18/05/2016

:00:19. > :00:22.This afternoon Conservative backbench MPs Caroline Spelman and

:00:23. > :00:27.Philip Lee will move a motion to send a loyal address to thank the

:00:28. > :00:30.Queen for her speech and it will be followed by responses from the

:00:31. > :00:36.Leader of the Opposition and the Prime Minister. The debate will then

:00:37. > :00:40.widened to include backbench MPs and will run until 10pm. It will be the

:00:41. > :00:44.main business for the house to consider for the next few days.

:00:45. > :00:48.Remember to join me for a round-up of the day in both Houses of

:00:49. > :00:52.Parliament at 11pm tonight but first we start with the first reading of

:00:53. > :00:56.the Outlawries Bill which allows the House of Commons to assert its right

:00:57. > :00:58.to discuss matters of its own choosing before moving on to those

:00:59. > :01:24.proposed by the government in the Queens speech.

:01:25. > :01:36.The house has to make a statement at the beginning of each session about

:01:37. > :01:42.the responsibilities of honourable members. I begin by reminding those

:01:43. > :01:53.present to agree the code of conduct of the house and to display civility

:01:54. > :02:02.and fairness. The house asserts that the privilege of freedom of speech,

:02:03. > :02:09.it is there to assure that our constituents can be represented by

:02:10. > :02:13.us without fear. It's an obligation of us all to that privilege

:02:14. > :02:20.responsibly. It is enjoyed by members of Parliament in their work

:02:21. > :02:27.in this house, as private individuals who are equal under the

:02:28. > :02:33.law with those who we represent. In our proceedings every member should

:02:34. > :02:41.be heard courteously, whatever their views. Parliament should be open to

:02:42. > :02:46.those who it represents. We should seek to explain its work to those

:02:47. > :02:53.who elect us and make them welcome here. The security of this building

:02:54. > :02:58.and those who work and visit here depends upon all of us. We have a

:02:59. > :03:06.duty to be vigilant and to assist those whose job it is to maintain

:03:07. > :03:12.this place as a safe place to work. In this new session of Parliament I

:03:13. > :03:20.will be adhering more closely to the convention of ministers taking up to

:03:21. > :03:26.ten minutes when delivering an oral statement to the house. The official

:03:27. > :03:32.opposition spokesperson may make a contribution of up to five minutes.

:03:33. > :03:43.And the third party spokesperson maximum of two minutes.

:03:44. > :03:51.For urgent questions the Minister may speak for up to three minutes,

:03:52. > :03:55.the person asking the urgent question and the official

:03:56. > :03:59.spokesperson where different maximum of two minutes each. And the third

:04:00. > :04:05.party spokesperson maximum one minute. Members wishing to take part

:04:06. > :04:09.in statements, urgent questions and the business question must be in the

:04:10. > :04:15.chamber in accordance with very long established convention before they

:04:16. > :04:19.begin and colleagues should not expect to be called to ask a

:04:20. > :04:24.question if they are not in their place as the statement of urgent

:04:25. > :04:29.question or business question begins. Before moving to the first

:04:30. > :04:37.business I would like to express my best wishes for the 2000 1617

:04:38. > :04:46.session to all honourable members and all those who work here.

:04:47. > :04:50.Outlawries Bill. I have to acquaint the house that this house has this

:04:51. > :04:56.day attended Her Majesty in the house of Peers. And that Her Majesty

:04:57. > :05:02.was pleased to make a most gracious speech from the throne to both

:05:03. > :05:11.Houses of Parliament. Of which I have, for greater accuracy, obtained

:05:12. > :05:17.a copy. I shall direct the terms of the speech be printed in the votes

:05:18. > :05:22.and proceedings. Copies are already available in the vote office. Before

:05:23. > :05:26.I call the mover and second of the address I can inform the house of

:05:27. > :05:34.the proposed subjects for the remaining days of debate on the

:05:35. > :05:40.loyal address. Thursday 19th may transport and local infrastructure.

:05:41. > :05:48.Monday 23rd may defending public services. Tuesday 24th of May,

:05:49. > :05:57.Europe, human rights and keeping people safe at home and abroad.

:05:58. > :06:03.Wednesday 25th of May, education, skills, and training. Thursday 26th

:06:04. > :06:12.of May, economy and work. I shall first call Mrs Caroline Spelman to

:06:13. > :06:20.move and then doctor Philip Lee to second the address. Mrs Caroline

:06:21. > :06:25.Spelman. I vote to move that the humble address be presented to Her

:06:26. > :06:30.Majesty as followed, most gracious sovereign, we your Majesty 's masjid

:06:31. > :06:33.bowl and loyal subjects, the Commons of the United Kingdom and Great

:06:34. > :06:37.Britain and Northern Ireland beg leave to offer our humble thanks to

:06:38. > :06:42.your Majesty for the gracious speech which your Majesty has addressed to

:06:43. > :06:46.both Houses of Parliament. It's an honour to be asked to propose the

:06:47. > :06:52.Queens speech, especially in Her Majesty 's 90th year. When I was

:06:53. > :06:58.asked to see the Chief Whip my first thought however was what have I

:06:59. > :07:02.done? The relief in discovering it was for a good reason was followed

:07:03. > :07:08.almost immediately by the how to do it well. So I looked carefully at

:07:09. > :07:13.how the Right Honourable member for Chelmsford tackled it last year. I

:07:14. > :07:19.know Mr Speaker that unfortunately he cannot be with us today as he has

:07:20. > :07:24.to attend the funeral. But we all know no of his unswerving admiration

:07:25. > :07:29.for Hillary Clinton. We have shared with him the anxieties of the

:07:30. > :07:35.primaries. So I put all colleagues on alert that if you are standing

:07:36. > :07:38.next to him when the news of the presidential election comes through

:07:39. > :07:46.the prepared to provide moral support, whichever way it goes, but

:07:47. > :07:53.especially should help learning trends -- especially should Hillary

:07:54. > :07:57.Clinton be trumped. Can I stay to my constituents how grateful I am to

:07:58. > :08:03.them for electing me to Parliament. I am always proud to represent them.

:08:04. > :08:08.A lot has changed since my first day here 19 years ago. I was often the

:08:09. > :08:13.only woman in meetings. I was one of very few women around a Cabinet

:08:14. > :08:17.table with school aged children. This could prove awkward, such as

:08:18. > :08:21.the Shadow Cabinet meeting interrupted by the news that one of

:08:22. > :08:31.my sons had fallen off a drainpipe at school. In 1997 only 18% of MPs

:08:32. > :08:35.were women. This has now risen to a total of almost 30%, not yet parity

:08:36. > :08:40.but we are heading in the right direction. It has also been a great

:08:41. > :08:44.privilege to help mentor newcomers and in return I have been especially

:08:45. > :08:48.grateful for the mentoring of Baroness Shepherd down the years.

:08:49. > :08:57.Now the chamber looks more like the electorate at large. Better

:08:58. > :09:02.decisions are made. On all sides. Better decisions are made Mr Speaker

:09:03. > :09:05.when those who make them are more diverse. For example when assessing

:09:06. > :09:12.the priorities for public transport men rate reliability and cost is the

:09:13. > :09:16.most important factors. But the women did something else first,

:09:17. > :09:21.their personal safety. Put these perspectives together and a better

:09:22. > :09:24.outcome is achieved. I hope by now the nearly new members are beginning

:09:25. > :09:30.to make friends in all parties and discover that they can have allies

:09:31. > :09:33.across the floor. The work of Parliament is often enhanced by the

:09:34. > :09:39.friendships that transcend party lines. When I was party chairman the

:09:40. > :09:43.Right Honourable member of Birkenhead asked me to organise a

:09:44. > :09:48.debate with him on the subject of dying well as we each had a parent

:09:49. > :09:52.with a poor experience of this in hospital. The whips did not bat an

:09:53. > :09:58.eyelid. The only objection was to the title, diene was considered far

:09:59. > :10:03.too controversial, we had to call it end of life care. I also work with

:10:04. > :10:07.the right Honourable gentleman on the modern day slavery Bill as we

:10:08. > :10:11.both served on the joint committee of both houses. If ever there was an

:10:12. > :10:15.outstanding example of cross-party approach to tackling a terrible

:10:16. > :10:19.injustice this is it. The Home Secretary deserves the credit for

:10:20. > :10:26.securing a piece of landmark legislation which is a world first

:10:27. > :10:31.in this area. The legal expertise of Baroness Butler-Sloss forced us all

:10:32. > :10:36.to think very hard how to get this absolutely right. And I felt it was

:10:37. > :10:40.my red letter day when the noble lady uttered those magic words to

:10:41. > :10:47.me, I think the rate Honourable Lady has a point. I have been any

:10:48. > :10:51.cross-party prayer Fellowship all the time I have been here which

:10:52. > :10:55.consists of two consecutive sectors, two labour, one liberal and won the

:10:56. > :11:00.Democratic Unionist. You could not do this better by proportional

:11:01. > :11:04.representation if you tried. We met up with our families and my children

:11:05. > :11:07.were initially perplexed by the fraternisation until I explained

:11:08. > :11:11.that it is like with your friends support Aston Villa and you support

:11:12. > :11:20.Coventry and you think he is misguided but you are still friends.

:11:21. > :11:23.Mr Speaker, we will shortly face a big decision about our membership of

:11:24. > :11:26.the EU and whichever way the vote goes we will need to ensure good

:11:27. > :11:39.relations with our neighbours moving forward. So can I commend to the

:11:40. > :11:43.house the recent concert by the Parliament choir in Paris to show

:11:44. > :11:49.our solidarity with the people of brands after the terrorist attacks

:11:50. > :11:54.last year. There are often opportunities for soft diplomacy and

:11:55. > :11:57.we should take them. The member for Harwich and North Essex and I may

:11:58. > :12:05.not see eye to eye on Europe but his rich baritone and my alto voice have

:12:06. > :12:08.produced a delightful harmony. I welcome the clear references to the

:12:09. > :12:12.life chances and gender in the gracious speech and I am pleased

:12:13. > :12:16.this is to be a key theme in the year ahead. The Right Honourable

:12:17. > :12:20.member for Chingford and Woodford Green pioneered this approach and

:12:21. > :12:24.the new Secretary of State has the life experience and the ability to

:12:25. > :12:28.drive it forward. My constituency has a council estate of almost

:12:29. > :12:32.40,000 people. I have seen how the life chances of my constituents have

:12:33. > :12:44.improved through the generation of housing and schools by Solihull

:12:45. > :12:46.Council. I took a minister on our visit there recently and two tenants

:12:47. > :12:48.emerged from one of our 37 refurbished tower Brock 's

:12:49. > :12:51.expressing their delight that their energy bills had been half to as a

:12:52. > :12:55.result of the new energy-saving features. The minister turned to me

:12:56. > :12:59.and asked how much I paid them to say that. Buildings can be

:13:00. > :13:02.regenerated but it's the life chances of the human beings within

:13:03. > :13:06.them which makes the difference. I am delighted so many young people

:13:07. > :13:10.are getting apprenticeships including many young women as

:13:11. > :13:15.engineers in the great tradition of those women who built Spitfires in

:13:16. > :13:18.the last world war. All of this is made possible because of the

:13:19. > :13:23.Renaissance in manufacturing and economic recovery we have seen.

:13:24. > :13:27.Parts of my constituency are rural and despite being at the very centre

:13:28. > :13:34.of England and we have mobile and broadband, not spots. I am glad

:13:35. > :13:41.effort is being made to juice the digital divide. With can I remind

:13:42. > :13:45.the government of the offer of church buyers and towers to help

:13:46. > :13:51.crack this problem. They may bring us closer to God but a proper signal

:13:52. > :13:57.can feel like heaven on earth to those... Prison reform is well

:13:58. > :14:03.overdue and we know that reoffending can beat a matter cut with the right

:14:04. > :14:07.kind of help. The Justice Secretary and the Education Secretary know how

:14:08. > :14:10.important it is to improve the life chances of schoolchildren as far too

:14:11. > :14:15.many prison inmates are unable to read or write. I am glad the Justice

:14:16. > :14:18.Secretary is using his reforming zeal to give prisoners a better

:14:19. > :14:23.chance to turn our lives around. I have witnessed first hand how this

:14:24. > :14:28.can be achieved. I set up a charity called welcome to track all drug and

:14:29. > :14:32.alcohol abuse, to get people free of addiction and into work. We started

:14:33. > :14:38.with one employee in a community hall and now employs over 20. We do

:14:39. > :14:43.the trio is for the NHS in our borough of 200,000 people. Some of

:14:44. > :14:45.the best advocates are our volunteers who have achieved this

:14:46. > :14:52.themselves and are role models for others. Members on all side of the

:14:53. > :14:56.house have sought to help the vulnerable. On entering politics it

:14:57. > :15:01.was my personal resolution to speak for those who were unable to speak

:15:02. > :15:05.for themselves. Few people in our country are more vulnerable than a

:15:06. > :15:09.child leaving care. This state has not often proved a great parent and

:15:10. > :15:13.knowing how hard it is to be a parent we should not be surprised.

:15:14. > :15:18.But I take my hat off in particular to those who adopt. We need more

:15:19. > :15:22.parents to come forward to foster and adopt so I welcome the

:15:23. > :15:25.government 's intention to speed up adoption. This was the objective of

:15:26. > :15:29.my Private members Bill on the subject but still Jordan can be left

:15:30. > :15:35.to one in care and the damage can be irreparable. Let's keep it going

:15:36. > :15:40.until I young adult is fully fledged, a team-mate be the notional

:15:41. > :15:44.age of adulthood but based on my experience it takes a good few more

:15:45. > :15:50.years of parental support before their wings can take life 's

:15:51. > :15:53.turbulence. New measures are needed to prevent sections of society

:15:54. > :15:55.filling a Lenny did but I appeal to the government not to take a hammer

:15:56. > :16:07.to crack a nut. I have high expectations of the new

:16:08. > :16:10.Mayor of London, who is not only an excellent cricketer as the Lords and

:16:11. > :16:18.Commons cricket team will testify, uniquely well-placed to help. Good

:16:19. > :16:22.luck, Sadiq. No pressure. Let me return to my theme of making friends

:16:23. > :16:26.across the house. Over the years there has been a good few members

:16:27. > :16:30.who I have sought to encourage after experiencing setbacks in their

:16:31. > :16:34.parliamentary careers. My key piece of advice has been don't give up,

:16:35. > :16:37.get stuck back in and fight for the causes you know and care about and

:16:38. > :16:41.this house will ultimately respect you for it. Can I say here are

:16:42. > :16:46.heartfelt thank you for the way the house has helped me rediscover the

:16:47. > :16:51.fulfilment of being an elected member of this mother of all

:16:52. > :16:55.parliaments. As long as you have the chance to make a difference, there

:16:56. > :17:01.is no such thing as having had your day. We are elected to change things

:17:02. > :17:08.for the better, to take up issues which confront us. So, seize the

:17:09. > :17:21.day. I commend this notion to the house. Doctor Philip Lees. Thank

:17:22. > :17:25.you, Mr Speaker. It is a privilege to second the great speech and I am

:17:26. > :17:29.honoured to be following my right honourable friend, the member for

:17:30. > :17:33.Meriden this afternoon. This is not the first time I have done so.

:17:34. > :17:37.Because among her many achievements, one of her proudest must be that she

:17:38. > :17:43.is captain of the Parliamentary ski team of which I am a junior member.

:17:44. > :17:47.In that role she has responsibility for leading a team of large egos,

:17:48. > :17:52.hidden talent, some with little sense of balance or direction,

:17:53. > :17:57.navigating up peaks and down slippery slopes. I can't imagine

:17:58. > :18:03.where she gained the experience, Mr Speaker. But such skills make her an

:18:04. > :18:09.extremely valuable member of this chamber, and of her party. Mr

:18:10. > :18:12.Speaker, I was surprised to have been given the privilege of

:18:13. > :18:21.seconding the address this afternoon. I am not, for example,

:18:22. > :18:28.the son of a bus strike. -- son of a bus driver. Although my father did

:18:29. > :18:33.once dried milk float in my honourable friend's Whickham

:18:34. > :18:37.constituency. But just as an aside, Mr Speaker, why is it always the

:18:38. > :18:49.case that we have to wait for so long for these sons of bus drivers

:18:50. > :18:56.and then two come along at once? Mr Speaker, it might be my education. I

:18:57. > :19:05.am, like the Leader of the Opposition, an ex-grammar schoolboy.

:19:06. > :19:13.And like him, I gather, I rather screwed up my A-levels. So perhaps

:19:14. > :19:18.there is hope for me yet. Or it might be my extensive experience of

:19:19. > :19:22.PR before entering politics. As the house knows, I am a practising

:19:23. > :19:29.doctor. Unfortunately, Mr Speaker, in a medical context, PR does not

:19:30. > :19:32.stand for public relations. But is shorthand for the type of

:19:33. > :19:42.examination that involves putting on rubber gloves, applying gel, and

:19:43. > :19:57.asking a man took off. -- asking a man to cough. If I may give my right

:19:58. > :20:06.honourable friend, the Prime Minister, a bit of advice, Mr

:20:07. > :20:09.Speaker, if, in the future, he finds himself speaking at a medical

:20:10. > :20:13.professional dinner, under no circumstances should he tell the

:20:14. > :20:18.audience that in his life before politics he was into PR, and that he

:20:19. > :20:34.found the work very stimulating. Many of my predecessors in this role

:20:35. > :20:39.has had a reputation for humour, and so I think it is courageous of the

:20:40. > :20:43.PM to ask a doctor to second the greatest speech. As the house can

:20:44. > :20:47.ready tell, medical humour is a famously acquired taste. And it

:20:48. > :20:51.would be all too easy to share some of the stories which every doctor

:20:52. > :20:58.has in the infinite supply. Many may not be appropriate for this place

:20:59. > :21:02.and its refined audience. I can perhaps, though, report on the lady

:21:03. > :21:10.who complained of, as she put it, a history of erotic bowels. I resisted

:21:11. > :21:13.the temptation to ask whether her erotic symptoms were erratic in

:21:14. > :21:18.nature. Or the elderly man who said his secret for looking so healthy

:21:19. > :21:25.was to do Kama Sutra exercises every morning. Only to be corrected by his

:21:26. > :21:35.wife," Gareth, I think you mean Tai Chi". If colleagues don't think I

:21:36. > :21:40.delivered this speech very well today, just be grateful that we are

:21:41. > :21:52.not holding this debate at the weekend, when I understand from some

:21:53. > :21:58.that doctors don't perform as well. Mr Speaker, I had hoped that my

:21:59. > :22:01.medical background would be an advantage in politics but I have

:22:02. > :22:08.been disappointed. My first disappointment when I stood for the

:22:09. > :22:15.Conservative Party's candidate in Gwent. I'm sure the honourable

:22:16. > :22:21.member would agree that sporting a blue rose outside of Kwik Save takes

:22:22. > :22:27.a certain type of character. Mostly delusional, perhaps even

:22:28. > :22:30.masochistic. In fact the president of my constituency association was

:22:31. > :22:39.elected to Woking Borough Council with more votes than I received. I

:22:40. > :22:44.was however able to comfort myself with the fact that my modest 816

:22:45. > :22:48.votes nevertheless represented the biggest swing to the Conservative

:22:49. > :22:55.Party of any candidate in Wales that night. In retrospect I should have

:22:56. > :23:00.taken more note of the lady at the market who, when I asked why she

:23:01. > :23:17.supported Labour, she replied "Don't you get complicated with me".

:23:18. > :23:22.Mr Speaker, delivering this speech is of course really an honour for

:23:23. > :23:27.the constituency of Bracknell, which I am privileged to represent. It is

:23:28. > :23:32.a particular honour in this year of Her Majesty's 90th birthday.

