:00:09. > :00:21.Hello. Welcome to the Week in Parliament.
:00:22. > :00:25.It's "Evel" by name, and, say the Scottish Nationalists,
:00:26. > :00:29.The basic principle about what is being achieved and secured by these
:00:30. > :00:32.plans is that me and my honourable friend is it will be second-class
:00:33. > :00:36.Could we be in for a head-on clash between the Lords and the Commons
:00:37. > :00:40.A new Conservative MP slams her Government
:00:41. > :00:43.As these proposals stand, too many people
:00:44. > :00:50.And we look at e-petitions from the public,
:00:51. > :00:54.after one comes under strong attack in Parliament.
:00:55. > :00:56.The petition and the wording of the petition
:00:57. > :01:01.I would suggest that after we have considered it today,
:01:02. > :01:05.But first - a huge historical change?
:01:06. > :01:11.From now on, MPs with constituencies outside England will be barred from
:01:12. > :01:16.deciding on matters at Westminster that are solely English.
:01:17. > :01:19.The idea of English votes for English laws all sounds
:01:20. > :01:24.perfectly logical, and MPs voted the change through on Thursday.
:01:25. > :01:27.But will the new system - of an extra stage of consideration for
:01:28. > :01:33.And will the Speaker find it straightforward
:01:34. > :01:38.to decide which Bills are England-only and which are UK-wide?
:01:39. > :01:40.In a moment, I'll be talking to an MP
:01:41. > :01:46.But first, let's get a flavour of an often heated debate.
:01:47. > :01:50.England has waited 18 years for some justice and some power back under
:01:51. > :01:54.this lopsided devolution settlement that was forced upon us against
:01:55. > :02:00.Can my right honourable friend think of any good reason that an English
:02:01. > :02:05.MP could give for voting against these very moderate proposals.
:02:06. > :02:09.These proposed changes, what they do is they enable us to give an answer
:02:10. > :02:16.They enable us to give an answer to our constituents,
:02:17. > :02:19.to say that England will have its own piece of our devolution
:02:20. > :02:21.settlement, but they do so without, and I emphasise without,
:02:22. > :02:24.removing any member of Parliament from the workings of this chamber.
:02:25. > :02:27.The basic principle about what has been achieved and secured by these
:02:28. > :02:30.plans is that me and my honourable friends here will be second-class
:02:31. > :02:32.citizens in the unitary Parliament of the United Kingdom of
:02:33. > :02:35.Great Britain and Northern Ireland and that is quite simply
:02:36. > :02:41.Now, Scotland's watching this, Scotland's watching this,
:02:42. > :02:46.Could I say, if this is an exercise in saving the union,
:02:47. > :02:52.you could not have contrived of our more inept way to save the union.
:02:53. > :02:54.Will the honourable gentleman not agree that it was actually
:02:55. > :02:57.the people that wanted to see this happen.
:02:58. > :03:01.We have a legitimate view when it comes to these things and we object
:03:02. > :03:03.to being made second-class citizens in this particular Parliament.
:03:04. > :03:05.This is our Parliament as much as hers.
:03:06. > :03:08.This is the unitary Parliament of the UK,
:03:09. > :03:11.Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and yet we have got to accept the
:03:12. > :03:13.second-class status and no wonder the mood is darkening in Scotland.
:03:14. > :03:17.Would he agree with me that these are relatively modest proposals do
:03:18. > :03:21.something very powerful, which is allow us to say to our constituents,
:03:22. > :03:24.and I say this as a member of Parliament born in Belfast
:03:25. > :03:27.representing an English constituency, that in future, there
:03:28. > :03:31.is no chance of the rest of the United Kingdom members of Parliament
:03:32. > :03:36.imposing upon them something that they do not want in England.
:03:37. > :03:39.And the reason there is so much hostility from the SNP
:03:40. > :03:43.benches opposite is actually, they realise this is a safety belt that
:03:44. > :03:46.benches opposite is actually, they realise this is a safety valve that
:03:47. > :03:51.will help protect the future of the United Kingdom.
:03:52. > :03:53.At this point in time, all of us are equal.
