28/03/2014 The Week in Parliament


28/03/2014

Similar Content

Browse content similar to 28/03/2014. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!

Transcript


LineFromTo

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.:00:00.

Now, The Week in Parliament. Coming up on the programme: Sparks

:00:00.:00:23.

fly at PM's questions, as David Cameron and Ed Miliband argue over

:00:24.:00:27.

freezing energy bills. A price freeze for households and visitors

:00:28.:00:31.

is feasible, workable, and it will happen under a Labour government. If

:00:32.:00:36.

he is concerned about energy prices, he might want to explain why he has

:00:37.:00:40.

voted against it Budget that has a ?7 billion cut to energy prices for

:00:41.:00:45.

businesses and consumers up and down the country. Also on the programme,

:00:46.:00:51.

as our relationship with Europe comes into focus ahead of the

:00:52.:00:54.

elections, we hear the call for European national parliaments to

:00:55.:00:57.

have a greater say over what goes on in the EU. And, you know who he is,

:00:58.:01:02.

but do you know what he does? We will hear on `` from one expert on

:01:03.:01:09.

whether we need a job description for the PM. There have been times

:01:10.:01:13.

when the opposition has disappeared, and the PM had a sense of personal

:01:14.:01:20.

destiny that was alarming. First, I minister's questions, when David

:01:21.:01:29.

Cameron and Ed Miliband argued about the price freeze. Last year, Labour

:01:30.:01:35.

announced it would force a price freeze for 20 months after the

:01:36.:01:39.

general election, if it were to win. This policy was derided by the PM.

:01:40.:01:46.

The Labour leader wanted to know what the government made of SSE's

:01:47.:01:50.

announcement. The energy Secretary said he was calling on other

:01:51.:01:53.

suppliers to do the same, and freeze their bills. Is it now the PM's

:01:54.:02:01.

policy that we should freeze bills? It is our policy that bills should

:02:02.:02:04.

be cut, and they are being cut under this government. That is what is

:02:05.:02:09.

happening. When we come to the small print, let's have a look at what

:02:10.:02:14.

Scottish and Southern said about the labour policy. `` Kattegat labour.

:02:15.:02:24.

Wheat is not having an economic policies, weak is not responding to

:02:25.:02:39.

the Budget. That is what week is. On Labour policy, it does not appear to

:02:40.:02:42.

have a solution for reducing the cost of supplying the Lecras city

:02:43.:02:46.

and gas. A 20 month price freeze would not reduce the cost of

:02:47.:02:54.

supplying energy `` supplying electricity and gas. He is not the

:02:55.:03:00.

PM at all, he is the PR man for the energy companies, that is what he

:03:01.:03:06.

is. Bills are rising, and what is clear is that his argument against a

:03:07.:03:11.

freeze has been totally demolished today. A price freeze for households

:03:12.:03:14.

and businesses is feasible, workable, and it will happen under a

:03:15.:03:22.

Labour government. All of this shows, he just doesn't get the cost

:03:23.:03:26.

of living crisis that is happening around this country. Can he confirm

:03:27.:03:35.

that the living standards will be falling over the course of this

:03:36.:03:38.

Parliament, and it is the first time that has happened since the war.

:03:39.:03:45.

After a week, we finally got to the Budget. He finally has something to

:03:46.:03:50.

say about the Budget. If he is concerned about energy prices, he

:03:51.:03:54.

might want to explain why he has voted against a budget that has a ?7

:03:55.:03:58.

billion cut to energy prices for businesses and consumers up and down

:03:59.:04:03.

this country. Why did they vote against that? If he is concerned

:04:04.:04:07.

about the cost of living, why do they vote against a personal

:04:08.:04:11.

allowance of ?10,500 for every single worker in our country? If

:04:12.:04:14.

they are concerned about the cost of living, why did you vote against

:04:15.:04:18.

giving pensioners the right to spend their own money as they choose? If

:04:19.:04:23.

you care about the cost of living, why did you vote against abolishing

:04:24.:04:30.

the savings tax paid by the poorest people in this country? Not a clue

:04:31.:04:34.

about how to help working people, not a clue how to run the economy,

:04:35.:04:41.

no clue about the Budget. Not for the first time, calm down, dear,

:04:42.:04:50.

calm down. Or, should I say, for the benefit of the Chancellor, eyes

:04:51.:04:59.

down, is, eyes down. The truth is, living standards are falling over

:05:00.:05:04.

