:00:00. > :00:00.in Washington state are fading. Dozens of people were killed when a
:00:00. > :00:00.hillside collapsed. Around 90 people are still missing.
:00:00. > :00:23.Now, The Week in Parliament. Coming up on the programme: Sparks
:00:24. > :00:27.fly at PM's questions, as David Cameron and Ed Miliband argue over
:00:28. > :00:31.freezing energy bills. A price freeze for households and visitors
:00:32. > :00:36.is feasible, workable, and it will happen under a Labour government. If
:00:37. > :00:40.he is concerned about energy prices, he might want to explain why he has
:00:41. > :00:45.voted against it Budget that has a ?7 billion cut to energy prices for
:00:46. > :00:51.businesses and consumers up and down the country. Also on the programme,
:00:52. > :00:54.as our relationship with Europe comes into focus ahead of the
:00:55. > :00:57.elections, we hear the call for European national parliaments to
:00:58. > :01:02.have a greater say over what goes on in the EU. And, you know who he is,
:01:03. > :01:09.but do you know what he does? We will hear on `` from one expert on
:01:10. > :01:13.whether we need a job description for the PM. There have been times
:01:14. > :01:20.when the opposition has disappeared, and the PM had a sense of personal
:01:21. > :01:29.destiny that was alarming. First, I minister's questions, when David
:01:30. > :01:35.Cameron and Ed Miliband argued about the price freeze. Last year, Labour
:01:36. > :01:39.announced it would force a price freeze for 20 months after the
:01:40. > :01:46.general election, if it were to win. This policy was derided by the PM.
:01:47. > :01:50.The Labour leader wanted to know what the government made of SSE's
:01:51. > :01:53.announcement. The energy Secretary said he was calling on other
:01:54. > :02:01.suppliers to do the same, and freeze their bills. Is it now the PM's
:02:02. > :02:04.policy that we should freeze bills? It is our policy that bills should
:02:05. > :02:09.be cut, and they are being cut under this government. That is what is
:02:10. > :02:14.happening. When we come to the small print, let's have a look at what
:02:15. > :02:24.Scottish and Southern said about the labour policy. `` Kattegat labour.
:02:25. > :02:39.Wheat is not having an economic policies, weak is not responding to
:02:40. > :02:42.the Budget. That is what week is. On Labour policy, it does not appear to
:02:43. > :02:46.have a solution for reducing the cost of supplying the Lecras city
:02:47. > :02:54.and gas. A 20 month price freeze would not reduce the cost of
:02:55. > :03:00.supplying energy `` supplying electricity and gas. He is not the
:03:01. > :03:06.PM at all, he is the PR man for the energy companies, that is what he
:03:07. > :03:11.is. Bills are rising, and what is clear is that his argument against a
:03:12. > :03:14.freeze has been totally demolished today. A price freeze for households
:03:15. > :03:22.and businesses is feasible, workable, and it will happen under a
:03:23. > :03:26.Labour government. All of this shows, he just doesn't get the cost
:03:27. > :03:35.of living crisis that is happening around this country. Can he confirm
:03:36. > :03:38.that the living standards will be falling over the course of this
:03:39. > :03:45.Parliament, and it is the first time that has happened since the war.