:03:54. > :03:56.I can vote on exactly everything at the leader of the house can vote
:03:57. > :04:07.I can vote on everything that comes before this house.
:04:08. > :04:10.If this goes through, then from tonight onwards, I will be
:04:11. > :04:13.denied the opportunity to vote on behalf of the people who elected me
:04:14. > :04:17.They are trying to set up a grievance that does not exist,
:04:18. > :04:20.because no bill will be able to pass this has without the consent
:04:21. > :04:23.because no bill will be able to pass this House without the consent
:04:24. > :04:26.of all Members of Parliament taking part in that division.
:04:27. > :04:29.What we are about is inserting a consent stage into matters that
:04:30. > :04:37.The honest truth is, Madam Deputy Speaker,
:04:38. > :04:40.this is not a Conservatives set of measures, it is actually quite
:04:41. > :04:44.It's a bureaucratic nightmare and I think honourable members
:04:45. > :04:52.As Lord Forsyth said last night in the House of Lords,
:04:53. > :04:55.it is "like an Uber driver without a sat-nav".
:04:56. > :04:57.It is not a unionist set of measures either.
:04:58. > :05:00.It is as if the Prime Minister had decided to fashion a new grievance
:05:01. > :05:03.for Scotland and, God knows, they have never needed a new grievance.
:05:04. > :05:05.You cannot describe this as devolution for England.
:05:06. > :05:08.What is going to happen is the English MPs will have discussion
:05:09. > :05:11.at committee stage and they will have a veto over things that have
:05:12. > :05:18.It seems to me, Mr Speaker, that the Government have brought
:05:19. > :05:22.forward these proposals in the way in which they often do, on the basis
:05:23. > :05:30.The most dangerous words you will ever hear in Parliament.
:05:31. > :05:34.Mr Speaker, this is a divisive measure.
:05:35. > :05:37.It differentiates between Members of Parliament.
:05:38. > :05:39.It differentiates between parts of the United Kingdom.
:05:40. > :05:42.It doesn't allow us to speak when we want to on behalf of
:05:43. > :05:47.At at the end of that debate, the Commons voted 312 to 270
:05:48. > :05:55.From this point onwards, non-English MPs are, for the first
:05:56. > :06:02.I asked Jacob Rees-Mogg, Conservative MP and strong supporter
:06:03. > :06:06.of English votes, if this week would come to be seen as a significant
:06:07. > :06:15.I think it's certainly a very important change,
:06:16. > :06:20.that it does create some element of division for the English but not
:06:21. > :06:22.that it does create some element of devolution for the English
:06:23. > :06:25.but not so much as to upset the union.
:06:26. > :06:28.So looking back 100 years, it could turn out to have that
:06:29. > :06:31.But, of course, the cynics will say this is really party politics,
:06:32. > :06:33.this is the Conservatives worried about the popularity of Ukip in,
:06:34. > :06:38.I don't think so, I think it's a response to the real constitutional
:06:39. > :06:40.need that asymmetric devolution is perfectly acceptable to the English,
:06:41. > :06:43.who form the largest part of the United Kingdom, but something needed
:06:44. > :06:46.to be done to give some element of protection to England
:06:47. > :06:51.following the degree of devolution that has gone to Scotland.
:06:52. > :06:54.And this seems to me a small amount of devolution that
:06:55. > :06:58.just ensures that the English electorate will be happy.
:06:59. > :07:01.But for the purists, they will say the logical answer is
:07:02. > :07:06.This is just a bit of a messy compromise, what one MP called
:07:07. > :07:13.I'm not really keen on spaghetti, I prefer potatoes, personally, but
:07:14. > :07:20.most of our constitutional changes take place with issues fixed to meet
:07:21. > :07:24.the needs of the day, not an overarching grand strategy, and this
:07:25. > :07:27.is part of that, it's part of ensuring things are done in a
:07:28. > :07:32.measured way that meets the current needs, without assuming that there
:07:33. > :07:36.is some new Jerusalem that can be built, which maybe a view that the
:07:37. > :07:42.left often has, that they think you can improve
:07:43. > :07:48.Now, of course, as well as opposition from Labour, there
:07:49. > :07:50.have also been massive objections from the Scottish National party.