:23:33. > :23:35.Bracknell constituency has long-standing royal links. It is

:23:36. > :23:42.proud to host the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, which celebrated

:23:43. > :23:45.its bicentenary in 2012, and has trained successive generations of

:23:46. > :23:49.British, Commonwealth and international officers serving in

:23:50. > :23:54.Her Majesty's army and elsewhere around the world. My constituents

:23:55. > :23:59.also enjoy access to swing the forest, which is wonderfully

:24:00. > :24:02.maintained by Crown Estates. With its vibrant economy and town centre

:24:03. > :24:07.regeneration, Bracknell constituency has a very bright future. This is

:24:08. > :24:12.the 63rd greatest speech that Her Majesty has given since Eric session

:24:13. > :24:16.to the throne. On this occasion it is apt to look back to her first

:24:17. > :24:22.gracious speech, and at the changes that there have been since. The

:24:23. > :24:26.preservation of peace was the first emphasis in 1952. Our country was

:24:27. > :24:29.still recovering from war. My right honourable friend, the member for

:24:30. > :24:35.Mid Sussex's grandfather was Prime Minister. The nationalisation of

:24:36. > :24:39.iron and steel was the subject of heated debate. Slums had to be

:24:40. > :24:44.cleared and people housed. This led to the creation of new towns, of

:24:45. > :24:46.which Bracknell was one. Communicable diseases such as

:24:47. > :24:51.tuberculosis challenged our young health service. Abroad, closer union

:24:52. > :24:58.is worth forcing to cement the ties on which peace depended. With the

:24:59. > :25:01.United States of America, with the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation,

:25:02. > :25:06.with the Commonwealth and with a recovering Europe. The vision of the

:25:07. > :25:11.post-war political generation was a big vision. The country that would

:25:12. > :25:15.never again suffer the insecurity and hardship experienced by those

:25:16. > :25:22.who had to pick up arms and fight for our existence. Of every person

:25:23. > :25:26.being able to get a chance in life. Of health, of education, of

:25:27. > :25:31.employment. Of a society that is fair, just and free. In which

:25:32. > :25:37.freedom is heartburn and because we value our country, our environment,

:25:38. > :25:40.our world -- freedom is earned. In which rights are balanced by

:25:41. > :25:46.responsibilities for each other and for ourselves. And most importantly

:25:47. > :25:48.to prepare for the future. Variations of this vision have

:25:49. > :25:57.guided successive governments ever since. With varying degrees of

:25:58. > :26:01.success. The generation Her Majesty addressed in 1952 had fought for

:26:02. > :26:04.this vision. Displayed a deep consciousness throughout our nation

:26:05. > :26:10.that individual lives are fleeting. That we much take care of the world

:26:11. > :26:14.we inherit, conserve, so we pass something better to our children.

:26:15. > :26:18.That we achieve more by coming together with our neighbours, with

:26:19. > :26:24.our friends, and with our former enemies, by respecting our riches

:26:25. > :26:29.and each other. And that humanity is the vital bond, without which our

:26:30. > :26:33.society, globally and nationally, our communities, our families will

:26:34. > :26:38.disintegrate. Mr Speaker, on a personal level, I am humbled by the

:26:39. > :26:43.experience of the wartime generation. My grandfather was under

:26:44. > :26:50.fire at the age of 20 in the tail end of the Halifax bomber. I also

:26:51. > :26:53.recall caring for and 89-year-old Polish patient who was short of

:26:54. > :26:58.breath and experiencing angina. He had taken the time to put on a tie

:26:59. > :27:03.and suit adorned with military ribbons. And he apologised for

:27:04. > :27:09.taking up my time. I asked him about his military experience. He told me

:27:10. > :27:14.that his village in eastern Poland had been overrun by the Soviets in

:27:15. > :27:19.1939. He was deported to a Siberian work camp and, in his own words,

:27:20. > :27:25.wore the same socks the two years. He was handed over to the British in

:27:26. > :27:30.1942 in Baghdad, and fought with Montgomery's eighth Army across

:27:31. > :27:35.North Africa, and up the spine of Italy via Monte Cassino. When

:27:36. > :27:40.reflecting upon his heroic story, I humbly asked whether my generation

:27:41. > :27:44.would display the same values, Mr Speaker, the same stoicism, the same

:27:45. > :27:52.modesty, the same courage, the same respect for others. And I recall his

:27:53. > :27:58.loyalty to his adopted country. Mr Speaker, the closest I have come to

:27:59. > :28:01.fighting is as a doctor battling ageing, obesity, and the challenges

:28:02. > :28:05.of cultural dislocation. In the course of Her Majesty's rain, life

:28:06. > :28:10.expectancy has increased by a decade. The percentage of people

:28:11. > :28:16.aged over 85 has grown by a factor of five. World's population has

:28:17. > :28:22.virtually trebled. Our own has gone up by a third and the proportion of

:28:23. > :28:26.our population I foreign earth has almost trebled, albeit from a low

:28:27. > :28:29.base. It is clear that we must not only treat the symptoms of the

:28:30. > :28:35.challenges that come with such marked change, but strive to cure

:28:36. > :28:37.their causes. Which is why this government's commitment to improve

:28:38. > :28:41.the life chances of those who have the misfortune to be born or raised

:28:42. > :28:47.in circumstances over which they have no control is admirable and

:28:48. > :28:51.right. Mr Speaker, the generation Her Majesty addresses today must

:28:52. > :28:55.rediscover the values of the past to face an ever accelerating pace of

:28:56. > :28:59.change. It is a world that is more connected, more conscious of its

:29:00. > :29:06.differences, but also more conscious of what we have in common than ever

:29:07. > :29:09.before. This time, Mr Speaker, we have the opportunity to rediscover

:29:10. > :29:14.those values peacefully, and the important legislation outlined in

:29:15. > :29:18.the greatest speech will enable us to do so. The challenge of

:29:19. > :29:21.overcoming extremism without undermining our humanity is one that

:29:22. > :29:25.deserves the support of the whole house. My right honourable and good

:29:26. > :29:29.friend the Home Secretary knows that dealing with our society's failure

:29:30. > :29:34.to integrate some communities will be integral. The space industry

:29:35. > :29:38.receives the attention it deserves as one of Britain's most successful

:29:39. > :29:43.industries with the power to inspire that is unmatched. I am sure all

:29:44. > :29:46.members of the last Parliament recall I mentioned the UK space

:29:47. > :29:58.industry in my maiden speech in 2010. And as British astronaut Tim

:29:59. > :30:04.Peake was a graduate of Sandhurst I'm shamelessly going to claim him

:30:05. > :30:08.as having been educated in my constituency. As such I am concerned

:30:09. > :30:12.for his welfare, Mr Speaker. I know that Tim is due back from the

:30:13. > :30:17.International Space Station just before the EU referendum vote. But

:30:18. > :30:20.if he's slightly delayed and the country votes to leave in June, he

:30:21. > :30:27.need not worry about getting home since the European Space Agency sits

:30:28. > :30:30.outside the European Union. Seriously though, Mr Speaker, the

:30:31. > :30:35.government's support of the space industry will help secure Britain

:30:36. > :30:37.has a globally recognised centre for high-technology, whether we are

:30:38. > :30:43.inside or outside the European Union. Finally, some honourable

:30:44. > :30:47.members will know that I've kept my own counsel on June's big European

:30:48. > :30:51.event, but the time is fast approaching when I feel I should

:30:52. > :30:56.make my position clear. If only to deal with the alarming possibility

:30:57. > :30:59.that, as time moves on, I and other honourable members who have taken a

:31:00. > :31:04.similar approach will have to deal with the advances of two charming

:31:05. > :31:07.men. One with blonde hair and one with spectacles approaching us in

:31:08. > :31:10.the members lobby to ask when we are coming out.

:31:11. > :31:20.LAUGHTER In my view I can see no good reason

:31:21. > :31:31.we should exit. CHEERING At least not before the semifinals!

:31:32. > :31:37.LAUGHTER And preferably not after the pain of

:31:38. > :31:42.extra time and a penalty shoot out. Mr Speaker keeping up with change is

:31:43. > :31:45.a tough enough job any government, Conservative governments don't just

:31:46. > :31:49.want to keep up, they want to do better. That is why Mr Speaker I am

:31:50. > :31:53.not only privilege to represent the good people of the Bracknell

:31:54. > :32:01.constituency but proud to second this gracious speech. The question

:32:02. > :32:08.is that a humble address be presented to Her Majesty as follows,

:32:09. > :32:14.most gracious sovereign, we your Majesty 's most beautiful and loyal

:32:15. > :32:20.subjects, the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and

:32:21. > :32:23.Northern Ireland in Parliament assemble beg leave to offer our

:32:24. > :32:28.humble thanks to your Majesty for the gracious speech which your

:32:29. > :32:35.Majesty has addressed to both houses of Parliament. I call the Leader of

:32:36. > :32:41.the Opposition, Mr Jeremy Corbyn. Thank you very much Mr Speaker, I am

:32:42. > :32:44.pleased we have dispensed with the Outlawries Bill which will ensure we

:32:45. > :32:49.have stability and freedom of speech in this chamber and I attended to

:32:50. > :32:53.adhere by the civility part of it, it is up to others to decide on the

:32:54. > :32:58.freedom of speech. Mr Speaker July will mark this into the of the

:32:59. > :33:06.Battle of the Somme, an episode of frankly needless carnage and horror.

:33:07. > :33:11.This week Mark the centenary of the agreement were Britain and France

:33:12. > :33:13.divided up the Ottoman Empire into spheres of influence, arbitrarily

:33:14. > :33:18.establishing borders which have been the cause of many conflicts ever

:33:19. > :33:23.since. These events should remind us in the house of two things. Firstly

:33:24. > :33:28.that decisions we take up consequences and it's our Armed

:33:29. > :33:32.Forces that face the consequences of failed foreign and military policy.

:33:33. > :33:35.Our duty to our Armed Forces is to avoid the political mistakes which

:33:36. > :33:40.will lead them to being sent unnecessarily into harms way. As the

:33:41. > :33:43.member for Bracknell pointed out, the effects of war go on for the

:33:44. > :33:49.whole lifetime of those that have taken part in it. By tradition Mr

:33:50. > :33:52.Speaker at the beginning of each parliamentary session we commemorate

:33:53. > :33:59.members of the house who we have lost in the last year. In October we

:34:00. > :34:03.lost Michael Meacher, he was as all who met him new at decent,

:34:04. > :34:08.hard-working, passionate and very profound man. He represented his

:34:09. > :34:14.constituency with diligence and distension for 45 years. He was a

:34:15. > :34:17.blind environment minister and a lifelong campaigner against

:34:18. > :34:22.injustice and poverty and a brilliant champion of the rights of

:34:23. > :34:26.this house and Parliament. We remember Michael for all of those

:34:27. > :34:31.things. Harry Harper sadly only had a sadly only had a few months to

:34:32. > :34:35.serve this house, he represented his constituency and the concerns of the

:34:36. > :34:41.steel industry in Sheffield with incredible diligence. My honourable

:34:42. > :34:43.friend and the new member for Sheffield Brightside and

:34:44. > :34:48.Hillsborough now represents that same constituency. As she told me at

:34:49. > :34:53.his passing, we have admired the bravery and courage he showed in his

:34:54. > :34:57.life which was formed during the miners strike and carried him

:34:58. > :35:02.forward for the rest of his life. Harry and Michael were both

:35:03. > :35:05.incredibly decent, honourable men, absolutely dedicated to serving

:35:06. > :35:11.their communities and standing up for strong socialist principles, we

:35:12. > :35:14.commemorate both of them. Mr Speaker, I would like to

:35:15. > :35:23.congratulate the mover and second on the Queens speech, it's a job I've

:35:24. > :35:29.never had to myself. LAUGHTER It's one of those powers of

:35:30. > :35:33.patronage. Firstly, I want to congratulate the right Honourable

:35:34. > :35:37.member for Meriden on her excellent speech which I attributed to the

:35:38. > :35:40.excellent training she received early in her career. It is possible

:35:41. > :35:49.that many members on her own side are unaware that Sister Spellman, or

:35:50. > :35:58.comrades Spellman was, like me a full-time union official before

:35:59. > :36:07.entering Parliament. LAUGHTER Because Mr Speaker while industrial

:36:08. > :36:14.strife raged across the country, I was part of it, the Right Honourable

:36:15. > :36:19.member... Wait, wait, wait. They are just too fast Mr Speaker. The Right

:36:20. > :36:23.Honourable member was travelling the whole country defending sugar beet

:36:24. > :36:27.workers from disreputable and exploitative bosses. At least that

:36:28. > :36:33.is what I think the National Farmers Union was doing at that time. But

:36:34. > :36:36.alas time changes their wings and the Right Honourable member and I

:36:37. > :36:42.now sing from a slightly different hymn sheet. Talking of which, I

:36:43. > :36:47.understand she has been a stalwart of the parliamentary choir for many

:36:48. > :36:51.years. Perhaps she will find time to give me some singing lessons, giving

:36:52. > :37:00.her background perhaps together we could sing the red flag as a duet.

:37:01. > :37:15.The Right Honourable... We will sing from the widest team sheet, don't

:37:16. > :37:18.you worry. The Right Honourable member has an excellent reputation

:37:19. > :37:23.for her outstanding work in international development, both in

:37:24. > :37:27.opposition and government. She steered her party, some might and

:37:28. > :37:33.graciously say, kicking and screaming, into delivering the

:37:34. > :37:36.pledge that 0.0 7% of our GDP would be spent on international aid. I pay

:37:37. > :37:40.tribute to the way she championed the rights of women and young girls

:37:41. > :37:46.in the developing world. She stood up for their needs, their rights and

:37:47. > :37:49.ensured our aid budget did go correctly and proportionately to

:37:50. > :37:52.helping women and young girls in the developing world and I thank her for

:37:53. > :38:00.that. I think underneath it all she is a bit of a closet radical so we

:38:01. > :38:05.will talk later. I have to say Mr Speaker after some research I can

:38:06. > :38:15.exclusively reveal that the house the roots of her radicalism. Because

:38:16. > :38:21.her constituency includes the town of dodge and the waters of storage

:38:22. > :38:30.are very important. Long before the Right Honourable member was

:38:31. > :38:38.elected... Her constituency was an nest of rebellion and it was led by

:38:39. > :38:47.a local landowner, George Frederick months. A refugee, he was one of the

:38:48. > :38:52.founders of the Birmingham political union. An organisation which was

:38:53. > :38:56.pivotal to the introduction of the 1832 reform act and the union later

:38:57. > :39:01.became part of the Chartist movement on which we trace the origins of

:39:02. > :39:05.socialism in this country and the Labour Party and naturally I hugely

:39:06. > :39:13.admire the Birmingham political union for what it's dead. -- what it

:39:14. > :39:20.did mac. I am sure the whole house will join me in thanking her for her

:39:21. > :39:25.speech today. I now turn Mr Speaker to the second of the loyal address,

:39:26. > :39:31.the Honourable member for Bracknell. Before joining the house he worked

:39:32. > :39:36.as a doctor. Today he is lancing the myth that doctors are bad

:39:37. > :39:40.communicators. In his maiden speech the Honourable member said I am

:39:41. > :39:44.often asked why I moved away from being a doctor to being a member of

:39:45. > :39:49.Parliament. To my mind people who come here should want to make this

:39:50. > :39:52.country a better place. Myself and Honourable members come from

:39:53. > :39:56.opposite sides of the political spectrum but we are both sincere in

:39:57. > :40:01.sharing the same goal, to make our country a better place for those who

:40:02. > :40:04.live here. Researching the member 's career I thought I had uncovered

:40:05. > :40:14.more evidence of the very deep fractures which exist within the

:40:15. > :40:16.government today. I was informed that he was a leading member of an

:40:17. > :40:23.organisation known as the grumblers. Further research indicated that this

:40:24. > :40:28.was not another group of malcontents on the government backbenches, that

:40:29. > :40:31.is already full. But a cricket club of which the Honourable member would

:40:32. > :40:36.have us believe he is a leading light. I did not want to leave any

:40:37. > :40:40.of this research and done so I approached the club to get a sense

:40:41. > :40:48.of the character of the Honourable member before making today's speech.

:40:49. > :40:55.Yeah, it's coming. Yeah, it's definitely coming. So I think the

:40:56. > :41:01.whole house will be eternally grateful Mr Speaker to the words of

:41:02. > :41:05.Mr Anton Joiner who is the chair man of the old grumblers Cricket club

:41:06. > :41:10.for his very insightful and very helpful response to my request. He

:41:11. > :41:15.wrote, and if I may quote the letter, I am sure the house will be

:41:16. > :41:20.the better informed. "Dear Sir, we are glad you have established

:41:21. > :41:23.contact with our team. We are desperately seeking recovery of

:41:24. > :41:35.several seasons overdue match fees by our Honourable friend. Please

:41:36. > :41:45.communicate our willingness to waive penalty interest in return for

:41:46. > :41:50.prompt payment." It goes all "In an undistinguished and tragically all

:41:51. > :41:57.too long career at the top order batsmen, the good doctor managed an

:41:58. > :42:02.average of just 11.2 runs with the bat. However his efforts with the

:42:03. > :42:12.ball yielded a solitary wicket, that of the wife of a French farmer

:42:13. > :42:22.during a tour match in Brittany in 2008." The generosity of the man

:42:23. > :42:27.knew no bounds and as a doctor he advised on many sporting injuries to

:42:28. > :42:31.club players and the letter goes on to say "The misdiagnosis of many

:42:32. > :42:36.lead to a string of unnecessary early retirements and an acute

:42:37. > :42:44.player availability crisis from which the team has only recently

:42:45. > :42:47.recovered. As captain of the old grumblers cricket club I rarely had

:42:48. > :42:56.to handle as obstinate and disrupters of a character as the

:42:57. > :43:01.doctor, who stubbornly refused to stand in any conventional field

:43:02. > :43:07.placement and very openly demonstrated a disdain for team

:43:08. > :43:10.sport, command structures and presumably this led him to the

:43:11. > :43:22.logical career choice of Tory backbencher." And the letter

:43:23. > :43:29.concludes "Please pass on my guards and the attached invoice." Mr

:43:30. > :43:34.Speaker I very much hope the Honourable member is a good sport

:43:35. > :43:38.because I understand he an equally distinguished rugby player but those

:43:39. > :43:42.stories were beyond my research capabilities and must be saved for

:43:43. > :43:49.another occasion. I thank him for his more acceptable exploits in the

:43:50. > :43:53.house today. Mr Speaker, we in the opposition will judge the government

:43:54. > :44:00.'s legislative programme against three tests. Will it deliver a more

:44:01. > :44:05.equal society? An economy which works for everyone? And society in

:44:06. > :44:09.which there is opportunity for all? Sadly it appears that many of the

:44:10. > :44:13.proposals in the Queens speech militate against those aims as have

:44:14. > :44:18.the proposals in previous years. Still this government does not seem

:44:19. > :44:23.to understand that cuts have their consequences. When you cut adult

:44:24. > :44:26.social care it has an impact on National Health Service Accident and

:44:27. > :44:30.Emergency departments. When you saddle young people with more debt

:44:31. > :44:33.you impede the ability to buy a home or start a family. When you fail to

:44:34. > :44:48.build housing and housing benefit then

:44:49. > :44:50.homelessness and the number of families in temporary accommodation

:44:51. > :44:52.increase. When you slash the budgets of local authorities then leisure

:44:53. > :45:01.centres clothes, libraries close, children centres close. This

:45:02. > :45:09.austerity is a political choice, not an economic is necessity. It's made

:45:10. > :45:14.by the government with the wrong priorities and it is women who have

:45:15. > :45:19.been hit hardest by these cuts. Over 80% of cuts for this portion of play

:45:20. > :45:24.on women. As the women's budget group has pointed out all these cuts

:45:25. > :45:28.mean that the opportunities for women are systematically reduced and

:45:29. > :45:33.diminished within our society. This government is failing to deliver an

:45:34. > :45:37.economy which meets the needs and aspirations of the people that sent

:45:38. > :45:42.us here. I government that is consistently failing to meet its own

:45:43. > :45:45.economic targets. They have failed on the deficit, the debt,

:45:46. > :45:52.productivity, failed to rebalance the economy. Once again the Northern

:45:53. > :45:59.powerhouse was announced, if only the rhetoric matched the reality. We

:46:00. > :46:06.discovered in March that the Northern powerhouse has 97% of its

:46:07. > :46:10.senior staff based here in London, and Northern powerhouse outsourced

:46:11. > :46:15.to the capital. For all the Chancellor 's rhetoric there has

:46:16. > :46:21.been systematic underinvestment in the north, only 1%, up 1% of the

:46:22. > :46:22.government infrastructure pipeline currently in construction in the

:46:23. > :46:31.north-east. Much could be said in a similar vein

:46:32. > :46:36.on housing. The government claims to aspire to build a million new homes.