:03:46. > :03:50.After a week, we finally got to the Budget. He finally has something to
:03:51. > :03:54.say about the Budget. If he is concerned about energy prices, he
:03:55. > :03:58.might want to explain why he has voted against a budget that has a ?7
:03:59. > :04:03.billion cut to energy prices for businesses and consumers up and down
:04:04. > :04:07.this country. Why did they vote against that? If he is concerned
:04:08. > :04:11.about the cost of living, why do they vote against a personal
:04:12. > :04:14.allowance of ?10,500 for every single worker in our country? If
:04:15. > :04:18.they are concerned about the cost of living, why did you vote against
:04:19. > :04:23.giving pensioners the right to spend their own money as they choose? If
:04:24. > :04:30.you care about the cost of living, why did you vote against abolishing
:04:31. > :04:34.the savings tax paid by the poorest people in this country? Not a clue
:04:35. > :04:41.about how to help working people, not a clue how to run the economy,
:04:42. > :04:50.no clue about the Budget. Not for the first time, calm down, dear,
:04:51. > :04:59.calm down. Or, should I say, for the benefit of the Chancellor, eyes
:05:00. > :05:04.down, is, eyes down. The truth is, living standards are falling over
:05:05. > :05:08.this Parliament. You can't solve the cost of living crisis, Mr Speaker,
:05:09. > :05:13.because he doesn't think there is one. He won't freeze energy bills
:05:14. > :05:17.because you think it has nothing to do with government. The thing was
:05:18. > :05:24.alone with his PM, he will always stand up for the wrong people. What
:05:25. > :05:26.is happening under this government, inflation is falling, unemployment
:05:27. > :05:30.is coming down, 1.3 million more people in work, 400,000 more
:05:31. > :05:35.businesses in our country, we are helping this economy recover from
:05:36. > :05:42.the ravages that were left under Labour. That is the truth. Everyone
:05:43. > :05:46.can see that we have a plan for a better future for our country, and
:05:47. > :05:53.everyone can see here is flailing around, a man with no plan, and
:05:54. > :05:58.increasingly no future. David Cameron, and Ed Miliband. Elections
:05:59. > :06:08.to the European Parliament will be held on May 22. With that poll
:06:09. > :06:13.looming, Nick Clegg and Nigel Farage held the first debate about our
:06:14. > :06:17.place in Europe. Snap polls after the debate suggested that Nigel
:06:18. > :06:21.Farage had come out on top. The pair clashed, as you would expect, over
:06:22. > :06:26.immigration, jobs, and who makes our laws. All of that coincided with a
:06:27. > :06:29.report from the Lords EU committee, calling for a greater role for
:06:30. > :06:33.national parliaments in EU decision`making. It called for
:06:34. > :06:38.Parliament to be able to work together to impose new legislation,
:06:39. > :06:54.or amend existing EU law. We got together to macro Europe experts. ``
:06:55. > :07:00.two. I asked Katy Ghosh had disconnected it was. Three quarters
:07:01. > :07:05.of British voters feel that their voice is not heard in the EU. 34%
:07:06. > :07:09.turnout last time we had European elections, and we are not expecting
:07:10. > :07:12.it to be very different this time. Think everything very big gap that
:07:13. > :07:17.has opened up between British voters and European affairs. We think it is
:07:18. > :07:21.a crisis of epic proportions and action needs to be taken. Lord
:07:22. > :07:24.Boswell, you have chaired a committee that has been looking at
:07:25. > :07:30.how to get national parliaments more involved in Europe. Tell us what it
:07:31. > :07:33.recommends. We are trying to produce a practical manual or Toolkit that
:07:34. > :07:38.democratic engagement. I think there democratic engagement. I think there
:07:39. > :07:43.is a problem, and we need to debate that further. We have no single,
:07:44. > :07:47.1`shot solution. Part of it is that we should do our job at that as
:07:48. > :07:52.national parliaments, holding our own governments to account, going to
:07:53. > :07:57.council meetings in Brussels, and they then represent the national
:07:58. > :08:02.position. Also, we have made a lot of suggestions about how we might
:08:03. > :08:06.learn how to create a collaboration between each other, and how we might
:08:07. > :08:09.work together to influence legislation, before it ever gets to
:08:10. > :08:14.the last stage, when people start going around talking about whether
:08:15. > :08:18.you play a yellow card or a red card, or whatever it is. It is to
:08:19. > :08:25.get in early, try to create a dialogue, provided that the European
:08:26. > :08:30.institutions are prepared to play with that, and if they are you do
:08:31. > :08:36.not need treaty change to do this, you can carry it out today if that
:08:37. > :08:38.is what you want to do. You think that giving national parliaments
:08:39. > :08:44.more of a say would make the process more democratic? It definitely
:08:45. > :08:47.would. We strongly support the committee's recommendations, they
:08:48. > :08:51.are practical solutions that could be achieved now. We feel that
:08:52. > :08:55.citizens would have more faith in their say over the European Union if
:08:56. > :09:02.they saw their elected politicians scrutinising the Lords, and having a
