:14.country, no matter which constituency they may be in, should
:27:15. > :27:19.weigh the same and it cannot be right to have a system which in the
:27:20. > :27:24.past has meant that Members of Parliament from some little parties
:27:25. > :27:28.were elected with many fewer people in their constituency than others.
:27:29. > :27:31.Therefore, it may justifiably ask why the Labour Party who have
:27:32. > :27:35.benefited from this is done for quite some time are against the
:27:36. > :27:39.motion of equal votes of eqtal weight in the future? I will amend
:27:40. > :27:43.these changes and the equalhsation of the size of constituency to
:27:44. > :27:47.everyone here. Kathryn Smith. The minister is
:27:48. > :27:54.definitely trying and failing to justify a cut of 19% in the Short
:27:55. > :27:57.money in the context of the trade union bar which takes funds from the
:27:58. > :28:01.Labour Party and propping up the House of Lords and the changes to
:28:02. > :28:05.the general election boundaries Will he now admit that the so-called
:28:06. > :28:10.one nation party is trying to create a 1-party nation?
:28:11. > :28:16.I complement the honourable lady on a point well rehearsed. I do not
:28:17. > :28:19.feel terribly desperate at the moment, I feel quite principled
:28:20. > :28:24.because I think what we are doing is to try to make the system f`irer and
:28:25. > :28:28.make sure our democracy works in a fair fashion and a more fair fashion
:28:29. > :28:32.in the future. Diana Johnson. The minister has said
:28:33. > :28:35.several times he must tightdn our belts, candy and to the question,
:28:36. > :28:40.how come the Chancellor of the Exchequer can increase his spads he
:28:41. > :28:45.by 42%, just answer the question, please?
:28:46. > :28:49.Mr Speaker, I believe I alrdady did. The cost of spads has fallen since
:28:50. > :28:54.the general election. Thank you, Mr Speaker. The Linister
:28:55. > :29:01.is correct when he tells us that in times of austerity politici`ns have
:29:02. > :29:05.to take their cut and expenditure. Can the Minister therefore give a
:29:06. > :29:10.commitment that any percent`ge drop in Short money for the opposition is
:29:11. > :29:16.more than matched with cuts and expenditure on government spads
:29:17. > :29:22.I can go broader than that, I can promise that the cuts which are
:29:23. > :29:26.being proposed will be the same as those applied to all non-protected
:29:27. > :29:30.apartments right across govdrnment. This is not picking on any one
:29:31. > :29:33.particular area, this is thd standard cup, which every other
:29:34. > :29:36.department that has not been protected has had to deal whth, and
:29:37. > :29:38.I think that is an important point to get across to the rest of the
:29:39. > :29:45.country. The number of government political
:29:46. > :29:49.advisers is nearly at 100, the political advisers on the
:29:50. > :29:53.highest-paid greed is 150%. The Prime Minister's reported s`laries
:29:54. > :29:59.have increased by 150%. Othdrs have gone out to 277%. When you told us
:30:00. > :30:03.minutes ago that the governlent was tightening its belt on it btt go
:30:04. > :30:10.budget, did you deliberatelx mislead the House?
:30:11. > :30:13.Order. I understand what thd right honourable gentleman was drhving at,
:30:14. > :30:20.but it is wholly disorderly the Ribble Valley to mislead thd House
:30:21. > :30:29.-- disorderly to the Reverend Whitley Ms Reid -- disorderly to
:30:30. > :30:33.deliberately mislead the Hotse. I think his phrase was not thd best. I
:30:34. > :30:37.would think he can choose a better set of words to get across hs point
:30:38. > :30:43.and I would invite him to do this? I just wonder if he has madd an
:30:44. > :30:51.inadvertent mistake? Very ddxtrous! Thank you. Not as far as I `m aware,
:30:52. > :30:55.thank you. Business question, Mister Chris
:30:56. > :30:58.Bryant. While the absentees part-tile Leader
:30:59. > :31:07.of the House gives us the btsiness for next week?
:31:08. > :31:14.It is a pleasure to respond to this urgent question from the minister
:31:15. > :31:19.responsible. Mr Speaker, Monday the 22nd of February, next week, the
:31:20. > :31:24.lead after next, after the half term recess, we will have the second
:31:25. > :31:27.reading of the Northern Ireland Stormont agreement and
:31:28. > :31:31.implementation plan Bill and I would expect the Prime Minister to make a
:31:32. > :31:35.statement following the European Council meeting. On the 23rd of
:31:36. > :31:39.February we will have consideration of the Lords amendment to the
:31:40. > :31:42.welfare reform and work well for the pie consideration of the amdndments
:31:43. > :31:45.to the education and adoption bill for the buy business to be nominated
:31:46. > :31:51.by the Backbench Business Committee. On the 24th of February it will be
:31:52. > :31:52.an Opposition Day on the subject to be