:46:37. > :46:42.The reality, however, is that house-building has sunk to its

:46:43. > :46:48.lowest level since the 1920s. And so out of touch are the benches

:46:49. > :46:56.opposite, they think ?450,000 is what people can afford for a starter

:46:57. > :47:00.home. And the announcement again today of Britain's's digital

:47:01. > :47:05.infrastructure is welcome. Perhaps, and I hope it does, this time it

:47:06. > :47:08.will become a reality. Perhaps the Chancellor, who sadly is not here

:47:09. > :47:14.today, is a convert to our fiscal rules. A rational rule backed by

:47:15. > :47:20.leading economists which allows for borrowing on capital spending. I

:47:21. > :47:24.point out to the Prime Minister, whether on the northern powerhouse,

:47:25. > :47:29.building homes, or investing in digital infrastructure, simply

:47:30. > :47:36.saying things does not make them happen. It takes commitment to fund

:47:37. > :47:40.them. Mr Speaker, this government is failing to deliver, even on its own

:47:41. > :47:46.proposals. Though often that is for the better. The Prime Minister said

:47:47. > :47:50.two weeks ago, we are going to have academies for all, and it will be in

:47:51. > :47:58.the Queens speech. But just a fortnight later, there is no sign of

:47:59. > :48:02.it. Parents, governors, pupils, teachers and head teachers will be

:48:03. > :48:09.relieved to get final confirmation today that the wrong-headed

:48:10. > :48:20.proposals to impose forced academies Ocean have finally been dumped. --

:48:21. > :48:27.acamadisation. They have been forced to back down on a number of issues.

:48:28. > :48:34.On tax credits, on the Saudi police deal, on cuts to personal

:48:35. > :48:36.independence payments for disabled people, on Freedom of Information,

:48:37. > :48:40.on Sunday training, and on aspects of the trade union Bill and the

:48:41. > :48:44.housing bill. To call it disarray would be generous but that's without

:48:45. > :48:52.discussing the resultant black hole in the government's finances. But

:48:53. > :48:58.perhaps, Mr Speaker, the most worrying proposal of all, is the

:48:59. > :49:02.decision to try to seemed to redefine poverty and deprivation.

:49:03. > :49:09.Apparently it's all about instability, addiction and debt. All

:49:10. > :49:16.things you can blame on individuals, about which governments like

:49:17. > :49:20.tomorrow lies. Well, no. No, Mr Speaker. It's about 1 million people

:49:21. > :49:26.in our country using food banks. About record levels of in work

:49:27. > :49:31.poverty. The fact that absolute child poverty, after housing costs,

:49:32. > :49:36.is up by half a million. That poverty is up in disabled households

:49:37. > :49:41.on the same basis. That homelessness has gone up every year since the

:49:42. > :49:49.Prime Minister took office. And that last Christmas, Mr Speaker, 100,000

:49:50. > :49:55.children spent that Festival in temporary, insecure accommodation.

:49:56. > :50:01.And the causes of this? Cuts to welfare benefits, cuts to ESA, the

:50:02. > :50:05.bedroom tax, the benefit cut, wages being too low, jobs insecure and

:50:06. > :50:12.housing, whether to rent or buy, being too expensive. Mr Speaker, you

:50:13. > :50:19.don't tackle poverty by moving the goalposts. Poverty and inequality

:50:20. > :50:32.are collective failures of our society as a whole, not individual

:50:33. > :50:39.ones. On current form, Mr Speaker, much of what Her Majesty announced

:50:40. > :50:44.today will not require her signature. And I very much hope the

:50:45. > :50:50.government's proposals to date to consign it to ever deeper debt,

:50:51. > :50:55.those seeking to learn, will be rejected. My hope is that there will

:50:56. > :51:02.be a cross-party consensus on one element of the government's

:51:03. > :51:06.proposals. The honourable member of all should stand what I am about to

:51:07. > :51:11.say. That the proposal to repeal the Human Rights Act, brought in at the

:51:12. > :51:13.very start of the last Labour government, has brought the European

:51:14. > :51:17.Convention on human rights into British law, and thus empowering

:51:18. > :51:24.British citizens and giving rights to everybody in our society. We will

:51:25. > :51:29.defend our Human Rights Act as we defend the human rights of everyone

:51:30. > :51:33.in this country, and indeed all those that benefit from the European

:51:34. > :51:36.Convention on human rights. I understand, and it's quite bizarre,

:51:37. > :51:41.that the Home Secretary is the driving force behind tearing up the

:51:42. > :51:45.Human Rights Act, and leading the convention, which is strange, as she

:51:46. > :51:50.has very strong European credentials. What it shows, Mr

:51:51. > :51:53.Speaker, is whether you are actually in or out of the EU, the main

:51:54. > :51:59.obstacle holding back the people of this country is not the EU but that

:52:00. > :52:03.Conservative government. A Conservative government that is

:52:04. > :52:10.displaying a very worrying authoritarian streak. The primacy of

:52:11. > :52:16.this house, of the House of Commons, is not in doubt. We are committed to

:52:17. > :52:23.replacing the House of Lords with a democratic chamber. But we will

:52:24. > :52:26.scrutinise, sceptically, any proposals that seek to weaken the

:52:27. > :52:30.ability to hold the government to account as the other place rightly

:52:31. > :52:35.does. Democracy, Mr Speaker, requires accountability for

:52:36. > :52:41.decisions that are made. The national health service is in record

:52:42. > :52:47.deficit, yet there is no legislation in the Queen's speech to improve our

:52:48. > :52:55.National Health Service. Perhaps the Prime Minister can belatedly adopt

:52:56. > :52:58.the central medical principle: first, do no harm. Unfortunately

:52:59. > :53:02.there is legislation pending which will affect the NHS. The decision

:53:03. > :53:06.last year to cut nurses bursaries. Can the Prime Minister confirm this

:53:07. > :53:11.decision will be put to the house and voted on in this chamber? It is

:53:12. > :53:18.opposed by all the unions involved in the NHS and the Royal colleges

:53:19. > :53:24.representing nurses and midwives. The move to dissuade people from

:53:25. > :53:28.taking up nursing is all the more bizarre, Mr Speaker, coming as it

:53:29. > :53:32.does at a time when the government is planning to train nurses to take

:53:33. > :53:40.on more responsibilities from doctors. We welcome the government's

:53:41. > :53:47.proposals to support driverless cars in our society. But can they address

:53:48. > :53:54.the Secretary of State, who appears to be asleep at the wheel, in

:53:55. > :53:58.control of the NHS? Mr Speaker, we've made it clear before that with

:53:59. > :54:06.regard to the sugar tax, we will look favourably on proposals to

:54:07. > :54:20.tackle childhood obesity. We welcome the government's U-turn on forced

:54:21. > :54:24.acamedisation. As with schools -- academisation. As with schools, we

:54:25. > :54:29.would like to see... Mr Speaker, I will continue with my speech if I

:54:30. > :54:34.may. As with schools, we would like to see all ministers in good or even

:54:35. > :54:37.outstanding. But they need the freedom to listen to the public and

:54:38. > :54:43.the people who understand services best. So we look forward to

:54:44. > :54:47.scrutinising the surviving proposals in the government's education Bill,

:54:48. > :54:55.to ensure they are better thought through. Just as we have opposed the

:54:56. > :55:03.increase in unqualified teachers in our classrooms, we hope that the

:55:04. > :55:05.government will get to grips with the ?800 million being spent

:55:06. > :55:14.annually on supply teachers. Because of the recruitment and retention

:55:15. > :55:19.crisis in schools. With school budgets scheduled. Mr Speaker, we

:55:20. > :55:27.just agreed to behave with civility in this chamber, some members have

:55:28. > :55:36.very short memories. Point of order, Mr Jacob Rees Mogg. Point of order,

:55:37. > :55:42.Mr Speaker, am I not right in thinking it is customary cursory for

:55:43. > :55:50.people to give way in speeches that last over 20 minutes? The essence of

:55:51. > :55:56.the Honourable gentleman's point was encapsulated in that first sentence.

:55:57. > :55:59.Customary but it is not required. There is no obligation. Members may

:56:00. > :56:03.want the right honourable gentleman to give way but he is not obliged to

:56:04. > :56:07.do so and I gently say to the Honourable member for Winchester and

:56:08. > :56:13.to the Honourable member for Sherwood, that they can have a go

:56:14. > :56:18.but if the right honourable gentleman does not want to give way,

:56:19. > :56:22.they will not advance their cause by shouting and that in itself is an

:56:23. > :56:30.civil. Something the member for North East Somerset is never guilty

:56:31. > :56:35.of. Mr Jeremy Corbyn. Thank you, Mr Speaker. School budgets are

:56:36. > :56:43.scheduled to receive their biggest real terms cut since the 1970s. Mr

:56:44. > :56:48.Speaker, education is actually quite important in our society. The

:56:49. > :56:53.government can therefore ill afford to be spending so much on supply

:56:54. > :56:59.teachers. We have to move away from agency Britain. So we will look at

:57:00. > :57:02.the proposals for a national funding formula that would encourage the

:57:03. > :57:07.government to look for example at the school meals and breakfast

:57:08. > :57:12.policies that are being introduced in Labour Wales which help young

:57:13. > :57:21.people in Wales. Mr Speaker, we welcome moves to speed up adoption.

:57:22. > :57:25.That is in the interests of both children and those families

:57:26. > :57:30.committed to adoption. But the priority has to always be the

:57:31. > :57:34.welfare and safety of the child. But, Mr Speaker, at a time when

:57:35. > :57:37.social services and children's services are being slashed, we have

:57:38. > :57:43.to ask whether the funding will match the desire. We should also

:57:44. > :57:48.put, and all of us I'm sure can agree on this, on record our thanks

:57:49. > :57:51.to all those families that do foster, do adopt and do give

:57:52. > :57:56.children the very best lives that they possibly can. They are heroes

:57:57. > :58:00.within our society. Students today are more in debt than ever, and I

:58:01. > :58:03.want to make it clear to the Prime Minister he will not get any support

:58:04. > :58:10.from these benches on raising tuition fees. This government is

:58:11. > :58:13.penalising students. Announcing the abolition of maintenance grants last

:58:14. > :58:19.year and now announcing that fees will be raised even further. This is

:58:20. > :58:23.a tax on learning, as the Chancellor of the Exchequer called it in 2003,

:58:24. > :58:28.from a government backed cuts taxes on capital gains. What message does

:58:29. > :58:34.that send about the economy they want to create? That wealth

:58:35. > :58:39.generates more wealth with minimal tax? That effort and hard work plans

:58:40. > :58:42.you in a lifetime of debt with no support while you are making that

:58:43. > :58:48.effort? What an insult to the aspirations of young people wanting

:58:49. > :58:53.an education. We are deeply concerned about the locations for a

:58:54. > :58:59.free-market free for all in higher education. Mr Speaker, the

:59:00. > :59:03.government has committed to more apprenticeships. We welcome that if

:59:04. > :59:09.it means more high-quality apprenticeships. Also that those

:59:10. > :59:16.apprenticeships, equally, inspire young people to become engineers, as

:59:17. > :59:19.young men to become carers. It gives opportunities for every young person

:59:20. > :59:24.in our society. But they should not be seen by any employer as a means

:59:25. > :59:30.of circumventing paying a decent wage while offering little training.

:59:31. > :59:37.We all hear far too many cases of that. We will scrutinise carefully

:59:38. > :59:43.proposals to give prison governors more freedom. It seems the policies

:59:44. > :59:48.of this government have been to give greater freedoms to prisoners. That

:59:49. > :59:53.is the consequences of overcrowding prisons and cutting one third of

:59:54. > :59:59.dedicated prison officer positions. We welcome the proposals to give

:00:00. > :00:02.greater time for education and reform and to reduce reoffending

:00:03. > :00:08.rates. When I was a member of the justice select committee I visited

:00:09. > :00:18.young offender institutions in Denmark and Norway. Their approach,

:00:19. > :00:21.Mr Speaker, works. The prison crisis is one that does not require

:00:22. > :00:29.laughter to solve its problems. The approach they've adopted in those

:00:30. > :00:34.two Scandinavian countries does require more funding and more staff,

:00:35. > :00:40.but it does have a very good effect on reoffending rates. There is

:00:41. > :00:45.equally a very urgent need to invest in the care for prisoners who suffer

:00:46. > :00:50.from mental health conditions. The alarming rise in prison suicides in

:00:51. > :00:56.recent years means that to prisoners every week are taking their lives in

:00:57. > :01:01.our prisons. That is a truly horrifying statistic. It is only

:01:02. > :01:13.part of the disarray in our prisons. Emergency services were called out.

:01:14. > :01:26.Mr Speaker emergency services were called to 26,600 times for over 20

:01:27. > :01:31.minutes on average is two incidents in UK prisons last year, the tide of

:01:32. > :01:34.violence in UK prisons is rising and has to be addressed, that is our

:01:35. > :01:44.responsibility in this house to do so. Many more of our public services

:01:45. > :01:47.are under threat... No. Many more of our public services are under

:01:48. > :01:53.threat, the land Registry is threatened with privatisation and

:01:54. > :01:58.move considered and then rejected in the last two parliaments. Those

:01:59. > :02:06.governments lessened to the concerns of the public and expert opinion. I

:02:07. > :02:09.hope and trust this government will consult and come to the same

:02:10. > :02:13.conclusion rather than selling of the family silver, it will retain

:02:14. > :02:21.the land Registry in public ownership and administration. We are

:02:22. > :02:33.very clear... We are very clear that the BBC is national institution. But

:02:34. > :02:37.its success is an anathema to this ideological government. Labour will

:02:38. > :02:41.continue to stand up for the licence fee payer. We will fight any further

:02:42. > :02:50.government attacks on the BBC and its independence. Whether it is the

:02:51. > :02:54.NHS, good and outstanding schools, the East Coast Main line in public

:02:55. > :03:00.operation or the BBC, the government just cannot stand the threat of a

:03:01. > :03:04.good example of popular successful public services. We will stand up

:03:05. > :03:11.for them against what this government is doing. On this side of

:03:12. > :03:16.the house we have a long, we have long highlighted the injustice of

:03:17. > :03:22.the unequal funding allocation to local authorities. I hope the

:03:23. > :03:26.government Finance Bill will be an opportunity to address the

:03:27. > :03:30.disgraceful situation in which the protest area is, mainly the inner

:03:31. > :03:34.cities of this country, suffered by far the greatest cuts in their

:03:35. > :03:38.expenditure. The cuts imposed on local authorities have a devastating

:03:39. > :03:45.impact of services for both young and old. Just this week Oxbridge

:03:46. > :03:49.Council, the Prime Minister favourite county council, despite

:03:50. > :03:51.the protestations of some local residents and announced it was

:03:52. > :04:00.closing half of its children centres. In the past five years 4.5

:04:01. > :04:04.billion has been cut from the adult social care budget. Taking away

:04:05. > :04:10.dignity from elderly and disabled people. Again Mr Speaker, those

:04:11. > :04:14.massive cuts in the adult social care budget mainly affects of them

:04:15. > :04:24.Paul Best proportionately women in our society. We will scrutinise very

:04:25. > :04:27.carefully the demolition of business rates -- devolution of business

:04:28. > :04:32.rates which if not handled correctly has the potential to exacerbate

:04:33. > :04:39.inequality between areas of this country. We have deeply unbalanced

:04:40. > :04:42.economy and we will oppose plans which widen regional inequalities

:04:43. > :04:51.rather than narrow them. On a positive note, we do wholeheartedly,

:04:52. > :04:56.we do wholeheartedly welcome moves to devolve powers to re-regulate the

:04:57. > :05:01.bus service. We will look to expand those provisions more widely. There

:05:02. > :05:04.are whole areas of the country, particularly in the role Britain

:05:05. > :05:08.which have no bus services at all and they should be provided with

:05:09. > :05:17.them, particularly of those who don't have access to their own cars.

:05:18. > :05:20.We are very sceptical about competition in the water industry.

:05:21. > :05:28.It goes against much of the trend of the rest of Europe. For really super

:05:29. > :05:34.lies Asian of water, giving water back to communities, I government

:05:35. > :05:40.committed to devolution might consider that. But they want

:05:41. > :05:44.competition, perhaps we can have competition in reservoirs, pumping

:05:45. > :05:54.stations and mains pipes? You could even have three standpipes at every

:05:55. > :06:05.corner. Imagine the vision of Tory Britain, Mr Speaker, I will not give

:06:06. > :06:10.way. We have no objection... Mr Speaker... Order. I am well aware

:06:11. > :06:14.there are members who want to intervene and that is perfectly

:06:15. > :06:18.reasonable of them to want to intervene. Equally there is no

:06:19. > :06:25.obligation on the Leader of the Opposition to give way. Border.

:06:26. > :06:29.Somebody muttered from a sedentary position too long. The honourable

:06:30. > :06:36.gentleman is entitled to his opinion. I am telling the house will

:06:37. > :06:39.be factual position is, however uncomfortable. And that is that the

:06:40. > :06:46.right Honourable gentleman is in order. What is not in order is for

:06:47. > :06:51.people to shout and Barrick. In total violation of what has been set

:06:52. > :06:57.out at the start of proceedings. I urge members who may be irritated to

:06:58. > :07:04.behave with dignity. The Leader of the Opposition. Thank you Mr

:07:05. > :07:08.Speaker, no, I will not give way. Mr Speaker, we have no objection to

:07:09. > :07:13.reviewing the franchise with regards to overseas citizens but I do hope,

:07:14. > :07:16.and I hope the government take this point seriously, that the government

:07:17. > :07:21.will be minded not only to looking at those who have lived abroad for

:07:22. > :07:27.several decades but also to look at 16 and 17-year-olds in this country.

:07:28. > :07:31.Alden after marry and work and join the Army, rightly allowed to vote in

:07:32. > :07:37.the Scottish referendum but not able to vote in our elections. There is

:07:38. > :07:41.something perverse about the government in franchising people who

:07:42. > :07:45.have not lived in Britain for years when its disenfranchised in hundreds

:07:46. > :07:49.of thousands of British residents throughout individual voter

:07:50. > :07:53.registration plan. That is why as part of the EU referendum campaign

:07:54. > :07:56.many of us are spending a lot of time encouraging young people to

:07:57. > :08:02.ensure they are registered to vote. It is the future at stake. Everyone

:08:03. > :08:07.in this house Mr Speaker understands the risks posed by terrorism. This

:08:08. > :08:13.city, London, had experienced it before as have other cities around

:08:14. > :08:17.the world. We will of course support strong measures to give the police

:08:18. > :08:22.and security the services and resources they need. But we will

:08:23. > :08:26.also support checks and balances to ensure powers are used

:08:27. > :08:31.appropriately. We would welcome any proposals from the government to

:08:32. > :08:36.reform the prevent strategy and instead emphasised the value of

:08:37. > :08:43.community led work to prevent young people being drawn into extremism in

:08:44. > :08:48.any form. In foreign policy we must put our promotion of human rights at

:08:49. > :08:54.the centre. We cannot continue to turn a blind eye and worse sell arms

:08:55. > :08:59.to those countries that abuse human rights either within or beyond their

:09:00. > :09:04.borders. I welcome the forthcoming visit of President Santos of

:09:05. > :09:09.Colombia and look forward to meeting him to discuss human rights in what

:09:10. > :09:14.is hopefully on its way to becoming a post-conflict society. This

:09:15. > :09:18.government's legislative programme spoke of humanitarian challenges. We

:09:19. > :09:23.are grateful to Lord dubs for taking on the challenge of making the

:09:24. > :09:28.government more humanitarian. Just a few weeks previously Mr Speaker this

:09:29. > :09:33.Prime Minister was rebelling to refugees fleeing persecution as a

:09:34. > :09:37.bunch of migrants and a swarm. I have to say this, those words were

:09:38. > :09:42.wrong and I hope the Prime Minister will think again about them and

:09:43. > :09:46.recognise as everyone issued that refugees are simply human beings

:09:47. > :09:53.just like any of us in this chamber who are trying to survive in a

:09:54. > :09:57.dangerous and cruel world. We need to solve their problems with

:09:58. > :10:01.humanity, not with that kind of language. All sides of the house Mr

:10:02. > :10:05.Speaker will have been heartened by the increased turnout in the

:10:06. > :10:13.elections for police and crime commissioners. We welcome any moves

:10:14. > :10:17.which will give them the power to improve accountability of their

:10:18. > :10:23.communities. Our police forces mostly do an excellent job. But Mr

:10:24. > :10:28.Speaker the recent Hillsboro inquest and the results of it showed they

:10:29. > :10:42.must never be above scrutiny to ensure they do their jobs properly.

:10:43. > :10:52.We welcome any measures designed to properly tackle tax avoidance and

:10:53. > :10:57.tax evasion. But this government 's record on this subject is one of

:10:58. > :11:03.continuous failure. Just a month ago the Prime Minister welcomed in this

:11:04. > :11:11.house EU proposals on country by country tax transparency. But on the

:11:12. > :11:16.26th of April Conservative MEPs yet again voted against the same

:11:17. > :11:23.proposal. Did they not get the memo? That same Prime Minister continues

:11:24. > :11:29.to allow UK tax havens not to issue public registers of beneficial

:11:30. > :11:34.ownership. And oppose wholesale the introduction of beneficial ownership

:11:35. > :11:38.registers for offshore trusts. People expect companies that trade

:11:39. > :11:44.in this country and people who live in this country to pay their tax in

:11:45. > :11:51.this country. It funds our public services. Aggressive tax avoidance

:11:52. > :11:56.and tax evasion are an attack on our NHS, on our schools, on key for the

:11:57. > :12:02.elderly and disabled people, on Social Security and prevent poverty,

:12:03. > :12:08.homelessness destitution. If anyone wants to deliver a more equal

:12:09. > :12:13.society, an economy which works for anyone, and a society where there is

:12:14. > :12:18.opportunity for all, it takes an active government to do it. Not the

:12:19. > :12:19.driverless car heading in the wrong direction that we have in this

:12:20. > :12:48.government at the present time. Should calm themselves, they have

:12:49. > :12:57.got the moment they have been waiting for! The Prime Minister!