this Parliament. You can't solve the cost of living crisis, Mr Speaker,

:05:05.:05:08.

because he doesn't think there is one. He won't freeze energy bills

:05:09.:05:13.

because you think it has nothing to do with government. The thing was

:05:14.:05:17.

alone with his PM, he will always stand up for the wrong people. What

:05:18.:05:24.

is happening under this government, inflation is falling, unemployment

:05:25.:05:26.

is coming down, 1.3 million more people in work, 400,000 more

:05:27.:05:30.

businesses in our country, we are helping this economy recover from

:05:31.:05:35.

the ravages that were left under Labour. That is the truth. Everyone

:05:36.:05:42.

can see that we have a plan for a better future for our country, and

:05:43.:05:46.

everyone can see here is flailing around, a man with no plan, and

:05:47.:05:53.

increasingly no future. David Cameron, and Ed Miliband. Elections

:05:54.:05:58.

to the European Parliament will be held on May 22. With that poll

:05:59.:06:08.

looming, Nick Clegg and Nigel Farage held the first debate about our

:06:09.:06:13.

place in Europe. Snap polls after the debate suggested that Nigel

:06:14.:06:17.

Farage had come out on top. The pair clashed, as you would expect, over

:06:18.:06:21.

immigration, jobs, and who makes our laws. All of that coincided with a

:06:22.:06:26.

report from the Lords EU committee, calling for a greater role for

:06:27.:06:29.

national parliaments in EU decision`making. It called for

:06:30.:06:33.

Parliament to be able to work together to impose new legislation,

:06:34.:06:38.

or amend existing EU law. We got together to macro Europe experts. ``

:06:39.:06:54.

two. I asked Katy Ghosh had disconnected it was. Three quarters

:06:55.:07:00.

of British voters feel that their voice is not heard in the EU. 34%

:07:01.:07:05.

turnout last time we had European elections, and we are not expecting

:07:06.:07:09.

it to be very different this time. Think everything very big gap that

:07:10.:07:12.

has opened up between British voters and European affairs. We think it is

:07:13.:07:17.

a crisis of epic proportions and action needs to be taken. Lord

:07:18.:07:21.

Boswell, you have chaired a committee that has been looking at

:07:22.:07:24.

how to get national parliaments more involved in Europe. Tell us what it

:07:25.:07:30.

recommends. We are trying to produce a practical manual or Toolkit that

:07:31.:07:33.

democratic engagement. I think there democratic engagement. I think there

:07:34.:07:38.

is a problem, and we need to debate that further. We have no single,

:07:39.:07:43.

1`shot solution. Part of it is that we should do our job at that as

:07:44.:07:47.

national parliaments, holding our own governments to account, going to

:07:48.:07:52.

council meetings in Brussels, and they then represent the national

:07:53.:07:57.

position. Also, we have made a lot of suggestions about how we might

:07:58.:08:02.

learn how to create a collaboration between each other, and how we might

:08:03.:08:06.

work together to influence legislation, before it ever gets to

:08:07.:08:09.

the last stage, when people start going around talking about whether

:08:10.:08:14.

you play a yellow card or a red card, or whatever it is. It is to

:08:15.:08:18.

get in early, try to create a dialogue, provided that the European

:08:19.:08:25.

institutions are prepared to play with that, and if they are you do

:08:26.:08:30.

not need treaty change to do this, you can carry it out today if that

:08:31.:08:36.

is what you want to do. You think that giving national parliaments

:08:37.:08:38.

more of a say would make the process more democratic? It definitely

:08:39.:08:44.

would. We strongly support the committee's recommendations, they

:08:45.:08:47.

are practical solutions that could be achieved now. We feel that

:08:48.:08:51.

citizens would have more faith in their say over the European Union if

:08:52.:08:55.

they saw their elected politicians scrutinising the Lords, and having a

:08:56.:09:02.

much stronger say. We support the idea that our parliament could get

:09:03.:09:05.

together with other parliaments in saving no to a law, which is

:09:06.:09:11.

something they can't do now. The committee has said, how about being

:09:12.:09:13.

more constructive? How about having the power to say that if they want

:09:14.:09:20.

power to impose a European policy. It would help to see these

:09:21.:09:24.

bread`and`butter issues, that they affect us. It affects the food we

:09:25.:09:29.

eat, the jobs we have, the education and the environment. I think we need

:09:30.:09:34.

to bring issues closer, and strengthening the arm of our

:09:35.:09:36.

national Parliament over EU policy would help to do that. Give me an

:09:37.:09:42.