:07:51. > :07:54.We heard Pete Wishart saying, rather threateningly,
:07:55. > :07:59.This is going to go down like a lead balloon north
:08:00. > :08:06.They are saying it creates second-class MPs,
:08:07. > :08:09.which is the one thing it absolutely definitely does not do.
:08:10. > :08:15.The key is it is in standing orders, and standing orders can be revoked
:08:16. > :08:18.by MPs, and that includes all MPs, so it is merely and interim
:08:19. > :08:27.self-denying ordinance that MPs have accepted, but can on accept, and
:08:28. > :08:29.self-denying ordinance that MPs have accepted, but can unaccept, and
:08:30. > :08:31.that is so important in maintaining the equality
:08:32. > :08:35.of each MP and I would not have supported it had it done otherwise.
:08:36. > :08:37.Now, you have touched on the involvement of standing orders.
:08:38. > :08:40.Do you think there will be a temptation from the Speaker
:08:41. > :08:43.John Bercow to avoid too much controversy, because it is now up to
:08:44. > :08:45.him to certify whether a bill is England only or UK-wide?
:08:46. > :08:49.He's going to be tempted, isn't he, too perhaps be cautious and say most
:08:50. > :08:54.bills are not England only, they do have United Kingdom influence?
:08:55. > :08:57.I think any wise Speaker would be cautious with a new standing order
:08:58. > :09:01.of this kind not to use it aggressively, but I am sure the
:09:02. > :09:05.Speaker will also use it properly, will use it as it has been drafted
:09:06. > :09:09.and won't fail to use it when it is necessary, when it applies.
:09:10. > :09:12.But from this point onwards, we have got a clear distinction between
:09:13. > :09:17.How long would you give the United Kingdom?
:09:18. > :09:26.Oh, no, I think this is very important to
:09:27. > :09:30.My worry for the United Kingdom has been, for some time, that the
:09:31. > :09:38.English would get unhappy with the settlement, rather than that or the
:09:39. > :09:42.English would get unhappy with the settlement, rather than that
:09:43. > :09:46.or the Northern Irish would breakaway and I think this ensures
:09:47. > :09:48.that the settlement remains sufficiently fair, though asymmetric
:09:49. > :09:50.for the English, that there will be no further pressure
:09:51. > :09:54.Jacob Rees-Mogg, thank you very much joining us
:09:55. > :09:57.On Monday, MPs described as "xenophobic" an electronic petition,
:09:58. > :10:00.or e-petition, which called for an immediate end to immigration.
:10:01. > :10:01.The petition attracted nearly 200,000 signatures.
:10:02. > :10:04.But it found no favour when it was debated by MPs.
:10:05. > :10:06.In a moment, we'll try to find out why such
:10:07. > :10:09.a controversial e-petition qualified for a hearing in Parliament.
:10:10. > :10:13.But first, some moments from the debate.
:10:14. > :10:16.We thought, as a committee, that it was important that although
:10:17. > :10:20.some of the wording of the bill, of the petition, wasn't quite what
:10:21. > :10:24.many members of the committee would support, that we don't just brush
:10:25. > :10:26.these issues under the carpet, we actually tackle immigration
:10:27. > :10:42.We don't need nasty, small-minded xenophobia, and I believe
:10:43. > :10:47.debates and the wording such as this one that has been expressed
:10:48. > :10:52.The petition and the wording of the petition has got it wrong
:10:53. > :10:55.I would suggest that after we have considered it today,
:10:56. > :11:00.I received a fair amount of vitriolic abuse myself for
:11:01. > :11:05.remarks I made in the local press about this particular petition.
:11:06. > :11:09.I understand it was picked up by a national newspaper.
:11:10. > :11:16.Now, I expressed in those comments to the local press some concern
:11:17. > :11:22.about the wording of this petition and about any automatic tendency to
:11:23. > :11:27.debate petitions, just simply because of numbers.
:11:28. > :11:30.And soon afterwards, we caught up with Paul Scully,
:11:31. > :11:33.the MP who led the debate on this petition on immigration.