:09:03. > :09:05.much stronger say. We support the idea that our parliament could get
:09:06. > :09:11.together with other parliaments in saving no to a law, which is
:09:12. > :09:13.something they can't do now. The committee has said, how about being
:09:14. > :09:20.more constructive? How about having the power to say that if they want
:09:21. > :09:24.power to impose a European policy. It would help to see these
:09:25. > :09:29.bread`and`butter issues, that they affect us. It affects the food we
:09:30. > :09:34.eat, the jobs we have, the education and the environment. I think we need
:09:35. > :09:36.to bring issues closer, and strengthening the arm of our
:09:37. > :09:42.national Parliament over EU policy would help to do that. Give me an
:09:43. > :09:52.example. How would this work was Mac we are about to publish a report on
:09:53. > :09:55.food waste. I think when it is reported very shortly, you will see
:09:56. > :09:59.it is a serious attempt to start focusing on something which is
:10:00. > :10:04.politically interesting to citizens, important to the environment and the
:10:05. > :10:07.future of Europe, and requires a European level involvement as well
:10:08. > :10:12.as a national one. That is the kind of thing that can happen. If you are
:10:13. > :10:17.going to do that, I think at the moment the debate is rather skewed,
:10:18. > :10:22.because everyone says, what can you do to hold things up? What can you
:10:23. > :10:26.do to stop things happening? It happens right at the end of the
:10:27. > :10:31.legislative process. A more rational way of doing it, which is in effect
:10:32. > :10:34.the way a national Parliament works, is you discuss it with your
:10:35. > :10:39.government in the beginning, discuss it with the executive, you modify
:10:40. > :10:42.proposals and say that that is not on, that would be a good way to go,
:10:43. > :10:50.that is the option to follow, then you have the debate, and you hope to
:10:51. > :10:56.get an agreed solution. Is the problem of the communication? It is
:10:57. > :11:00.very difficult to get information to the people about the EU in a way
:11:01. > :11:05.they are interested in. Most of this stuff just is not sexy. Most of it
:11:06. > :11:10.doesn't feel immediate enough, it doesn't touch on our daily lives.
:11:11. > :11:14.There is a gulf that is growing up in our country, between people and
:11:15. > :11:17.politics more generally. It is not just about our relationship with the
:11:18. > :11:22.EU, it is about how we think and feel about politics. We want to hear
:11:23. > :11:27.a lot more about information, starting in primary schools, getting
:11:28. > :11:30.people enthused about politics. We need to crack this, we need to stop
:11:31. > :11:34.talking about the EU and its policies and laws as something
:11:35. > :11:38.separate to us. When we get people talking about issues of jobs in
:11:39. > :11:42.schools, we are making it part of the mainstream debate. Thank you
:11:43. > :11:45.very much for coming into the programme.
:11:46. > :11:51.Back to the Commons and domestic affairs. Labour MPs have voted to
:11:52. > :11:59.support the coalition proposal to set a welfare spending less ``
:12:00. > :12:03.limit. It would include spending on the vast majority of benefits,
:12:04. > :12:08.including maternity and paternity pay, child benefit, universal
:12:09. > :12:13.credit, and housing benefit. Jobseekers allowance and the state
:12:14. > :12:21.pension will be excluded. 13 Labour MPs voted to reject the cap. Power
:12:22. > :12:26.welfare cap ensures that never again can the costs spiral out of control,
:12:27. > :12:30.and the incentives become so distorted that it pays not to work.
:12:31. > :12:34.From now on, any government wanting to spend more on welfare will have
:12:35. > :12:40.to be honest with the public, honest about the costs, secure the approval
:12:41. > :12:46.of Parliament to breach the cap. We, on this side of the house, support
:12:47. > :12:48.capping social security spending. The Leader of the Opposition
:12:49. > :12:54.advocated it last year, and with welfare spending now at ?13 billion
:12:55. > :12:59.higher than the government planned in its spending review, Habitat
:13:00. > :13:03.labour will make different and fair choice is to get the security bill
:13:04. > :13:14.under control, and tackle the issues of rising spending `` Labour. I
:13:15. > :13:18.believe that our welfare system should be based on facts. It should
:13:19. > :13:21.be based on need, I believe that whatever short`term political
:13:22. > :13:26.advantage he bought think is gained by voting for this is far outweighed
:13:27. > :13:32.by what is problematic. And no, I will not be voting for this cap in
:13:33. > :13:35.the lobbies tonight. I listen very carefully for what the honourable
:13:36. > :13:42.lady from Hackney said, no point during her speech did she think
:13:43. > :13:49.about the other side of coin. People who have to pay the bills. They have
:13:50. > :13:53.needs and requirements, and many low`paid people have to pay the
:13:54. > :13:57.bills. We need a good welfare system, where there is a solid and
:13:58. > :14:01.straightforward safety net so that if people end up in a problem they
:14:02. > :14:06.have a way off being rescued and kept from destitution. However, to
:14:07. > :14:11.argue that we shouldn't try to manage the total costs is nonsense.