:12:58. > :13:02.Thank you Mr Speaker. I think we have just witnessed a parliamentary

:13:03. > :13:08.records of 41 minutes speech without a single intervention. I have been

:13:09. > :13:13.taking part in these debates on the Queen 's speech for I think the last

:13:14. > :13:17.ten years and I have never seen a minister or opposition leader refuse

:13:18. > :13:25.a single, was there really no question from any Labour MP, did

:13:26. > :13:30.anyone in the SMP have anything to say? I know the SNP have other

:13:31. > :13:33.things on their mind! I think actually it's mostly the same thing

:13:34. > :13:40.on their minds but not a single question! Mr Speaker this Queen 's

:13:41. > :13:45.speech builds on strong foundations. The deficit cut by almost two thirds

:13:46. > :13:49.as a share of GDP, the highest employment rate in our record and

:13:50. > :13:55.our long-term economic plan means the economy is over 13% bigger than

:13:56. > :14:03.the start of 2010. We have 900,000 more businesses, poverty is at its

:14:04. > :14:08.lowest rate in three decades. Mr Speaker I am the first to say there

:14:09. > :14:14.is far more to be done to entrench our strong economic performance. We

:14:15. > :14:16.want more exports, higher productivity, we need better

:14:17. > :14:20.infrastructure and that is why one of the key measures in the Queens

:14:21. > :14:24.speech is for the first time I universal service obligation to

:14:25. > :14:29.deliver broadband to every and every business in the country. With this

:14:30. > :14:33.government economic security always comes first. This Queen 's speech

:14:34. > :14:37.uses the strong economic foundations to make a series of bold choices

:14:38. > :14:43.which will deliver opportunity for all at every stage of life. For

:14:44. > :14:47.children we make the choice to rebalance the system in favour of

:14:48. > :14:52.faster adoption so more children get a loving and stable home. Fortier

:14:53. > :14:58.levers we choose to put them first for training and jobs so the most

:14:59. > :15:01.disadvantaged get a better life for themselves. I will give way a lot!

:15:02. > :15:06.CHEERING But I am going to make some

:15:07. > :15:11.progress, I will deal with the proposers and second is and then I

:15:12. > :15:15.am happy to give way a lot. I predict at least 500% more than my

:15:16. > :15:20.principal opponent. For all our young people we offer them the

:15:21. > :15:27.chance to do National Service, for school leavers we make the choice to

:15:28. > :15:30.extend for low-income families we choose to offer new support to build

:15:31. > :15:34.up their savings through the first ever helped to save scheme. For

:15:35. > :15:39.those who want to get on the housing ladder we are choosing to build a

:15:40. > :15:42.new home and we choose to deliver the biggest reform of our prison

:15:43. > :15:45.system for a century, knocking down the old and outdated resins and

:15:46. > :15:53.reforming education and rehabilitation of offenders. This

:15:54. > :16:00.combines economic security with extending life chances for all. It

:16:01. > :16:04.is the Queen 's speech of a progressive, one nation Conservative

:16:05. > :16:07.government. Her Majesty 's greatest speech was buoyantly proposed by my

:16:08. > :16:12.right honourable friend the member for Meriden. Her speech was powerful

:16:13. > :16:19.and passionate and included some excellent advice.

:16:20. > :16:25.As the leader said, a union background, too. In charge of sugar

:16:26. > :16:29.beet for the National farmers union and a consultant on food and

:16:30. > :16:34.biotechnology. You can imagine the shock in deaf awareness into

:16:35. > :16:37.thousand ten they began to get the Secretary of State for agriculture

:16:38. > :16:40.who knew what you was talking about. She stripped away unnecessary

:16:41. > :16:49.burdens of bureaucracy for farmers. Cheap reduced first environment

:16:50. > :16:51.White Paper for 30 years. She prepared two United Nations

:16:52. > :16:57.agreement is taking huge steps forward to protect our environment.

:16:58. > :17:01.Everyone in this house knows she is at deeply committed Christian. This

:17:02. > :17:03.would have come in handy during her time in deaf when she had to deal

:17:04. > :17:09.with floods, droughts, food shortages and even disease. Indeed

:17:10. > :17:20.everything short of a plague of locusts, which I will be predicting

:17:21. > :17:22.in my next speech on Europe. While chairing the Conservative Party, my

:17:23. > :17:26.right honourable friend did a massive amount to encourage more

:17:27. > :17:29.women to stand for Parliament and I am the first to say there is still

:17:30. > :17:33.more to do but the change in the benches around me is a significant

:17:34. > :17:36.tribute to her great efforts. She talked about her charity work and in

:17:37. > :17:41.pursuit of these causes it does seem as though she is prepared to do

:17:42. > :17:45.almost anything with almost anybody. During her time in this house she

:17:46. > :17:51.has sung the flower duet with Sara Teva. She performed the joiner

:17:52. > :17:53.monologues with Jerry Hall. And more recently she launched

:17:54. > :17:57.environmentalists Europe with Stanley Johnson. I now need to set

:17:58. > :18:00.her to work on other members of the family. Mr Speaker, her speech was

:18:01. > :18:04.in the finest traditions of the house. The gracious speech was

:18:05. > :18:09.brilliantly seconded by my honourable friend the member for

:18:10. > :18:13.Bracknell. He was witty comedy with self-deprecating, he was thoughtful.

:18:14. > :18:16.His description of his medical examinations and indeed his

:18:17. > :18:20.explanation of the true nature of PR means that I will shortly be

:18:21. > :18:23.recommending him for a role in the Whip's office where he presumably

:18:24. > :18:29.could carry out a number of important pieces of work. He began,

:18:30. > :18:34.as he said, his political life, canned and sing in Beaconsfield

:18:35. > :18:37.where he was also the local GP. I'm sure he will welcome our record

:18:38. > :18:41.spending on health and the progress we are making towards a seven-day

:18:42. > :18:45.NHS. And I'm sure the quality of his speeches are just as good on Sunday

:18:46. > :18:49.as the one we had today. We look forward to hearing more. Every time

:18:50. > :18:53.he goes canvassing he is besieged not only with political problems but

:18:54. > :18:57.the medical problems of his constituents, bringing a whole new

:18:58. > :19:02.meaning to the concept of MP's surgery. He is also, I understand,

:19:03. > :19:06.romantic supporter of lost causes. He told us in his own speech of

:19:07. > :19:13.standing in Michael foot's old seat, he told us that he got 816 votes,

:19:14. > :19:18.but he didn't tell us that at the time he had 1500 patients so it was

:19:19. > :19:22.not that good result. It is now applied Camry marginal so things

:19:23. > :19:25.have changed. He is also an ardent fan of Queens Park Rangers but we

:19:26. > :19:28.won't say too much about that because at least one of my teams is

:19:29. > :19:34.joining him in the championship next season. My honourable friend is a

:19:35. > :19:39.passion or member of the England supporters club, he travelled with

:19:40. > :19:42.the England team to Japan in 2002, Portugal in 2004, Germany in 2006

:19:43. > :19:47.and of course England lost on all those occasions. So the house will

:19:48. > :19:50.be pleased to hear that we will be exercising our firm border controls

:19:51. > :19:54.and not letting him anywhere near France this summer. My honourable

:19:55. > :19:58.friend and I have both benefited from your decision to establish a

:19:59. > :20:03.nursery on the parliamentary estate. We thank you for that, as do our

:20:04. > :20:07.daughters. Mr Speaker, my honourable friend has made his own contribution

:20:08. > :20:10.to this house which he referred to, not least in his role as

:20:11. > :20:13.vice-chairman of the Parliamentary space committee, he told us about

:20:14. > :20:18.his passion for this issue and indeed for Tim Peake, who we all

:20:19. > :20:21.wish well. And of course the Madden Ellie modern transport Bill will

:20:22. > :20:26.bring about something he has long compay and four, the first British

:20:27. > :20:29.spaceport. This gives the opportunity for people to be sent

:20:30. > :20:35.into orbit for prolonged periods, thousands of miles away from this

:20:36. > :20:37.place. We may have different candidates for who should qualify

:20:38. > :20:42.for this honour, but I'm grateful that we will both be supporting the

:20:43. > :20:46.bill. He told us he is one of the few MPs who is not yet decided which

:20:47. > :20:50.way he will vote in the EU referendum, he kept us guessing

:20:51. > :20:53.today. But I know that he, like everybody else, particularly on

:20:54. > :20:57.these benches, will welcome the fact that we are keeping our promise of

:20:58. > :21:02.holding and in out EU referendum. Mr Speaker, his speech I thought a very

:21:03. > :21:06.thoughtful speech, was also in the finest traditions of our house. Mr

:21:07. > :21:09.Speaker, let me also joined the right Honourable member the Leader

:21:10. > :21:13.of the Opposition in paying tribute to two great members of this house

:21:14. > :21:17.who passed away over the last year. Harry Harper and was only in this

:21:18. > :21:21.place a short time but quickly became a very popular member. He and

:21:22. > :21:25.great admiration from all sides by the way he continued to carry out

:21:26. > :21:29.his work throughout his treatment for cancer. His widow, the new

:21:30. > :21:31.honourable member for Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough is

:21:32. > :21:36.continuing his great work of standing up for the constituency he

:21:37. > :21:39.loved so much. Michael Meacher represented his old constituents in

:21:40. > :21:45.this place for a staggering 45 Years. He were sometimes known as

:21:46. > :21:49.Tony Benn's vicar on earth. He was a passionate campaigner for equality

:21:50. > :21:51.and climate change and this house is a poorer place without both of those

:21:52. > :21:58.members and we miss them greatly. Let me welcome the Leader of the

:21:59. > :22:02.Opposition to his first Queen 's speech debate. I wasn't entirely

:22:03. > :22:05.sure whether he would turn up. He once described it as a ridiculous

:22:06. > :22:11.18th-century performance. He has even suggested that the monarchy

:22:12. > :22:15.call it a day when the Queen completes her reign. I have to say,

:22:16. > :22:18.Mr Speaker, I think there's more chance of the Labour Party calling

:22:19. > :22:23.it a day when he completes his reign, but there we are. I've been

:22:24. > :22:26.doing my research is, too. It may come a little sooner than people

:22:27. > :22:32.think. He recently placed an advert for a job in his office that said,

:22:33. > :22:39.and I quote, fixed term contract for the period only that Jeremy Corbyn

:22:40. > :22:43.is leader of the Labour Party, or until 31st of December 2016,

:22:44. > :22:49.whichever is sooner. Is there something we are not being told? I

:22:50. > :22:52.wondered the course, I thought maybe it was the long and training hours

:22:53. > :22:55.having done this job, so in preparing for my speech I asked my

:22:56. > :22:59.office to ring his office to find out. I promise I'm not making this

:23:00. > :23:05.up, this is the answerphone message that we got. Thank you for calling

:23:06. > :23:10.the office of Jeremy Corbyn, MP, Leader of the Opposition. Our phone

:23:11. > :23:13.lines are open between the times of 2p and 4pm every weekday. I know he

:23:14. > :23:20.wants a shorter working week, but there are limits. Presumably even

:23:21. > :23:23.for him. There were rumours that at one point he would be challenged for

:23:24. > :23:28.the leadership by the former chair of the public amounts Ellie accounts

:23:29. > :23:30.committee. I was thrilled by the prospect of making jokes about

:23:31. > :23:36.labour moving from Islington to Barking. I got the feeling after

:23:37. > :23:40.today's performance that they will be moving to Barking without the

:23:41. > :23:46.leadership contest but there we are. We do face an extraordinary

:23:47. > :23:49.opposition team. The Shadow Business Secretary is anti-business, the

:23:50. > :23:52.shadow city minister does not speak to the city, the Shadow farming

:23:53. > :23:57.secretary who should be responsible for encouraging Britain's livestock

:23:58. > :24:01.industry is actually a vegan. The shadow defence member does not

:24:02. > :24:06.believe in defence. They are led by a proud Republican who now has to

:24:07. > :24:14.call himself the leader of Her Majesty's opposition. I have to say,

:24:15. > :24:23.Mr Speaker. If you were to propose, does he want me to give way? If you

:24:24. > :24:27.were to propose this script for the thick of it, even with the

:24:28. > :24:30.entreaties of my right honourable friend the cultural secretary about

:24:31. > :24:34.the importance of diversity and innovation, the BBC would have to

:24:35. > :24:42.reject the script as utterly far-fetched. I give way to the

:24:43. > :24:45.honourable gentleman. Will the Prime Minister remind the house when

:24:46. > :24:52.either he or the Secretary of State for business actually went to meet

:24:53. > :24:56.Tata during the steel crisis when our own front bench including the

:24:57. > :24:59.general secretary of the community went when no frontbencher was

:25:00. > :25:04.available, indeed they were in Australia on holiday. Can the Prime

:25:05. > :25:11.Minister remind us when he actually met with Tata? I was in Port Talbot

:25:12. > :25:15.two weeks ago meeting with Tata. Look, let me give them a tip. It's

:25:16. > :25:19.all right not intervening on your own leader but if you are going to

:25:20. > :25:24.intervene on the other guy, try to think of a question they are going

:25:25. > :25:27.to find difficult. To be fair to the Leader of the Opposition he made an

:25:28. > :25:32.inspiring speech after the local elections. He said across England we

:25:33. > :25:36.had predictions we would lose councils, we didn't, we hung on.

:25:37. > :25:41.This will surely go down as one of the great rallying cries. Go back to

:25:42. > :25:46.your constituencies and prepare to hang on. I have to say, to be fair

:25:47. > :25:50.there are days I know it's acting how he feels. But Mr Speaker you can

:25:51. > :25:54.say what you like about the right honourable gentleman but he has

:25:55. > :25:57.never hidden his beliefs. While I may disagree with most of them he's

:25:58. > :26:01.been totally consistent in his opposition to market economics,

:26:02. > :26:06.choice of public services, and Britain maintaining strong defences.

:26:07. > :26:09.I'm not surprised he opposes this Queen 's speech almost in its

:26:10. > :26:17.entirety. But nobody can say the British people are not in offered a

:26:18. > :26:21.choice. Mr Speaker we want to see true equality of opportunity in our

:26:22. > :26:26.country. That is why we are reforming our schools, creating 3

:26:27. > :26:28.million apprenticeships, establishing new universities,

:26:29. > :26:31.boosting entrepreneurship, cutting taxes for business, and creating a

:26:32. > :26:35.dynamic economy in which people will make the most of their talents. But

:26:36. > :26:39.if we really want to make a true difference to people's life chances,

:26:40. > :26:43.we've got to go further in tackling the barriers to opportunities,

:26:44. > :26:46.helping those who get left behind, helping those who are stuck in

:26:47. > :26:50.poverty, helping those who grow up without the advantages of a strong

:26:51. > :26:54.family. I give way to the honourable lady. I am grateful to be Prime

:26:55. > :26:59.Minister for giving way. Could he explain why he is going back on his

:27:00. > :27:04.promise to introduce a white paper for support for disabled people into

:27:05. > :27:08.employment after he's cut ?1500 per year from sick and disabled people?

:27:09. > :27:11.We are not going back on that promise. We want to do more to help

:27:12. > :27:15.disabled people into work and what we've seen in the last year is well

:27:16. > :27:19.over 100,000 disabled people get into work and we will continue with

:27:20. > :27:23.that excellent work. But let me make this point, because if we really

:27:24. > :27:27.want to help people's life chances, we need to help those who need the

:27:28. > :27:31.help the most. That's why there is such an emphasis in this Queen 's

:27:32. > :27:33.speech on adoption and care. When I became Prime Minister, some social

:27:34. > :27:38.workers were refusing to place black, mixed race or Asian children

:27:39. > :27:42.with white adoptive parents. I think that is profoundly wrong and we

:27:43. > :27:52.change the law to prevent it. As a result of that change and the other

:27:53. > :27:55.things we've done, adoption today is up by 72%, but there is still a lot

:27:56. > :27:58.more to do in a system that still favours foster parents or distant

:27:59. > :28:00.relatives, we chose to promote an option which would provide more

:28:01. > :28:02.permanent and stable homes. To make sure our social workers get proper

:28:03. > :28:04.training on the job, we are reforming training and raising

:28:05. > :28:09.professional standards for every single social worker by 2020. And

:28:10. > :28:12.while young people are in care, they already get the first choice of

:28:13. > :28:16.which school they go to, we don't give them sufficient advantages when

:28:17. > :28:20.they leave care and it's time that we did so. So in this Queen 's

:28:21. > :28:23.speech we are saying to care leavers, you will get guaranteed

:28:24. > :28:26.care entitlements to local services, funding for apprenticeships and

:28:27. > :28:31.personal mentor up to the age of 25. All this will be included in our

:28:32. > :28:34.care leavers government so that our most disadvantaged young people get

:28:35. > :28:38.the opportunities they deserve. These are the choices of a

:28:39. > :28:42.progressive, one nation Conservative government. I give way to my

:28:43. > :28:45.honourable friend. I am grateful to the Prime Minister for giving way.

:28:46. > :28:49.Can he assure the house that whatever your background, wherever

:28:50. > :28:52.you were born, if you have aspiration, not only will you be

:28:53. > :28:56.given the inspiration to succeed but the education to allow you to get to

:28:57. > :29:00.where you want to get to? My honourable friend is absolutely

:29:01. > :29:09.right. It's no good just talking about opportunity into 's of giving

:29:10. > :29:12.people the on. We've got to unblock those who are stuck, whether they

:29:13. > :29:14.are stuck in poverty or in troubled families or in care, or because they

:29:15. > :29:16.can't get adopted or because they have mental health problems. That is

:29:17. > :29:19.the modern agenda of this Conservative government. Yes, the

:29:20. > :29:22.economic opportunities we have always talked about but let's

:29:23. > :29:27.unblock the opportunities that have been blocked for too many in my

:29:28. > :29:30.country. I will give way to the Scottish National party now they

:29:31. > :29:35.have woken up. Further to the intervention from the honourable

:29:36. > :29:38.member from Oldham East and Saddleworth, his last appearance at

:29:39. > :29:41.the dispatch box the right honourable member for Chingford gave

:29:42. > :29:44.me a commitment that the White Paper on health and work would be

:29:45. > :29:48.published well before the summer, what has changed? Well, what's

:29:49. > :29:52.changed is we are getting more disabled people into work. We want

:29:53. > :29:55.to make more progress with that. We have a new Secretary of State for

:29:56. > :29:58.Work and Pensions who is absolutely committed to continuing with that of

:29:59. > :30:02.element and that is what you will see in the months to come. After a

:30:03. > :30:07.strong family the greatest driver of opportunity is a good school. Under

:30:08. > :30:10.the last Labour government and number of pupils studying core

:30:11. > :30:15.academic subjects at GCSE halved. According to the OECD generation

:30:16. > :30:18.educated under the government are among the least literate and

:30:19. > :30:22.numerate in the developed world. This government is determined to

:30:23. > :30:26.turn around that shameful legacy. Already we've got 1.4 million more

:30:27. > :30:29.pupils taught in good or outstanding schools. The number studying the

:30:30. > :30:33.core academic subjects at GCSE has gone up. There are more teachers

:30:34. > :30:38.with degrees, more pupils studying maths, more pupils studying science,

:30:39. > :30:41.and in this week's speech we will help to make that educational

:30:42. > :30:46.excellence available to all in our country. A national funding formula

:30:47. > :30:50.so schools get the money they need. Local authorities that aren't

:30:51. > :30:55.delivering intervened on at once. Failing and coastal schools turned

:30:56. > :30:59.into academies without delay. We should be clear about the choice we

:31:00. > :31:03.are making. Rigour in standards, discipline in the classroom,

:31:04. > :31:07.excellence in teaching, autonomy in schools, no tolerance of failure.