example. How would this work was Mac we are about to publish a report on

:09:43.:09:52.

food waste. I think when it is reported very shortly, you will see

:09:53.:09:55.

it is a serious attempt to start focusing on something which is

:09:56.:09:59.

politically interesting to citizens, important to the environment and the

:10:00.:10:04.

future of Europe, and requires a European level involvement as well

:10:05.:10:07.

as a national one. That is the kind of thing that can happen. If you are

:10:08.:10:12.

going to do that, I think at the moment the debate is rather skewed,

:10:13.:10:17.

because everyone says, what can you do to hold things up? What can you

:10:18.:10:22.

do to stop things happening? It happens right at the end of the

:10:23.:10:26.

legislative process. A more rational way of doing it, which is in effect

:10:27.:10:31.

the way a national Parliament works, is you discuss it with your

:10:32.:10:34.

government in the beginning, discuss it with the executive, you modify

:10:35.:10:39.

proposals and say that that is not on, that would be a good way to go,

:10:40.:10:42.

that is the option to follow, then you have the debate, and you hope to

:10:43.:10:50.

get an agreed solution. Is the problem of the communication? It is

:10:51.:10:56.

very difficult to get information to the people about the EU in a way

:10:57.:11:00.

they are interested in. Most of this stuff just is not sexy. Most of it

:11:01.:11:05.

doesn't feel immediate enough, it doesn't touch on our daily lives.

:11:06.:11:10.

There is a gulf that is growing up in our country, between people and

:11:11.:11:14.

politics more generally. It is not just about our relationship with the

:11:15.:11:17.

EU, it is about how we think and feel about politics. We want to hear

:11:18.:11:22.

a lot more about information, starting in primary schools, getting

:11:23.:11:27.

people enthused about politics. We need to crack this, we need to stop

:11:28.:11:30.

talking about the EU and its policies and laws as something

:11:31.:11:34.

separate to us. When we get people talking about issues of jobs in

:11:35.:11:38.

schools, we are making it part of the mainstream debate. Thank you

:11:39.:11:42.

very much for coming into the programme.

:11:43.:11:45.

Back to the Commons and domestic affairs. Labour MPs have voted to

:11:46.:11:51.

support the coalition proposal to set a welfare spending less ``

:11:52.:11:59.

limit. It would include spending on the vast majority of benefits,

:12:00.:12:03.

including maternity and paternity pay, child benefit, universal

:12:04.:12:08.

credit, and housing benefit. Jobseekers allowance and the state

:12:09.:12:13.

pension will be excluded. 13 Labour MPs voted to reject the cap. Power

:12:14.:12:21.

welfare cap ensures that never again can the costs spiral out of control,

:12:22.:12:26.

and the incentives become so distorted that it pays not to work.

:12:27.:12:30.

From now on, any government wanting to spend more on welfare will have

:12:31.:12:34.

to be honest with the public, honest about the costs, secure the approval

:12:35.:12:40.

of Parliament to breach the cap. We, on this side of the house, support

:12:41.:12:46.

capping social security spending. The Leader of the Opposition

:12:47.:12:48.

advocated it last year, and with welfare spending now at ?13 billion

:12:49.:12:54.

higher than the government planned in its spending review, Habitat

:12:55.:12:59.

labour will make different and fair choice is to get the security bill

:13:00.:13:03.

under control, and tackle the issues of rising spending `` Labour. I

:13:04.:13:14.

believe that our welfare system should be based on facts. It should

:13:15.:13:18.

be based on need, I believe that whatever short`term political

:13:19.:13:21.

advantage he bought think is gained by voting for this is far outweighed

:13:22.:13:26.

by what is problematic. And no, I will not be voting for this cap in

:13:27.:13:32.

the lobbies tonight. I listen very carefully for what the honourable

:13:33.:13:35.

lady from Hackney said, no point during her speech did she think

:13:36.:13:42.

about the other side of coin. People who have to pay the bills. They have

:13:43.:13:49.

needs and requirements, and many low`paid people have to pay the

:13:50.:13:53.

bills. We need a good welfare system, where there is a solid and

:13:54.:13:57.

straightforward safety net so that if people end up in a problem they

:13:58.:14:01.

have a way off being rescued and kept from destitution. However, to

:14:02.:14:06.

argue that we shouldn't try to manage the total costs is nonsense.

:14:07.:14:11.