:11:34. > :11:37.He explained how the e-petitions system works.
:11:38. > :11:40.An e-petition is a direct way that members of the public can raise
:11:41. > :11:46.an issue that require an outcome or an action, either of the Government
:11:47. > :11:51.or the House of Commons, via the Government website, the new website.
:11:52. > :11:55.And what it means is the Petitions Committee will actually
:11:56. > :11:59.look at the petitions that reach a certain threshold and decide whether
:12:00. > :12:02.we recommend them on to a select committee for action, whether we
:12:03. > :12:06.have a debate in Westminster Hall, typically, or some further action.
:12:07. > :12:10.Now, is it high noon at the OK Corral?
:12:11. > :12:13.MPs and Lords appear to be heading for a showdown,
:12:14. > :12:16.with peers threatening to vote out the Government's cuts
:12:17. > :12:21.The Commons has twice approved the reductions.
:12:22. > :12:25.Ministers are promising increases in the Living Wage to compensate people
:12:26. > :12:27.affected and they say, by reducing tax credits,
:12:28. > :12:32.?15 billion will be saved from Britain's welfare budget.
:12:33. > :12:35.If peers decide to throw out the cuts, reprisals are being
:12:36. > :12:41.First, let's rewind to Tuesday, when a new Conservative MP stunned the
:12:42. > :12:50.Commons with a maiden speech openly attacking her party's policy.
:12:51. > :12:54.I believe the pace of these reforms is too hard, too fast.
:12:55. > :12:58.As these proposals stand, too many people will be adverse to
:12:59. > :13:04.For those of us proud enough to call ourselves
:13:05. > :13:08.compassionate conservatives, it must not be the backs of the working
:13:09. > :13:20.When tax credits first came in, their aim was entirely noble, but
:13:21. > :13:24.they quickly soared out of control, the total costs more than trebled
:13:25. > :13:31.between 1999 and 2010, ending up costing ?30 billion in 2010, and,
:13:32. > :13:36.Madam Deputy Speaker, scandalously, under the last government,
:13:37. > :13:41.while this spending spiralled, in work poverty actually rose by 20%.
:13:42. > :13:43.Now, we can kick a problem down the road
:13:44. > :13:50.We, Madam Deputy Speaker, we chose to do something about it.
:13:51. > :13:53.The problem of low pay in the UK persists
:13:54. > :13:59.and these changes to tax credits are about to make things much worse.
:14:00. > :14:02.With 6 million people not earning enough to cover the basic costs
:14:03. > :14:06.of living, tackling in work poverty is crucial, but not this way,
:14:07. > :14:10.by making matters worse and hitting those who need help the most.
:14:11. > :14:15.And the Government chooses to bring these changes in without even
:14:16. > :14:18.a transition plan and now when crossbenchers and bishops start to
:14:19. > :14:23.express concern in the other plays, Madam Deputy Speaker, we hear
:14:24. > :14:26.reports that Number Ten threatens to suspend the other place
:14:27. > :14:32.This moment is telling us that work is the route out of poverty and they
:14:33. > :14:44.will support those that do the right thing, ministers tell us at info
:14:45. > :14:48.night and in the media but they will stand up for hard-working families.
:14:49. > :14:50.They are not standing up for hard-working families.
:14:51. > :14:53.It rapidly became clear that what we were doing was a lot of this money
:14:54. > :14:56.was subsidising employers who found that they could hold down incomes to
:14:57. > :15:00.a level and at a time of coming out of recession, hire all the staff
:15:01. > :15:04.that they needed with the taxpayer in general subsidising pay.
:15:05. > :15:08.So to Wednesday and Labour's Jeremy Corbyn quoted
:15:09. > :15:12.Yesterday, one of his backbenchers said,
:15:13. > :15:16.and I quote, "Too many people would be adversely affected by the tax
:15:17. > :15:22.For those of us proud enough to call ourselves
:15:23. > :15:26.compassionate conservatives, it must not be on the backs of the working
:15:27. > :15:36.The tax credit changes are part of a package and a package that includes
:15:37. > :15:41.a higher national living wage and tax reductions and I think that is
:15:42. > :15:49.Sian e-mailed me to say the Prime Minister solemnly declared
:15:50. > :15:51.on national television, shortly before...