:31:08. > :31:07.Again, this is the policy of a progressive, one nation Conservative

:31:08. > :31:18.government. How is equal opportunity consistent

:31:19. > :31:23.with lowering the best opportunities to their fees so instead of the

:31:24. > :31:29.brightest getting access, the richest get access? I am coming on

:31:30. > :31:33.to this point that what we have seen since the introduction of fees is

:31:34. > :31:39.not only record numbers going to university but record numbers from

:31:40. > :31:43.poorer backgrounds. So a real opportunity to offer school leavers

:31:44. > :31:48.apprenticeships, the choice of a good university and a good job, and

:31:49. > :31:53.our Queen's speech helps deliver on all three. We are providing funding

:31:54. > :31:57.for apprenticeships, and capping numbers that universities or the one

:31:58. > :32:01.who can get the benefit will get one, and now we are legislating to

:32:02. > :32:05.make sure degrees are of high quality and new universities can be

:32:06. > :32:09.established. None of this would be possible without the bold decision

:32:10. > :32:12.to reform fees and it demonstrates that reform and value for money

:32:13. > :32:23.don't hold back opportunities but help create them. I am sure the

:32:24. > :32:26.Prime Minister that would agree that one of the best thing we can do

:32:27. > :32:30.thorough children is to give them a university education and I welcome

:32:31. > :32:34.that more universities will be enabled to be opened. I would love

:32:35. > :32:39.one in Somerset but it is the best thing we can do for young people. I

:32:40. > :32:43.will certainly look at what she says because all the evidence when we

:32:44. > :32:46.look at economic growth and development is that having

:32:47. > :32:53.universities of a high quality in all regions is a massive driver for

:32:54. > :33:06.growth and retaining talent. I give way. He is being typically generous.

:33:07. > :33:10.All the secondary schools in my constituency at academies, a process

:33:11. > :33:15.begun by the Labour county council before it was booted out in 2009. In

:33:16. > :33:20.welcoming the national funding formula that will help all schools

:33:21. > :33:25.in Staffordshire, will my right honourable friend make sure the

:33:26. > :33:30.academies in Tamworth are protected and another abolished as the Leader

:33:31. > :33:33.of the Opposition would like? We are absolutely committed to academies

:33:34. > :33:35.and the skills and we want to combine that autonomy with the

:33:36. > :33:40.national funding formula and make sure all the money goes to the

:33:41. > :33:45.school itself. All these reforms go together to drive change in our

:33:46. > :33:50.education system. Turning to jobs, today's figures show unemployment

:33:51. > :33:55.falling, employment rising and the record for the number of people in

:33:56. > :33:59.work in our country. This builds on the record with further improvements

:34:00. > :34:03.to infrastructure and measures to make Britain a world leader in the

:34:04. > :34:08.Digital economy. We are determined to deliver an economy that is rich

:34:09. > :34:13.in jobs and with the national living wage, nobody earning tax before the

:34:14. > :34:18.?11,000, in work training and learning through life and all the

:34:19. > :34:22.steps being taken to boost productivity, our ambition should be

:34:23. > :34:30.to have Britain have the best trained, best paid workforce in

:34:31. > :34:37.Europe. I apologise for being semicomatose during the speech by

:34:38. > :34:42.the Leader of the Opposition. The Prime Minister mentions the economy

:34:43. > :34:48.and productivity. Will he tell us why the worst productivity doesn't

:34:49. > :34:52.appear in the Queen's Speech? Is it because this country's productivity

:34:53. > :34:55.record is so appalling? It is because everything in the Queen's

:34:56. > :34:59.Speech is about enhancing productivity. If we make these

:35:00. > :35:04.investments and improve the transport system, all those things

:35:05. > :35:09.will help to drive productivity which is absolutely vital to our

:35:10. > :35:12.success. Opportunity for all also means continuing to make sure that

:35:13. > :35:18.every part of concrete Cheers and rising prosperity so this Queen's

:35:19. > :35:23.Speech we continue to support the development of a northern powerhouse

:35:24. > :35:26.and Midlands engine. We want to have elected me hours and six of our

:35:27. > :35:31.largest cities and with plans local authorities will have complete plans

:35:32. > :35:34.for revenue raised from businesses and for the first time the decisions

:35:35. > :35:39.they take to attract businesses to the area will help grow the economy

:35:40. > :35:45.and benefit the bottom line. It is a huge change in our country. I am

:35:46. > :35:52.most grateful to the Prime Minister and perhaps I can just say that in

:35:53. > :36:00.the years 2000-2010, 300 and ?50 million was removed from the city of

:36:01. > :36:02.Leeds for Crossrail. Since 2010 over half ?1 billion has been invested

:36:03. > :36:13.showing we believe in the northern powerhouse. We can add the plans for

:36:14. > :36:18.the M62 and HS2 and electrifying the Trans Pennine Railway. Believing an

:36:19. > :36:22.opportunity means never writing in a one-off and for too long and our

:36:23. > :36:26.country the young offenders institutions and presence have not

:36:27. > :36:30.been working. They give the public the security of knowing that

:36:31. > :36:34.offenders are locked in but they are not doing enough to turn round the

:36:35. > :36:39.lives of people who will one day be let out. And our presence we will

:36:40. > :36:41.apply the lessons learned and other public service reforms, publishing

:36:42. > :36:46.results and getting the people who run the service is proper control

:36:47. > :36:50.over them. Encouraging innovation and rewarding success and not

:36:51. > :36:59.correlating persistent failure. -- tolerating. It's key serious about

:37:00. > :37:05.prison reform because why have prison budgets been slashed at a

:37:06. > :37:08.time that populations are going? And given 40,000 prisoners are currently

:37:09. > :37:12.incarcerated for offences linked to drug use, isn't it time to review

:37:13. > :37:16.our policy that treats drug addicts only as criminals and not people who

:37:17. > :37:20.as well need our support? I really think we need to get away from the

:37:21. > :37:26.idea that you will measure progress on public services by the amount of

:37:27. > :37:29.money is spent. The aim is to try to do more with less and that is what

:37:30. > :37:32.we have done with so many parts of the public sector. The point about

:37:33. > :37:37.drugs is important but the first thing we have to ensure there is

:37:38. > :37:43.that our prisons are drug-free and also free of legal highs with the

:37:44. > :37:46.Leader of the House made such a powerful case this morning. I will

:37:47. > :37:51.make progress but I promise I will be giving way a lot more. For

:37:52. > :37:54.decades we have been cramming people into crumbling prisons built very

:37:55. > :37:58.different age and many are now unfit for human habitation. These

:37:59. > :38:04.buildings do not help rehabilitation and are rife with bullying and

:38:05. > :38:09.violence. We have made ?1.3 billion worth of commitment to get rid of

:38:10. > :38:14.ageing prisons and build nine new prisons with modern facilities. Bold

:38:15. > :38:22.reform from a progressive one nation Conservative government. Could he

:38:23. > :38:27.explain to the House wife figures for suicide in prison, attacks on

:38:28. > :38:31.prison staff, and contraband have gone up? Could it be to do with the

:38:32. > :38:36.fact there are 7000 fewer prison officers done in 2010? As we were

:38:37. > :38:39.discussing, one of the reasons is the availability of legal highs and

:38:40. > :38:45.we need to deal with that and deal with that in our presence. I don't

:38:46. > :38:51.think it's right simply to lay this at the door. What we need is prisons

:38:52. > :38:53.that are run well, prisons where the management and in control and

:38:54. > :38:57.presence where we are able to turn round the lives of people who are

:38:58. > :39:02.and it is all very well live at asking questions. They had 13 years

:39:03. > :39:08.to reform prisons but it took a reforming Tory Government to put it

:39:09. > :39:12.on the agenda! Mr Speaker, we cannot extend life chances unless we also

:39:13. > :39:18.tackle the menace of extremism. In our country, there is still

:39:19. > :39:22.discrimination we must fight, opportunities still block and glass

:39:23. > :39:25.ceilings that need to be smashed. We should all be proud of the fact that

:39:26. > :39:30.if you look around the world Britain is already one of the most

:39:31. > :39:33.successful multiracial, multi-faith democracies anywhere. I will make

:39:34. > :39:41.progress because I want to make this argument. Extremists hate this fact

:39:42. > :39:47.because it challenges the whole worldview. The preachers who see the

:39:48. > :39:52.Christians, Jews and news forms can live together. The people who said

:39:53. > :39:57.women can travel more than a few miles beyond the cities where they

:39:58. > :40:01.live. The activists who insist on segregation. The religious schools

:40:02. > :40:06.who teach pupils not to mix with those of other backgrounds and who

:40:07. > :40:11.sometimes teach Jews are the enemy. To people who say that pointing this

:40:12. > :40:17.out is some hope intolerant or Islamophobic IC nonsense. It is not

:40:18. > :40:21.liberalism to walk on by and pretend it isn't happening to pretend that

:40:22. > :40:24.is part of another culture. Real liberalism means standing up liberal

:40:25. > :40:32.values and that is what we need to do. Before I give way, I want to

:40:33. > :40:36.make one last point. It is not the reserve of one party to make this

:40:37. > :40:41.point, whether it is my honourable friend on this side of the House,

:40:42. > :40:45.the honourable member for Birmingham opposite, I have heard powerful

:40:46. > :40:50.speeches right across the House, so when it comes to our Queen's Speech

:40:51. > :40:55.proposal for the Kent of extremism safeguarding bill, whether we are

:40:56. > :40:58.disrupting the activity of extremists are protecting young

:40:59. > :41:01.children in unregulated schools, I hope there will be all-party support

:41:02. > :41:09.to tackle the poisonous ideology at the heart of the extremist threat. I

:41:10. > :41:16.give way. It is very clear that one of the areas used by the jihadist is

:41:17. > :41:20.to recruit British citizens, especially young citizens, is the

:41:21. > :41:25.Internet. Does he not agree that more should be done and perhaps

:41:26. > :41:29.enshrined in legislation to ensure that the Internet companies do much

:41:30. > :41:36.more to take down these websites and to pursue those responsible for this

:41:37. > :41:40.hate? I agree and it is fair to say more than 170,000 pages have been

:41:41. > :41:44.taken down because of the work we have done with Internet companies. I

:41:45. > :41:48.have great hope because the companies originally said they

:41:49. > :41:51.couldn't work with us on tackling online child pornography and then

:41:52. > :41:54.the dead and a huge amount of change has come from that. They are now

:41:55. > :41:59.beginning to see that whether it is beheading videos or the rest of it

:42:00. > :42:03.they need to act and demonstrate legal responsibilities, so I am

:42:04. > :42:06.hugely hopeful that we are clear in this house about what needs to be

:42:07. > :42:15.done and we work with Internet companies we can make progress. I

:42:16. > :42:17.give way. He will know that David Anderson, his own review of

:42:18. > :42:24.terrorist legislation, who has seen the proposed extremism bill has said

:42:25. > :42:30.that it ran the risk of playing into the hands of those who seek to drive

:42:31. > :42:36.people farther towards extremism and terrorism. Will the Prime Minister

:42:37. > :42:39.listen to his adviser and not simply give a propaganda victory to those

:42:40. > :42:43.who wish to do us harm? I will of course listen to everyone about this

:42:44. > :42:47.bill but I will say to the leader of the Liberal party that it is our

:42:48. > :42:51.liberal values in this country that are being stamped over by people

:42:52. > :42:57.saying you cannot travel out of the city you live in, or you cannot mix

:42:58. > :43:02.with Jews and Muslims. That is what is happening and it is no good

:43:03. > :43:06.saying, as the Liberal Democrats sometimes do, let's just focus on

:43:07. > :43:09.the violent extremists and everyone else's exercising their freedom of

:43:10. > :43:17.speech. That is not good enough and we have to stand up and fight for

:43:18. > :43:20.liberal values. I think the Prime Minister for giving way. Extremists

:43:21. > :43:25.are adept at blooming and brainwashing young people. Does the

:43:26. > :43:29.Prime Minister agreed that we should be even bolder in offering greater

:43:30. > :43:32.support and encouragement to the brave Muslims in our communities

:43:33. > :43:40.that seek to stand up and challenge the intolerance and hatred exported

:43:41. > :43:45.by Daesh? My honourable friend is correct and

:43:46. > :43:51.if we give in to the idea that spokespeople who are extremists but

:43:52. > :43:54.not violent can some how represent their communities, we completely

:43:55. > :43:57.disempower the moderate voices who want us to stand up for the liberal

:43:58. > :44:08.values we should champion in this house. I give way. Can he have an

:44:09. > :44:14.early meeting with the Mayor of London in which he can discuss the

:44:15. > :44:18.issues of London and its security and how we combat extremism and

:44:19. > :44:26.capital, and could he then the opportunity to apologise for the

:44:27. > :44:29.comments of his candidate? Once again, let me congratulate the Mayor

:44:30. > :44:31.of London and see how much I am looking forward to meeting with him

:44:32. > :44:35.to discuss this issue because I think you can actually do a huge

:44:36. > :44:39.amount working with the government and labour colleagues and Liberal

:44:40. > :44:42.Democrats and others to pursue this agenda about standing up for the

:44:43. > :44:49.liberal democratic values that we hold so dear. Let me say, I am not

:44:50. > :44:56.going to take any lectures from labour about giving way. We are not

:44:57. > :45:01.allowed to drop the bomb of hypocrisy in this house but for

:45:02. > :45:09.heavens sake, have a go at your own front bench. The Prime Minister

:45:10. > :45:12.didn't say this but members shouldn't shriek at the Prime

:45:13. > :45:18.Minister or the opposition for that matter. If they want to intervene

:45:19. > :45:24.they should do so with civility. I thank the Prime Minister for giving

:45:25. > :45:27.way. On extremism, government efforts to tackle hate preachers who

:45:28. > :45:33.poison under minds and destroyer communities has to be welcomed and I

:45:34. > :45:36.applaud what the Prime Minister is doing in tackling nonviolent

:45:37. > :45:39.extremism. Can the Prime Minister clarify how this bill will be fine

:45:40. > :45:44.when an individual has crossed the threshold in terms of what is

:45:45. > :45:46.acceptable and what is not, so that our enforcement agencies and

:45:47. > :45:52.communities know when to take action? My honourable friend raises

:45:53. > :45:56.the crucial point that will be the heart of the debate and expected to

:45:57. > :46:00.be difficult, because we're trying to balance two things. Our profound

:46:01. > :46:04.belief about free speech in this country but also the need to stand

:46:05. > :46:08.up for the liberal democratic values I have spoken about. It is not good

:46:09. > :46:10.enough to say this is too difficult therefore we shouldn't take any

:46:11. > :46:16.action to try to stop the people who are the minds of particularly young

:46:17. > :46:21.children, so let me make this point in particular about the importance

:46:22. > :46:23.of being able to go on to unregulated education sectors and to

:46:24. > :46:29.check whether extremism is being taught or promoted.

:46:30. > :46:35.If that is happening, walking by on the other side and saying we have to

:46:36. > :46:40.put up with it, that is not good enough and it has to change. In this

:46:41. > :46:44.speech were using our economic strength to choose to invest in the

:46:45. > :46:49.national security of our United Kingdom. We are legislating on the

:46:50. > :46:56.police, intelligence powers, human rights. Meeting our Nato commitment

:46:57. > :47:02.to spend 2% of our GDP on the fence. But this government will also make a

:47:03. > :47:12.further choice to disarm unilaterally -- will make a further

:47:13. > :47:17.choice. To disarm unit Jara -- unilaterally would be a mistake. We

:47:18. > :47:22.will campaign to secure the future of Britain's nuclear deterrent. We

:47:23. > :47:27.are building homes again since Labour's recession, with more than

:47:28. > :47:31.700,000 more since 2010. We are creating jobs with 2 million more in

:47:32. > :47:36.work. We are investing in the NHS with almost 10,000 more doctors,

:47:37. > :47:42.10,000 more nurses on words than in 2010. We are building a greater

:47:43. > :47:47.Britain again with a Sound economy, strong defences and an opportunity

:47:48. > :47:49.for all. These are the actions of the Progressive Conservative

:47:50. > :48:04.government and I commend this speech to the House.

:48:05. > :48:19.Mr Angus Robertson. Sit down, you might learn something. Pathetic.

:48:20. > :48:26.Bye-bye, Tories. Well done, Tories. Goodbye, Tories. Members leaving the

:48:27. > :48:32.chamber, if they could do so quickly and quietly we will hear from Mr

:48:33. > :48:36.Angus Robertson. May I begin by echoing the tributes from the Leader

:48:37. > :48:40.of the Opposition and by the Prime Minister in making reference to

:48:41. > :48:44.members who have passed away in the last year and can I also take the

:48:45. > :48:47.opportunity, which has not happened yet, given that today is a day of

:48:48. > :48:51.heightened security, to pay tribute to the great number of police and

:48:52. > :48:55.Parliamentary staff working very hard, often behind-the-scenes, to

:48:56. > :49:00.make sure that everybody in this place, also the ministers and the

:49:01. > :49:04.general public, are safer. Mr Speaker, can I start by ensuring

:49:05. > :49:08.everybody on all sides of the House that I have absolutely no intentions

:49:09. > :49:12.of speaking for 41 minutes without taking any interventions and I think

:49:13. > :49:16.it is appropriate to give other members of the House also the

:49:17. > :49:22.opportunity to speak in the proceedings. But as is appropriate,

:49:23. > :49:27.it is right to start by commending the movers and secondaries. May I

:49:28. > :49:31.start by the right honourable member for Meriden. I would like to pay

:49:32. > :49:39.tribute to a long-standing interest, in particular for European interests

:49:40. > :49:42.that are close to her heart. We are both fellow German speakers and have

:49:43. > :49:45.found ourselves at a number of European events and I look forward

:49:46. > :49:50.to contributions over the next five weeks especially on the subject of

:49:51. > :49:57.why it is important that we remain part of the European Union. The

:49:58. > :50:08.second also has a significant interest in European issues and has

:50:09. > :50:12.worked... Migrate uncle... The Member for Bracknell brings

:50:13. > :50:14.considerable experience with him as a medical general practitioner and

:50:15. > :50:19.has been prepared to make difficult decisions on issues in Parliament,

:50:20. > :50:25.joining with the SNP, for example, and others, in voting against the

:50:26. > :50:29.government's intervention in Syria. Mr Speaker, last year's Queen's

:50:30. > :50:33.Speech followed immediately after the general election when in

:50:34. > :50:37.Scotland the SNP won almost every single seat in the country. This

:50:38. > :50:41.year's Queen's Speech follows shortly after the Scottish

:50:42. > :50:45.Parliamentary elections where the SNP won an impressive majority of

:50:46. > :50:50.constituencies across Scotland. And I would like to congratulate

:50:51. > :50:53.everyone of all parties who was returned, and also those who ended

:50:54. > :50:57.their Parliamentary public service at Holyrood at the election, such as

:50:58. > :51:02.my colleague, the right honourable member for Gordon. On these benches

:51:03. > :51:05.we are delighted by a clear mandate for Nicola Sturgeon as First

:51:06. > :51:10.Minister, currently forming a government. I would like to take the

:51:11. > :51:13.opportunity to thank Alex Neil and Richard Lochhead, the outgoing

:51:14. > :51:17.secretaries. Richard has been the longest serving and most experienced

:51:18. > :51:25.rural affairs and fisheries Minister anywhere in the European Union. And

:51:26. > :51:29.given the circumstances of his wife's brave battle with cancer, I'm

:51:30. > :51:34.sure members across the House will send their best wishes. The Queen's

:51:35. > :51:39.Speech has clearly been drafted with the referendum campaign and our

:51:40. > :51:44.impending decision looming larger and overshadowing proceedings. The

:51:45. > :51:50.SNP will make positive steps over the next five weeks to make the case

:51:51. > :52:03.for Scotland and the UK to remain in the world's largest financial union.