I intend to vote against this today, and I hope other Scottish MPs will

:14:12.:14:16.

do so as well. To acquiesce to this nasty, Tory nonsense, that puts more

:14:17.:14:21.

pain on pensioners, carers, disabled people and low income families,

:14:22.:14:25.

would be an abject failure of leadership. Let's take a look at

:14:26.:14:32.

some other news around Westminster. Britain's Big six energy supplies

:14:33.:14:36.

have been told they must take part in the first full`scale

:14:37.:14:41.

investigation into whether consumers are getting a fair deal. They have

:14:42.:14:43.

been referred to the competition and markets authority by the energy

:14:44.:14:49.

watchdog, Ofgem. It says an investigation into profit increases

:14:50.:14:51.

and price rises could lead to companies being written up. Her

:14:52.:14:57.

tackling these issues through the authorities revise companies and

:14:58.:15:00.

investors with the competent that is processed will be evidence based,

:15:01.:15:05.

fair and just and free from vertical interference. If I were standing

:15:06.:15:11.

where the Secretary of State is still today, I would be taking

:15:12.:15:14.

action to impose price fees for consumers is that of defending the

:15:15.:15:21.

big six. Why doesn't he just enforce a price freeze right now? Workplace

:15:22.:15:29.

pension scheme charges will be capped at .75%. The pensions

:15:30.:15:33.

Minister has announced. He said the changes will transfer around ?200

:15:34.:15:37.

million of pension industry profits to savers pockets over the next ten

:15:38.:15:40.

years. This government will be the first to get a grip on the issue of

:15:41.:15:46.

pension charges. We are going to put charges in a vice and we will

:15:47.:15:49.

tighten the pressure, year after year. This image tweeted after the

:15:50.:15:55.

budget but the Conservative Party chairman into a spot of bother.

:15:56.:15:59.

Labour claimed it was patronising and showed the government was out of

:16:00.:16:03.

touch. A Labour MP could not resist a dig. Beer and bingo. It may not

:16:04.:16:11.

exactly be the bread and circuses of our age but as leading lights of the

:16:12.:16:17.

Coalition rush forward to express their love for it, will pry Minister

:16:18.:16:22.

dissociate himself from the snobbish and disdainful comments made by his

:16:23.:16:32.

party chairman? I think the honourable gentleman to advertising

:16:33.:16:37.

the fact that this government is cutting taxes and quite right

:16:38.:16:40.

because their industry was decimated by Labour. May I thank you also for

:16:41.:16:45.

pointing out the Chancellor 's approach of cutting beer duty. We

:16:46.:16:55.

backed responsible drinkers. I am sure the gentleman sitting opposite

:16:56.:16:59.

enjoys a game of bingo. It is the only time he get close to number

:17:00.:17:04.

ten. David Cameron with the last laugh. PMQ 's is for many people the

:17:05.:17:13.

most visible part of the prime ministers week. What do the job

:17:14.:17:17.

actually involve? There is no doubt it is a role which has changed over

:17:18.:17:21.

the years. Compare the powers of Winston Churchill against those of

:17:22.:17:24.

the doubting Margaret Thatcher or Tony Blair. And contrast that with

:17:25.:17:33.

David Cameron who gave Parliament a vote on taking action against Syria

:17:34.:17:38.

and lost. The political and constitutional committee is taking a

:17:39.:17:41.

look at the prime ministers powers and in the week, heard from the

:17:42.:17:45.

leading academic Lord Hennessy. When he stopped at a studio earlier, I

:17:46.:17:50.

asked you whether there should be a written job description. It would be

:17:51.:17:53.

nice to get closer to something approaching that, rather than the

:17:54.:17:58.

scraps of paper we have operated on in the past. Years ago in the

:17:59.:18:01.

National Archives, I came across a description for the prime minister.

:18:02.:18:08.

It was not shown to the prime minister of the time or anybody

:18:09.:18:11.

else. It was for a group of academics who wanted help for a

:18:12.:18:14.

conference on what prime ministers were compared to a American

:18:15.:18:20.

presidents. I would write down what I thought the British premier stock

:18:21.:18:25.

was four and then I sent it around to various people in Whitehall. I

:18:26.:18:31.

produced a version in one of my books in 1995. I updated with a

:18:32.:18:38.

colleague of mine. The Select Committee is doing that enquiry so I

:18:39.:18:43.

offered them I functional analysis as what the prime minister is four

:18:44.:18:46.

as head of government. It came down to, one of those things that only a

:18:47.:18:52.

minister can do. It is the nearest thing there is to a job description.