:14:12. > :14:16.I intend to vote against this today, and I hope other Scottish MPs will
:14:17. > :14:21.do so as well. To acquiesce to this nasty, Tory nonsense, that puts more
:14:22. > :14:25.pain on pensioners, carers, disabled people and low income families,
:14:26. > :14:32.would be an abject failure of leadership. Let's take a look at
:14:33. > :14:36.some other news around Westminster. Britain's Big six energy supplies
:14:37. > :14:41.have been told they must take part in the first full`scale
:14:42. > :14:43.investigation into whether consumers are getting a fair deal. They have
:14:44. > :14:49.been referred to the competition and markets authority by the energy
:14:50. > :14:51.watchdog, Ofgem. It says an investigation into profit increases
:14:52. > :14:57.and price rises could lead to companies being written up. Her
:14:58. > :15:00.tackling these issues through the authorities revise companies and
:15:01. > :15:05.investors with the competent that is processed will be evidence based,
:15:06. > :15:11.fair and just and free from vertical interference. If I were standing
:15:12. > :15:14.where the Secretary of State is still today, I would be taking
:15:15. > :15:21.action to impose price fees for consumers is that of defending the
:15:22. > :15:29.big six. Why doesn't he just enforce a price freeze right now? Workplace
:15:30. > :15:33.pension scheme charges will be capped at .75%. The pensions
:15:34. > :15:37.Minister has announced. He said the changes will transfer around ?200
:15:38. > :15:40.million of pension industry profits to savers pockets over the next ten
:15:41. > :15:46.years. This government will be the first to get a grip on the issue of
:15:47. > :15:49.pension charges. We are going to put charges in a vice and we will
:15:50. > :15:55.tighten the pressure, year after year. This image tweeted after the
:15:56. > :15:59.budget but the Conservative Party chairman into a spot of bother.
:16:00. > :16:03.Labour claimed it was patronising and showed the government was out of
:16:04. > :16:11.touch. A Labour MP could not resist a dig. Beer and bingo. It may not
:16:12. > :16:17.exactly be the bread and circuses of our age but as leading lights of the
:16:18. > :16:22.Coalition rush forward to express their love for it, will pry Minister
:16:23. > :16:32.dissociate himself from the snobbish and disdainful comments made by his
:16:33. > :16:37.party chairman? I think the honourable gentleman to advertising
:16:38. > :16:40.the fact that this government is cutting taxes and quite right
:16:41. > :16:45.because their industry was decimated by Labour. May I thank you also for
:16:46. > :16:55.pointing out the Chancellor 's approach of cutting beer duty. We
:16:56. > :16:59.backed responsible drinkers. I am sure the gentleman sitting opposite
:17:00. > :17:04.enjoys a game of bingo. It is the only time he get close to number
:17:05. > :17:13.ten. David Cameron with the last laugh. PMQ 's is for many people the
:17:14. > :17:17.most visible part of the prime ministers week. What do the job
:17:18. > :17:21.actually involve? There is no doubt it is a role which has changed over
:17:22. > :17:24.the years. Compare the powers of Winston Churchill against those of
:17:25. > :17:33.the doubting Margaret Thatcher or Tony Blair. And contrast that with
:17:34. > :17:38.David Cameron who gave Parliament a vote on taking action against Syria
:17:39. > :17:41.and lost. The political and constitutional committee is taking a
:17:42. > :17:45.look at the prime ministers powers and in the week, heard from the
:17:46. > :17:50.leading academic Lord Hennessy. When he stopped at a studio earlier, I
:17:51. > :17:53.asked you whether there should be a written job description. It would be
:17:54. > :17:58.nice to get closer to something approaching that, rather than the
:17:59. > :18:01.scraps of paper we have operated on in the past. Years ago in the
:18:02. > :18:08.National Archives, I came across a description for the prime minister.
:18:09. > :18:11.It was not shown to the prime minister of the time or anybody
:18:12. > :18:14.else. It was for a group of academics who wanted help for a
:18:15. > :18:20.conference on what prime ministers were compared to a American
:18:21. > :18:25.presidents. I would write down what I thought the British premier stock
:18:26. > :18:31.was four and then I sent it around to various people in Whitehall. I
:18:32. > :18:38.produced a version in one of my books in 1995. I updated with a
:18:39. > :18:43.colleague of mine. The Select Committee is doing that enquiry so I
:18:44. > :18:46.offered them I functional analysis as what the prime minister is four
:18:47. > :18:52.as head of government. It came down to, one of those things that only a
:18:53. > :18:57.minister can do. It is the nearest thing there is to a job description.