:52:04. > :52:05.Much of the speech relates to England and Wales, and it is

:52:06. > :52:09.understandable that this is an issue that needs to be tackled. The

:52:10. > :52:15.Scottish Government has increased spending in modernising and

:52:16. > :52:25.increasing expenditure above the border. We understand why colleagues

:52:26. > :52:29.in the rest of the UK would wish to see and emulate those kind of

:52:30. > :52:32.changes which we have been able to introduce in Scotland. There are

:52:33. > :52:37.quite a number of other major pieces of legislation which in fact largely

:52:38. > :52:42.on England and Wales. They related to education, adoption, reforms to

:52:43. > :52:46.democratic processes, so when the premature talks of this being a one

:52:47. > :52:51.nation Queen's Speech, we now which nation he is talking about. I know

:52:52. > :52:57.it is not fashionable and sometimes in political discourse it is

:52:58. > :53:00.unfashionable to point out things were you agree. I would like to

:53:01. > :53:04.break that convention because I think it is important to acknowledge

:53:05. > :53:06.that there is the need for legislation when measures are

:53:07. > :53:10.brought forward with which you agree, and with the usual caveat of

:53:11. > :53:13.not having seen the legislative proposals, I'm sure that my

:53:14. > :53:17.colleagues and I would be interested in supporting those measures from

:53:18. > :53:22.the Queen's Speech which are worthy of support. So we are especially

:53:23. > :53:26.interested in the proposal relating to combating tax avoidance, and also

:53:27. > :53:30.keeping up with rapid technological developments which will have

:53:31. > :53:34.transformative economic and societal impacts, such as 100% broadband

:53:35. > :53:38.access, which has already been committed to by the Scottish

:53:39. > :53:44.Government as well as legislation on driverless cars and drones. Of the

:53:45. > :53:47.SNP is the only major opposition party in the House of Commons that

:53:48. > :53:54.has bothered to prepare an alternative to the Queen's Speech. I

:53:55. > :53:58.think it behoves serious opposition parties, yes, to hold the government

:53:59. > :54:04.to account but also to propose alternatives. The SNP alternatives

:54:05. > :54:09.prioritise strong action on encouraging productivity and export

:54:10. > :54:13.growth in the economy. In support of the most vulnerable through

:54:14. > :54:17.progressive action, and delivering meaningful further devolution to

:54:18. > :54:22.Scotland. At the top of our list of what we have proposed in advance of

:54:23. > :54:25.the day's Queen's Speech is a need for an emergency summer budget. Why?

:54:26. > :54:33.Because it would give the government an opportunity to put an end to

:54:34. > :54:40.austerity. It could bring about an inclusive, Prost Perris economy in

:54:41. > :54:49.line with vital public services. -- prosperous. It would oversee an

:54:50. > :54:57.increased spending on public services by a modest 0.5% a year in

:54:58. > :55:02.real terms between 2016, 2017 and 20 20. This will release over ?150

:55:03. > :55:04.billion over that period for investment of public services

:55:05. > :55:08.whilst, and this will be important for members on the other side of the

:55:09. > :55:11.House no doubt, ensuring that the public sector debt and borrowing

:55:12. > :55:16.falls over at the current Parliament. It is a choice that the

:55:17. > :55:20.government has two pursue this or not. We believe it should do so. The

:55:21. > :55:27.budget would stimulate the GDP growth, support wage growth, and by

:55:28. > :55:32.transforming productivity, it would act as a signal of confidence in our

:55:33. > :55:37.economy. It would also do much in terms of an inclusive economy. The

:55:38. > :55:39.modest increase in expenditure would stop the cutbacks which

:55:40. > :55:46.disproportionately burden the disadvantaged groups. -- the most

:55:47. > :55:51.disadvantaged groups. It would also, and this is important for all part

:55:52. > :55:54.of the UK, supports trade and exports. The figures should be

:55:55. > :55:58.worrying for all of us because they are moving in the wrong direction.

:55:59. > :56:04.The UK is likely to fall short of its target to double exports to one

:56:05. > :56:09.truly impose this decade by some ?300 billion, which is an enormous

:56:10. > :56:14.shortfall. A summer budget could contain measures to stimulate the

:56:15. > :56:20.type of investment needed to improve direct UK trade and export figures.

:56:21. > :56:23.The government, it was to follow our proposals, could have proposed a

:56:24. > :56:27.fair tax bill. Incidentally, because I know the Prime Minister is

:56:28. > :56:31.listening, it is not too late for he and his officials in the box, should

:56:32. > :56:36.be here a good suggestion, to take down notes and include it in their

:56:37. > :56:41.legislation. I would encourage him and his colleagues to do so. Perhaps

:56:42. > :56:46.a fair tax bill, a bill to simple either tax in the UK and deliver

:56:47. > :56:51.greater tax transparency. How about a moratorium on the HMRC office

:56:52. > :56:55.closures? So that there is a network of tax advice officers to support

:56:56. > :57:00.local businesses in navigating the tax system. How about committing the

:57:01. > :57:03.Treasury to establishing an independent commission to report

:57:04. > :57:09.back in two years following a copper hands of consultation on the simple

:57:10. > :57:11.location of the tax code. How about strengthening tax transparency by

:57:12. > :57:18.guaranteeing that the beneficial ownership of companies and trusts is

:57:19. > :57:24.made public? And on this point, I have listened over recent weeks to

:57:25. > :57:30.the Prime Minister adopting it on and it is one that I would endorse,

:57:31. > :57:35.of concern. And I have no reason to doubt his genuine tension in wanting

:57:36. > :57:38.to deal with corruption and tax avoidance because it is a scourge.

:57:39. > :57:41.It means that the government and ministers are unable to have the

:57:42. > :57:45.resources at their disposal to support the public services on which

:57:46. > :57:50.we depend. But I do not understand why it should be that if one were to

:57:51. > :57:54.publish a list of beneficial owners, that that is something that is only

:57:55. > :57:59.shared by prosecuting authorities. It seems to me that as much public

:58:00. > :58:04.information that we can have on all forms of beneficial ownership would

:58:05. > :58:08.be to the benefit of all. On the issue of Scotland and the

:58:09. > :58:14.constitution, the Scotland act passed earlier this year was welcome

:58:15. > :58:22.progress in Scotland's devolution journey. But members opposite will

:58:23. > :58:27.not be surprised when I say it does not go nearly far enough. And that

:58:28. > :58:33.is why, having been elected by the people of Scotland to raise these

:58:34. > :58:36.points in the chamber, the SNP tabled 100 amendments during the

:58:37. > :58:41.course of the Scotland Bill. Interesting to note that not a

:58:42. > :58:45.single amendment was accepted by the UK Government. So the people sent to

:58:46. > :58:50.parliament to represent the people of Scotland, elected on a manifesto,

:58:51. > :58:59.presenting those amendments to this House, not one single amendment was

:59:00. > :59:03.accepted by the government. Is it not the reality that this was a

:59:04. > :59:06.Queen's Speech not for viewers in Scotland? So much so that the

:59:07. > :59:09.Scottish Secretary was nowhere to be seen on the front bench during the

:59:10. > :59:14.entire thing. Even my predecessor had more to say on Scotland. So

:59:15. > :59:18.perhaps he could encourage the Prime Minister to tell us what the plans

:59:19. > :59:23.he has two embolden our national parliament in Edinburgh. Of course

:59:24. > :59:26.the Prime Minister had an opportunity and he still does. He

:59:27. > :59:33.could intervene on me and outline the plans. But he is not wanting to

:59:34. > :59:36.take the opportunity. That is fine. We have the right to take

:59:37. > :59:43.interventions or not. He is happy to follow your guidance. The SNP's

:59:44. > :59:47.alternative Queen's Speech would deliver a Scottish home rule... May

:59:48. > :59:51.I make progress and then I will come back? The SNP's alternative Queen's

:59:52. > :59:56.Speech would deliver a Scottish home rule Bill and the wording is quite

:59:57. > :59:59.important. That would involve a strong package of powers to the

:00:00. > :00:04.Scottish Parliament because home-rule, near federalism, that was

:00:05. > :00:11.what was promised to the people of Scotland. My degree is in politics

:00:12. > :00:15.and I have had a look at federal systems around the world. There are

:00:16. > :00:18.a number of parties in this House that favour federalism but we do not

:00:19. > :00:21.live in a federal state in the UK and there is nothing that has been

:00:22. > :00:26.passed as part of the Scotland Bill that remotely comes close to near

:00:27. > :00:29.federalism. So that is something that was not in the Queen's Speech

:00:30. > :00:35.and it would have been good to see it. Perhaps the government might

:00:36. > :00:50.think about it. One thing... I have my doubts. He says, looking at the

:00:51. > :00:53.poor and should writers. Is the Scotland -- given me an happiness

:00:54. > :00:59.about House of Lords on the Treasury bench, for the first time in a long

:01:00. > :01:01.while, perhaps the time is even coming for the Conservative Party to

:01:02. > :01:08.realise that there is a need for Parliamentary reform. Let's be

:01:09. > :01:13.serious. We work in a parliament where the second chamber is not

:01:14. > :01:18.elected by anyone. Let me say that again. The second chamber of the

:01:19. > :01:21.parliament described as the mother of all Parliaments is made up of

:01:22. > :01:28.people elected by nobody. This is the 21st century. Please let us get

:01:29. > :01:30.on with replacing the House of Lords. I give way to the honourable

:01:31. > :01:39.gentleman. The the honourable gentleman is

:01:40. > :01:45.actually wrong because some members on the other place are elected. Lord

:01:46. > :01:54.Thurso was recently elected by three members of the House of Lords! I

:01:55. > :02:02.stand corrected. I still think that is totally unacceptable and I give

:02:03. > :02:05.way. My late Honourable friend has raised that, is it not right that

:02:06. > :02:10.the Prime Minister reforms this given the Prime Minister himself has

:02:11. > :02:20.elected more members themselves than Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair, and

:02:21. > :02:25.John Major put together? I am delighted to be speaking today on

:02:26. > :02:31.behalf of the parliamentary party in this place that has never nominated

:02:32. > :02:36.a single person to the House of Lords, nor will we ever do so,

:02:37. > :02:38.however if we wish to have a second chamber with the oversight

:02:39. > :02:45.responsibilities that many people argue is necessary, why not have

:02:46. > :02:50.chambermaid up of representatives of the nations and regions? This is the

:02:51. > :02:56.21st century, why don't we get on with it? While we are doing that why

:02:57. > :03:01.not look at electoral reform? The issue was raised by the Leader of

:03:02. > :03:06.the Opposition who has clearly now rode in behind on the changes the

:03:07. > :03:10.SNP proposed with the changes to the referendum and that like the

:03:11. > :03:14.independence referendum. It proves that extending the vote is a

:03:15. > :03:18.sensible move for a ban on 16 and 17-year-olds across the UK should be

:03:19. > :03:23.fully enfranchised and while we're at it, this is the time to establish

:03:24. > :03:27.an independent commission on proportional representation to look

:03:28. > :03:33.at possible models for Westminster, and I say that as a political party

:03:34. > :03:39.that frankly might do worse in terms of representation were we to have

:03:40. > :03:42.proportional representation. It was our policy when we were

:03:43. > :03:47.underrepresented and it is policy only represent almost every seat the

:03:48. > :03:52.country, and in my speech last year I made the point and will say again,

:03:53. > :03:57.the SNP does not represent everybody in Scotland and we are mindful of

:03:58. > :04:00.that, and it is important for all of us as Democrats to make sure the

:04:01. > :04:07.electoral systems we use properly reflect and make sure that every

:04:08. > :04:10.strand of opinion that has support is reflected in Parliament and it

:04:11. > :04:20.should be no different in this place. Happy to give way. I realise

:04:21. > :04:24.the SNP members like to discard referendum results but we actually

:04:25. > :04:29.had one in the last parliament on changing the Westminster voting

:04:30. > :04:32.system and constituents voted 2-1 and the country voted overall to

:04:33. > :04:42.keep first past the post, end of the matter. Right. I noticed the body

:04:43. > :04:51.language was a bit hostile. A debate to be had about what form of

:04:52. > :04:58.electoral system should be used. Some favour STV, others AMS, let's

:04:59. > :05:07.just agree that surely first past the post has had its day. It is long

:05:08. > :05:11.past its sell by date. Moving on, to issue is not in the Queen's Speech

:05:12. > :05:15.but that should have been, I would like to move on to the area of

:05:16. > :05:19.justice and home affairs because the UK Government approach to

:05:20. > :05:23.immigration has been heavy-handed. It has been a one size fits all

:05:24. > :05:26.approach that has only fuelled the misconceptions around migrants. The

:05:27. > :05:33.government has had to be dragged kicking and screaming by public

:05:34. > :05:37.opinion on issues such as unaccompanied children on the

:05:38. > :05:42.European continent. We had to be reminded, the Prime Minister needed

:05:43. > :05:45.to be reminded, about the UK's role in the 1930s and taking in

:05:46. > :05:49.unaccompanied children from the European continent. I commend him

:05:50. > :05:52.for thinking about the issue again and I hope those changes can be

:05:53. > :05:57.brought about as quickly as possible so those children can arrive in the

:05:58. > :06:02.UK as quickly as possible. I would reiterate what I said before, I hope

:06:03. > :06:07.he does not see 3000 as the height of his ambition. I would also say

:06:08. > :06:13.that putting the Human Rights Act endanger is of great concern to a

:06:14. > :06:16.great number of us. I don't think it has a majority in the House of

:06:17. > :06:18.Commons and we would be happy to work with members on both sides of

:06:19. > :06:27.the House and we are happy to discuss how to do it. We will work

:06:28. > :06:32.together to make sure that human rights are not undermined in the UK.

:06:33. > :06:34.We will always seek to protect the transnational legislation that

:06:35. > :06:40.underpins human rights in our country. The SNP's alternative

:06:41. > :06:42.Queen's Speech would deliver a more measured approach to migration and

:06:43. > :06:50.would reaffirm the importance of human rights. Why not a migration

:06:51. > :06:53.bill, to ensure the UK maximises the benefits of migration and insures

:06:54. > :06:59.people coming into the UK are treated with respect. Why does the

:07:00. > :07:03.government not report annually on migration forecasts and produce a

:07:04. > :07:07.strategy including plans for maximising the benefits of

:07:08. > :07:10.migration? How about reversing changes to immigration laws that

:07:11. > :07:15.prevent citizens living here with their partners and children from

:07:16. > :07:19.overseas? That deprives businesses and public services of key staff and

:07:20. > :07:25.prevents universities for competing for the best and brightest. Why not

:07:26. > :07:30.adopt a strategy of providing integration opportunities from day

:07:31. > :07:33.one? How about the introducing a post study work these are? All of

:07:34. > :07:41.this could have been in the Queen's Speech but they is still time he

:07:42. > :07:46.says looking at the Treasury bench. Wouldn't it be the case if we had

:07:47. > :07:49.the post-work-study Visa that families like the one in my

:07:50. > :07:52.constituency being forced out by this government would be able to

:07:53. > :07:58.stay in the Highlands and make a valuable contribution to our

:07:59. > :08:02.economy? My honourable friend, I noticed the Foreign Secretary

:08:03. > :08:08.shaking his head, but let me tell the Foreign Secretary, please look

:08:09. > :08:12.at this case. Have a look at this family, their qualifications. These

:08:13. > :08:17.are the kind of people we need. Scotland's problem has never been

:08:18. > :08:22.immigration but immigration and when people have come to our shores from

:08:23. > :08:25.all kinds of countries they have contributed and I appeal to the

:08:26. > :08:31.Prime Minister and the Home Office to look at this case in particular

:08:32. > :08:37.and reverse the ruling. On the issue of human rights and enhancing

:08:38. > :08:42.equality, what about preventing the revocation of the application of the

:08:43. > :08:45.Human Rights Act of 1998 to any devolved nation without the express

:08:46. > :08:51.consent of the parliament or assembly of that nation? How about

:08:52. > :08:55.modernising the equalities act to strengthen the rights and liberties

:08:56. > :08:59.of people across the UK? How about protecting the role of the European

:09:00. > :09:02.Convention of human rights in the UK through entrenchment? We are in

:09:03. > :09:09.favour of that and would welcome the government thinking likewise. That

:09:10. > :09:13.is unfortunately unlikely. Moving on to social justice. This government

:09:14. > :09:18.has orchestrated some truly devastating cuts that have destroyed

:09:19. > :09:21.the safety net Social Security should provide and any others who

:09:22. > :09:26.hold regular surgeries now this to be true. Instead of business as

:09:27. > :09:29.usual the government should return to the drawing board on Social

:09:30. > :09:35.Security and abandon their prosperity agenda. The cuts are

:09:36. > :09:38.butcher at the very aspects of universal credit that might have

:09:39. > :09:44.created what incentives and instead hammered low paid workers. The time

:09:45. > :09:47.is up universal credit and the need to find a favour alternative for

:09:48. > :09:54.children and low-income families and disabled people. I am sure my right

:09:55. > :09:59.honourable friend would agree that the 4 million families set to lose

:10:00. > :10:06.out because of cuts to work allowances will see the children and

:10:07. > :10:11.those families' life chances be severely disadvantaged because of

:10:12. > :10:15.those changes. My honourable lady has fought a good fight on the

:10:16. > :10:19.subject and will continue to do that. The points you were making

:10:20. > :10:31.were extremely powerful. Can I bring up the issue of pensions? The issues

:10:32. > :10:38.brought up in this house, it is not a simple issue but it is one they

:10:39. > :10:51.should look at and that relates to women affected by the rapid pace of

:10:52. > :10:55.increase to the pension age. I think privately in government a little

:10:56. > :11:08.appreciation there is an unfairness here. There's a similar impact and

:11:09. > :11:13.any quality on Windows? This should be something that should be looked

:11:14. > :11:20.at as part of universal pensions. We should have commission to

:11:21. > :11:23.investigate any qualities. We should develop access to automatic

:11:24. > :11:27.enrolment to incentivise pension saving, all of this matters

:11:28. > :11:32.tremendously. Before concluding, I would like to bring up two issue is

:11:33. > :11:36.also important, firstly on defence. The UK has suffered a squeeze in

:11:37. > :11:42.many respects on conventional defence capabilities. Bases have

:11:43. > :11:47.been closed including the end of flying operations from two out of

:11:48. > :11:52.Scotland's the bases. Crucial capability gaps have been exposed

:11:53. > :11:59.including the absence of a single maritime patrol aircraft. Not a

:12:00. > :12:03.single one currently operational for the United Kingdom. The government

:12:04. > :12:08.has committed to bridging this gap and I would encourage them to do

:12:09. > :12:13.this as quickly as possible. To look at how the training of defence

:12:14. > :12:17.personnel is: treated with the maritime fleet to make sure that the

:12:18. > :12:22.best, I see the former Defence Secretary is thinking about this,

:12:23. > :12:29.and it makes perfect sense to locate this. It is ludicrous that the

:12:30. > :12:34.maritime state has been without maritime patrol aircraft for a year

:12:35. > :12:39.after year. Another important defence issue for people in Scotland

:12:40. > :12:43.relates to nuclear weapons and this Prime Minister and unfortunately too

:12:44. > :12:50.many people on the Labour side, intends to vote for more than ?200

:12:51. > :12:55.billion, the lifetime cost, of a replacement system for the Trident

:12:56. > :13:01.weapons of mass destruction. We on these benches will vote against but

:13:02. > :13:06.how about a nuclear weapons consent Bill, which would require the UK

:13:07. > :13:10.Government to seek the consent of the Scottish Parliament for the

:13:11. > :13:15.Trident nuclear weapons system to be based in Scotland? How about

:13:16. > :13:20.respecting the views of the people of Scotland on this subject? The

:13:21. > :13:27.last point I would like to raise... I will give way. I thank my right

:13:28. > :13:32.honourable friend. It is an issue of defence in as much as the workers on

:13:33. > :13:35.the Clyde shipyard have been told 800 jobs are under threat because of

:13:36. > :13:40.delays to the procurement system by the MOD? My honourable friend is a

:13:41. > :13:44.doughty campaigner for his constituents and he makes his case

:13:45. > :13:47.well. The Prime Minister is setting on the Treasury bench and I hope he

:13:48. > :13:51.is also listening because it would be intolerable given what was

:13:52. > :13:56.promised in 2014 in the run-up to the Scottish referendum that he

:13:57. > :14:02.could go back. On foreign affairs I would like to return to something

:14:03. > :14:07.that was said not that long ago, the UK should have, and that is an

:14:08. > :14:12.ethical foreign policy. Mr Speaker, I am profoundly troubled by the way

:14:13. > :14:17.in which the United Kingdom sells weapons that are used in armed

:14:18. > :14:24.conflict, where people use those weapons, are trained by the UK

:14:25. > :14:26.military in planes produced by the United Kingdom firing weapons made

:14:27. > :14:31.in the United Kingdom and that the present time that is happening in

:14:32. > :14:35.Saudi Arabia and in Yemen. The time has come to better regulate weapons

:14:36. > :14:40.trading and this government should have brought forward a weapons

:14:41. > :14:43.trading bill, but they haven't. We should end our existing arms deals

:14:44. > :14:48.with Saudi Arabia following the example of our European neighbours.

:14:49. > :14:52.We should have an ethical foreign policy and this government should

:14:53. > :14:58.pursue an ethical foreign policy which they sadly have not. Mr

:14:59. > :15:00.Speaker, I made a commitment I wouldn't attenuate the leader of the

:15:01. > :15:06.Labour Party by speaking for 41 minutes and I am running the risk of

:15:07. > :15:09.doing so. The right honourable gentleman will be expert in

:15:10. > :15:16.mathematics but he has 30 minutes to spare! Thank you for the connection.