:18:53.:18:57.

I would not grace with such a title but it might be a good idea to do

:18:58.:19:01.

it. I suggested to the Select Committee that they have a crack. Is

:19:02.:19:04.

that you worry that the prime minister is too powerful? It is nice

:19:05.:19:10.

to know what they are meant to do. There have been times... They would

:19:11.:19:20.

say what is all this about excessive power? You should do my job. There

:19:21.:19:24.

have been times when Cabinet have been remarkably powerful. And the

:19:25.:19:29.

prime minister had a sense of personal destiny which was on the

:19:30.:19:37.

alarmingly end of the spectrum. Margaret Thatcher was regarded as

:19:38.:19:40.

being the same but I don't think she was. She loved getting her way but

:19:41.:19:43.

only after a hell of a good argument. Ministers have to appear

:19:44.:19:49.

in front of Parliament every week. But who really holds on to a count?

:19:50.:20:01.

As the sound of liberty as people can see it either way. I was very

:20:02.:20:10.

pleased that Tony Blair appeared twice a year before the liaison

:20:11.:20:15.

committee. Because prime ministers had not appeared before committees.

:20:16.:20:19.

There was none of that deeper accountability. They never really

:20:20.:20:25.

let the glove on him or any subsequent prime ministers? Tony

:20:26.:20:33.

Wright was remarkable. He said prime minister, we may be in a war in the

:20:34.:20:38.

Middle East and we have spent hours in the House of Commons whether we

:20:39.:20:46.

should kill foxes. Can you start a proper debate on whether we should

:20:47.:20:49.

kill humans or not? Of the prime minister even have the power to wage

:20:50.:20:54.

war? You can't imagine now they pry would take us to war without a vote

:20:55.:21:00.

in Holland. Her the agent property powers would be used because they

:21:01.:21:04.

would be time to consult parliament. We do have a consensus now and I

:21:05.:21:11.

think that is important. If there is time, a proper debate in the House

:21:12.:21:17.

of Commons, that the Commons is given a full opinion from the

:21:18.:21:23.

eternal general `` attorney general and it is a proper intelligence

:21:24.:21:27.

assessment. And that seems to be the consensus. That is a considerable

:21:28.:21:31.

advance in this country. It was remarkable, I have a suspicion that

:21:32.:21:36.

the summary in the Mediterranean was ready to go at a minute is noticed,

:21:37.:21:41.

even neck and indications are that meant I would be surprised if they

:21:42.:21:43.

were listening to the House of Commons debate as they sat there

:21:44.:21:46.

undetectable, ready to launch the missiles against Syria. And then it

:21:47.:21:53.

was snatched away, the warmaking possibility from the prime ministers

:21:54.:21:58.

hands. And that was remarkable. When you think about it. The role of the

:21:59.:22:03.

prime minister has changed over time. It continues to change. Given

:22:04.:22:08.

the speed of the world in which we now live. Should be not just accept

:22:09.:22:12.

that and be happy with its? The great thing about an open society is

:22:13.:22:16.

being ever so mighty, you have to have some sense of what is and isn't

:22:17.:22:22.

proper. Parliament is the instrument. There is no point having

:22:23.:22:26.

Parliament if it cannot stay in the pie ministers held. Tony Blair once

:22:27.:22:35.

said to me, my old dad used to say, that Parliament existed for two

:22:36.:22:39.

reasons to control the power of the Perth and the power of the sword. He

:22:40.:22:43.

is absolutely right. There is no point in Parliament otherwise. thank

:22:44.:22:48.

you very much. The funeral was held on Thursday of

:22:49.:23:01.

former MP Tony Benn. It was an emotional farewell at Westminster. A

:23:02.:23:07.

large cloud lined the road. There were tears and applause are that

:23:08.:23:11.

procession arrived at the Margaret Church. Along with politicians,

:23:12.:23:18.

celebrities also paid their respects. It is a passing of an era.

:23:19.:23:25.

There are not many MPs are would pay money to go and speak. He was a big

:23:26.:23:33.

draw. He used to pack theatres because people love to hear him

:23:34.:23:39.

speak. He would stay on stage and people would say, I remember I met

:23:40.:23:47.

you years ago. He loved this engagement with the people. What we

:23:48.:23:51.

have lost is a politician who connected politics with the people.

:23:52.:24:00.

In west this week dominated by the size of the energy bills.

:24:01.:24:11.

This time last year we were coming to

:24:12.:24:12.

Download Subtitles

SRT

ASS