:18:58. > :19:01.I would not grace with such a title but it might be a good idea to do
:19:02. > :19:04.it. I suggested to the Select Committee that they have a crack. Is
:19:05. > :19:10.that you worry that the prime minister is too powerful? It is nice
:19:11. > :19:20.to know what they are meant to do. There have been times... They would
:19:21. > :19:24.say what is all this about excessive power? You should do my job. There
:19:25. > :19:29.have been times when Cabinet have been remarkably powerful. And the
:19:30. > :19:37.prime minister had a sense of personal destiny which was on the
:19:38. > :19:40.alarmingly end of the spectrum. Margaret Thatcher was regarded as
:19:41. > :19:43.being the same but I don't think she was. She loved getting her way but
:19:44. > :19:49.only after a hell of a good argument. Ministers have to appear
:19:50. > :20:01.in front of Parliament every week. But who really holds on to a count?
:20:02. > :20:10.As the sound of liberty as people can see it either way. I was very
:20:11. > :20:15.pleased that Tony Blair appeared twice a year before the liaison
:20:16. > :20:19.committee. Because prime ministers had not appeared before committees.
:20:20. > :20:25.There was none of that deeper accountability. They never really
:20:26. > :20:33.let the glove on him or any subsequent prime ministers? Tony
:20:34. > :20:38.Wright was remarkable. He said prime minister, we may be in a war in the
:20:39. > :20:46.Middle East and we have spent hours in the House of Commons whether we
:20:47. > :20:49.should kill foxes. Can you start a proper debate on whether we should
:20:50. > :20:54.kill humans or not? Of the prime minister even have the power to wage
:20:55. > :21:00.war? You can't imagine now they pry would take us to war without a vote
:21:01. > :21:04.in Holland. Her the agent property powers would be used because they
:21:05. > :21:11.would be time to consult parliament. We do have a consensus now and I
:21:12. > :21:17.think that is important. If there is time, a proper debate in the House
:21:18. > :21:23.of Commons, that the Commons is given a full opinion from the
:21:24. > :21:27.eternal general `` attorney general and it is a proper intelligence
:21:28. > :21:31.assessment. And that seems to be the consensus. That is a considerable
:21:32. > :21:36.advance in this country. It was remarkable, I have a suspicion that
:21:37. > :21:41.the summary in the Mediterranean was ready to go at a minute is noticed,
:21:42. > :21:43.even neck and indications are that meant I would be surprised if they
:21:44. > :21:46.were listening to the House of Commons debate as they sat there
:21:47. > :21:53.undetectable, ready to launch the missiles against Syria. And then it
:21:54. > :21:58.was snatched away, the warmaking possibility from the prime ministers
:21:59. > :22:03.hands. And that was remarkable. When you think about it. The role of the
:22:04. > :22:08.prime minister has changed over time. It continues to change. Given
:22:09. > :22:12.the speed of the world in which we now live. Should be not just accept
:22:13. > :22:16.that and be happy with its? The great thing about an open society is
:22:17. > :22:22.being ever so mighty, you have to have some sense of what is and isn't
:22:23. > :22:26.proper. Parliament is the instrument. There is no point having
:22:27. > :22:35.Parliament if it cannot stay in the pie ministers held. Tony Blair once
:22:36. > :22:39.said to me, my old dad used to say, that Parliament existed for two
:22:40. > :22:43.reasons to control the power of the Perth and the power of the sword. He
:22:44. > :22:48.is absolutely right. There is no point in Parliament otherwise. thank
:22:49. > :23:01.you very much. The funeral was held on Thursday of
:23:02. > :23:07.former MP Tony Benn. It was an emotional farewell at Westminster. A
:23:08. > :23:11.large cloud lined the road. There were tears and applause are that
:23:12. > :23:18.procession arrived at the Margaret Church. Along with politicians,
:23:19. > :23:25.celebrities also paid their respects. It is a passing of an era.
:23:26. > :23:33.There are not many MPs are would pay money to go and speak. He was a big
:23:34. > :23:39.draw. He used to pack theatres because people love to hear him
:23:40. > :23:47.speak. He would stay on stage and people would say, I remember I met
:23:48. > :23:51.you years ago. He loved this engagement with the people. What we
:23:52. > :24:00.have lost is a politician who connected politics with the people.
:24:01. > :24:11.In west this week dominated by the size of the energy bills.
:24:12. > :24:12.This time last year we were coming to