:15:17. > :15:19.In that case I will be delighted to give way to the honourable

:15:20. > :15:22.gentleman. I am grateful to the right honourable member has ever

:15:23. > :15:26.very courteous in these matters. Before he concludes his speech, he

:15:27. > :15:31.began by talking about some of the areas where he might agree with the

:15:32. > :15:37.Prime Minister. Does he agree with the Prime Minister on the question

:15:38. > :15:42.of extremism and indoctrination in our country? His party has a very

:15:43. > :15:45.good record in opposing Daesh in everything they stand for and does

:15:46. > :15:50.he agree that what the Prime Minister was saying was encapsulated

:15:51. > :15:53.by the weight great philosopher Karl Popper and the paradox of tolerance

:15:54. > :15:57.when he said he must tolerate all but the intolerant because if you

:15:58. > :16:02.tolerate the intolerant the conditions for pollination disappear

:16:03. > :16:05.and the pollen and go with them. Is there something he can reach across

:16:06. > :16:12.the party divide and support the government on because it is very

:16:13. > :16:15.important for them? There are things in politics about which there should

:16:16. > :16:19.be no disagreement between mainstream political parties and I

:16:20. > :16:22.would hope that the proposals the government brings forward, very much

:16:23. > :16:25.in the spirit of what the honourable gentleman says, can garner the

:16:26. > :16:35.maximum support. That is the reason why I raised the death of the Muslim

:16:36. > :16:42.and Glasgow, I went to visit the community here in London. The oldest

:16:43. > :16:45.mosque in London, and I are meeting with the British Jewish community

:16:46. > :16:50.next week because it is not just about issues of intolerance towards

:16:51. > :16:54.or between different parts of the Islamic community, it also impacts

:16:55. > :16:58.on the Jewish community and sadly there are whole range of other forms

:16:59. > :17:01.of intolerance for which we should have no tolerance and I would hope

:17:02. > :17:02.the premise and his colleagues can bring forward something that can

:17:03. > :17:12.come and support across the House. Although one of his honourable

:17:13. > :17:16.friends sitting there and asked a very difficult question that we

:17:17. > :17:22.would all grapple with, which is at what point does the radicalisation

:17:23. > :17:28.of service becomes problematic that the law is tripped? There is also a

:17:29. > :17:34.big challenge for all of us in this age of modern technology that there

:17:35. > :17:39.are many examples known, and this is a matter of public record, people

:17:40. > :17:42.becoming radicalised a very, very quickly. And we all know that our

:17:43. > :17:48.security services are having to grapple with the dangers, as they

:17:49. > :17:54.have and unfortunately in Belgium and France, with operations by

:17:55. > :17:57.terrorist groups, the difference between Flash and bang being

:17:58. > :18:01.extremely short. These are difficult questions for all of us and I hope

:18:02. > :18:05.it is an area that we can find cross-party agreement. I would like

:18:06. > :18:13.to conclude without reaching the 41 minute mark by saying that sadly I

:18:14. > :18:15.think the Queen's Speech is anaemic, containing many preannounced

:18:16. > :18:18.proposals for a carried over measures. There is a strong focus on

:18:19. > :18:22.legislation for England and Wales which is of itself not a bad thing.

:18:23. > :18:28.We wish our colleagues in England and Wales and the rest of the UK

:18:29. > :18:32.success. But it does mean that it has crowded out of the alternatives,

:18:33. > :18:42.many of which have been proposed by the SNP. I conclude. Surely what the

:18:43. > :18:45.UK requires is strong action on encouraging productivity and export

:18:46. > :18:49.growth in the economy. Surely what the UK requires is support for the

:18:50. > :18:54.most vulnerable through progressive action and working pensions and

:18:55. > :19:00.surely what Scotland requires is meaningful devolution that we were

:19:01. > :19:09.promised. That is what the SNP's alternative Queen's Speech proposers

:19:10. > :19:13.and I commend it to the House. Mr Speaker, it is a pleasure to follow

:19:14. > :19:16.the rights honourable gentleman and to hear about his alternative

:19:17. > :19:25.Queen's Speech. I was particularly interested in his proposal for a

:19:26. > :19:34.real home rule Bill for Scotland. But what concerned me was that he

:19:35. > :19:37.has made no reference to control by the Scottish people and Scottish

:19:38. > :19:45.Parliament over their own fishing grounds, or control over their own

:19:46. > :19:49.agricultural policy. Surely the logical position for those in

:19:50. > :19:52.Scotland who want home rule is that they should want control over their

:19:53. > :19:58.own fishing and agriculture, which can only be delivered to them by

:19:59. > :20:00.putting leave on the 23rd of June. I was also very much with the

:20:01. > :20:06.honourable gentleman on his concerns stressed about maritime patrol

:20:07. > :20:09.aircraft, an issue I have raised on a number of occasions in this House

:20:10. > :20:16.and that I do not think we have that satisfactory explanation of how we

:20:17. > :20:20.are going to protect our borders against intruders, whether they be

:20:21. > :20:26.people traffickers or drug smugglers or whatever. And I think it was a

:20:27. > :20:33.great mistake of the government to disband the very effective maritime

:20:34. > :20:37.patrol system operating in my constituency. But can I also

:20:38. > :20:42.congratulate my honourable friend the Member for Meriden. It was great

:20:43. > :20:49.to hear her say that she has dug into the idea of being a member of

:20:50. > :20:54.the backbenchers. Don't give up the chance to make a difference, she

:20:55. > :20:57.says. Seize the day. And indeed, Mr Speaker, that is exactly what I

:20:58. > :21:06.intend to do on the 23rd of June. And at the heart of this gracious

:21:07. > :21:12.speech is the statement, my ministers will uphold the

:21:13. > :21:17.sovereignty of Parliament. In my humble submission, the only way in

:21:18. > :21:25.which that can be delivered is by leaving the European union. Because

:21:26. > :21:30.our very membership of the European Union undermines the sovereignty of

:21:31. > :21:36.our Parliament and that is why my right honourable friend, the Lord

:21:37. > :21:41.Chancellor, is so much in the Brexit campaign. Because he realises that

:21:42. > :21:45.if we wish to retain sovereignty, to have control over our own laws, it

:21:46. > :21:51.can only be truly done by leaving the European union. And my

:21:52. > :21:58.honourable friend the Member for Bracknell, whom I congratulate on

:21:59. > :22:02.his speech as well, he omitted to say that one of the great benefits

:22:03. > :22:07.of the referendum has been that the government has been forced to come

:22:08. > :22:13.to an accommodation with the British medical Association and the junior

:22:14. > :22:16.doctors over weekend working, because the government is

:22:17. > :22:21.understandably trying to clear the decks so there are no obstacles in

:22:22. > :22:25.the way, in the run-up to the referendum. And I am delighted my

:22:26. > :22:31.right honourable friend the Prime Minister is still on the front

:22:32. > :22:34.bench. Can I congratulate him for the joke against himself about the

:22:35. > :22:39.plague of locusts because I think that shows that he has taken on

:22:40. > :22:45.board the very serious criticism that there was in a leader in the

:22:46. > :22:50.Daily Telegraph, critical of my right honourable friend for the way

:22:51. > :23:00.in which he had allowed what we might describe as his capacity for

:23:01. > :23:03.invective to extend into the areas of suggesting, through exaggeration,

:23:04. > :23:08.but basically the whole of our destiny was at stake in this

:23:09. > :23:16.upcoming referendum. Because my right honourable friend, and this

:23:17. > :23:21.time last year he was saying that he quite possibly envisaged a situation

:23:22. > :23:25.in which we would actually be leaving the European Union at his

:23:26. > :23:31.request. Because he was quite prepared to do that if he did not

:23:32. > :23:35.get sufficient deals. He knows he went out to try to get a deal and he

:23:36. > :23:40.thinks that was sufficient but it was in any event quite a marginal

:23:41. > :23:47.situation. But some of the hyperbole coming from the people who want to

:23:48. > :23:52.remain in the European Union, including my right honourable

:23:53. > :23:56.friend, some of that hyperbole suggests that at no material time

:23:57. > :23:59.could it have ever been in the interests of the people of the

:24:00. > :24:02.United Kingdom to leave the European Union. That is manifestly absurd in

:24:03. > :24:11.the light of the fact that my right honourable friend was telling his

:24:12. > :24:15.colleagues that he would be quite prepared to recommend that we should

:24:16. > :24:21.leave the European Union with all the consequences that would flow

:24:22. > :24:24.from that. And I think that is still one of the big questions which

:24:25. > :24:31.remains unanswered in this referendum campaign. If the Prime

:24:32. > :24:35.Minister really thought it was that obvious that it would be doom and

:24:36. > :24:39.disaster if we left the European Union, why did he ever have a

:24:40. > :24:49.referendum or ever let it be thought that he might support the league

:24:50. > :24:52.campaign? I think the government's credibility has been damaged by the

:24:53. > :24:57.cavalier use of statistics and I think that misuse of statistics has

:24:58. > :25:04.been designed to mislead the public in this referendum. And this time

:25:05. > :25:07.last year I was arguing that there should be an independent audit of

:25:08. > :25:12.the economic costs and benefits of the European Union. And I have a

:25:13. > :25:19.Private Members' Bill and have had it in successive parliaments. I put

:25:20. > :25:22.down a parliamentary question last June asking whether such an

:25:23. > :25:27.independent audit would be brought forward and I did not get any

:25:28. > :25:35.substantive reply from the Treasury. Yet now we are told that the cost of

:25:36. > :25:45.leaving the European Union would be ?4300 per annum in terms of GDP per

:25:46. > :25:50.household. And that rather good programme which the BBC is running

:25:51. > :25:56.at the moment poured scorn on this statistic on Saturday when they said

:25:57. > :26:02.that of course GDP per household is not the same as income per

:26:03. > :26:08.household. In fact GDP per household is ?66,000 per annum. Wouldn't every

:26:09. > :26:14.house love to have ?66,000 on average? It is not the same as

:26:15. > :26:23.income per household. What was being suggested was that by the 30, this

:26:24. > :26:28.amount of loss would have been incurred by every single household.

:26:29. > :26:33.-- by 2030. And then I looked at the leaflet which is part of the

:26:34. > :26:36.Electoral Commission brochure which is being circulated to every

:26:37. > :26:44.household as part of the referendum campaign and I saw at the top of the

:26:45. > :26:51.Remain campaign propaganda the assertion that it would cost ?91

:26:52. > :26:56.billion if we were to leave the European Union. And they quoted a

:26:57. > :27:03.CPI figure for that. Mr Speaker, because I was speaking last night to

:27:04. > :27:10.a group of accountants, I went and checked the origins of that figure

:27:11. > :27:16.produced in the Remain leaflet. I found out that in March,

:27:17. > :27:24.PricewaterhouseCoopers did a study at the behest of the CBI and it is

:27:25. > :27:33.quite a substantial study, and it is called leaving the EU, implications

:27:34. > :27:38.for the UK. And what it makes clear is that in 2030, the date chosen by

:27:39. > :27:51.the Treasury for these eggs application is, -- these exceptions,

:27:52. > :27:55.if we remain in the EU, real GDP will be 41% higher than it is at the

:27:56. > :28:04.moment. What they say is that if we leave the European Union, real UK

:28:05. > :28:09.GDP will be about 39% higher than it is at the moment. And a marginal

:28:10. > :28:17.difference of about one or two back percent, 39% compared with 41%, in

:28:18. > :28:22.2030, not tomorrow or the next day but 15 years out. So it is absurd

:28:23. > :28:31.for this scaremongering fear creation tactic of the Remain

:28:32. > :28:35.campaign to try to present to the people are totally different picture

:28:36. > :28:44.which is in contrast with the data which the CBI themselves

:28:45. > :28:48.commissioned from an international firm of accountants with

:28:49. > :28:53.international repute. So it is against that background that I think

:28:54. > :28:57.this speech has to be addressed, because the people are pretty

:28:58. > :29:01.cynical and sceptical. They are pretty sceptical about the claims of

:29:02. > :29:05.the government that if we remain in the European Union, we will be able

:29:06. > :29:10.to retain control over our borders, implying that we have control at the

:29:11. > :29:15.moment over who comes to our country and who leaves our country, which we

:29:16. > :29:18.manifestly do not. Even if those people have got criminal

:29:19. > :29:23.convictions, we cannot deport them or prevent them from coming because

:29:24. > :29:31.of their human rights and the freedom of movement rules of the

:29:32. > :29:34.European in. -- European Union. When we have assertions in this speech

:29:35. > :29:40.that the government will do lots of wonderful things, it is going to

:29:41. > :29:47.build another 1 million houses. We have to ask the question, if we are

:29:48. > :29:52.short of houses, why are we contemplating having 3 million more

:29:53. > :29:58.migrants from the European Union by the year 2030? And how are we going

:29:59. > :30:02.to be able to deliver on our manifesto pledge to reduce net

:30:03. > :30:06.migration to the tens of thousands when all the figures show that every

:30:07. > :30:14.year we are getting more than 300,000 coming in from the European

:30:15. > :30:17.Union. My challenge to my honourable friend and I would be happy to give

:30:18. > :30:20.way to the Prime Minister if he chose to intervene, how are we going

:30:21. > :30:25.to be able to deliver on that Solomon manifesto promise unless we

:30:26. > :30:30.leave the European Union. I accept that when that promise was made, the

:30:31. > :30:34.Prime Minister thought he was going to be able to get a better deal from

:30:35. > :30:37.his counterparts in the European Union but having failed to secure

:30:38. > :30:46.their deal, how does he think we are going to be able to meet that very

:30:47. > :30:50.important manifesto promise? We talked in the Queens speech about

:30:51. > :30:55.the need for more funding for schools, fairer funding. And as

:30:56. > :30:57.somebody who represents a constituency in Dorset, I know how

:30:58. > :31:05.unfair the current funding system is. But surely there is tremendous

:31:06. > :31:12.pressure on our public services and this is caused by high levels of net

:31:13. > :31:16.migration. And the same is true for infrastructure. Again, it is

:31:17. > :31:20.referred to in the gracious speech that we are going to improve

:31:21. > :31:23.infrastructure for businesses. But when my right honourable friend

:31:24. > :31:28.visits a Dorset, as he does on many occasions, he will now that the

:31:29. > :31:40.traffic conditions are dire. And that is because of the pressure of

:31:41. > :31:43.population and traffic on the roads, meaning that there are high levels

:31:44. > :31:50.of congestion feeding into pressure on the green belt. My constituents

:31:51. > :31:53.really share the Conservative vision of the green belt being sacrosanct.

:31:54. > :31:59.But the pressure on the erosion of the green belt from housing and

:32:00. > :32:05.industrial development is very great at the moment. And there is nothing

:32:06. > :32:09.in the address about fishing and agriculture which are two a very

:32:10. > :32:15.important parts of the economy of the South West of England.

:32:16. > :32:23.Mr Speaker, there's a lot in this address which is premised upon the

:32:24. > :32:31.fact that we are going to leave the European Union after the vote on

:32:32. > :32:37.23rd June, and I am grateful to the government for ensuring that is in

:32:38. > :32:43.this address, because I have already referred to the issue of

:32:44. > :32:47.sovereignty, but we... The only way we can improve the number and

:32:48. > :32:53.quality of houses is to ensure that we don't have this incredible

:32:54. > :33:01.pressure on our public services forced on us by uncontrolled

:33:02. > :33:07.immigration. Can I just make a couple more points. It says further

:33:08. > :33:14.powers will be default to directly elected mailers. Can I say to my

:33:15. > :33:24.right honourable friend that in the is no appetite for directly elected

:33:25. > :33:29.Mayors although there is an appetite for genuinely devolved powers, and I

:33:30. > :33:34.think the government needs to start thinking about differentiating

:33:35. > :33:37.between the large urban areas where elected Mayor may be appropriate and

:33:38. > :33:44.the early years which are largely rural and nature, where there is no

:33:45. > :33:48.appetite at all for directly elected Mayors. Can I also said that the

:33:49. > :33:56.provision relating to powers governing local bus services are

:33:57. > :34:02.rather vague. If the consequence of this is to unravel the legislation

:34:03. > :34:06.passed in 1985 when I was a member of the standing committee on the

:34:07. > :34:12.then buses Bill, which actually introduced choice and competition

:34:13. > :34:18.into the bus services in this country, I will be extremely

:34:19. > :34:24.concerned about it. My constituents are finding that the bus services

:34:25. > :34:29.are becoming less frequent and that is a problem. They are prepared,

:34:30. > :34:35.they tell me, to actually contribute something themselves, even if they

:34:36. > :34:39.are pensioners. They are happy to contribute themselves towards the

:34:40. > :34:43.cost of buses so they can beat in the service, because a free bus

:34:44. > :34:48.passes no use if you have not a bus to use it on. I would hope we are

:34:49. > :34:55.unable to have that looked at in the context of the buses Bill. The

:34:56. > :35:00.result or considerable scepticism about the assertion that local

:35:01. > :35:03.authorities will be allowed to detain business breaks. Does that

:35:04. > :35:08.mean all the business rates raised in the local authority area will be

:35:09. > :35:13.able to be detained by that local authority? The advice I have been

:35:14. > :35:16.given is that it doesn't mean that. If you are in an area where there is

:35:17. > :35:22.a high resource coming in from business rates, then they will be an

:35:23. > :35:26.equalisation system to ensure that not all those business rates

:35:27. > :35:36.actually accrue to the local people. I think that needs to be made clear.

:35:37. > :35:42.Then the other provisions relating to our presence. The Leader of the

:35:43. > :35:47.Opposition and I were both on the same visit from the Justice

:35:48. > :35:54.committee in the last parliament to Denmark, to visit Danish presence.

:35:55. > :35:58.One of the aspects of our visit to Danish presence was that the regime

:35:59. > :36:05.is so liberal that the people who live in person receive a higher

:36:06. > :36:11.income than they would receive if they were in their home countries in

:36:12. > :36:16.Eastern Europe whence they have come in order to commit crimes in

:36:17. > :36:20.Denmark. That is what you have when you have a very liberal prison

:36:21. > :36:26.regime, absolutely no deterrent for people who come to the country from

:36:27. > :36:32.another EU country, we wage levels are much lower, and if they come to

:36:33. > :36:36.Denmark, the biggest UN Denmark about the number of burglaries being

:36:37. > :36:43.committed by people from Eastern Europe, but there is no deterrent.

:36:44. > :36:49.Even when incarcerated, the penalties they pay are low and the

:36:50. > :36:53.income they get for working in a prison is greater than they would

:36:54. > :37:02.get back all. That brings me onto what will be final point. We are

:37:03. > :37:07.talking about the needs to get more resources into our present system

:37:08. > :37:14.and reduce the pressure on a prison systems. Why can't we do more to

:37:15. > :37:19.ensure that foreign offenders can be deported and are not filling up our

:37:20. > :37:24.presence. We tried to do something like that with the negotiations in

:37:25. > :37:31.the European Union but so far, we have failed. Mr Speaker, when one

:37:32. > :37:38.looks at the small print in this gracious speech, one can see that

:37:39. > :37:42.the busy lot which would actually be able to blossom and flourish when

:37:43. > :37:56.the people vote to leave on 23rd June. Thank you. I hadn't intended

:37:57. > :38:01.to get drawn on the issue of Europe but I first want to claim my firm

:38:02. > :38:05.support for remaining in Europe, and to be clear about is for the

:38:06. > :38:10.security of citizens, and I spent three years negotiating on home

:38:11. > :38:13.affairs for the then Labour government, for security and safety

:38:14. > :38:16.issues. It is my firm belief that if you are at the table you can make a

:38:17. > :38:22.difference as we have done and continue to do, but if you are not,

:38:23. > :38:26.you cannot influence, and if we vote out, the very next day we will be

:38:27. > :38:29.out of all the discussions that are necessary. I also direct the

:38:30. > :38:33.honourable gentleman to the work done by the National Audit Office at

:38:34. > :38:41.the behest of the Public Accounts Committee to look at the costs. It

:38:42. > :38:47.is near to the audit he was seeking. It shows clearly that the net cost

:38:48. > :38:51.to the UK is the equivalent of 1.4% of total UK Government departmental

:38:52. > :38:56.spending. I believe that is a small price to pay for the benefits of

:38:57. > :39:00.being part of a wider community and the peace and security that brings.

:39:01. > :39:06.If I may turn more generally to the gracious speech. I believe it is

:39:07. > :39:09.rather short on detail and I hope to outline some of the issues that I

:39:10. > :39:14.think ministers and departments should consider as the flesh out

:39:15. > :39:18.their plans, as clearly it is headlines when Her Majesty reads the

:39:19. > :39:22.speech out but I worry and having spent five years on a Public

:39:23. > :39:26.Accounts Committee, very often, there's not much more behind the

:39:27. > :39:31.headlines in the speech and I hope the government will heed our

:39:32. > :39:36.concerns about policy planning. Too often we have seen policy built on

:39:37. > :39:40.sand, a political pledge made in a press release without detail and

:39:41. > :39:46.with that crucially cost and impact assessments. Let me turn to some of

:39:47. > :39:51.the measures in the speech in particular. Broadband is an issue I

:39:52. > :39:55.will come if finally the government gets it right as with this pledge to

:39:56. > :40:01.have high-speed broadband universally across the country. I do

:40:02. > :40:04.have a weary cynicism. We have heard all of it before. The Public

:40:05. > :40:09.Accounts Committee has raised concerns about the use of taxpayer

:40:10. > :40:13.money to fund rural broadband, where the low hanging fruit was taken

:40:14. > :40:17.first, and many innovative technologies were priced out of the

:40:18. > :40:22.market, and many areas up and down the country. It has been so

:40:23. > :40:26.successful the government has had to include a game and the gracious

:40:27. > :40:29.address and I will be watching closely as all the Public Accounts

:40:30. > :40:34.Committee, both nationally and in my own constituency of Shoreditch, the

:40:35. > :40:37.home of tech city and telecom roundabout, where they are asked

:40:38. > :40:42.Dell significant problems with speed. So much so that businesses

:40:43. > :40:46.relocate in order to get faster speeds particularly for uploading.

:40:47. > :40:53.It is striking that the former editor of tech city news, the local

:40:54. > :40:56.web news vehicle for that area, had to take the video he recorded each

:40:57. > :41:01.week about the local news round-up to be uploaded at his home address

:41:02. > :41:08.because his office didn't have the broad bandwidth to do it. It is them

:41:09. > :41:12.important that as the government rules out it has to make sure

:41:13. > :41:15.alternative providers get a look and so I welcome the access to land and

:41:16. > :41:18.buildings that seems to be indicated in the publicity so far but we will

:41:19. > :41:26.be watching it and no doubt looking at it more closely. Unsurprisingly

:41:27. > :41:31.and well heralded the Queen's Speech included measures around devolution

:41:32. > :41:35.and directly electing Mayors. As a member for the borough of Hackney

:41:36. > :41:38.and London I fully recognise that I directly elected Mayor can be a good

:41:39. > :41:45.thing and I pay tribute to my colleague who was first elected in

:41:46. > :41:48.2002 as the directly elected Mayor and who has overseen stability and

:41:49. > :41:54.good public service delivery in our borough. But in the rush to

:41:55. > :41:58.devolution which is going very fast, it is vital that it is properly

:41:59. > :42:01.thought through. We heard from the honourable gentleman for

:42:02. > :42:06.Christchurch and I hear from others the concern in some areas about the

:42:07. > :42:11.need for the directly elected Mayor. While I recognise that government as

:42:12. > :42:15.it is the devolving power, money and responsible need to have somebody

:42:16. > :42:19.responsible it may be that things work in different places and maybe

:42:20. > :42:26.one size doesn't fit all. The question remains what powers exactly

:42:27. > :42:34.we passed down? It was recently indicated that once Mayors are

:42:35. > :42:38.elected with a manifesto negotiations may be reopened. How

:42:39. > :42:47.will this devolution be properly funded? Google watch taxpayer money?

:42:48. > :42:49.We know that in the boroughs of Kensington, Westminster Hammersmith

:42:50. > :42:56.there was talk of a Public Accounts Committee. I am in favour of them as

:42:57. > :42:59.you might understand but we know that in Oxfordshire the Prime

:43:00. > :43:03.Minister's own county, when the council sought external orders for

:43:04. > :43:09.its audit committee, they could only find one person. If the whole of

:43:10. > :43:14.that borough with the talent pool there, they can only find one person

:43:15. > :43:17.willing to be on the audit committee there is a concern. There was also a

:43:18. > :43:20.concern about the sourcing and how we watched money being spent. The is

:43:21. > :43:26.the issue of retention of business rates. In my own early LB stands to

:43:27. > :43:30.potentially game quite a lot and there is an issue of concern about

:43:31. > :43:33.the distribution to the areas where they are not the businesses that

:43:34. > :43:39.could accrue those rates for the local taxpayer. Watching taxpayers'

:43:40. > :43:43.money is the key thing and who decides what is right for

:43:44. > :43:46.Manchester? When the Treasury has decided on the amount if they come

:43:47. > :43:55.back and say they want more who will be the arbiter? We have lost the

:43:56. > :43:58.audit commission. Those of us who sat on the pre-legislative scrutiny

:43:59. > :44:02.warmth there was a lot being throwing out and we have real

:44:03. > :44:06.concerns and will be returning to this very much as a committee. The

:44:07. > :44:12.gracious speech also mentions mental health in the criminal justice

:44:13. > :44:16.system. My own constituency hosts a medium security unit for those with

:44:17. > :44:20.serious mental health issues. I have spoken in the past two patients in

:44:21. > :44:23.that unit who fear going back to prison because of the lack of mental

:44:24. > :44:28.health support in the mainstream Prison Service. I wish the

:44:29. > :44:32.government will and its reformist to the Prison Service and I also

:44:33. > :44:36.represent penal reform and I know they will want to see the succeed

:44:37. > :44:41.and the devil is in the details and of course on the funding. We have

:44:42. > :44:45.seen a 20% cut in the budget of which 80% of that 20 has been in

:44:46. > :44:52.prisons and we know there a shortage prison officers. I watch that whips

:44:53. > :44:55.caution. The northern powerhouse is mentioned again, something the

:44:56. > :44:59.government heralds positively but which we know from our work on the

:45:00. > :45:03.committee that the Department for business is planning to move its

:45:04. > :45:08.policy team from Sheffield to that well-known northern powerhouse aka

:45:09. > :45:14.Victoria Street S W one. That is to join the existing civil servants

:45:15. > :45:18.working on the northern powerhouse already based in London. I may be a

:45:19. > :45:21.London MP but I know when something doesn't make sense so it is vital

:45:22. > :45:27.the government gets the best input from around the nations and regions

:45:28. > :45:33.of the United Kingdom to make sure the policy isn't just London centric

:45:34. > :45:36.and their getaway. I understand the points made but does she not

:45:37. > :45:41.appreciate the whole point of devolution is to give more power

:45:42. > :45:44.back into the combined authorities or to local partnerships and that is

:45:45. > :45:51.what we are delivering, regardless of what happens to one policy or

:45:52. > :45:56.strategy team. I think my point is that is a litmus test for how

:45:57. > :46:02.seriously devolution is taken. Actually, what we seek frequently on

:46:03. > :46:06.the committee is we ask, when they talk about devolving powers, how

:46:07. > :46:10.many civil servants will move from Whitehall to the region? Maybe not

:46:11. > :46:18.the same people but what percentage in total will shift, because if

:46:19. > :46:21.Whitehall shifts, we should see a deduction potentially in the civil

:46:22. > :46:25.service. If not we should see an explanation for why that is not the

:46:26. > :46:26.case. I have seen some fuzzy thinking on that and we are watching

:46:27. > :46:34.closely. The investigatory Powers Bill is

:46:35. > :46:39.mentioned again as it did not make enough progress in the previous

:46:40. > :46:42.parliament. I believe we need to keep up with technology to keep our

:46:43. > :46:49.citizens safe so I support this bill in principle. But I sincerely hope

:46:50. > :46:54.that the Home Secretary will listen to opposition calls on this side of

:46:55. > :46:59.the House for appropriate government safeguards so that this legislation

:47:00. > :47:03.can gain cross-party support. We must unite against terror and those

:47:04. > :47:06.who wish our country ill. I think we could work together in that spirit

:47:07. > :47:11.to make sure that this bill is the best piece of legislation could be.

:47:12. > :47:16.I am talking about security and that brings me onto the issue tackling

:47:17. > :47:18.extremism. I do not believe it is something that can be done from

:47:19. > :47:22.Whitehall. It is important that Whitehall sets the framework for

:47:23. > :47:27.doing that. The best way of doing this is the work at the grassroots

:47:28. > :47:30.level. We are very prevent strategy in the past but we need to make sure

:47:31. > :47:34.we work to deliver this this time. And we need to do that in a spirit

:47:35. > :47:38.of unity. It has been shocking over the last weeks and months that

:47:39. > :47:42.senior government ministers, even the Prime Minister himself, had been

:47:43. > :47:45.casting aspersions on the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan. It is beyond the

:47:46. > :47:49.pale and unacceptable that someone in his position has been pilloried

:47:50. > :47:54.in such a way when he is part of the solution and certainly nothing to do

:47:55. > :47:58.with the problem. I hope that we can move forward in a spirit of greater

:47:59. > :48:02.unity because we need to tackle that is part of our long-term strategy to

:48:03. > :48:10.make our country secure. The main issues on which the dock about today

:48:11. > :48:14.are around housing, health and education and I am concerned about

:48:15. > :48:20.what is not included as much as what is included in the sketchy detail.

:48:21. > :48:24.The government commits to building 1 million homes but let's replay what

:48:25. > :48:30.happened in the last parliament. The government committed to releasing

:48:31. > :48:37.public land to build new homes. But five years on, when the committee

:48:38. > :48:41.looked at this, the government could not say how much the land had been

:48:42. > :48:44.sold for and how many homes had been built on the land, and whether there

:48:45. > :48:49.was any appreciable value for money for the taxpayer. You really could

:48:50. > :48:54.not make it up. And the Public Accounts Committee remains concerned

:48:55. > :49:00.about the pledge to release land for homes. It is interesting that there

:49:01. > :49:03.is such a figure when we know that the number of homes built is not

:49:04. > :49:07.something that ministers have considered that they should be

:49:08. > :49:10.counting as an outcome. As one of my colleagues on the committee

:49:11. > :49:14.describes it, none of our constituents want to live in a

:49:15. > :49:17.potential home, they want to live in a real home. We should not just

:49:18. > :49:21.count the homes being built, we should make sure they are the right

:49:22. > :49:25.ones, which means allowing local authorities in their own areas to

:49:26. > :49:30.determine what is necessary. The speech talks about tackling poverty

:49:31. > :49:48.and the courses of that to give every child the best start in life.

:49:49. > :49:55.Are presented which is at the top of child... -- I represent... The new

:49:56. > :50:04.bill will make a damaging effect on my constituency, pulling the carpet

:50:05. > :50:11.out from underneath my constituents. In my own borough, 700 right to buy

:50:12. > :50:14.homes will... Mr Speaker, I do not begrudge people wanting to own their

:50:15. > :50:22.own home or getting the opportunity to do that, but it must not be at

:50:23. > :50:26.the expense of others. There is also pay to stay which was introduced to

:50:27. > :50:31.push up rents for people on a household income of ?40,000 a year.

:50:32. > :50:35.That might sound like not a lot of money to some members but in London

:50:36. > :50:42.it does not stretch very far. In London, the average property price

:50:43. > :50:47.is now ?691,969. It has gone up about ?7,000 since I last raced this

:50:48. > :50:52.in the House three weeks ago. That is an 85% increase in the last six

:50:53. > :50:58.years. Private rents as of February this year, the median for a

:50:59. > :51:03.one-bedroom property is ?1399 per calendar month. To afford that, you

:51:04. > :51:08.would require a gross household income of ?48,000. I do not know

:51:09. > :51:12.where people are expected to pay and stay, where they are expected to go.

:51:13. > :51:16.They cannot afford to buy their own home rent privately. That affects a

:51:17. > :51:20.number of pensioners in my constituency and there are also

:51:21. > :51:27.overcrowded households because adult children cannot leave, and they are

:51:28. > :51:29.not necessarily paying for huge palaces but often overcrowded

:51:30. > :51:38.situations. Under the housing bill, there is a proposal to replace homes

:51:39. > :51:41.sold underwrite four by 141 but that is not necessarily like for like.

:51:42. > :51:46.They could be a different size, in a different location or city, and on a

:51:47. > :51:49.different tenure. Frankly, it is not good enough for the government to

:51:50. > :51:53.sit back and allow this to happen. I hope the government will work with

:51:54. > :52:00.Sadiq Khan to come up with at least a workaround for London, because it

:52:01. > :52:03.will not work as it is. I am fed up with hearing government ministers

:52:04. > :52:06.and the Prime Minister talking about starter homes being the solution.

:52:07. > :52:15.Starter homes in my constituency would need to be -- would require a

:52:16. > :52:19.household income of ?71,000 on average to be affordable. The

:52:20. > :52:24.average household income is much lower. Government policies are

:52:25. > :52:32.fuelling house prices but not solving the problem. If we underline

:52:33. > :52:38.the crucial need to sort out housing in my borough, 11,000 people are on

:52:39. > :52:44.the council housing register. In 2014, 1338 social rented homes were

:52:45. > :52:49.allocated to people. People are waiting a very long time. And there

:52:50. > :52:52.are 2286 households in temporary accommodation. My surgeries are the

:52:53. > :52:56.busiest and worst they have ever been in the 20 years since I was

:52:57. > :53:01.elected. I thought it could not get worse when I visited people 20 years

:53:02. > :53:05.ago but it is even worse now is. People being relocated long way away

:53:06. > :53:09.from schools and families and increasingly having no more security

:53:10. > :53:13.and I do not know where people go. I speak for the private sector

:53:14. > :53:17.individuals as well. I mean the people in good jobs, but not well

:53:18. > :53:20.paid, people in their 40s who have rented privately all their lives,

:53:21. > :53:25.suddenly now finding themselves priced out. They cannot or rent and

:53:26. > :53:29.heaven forbid they are on any housing benefit, because if you are

:53:30. > :53:32.on low income, you will require housing benefit. Where do those

:53:33. > :53:42.people go? We are hollowing out London? The gracious speech could

:53:43. > :53:49.have and should have included an outline of how the government will

:53:50. > :53:55.work with London. There is a promise of a seven-day NHS in this speech

:53:56. > :54:00.but in a series of reports, the committee has concluded that the

:54:01. > :54:03.budget of the NHS is far too squeezed. It is like a balloon. If

:54:04. > :54:09.you squeeze it in one place, the bulge go somewhere else. Acute

:54:10. > :54:12.trusts are nearly bursting with three quarters in deficit. The

:54:13. > :54:20.seven-day NHS is just not being costed. The NHS commissioners

:54:21. > :54:23.providers had a deficit of ?471 million in 2014 and the Public

:54:24. > :54:32.Accounts Committee concluded that there is not yet a convincing plan

:54:33. > :54:38.for causing the efficiency gap. There are not enough GPs to meet

:54:39. > :54:42.demand. That is not enough capacity to support decisions on general

:54:43. > :54:54.practice. This is another conclusion from the Public Accounts Committee.

:54:55. > :55:00.And targeted trusts are... There is a 9% shortfall in clinical staff

:55:01. > :55:04.nationally and nurses and midwives and health care visitors have a

:55:05. > :55:09.vacancy rate of over 7%. And we have seen the fiasco with the handling of

:55:10. > :55:12.the junior doctors contracts. If the government is planning to legislate

:55:13. > :55:17.on a seven-day NHS, it must do the maths. I think it is about time that

:55:18. > :55:25.somebody gave the Health Secretary is a simple cartilage. It is pretty

:55:26. > :55:30.basic. But we are seeing a squeeze in GP services, acute trusts

:55:31. > :55:36.bursting until this week. Specialist services, any risk of increasing

:55:37. > :55:40.their wishes are likely. Workforce planning is dire and there is an

:55:41. > :55:44.over reliance on expensive agency staff and locums. The basic maths is

:55:45. > :55:54.not being met and needs to be more done to make sure that this is

:55:55. > :55:57.deliverable. Currently on the evidence, it is not planned or

:55:58. > :56:01.funded or realistic. And the government must address of this

:56:02. > :56:06.fundamental issue. I think there is cross-party support on all sides of

:56:07. > :56:09.the House. It is something that we all treasure and love and we know

:56:10. > :56:13.that when it is needed, it is there, but it will not be there if we

:56:14. > :56:20.allowed this approach to continue. There has to be a better approach.

:56:21. > :56:23.Education is mentioned in the Gracious Speech. My borough needs no

:56:24. > :56:28.lessons in excellence when it comes to education. Thanks to decent

:56:29. > :56:33.funding, committed teachers and head teachers and the vision of the

:56:34. > :56:36.mayor, we have some of the rest schools in the country with a number

:56:37. > :56:41.ranking in the top 1% nationally. When I was selected to run for the

:56:42. > :56:45.seat 12 years ago, I was asked about whether I had thought about tuition

:56:46. > :56:51.fees at universities. I pointed out that so many people -- so few pupils

:56:52. > :56:57.in Hackney went to university that it was an academic question in my

:56:58. > :57:01.borough. Now we see many more students going to university so it

:57:02. > :57:05.has been a major success. But I worry. It is easy for the government

:57:06. > :57:08.to talk about raising excellence but London is under threat. When the

:57:09. > :57:15.government talks about the funding, it means reducing funding in London.

:57:16. > :57:20.This is unjust, foolish and short-sighted. It risks putting back

:57:21. > :57:24.the progress made by and for London's young people. Nationally

:57:25. > :57:28.there are lessons to be learned from London but it must not be hammered

:57:29. > :57:33.while we are trying to resolve issues in the rest of the country.

:57:34. > :57:36.Mr Speaker, there is a lot to be looking at in this Queen's Speech

:57:37. > :57:39.and we will be busy as a committee as we examine it. But I hope the

:57:40. > :57:42.government learns lessons from its policies on housing in particular

:57:43. > :57:46.and particularly on the funding of the health service, working out a

:57:47. > :57:49.way of having a stable financial footing for these policies so that

:57:50. > :57:52.they are actually come up when they are good they are deliverable and

:57:53. > :57:56.when they are not, we have the chance to mend them not just through

:57:57. > :57:58.secondary legislation but that we have primary legislation which is

:57:59. > :58:03.debatable and amendable by this House and that the Lords is not so

:58:04. > :58:07.muted under the government's last but one line in the Queen's Speech,

:58:08. > :58:11.talking about the primacy of the House of Commons. It is vital that

:58:12. > :58:16.the Lords' experts get their say to make sure that these policies are

:58:17. > :58:19.better. It is now proud thing for the government to introduce policies

:58:20. > :58:23.that increase inequality and deprivation and I fear that without

:58:24. > :58:30.proper scrutiny and detail, that will be what will happen as a

:58:31. > :58:34.result. It is a pleasure to follow the honourable lady for Hackney. I

:58:35. > :58:39.may not agree with the conclusions he reached and the commentary on the

:58:40. > :58:43.Queen's Speech but the manner with which she gave her speech, the

:58:44. > :58:48.thoughtful way with which she approached the subjects she

:58:49. > :58:51.discussed, is, if I may say so, a commendable way to debate the

:58:52. > :58:53.Queen's Speech and particularly so from the opposition benches because

:58:54. > :58:59.people tend to listen to you from the opposition benches when you

:59:00. > :59:03.speak carefully, calmly and without hectoring, and she certainly was

:59:04. > :59:09.listened to by me and I am grateful. I am also very happy to take the

:59:10. > :59:14.opportunity to thank my right honourable friend, the Member for

:59:15. > :59:20.Bracknell, for starting off our deliberations this afternoon with

:59:21. > :59:31.first-class speeches. Both different in style but both hugely amusing and

:59:32. > :59:41.insightful. And they are to be congratulated for what they have to

:59:42. > :59:48.say. Like all Queen's Speech is, they can be something of a curates

:59:49. > :59:57.egg. A bit of detail, that of aspiration and other measures laid

:59:58. > :00:01.before you. And I don't suppose this Queen's Speech is an exception to

:00:02. > :00:04.that rule. But I am keen to highlight three areas of the speech

:00:05. > :00:10.which appeals to me and which I think will be of interest to the

:00:11. > :00:20.country as a whole. It does not matter to me that the bills that I

:00:21. > :00:25.want to concentrate on male may have a bearing on England and Wales. I

:00:26. > :00:30.think the theory behind it and the public policy behind it should be of

:00:31. > :00:37.interest across the United Kingdom. The first issue I want to deal with

:00:38. > :00:44.is the anti-corruption Summit in London and the follow-on legislation

:00:45. > :00:51.which will tackle money laundering and tax evasion. There is no

:00:52. > :00:54.question that for too long the police and public policy

:00:55. > :00:58.commentators have probably not given enough attention to white-collar

:00:59. > :01:05.crime as it is sometimes called. Nobody dies, there is no blood and

:01:06. > :01:13.guts, and there are not obvious victims in so many cases. But

:01:14. > :01:19.nonetheless, these are serious crimes. If somebody went into a bank

:01:20. > :01:24.fished on offshore gun and stole ?10 million, we would get exercise about

:01:25. > :01:28.it. -- went into a bank with a sawn off shotgun.