:15:52. > :15:58.before the last General Election that tax credits would not be
:15:59. > :16:03.Is there any reason why this change has come about or any reason why we
:16:04. > :16:06.should believe the Prime Minister on any assurances he gives
:16:07. > :16:13.What we said before the election is that we would reduce
:16:14. > :16:18.welfare by ?12 billion as part of getting the deficit down, part
:16:19. > :16:21.of getting the economy growing and part of creating two million jobs.
:16:22. > :16:24.That is what happened at the election.
:16:25. > :16:27.Thursday - and concern from Opposition peers
:16:28. > :16:31.over threatened reprisals if peers vote to reject the changes.
:16:32. > :16:33.The Government is now threatening to either suspend
:16:34. > :16:40.your Lordships' house or to create 150 new Conservative peers to ensure
:16:41. > :16:47.Does she consider this is an appropriate statesman-like
:16:48. > :16:50.response or a gross and irresponsible overreaction?
:16:51. > :16:54.Particularly as government estimates say the cost of the public purse
:16:55. > :17:03.Could that money not be better spent on mitigating these awful cuts?
:17:04. > :17:08.The primacy of the House of Commons on financial matters is something
:17:09. > :17:12.which this house has respected for over 400 years.
:17:13. > :17:15.The saga of the proposed cuts to tax credits.
:17:16. > :17:19.Looking at some of the other stories inside Parliament in the last week:
:17:20. > :17:22.The Labour Party Deputy Leader Tom Watson has apologised
:17:23. > :17:26.to the widow of Leon Brittan for causing distress by the part
:17:27. > :17:29.he played in the investigation into a rape allegation
:17:30. > :17:34.made against the former Conservative Cabinet Minister.
:17:35. > :17:37.The alleged victim had met Tom Watson
:17:38. > :17:40.when she thought her complaint wasn't being dealt with.
:17:41. > :17:44.Scotland Yard admitted it failed to tell Lord Brittan's family before
:17:45. > :17:47.the peer's death that he'd been cleared.
:17:48. > :17:49.Do you regret using the words about someone presumably you had
:17:50. > :17:52.never met that they are as close to evil as any human being could be?
:17:53. > :17:56.I regret using that emotive language, I shouldn't have done
:17:57. > :17:58.and I am sincerely sorry for repeating it,
:17:59. > :18:03.it was unnecessary. What would you like to say
:18:04. > :18:05.to Lady Brittan as a result of what has happened?
:18:06. > :18:08.I am very sorry for the distress caused and I am very sorry
:18:09. > :18:12.for her wider family, I know they are very angry
:18:13. > :18:14.and they clearly loved Leon Brittan very much
:18:15. > :18:17.and they are angry on behalf of their family and I am sorry.
:18:18. > :18:21.But they appear to be angry with you, do
:18:22. > :18:24.you think you have some responsibility for their distress?
:18:25. > :18:26.Well, I feel that the people's voices were not really heard
:18:27. > :18:29.and I felt responsibility of them and I
:18:30. > :18:31.hope they can try and understand that.
:18:32. > :18:33.A brief return to the '60s. Arguments are rekindled over grammar
:18:34. > :18:36.school education after news that the Weald of Kent school
:18:37. > :18:43.in Tonbridge is to open an annexe in Sevenoaks,
:18:44. > :18:45.so sidestepping the ban on new grammar schools.
:18:46. > :18:48.The truth about selective grammar schools is that far
:18:49. > :18:50.from being the bastions of social mobility that
:18:51. > :18:53.some romanticise about, they have entrenched social advantage.
:18:54. > :18:56.We on this side of the House trust frontline professionals to run
:18:57. > :18:58.schools and to lead our education system.
:18:59. > :19:01.We want parents to have real choice about their children's school.
:19:02. > :19:03.The opposition don't want that. If she believes that
:19:04. > :19:07.grammar schools should be part of that choice for parents,
:19:08. > :19:15.does she foresee a point in time when she will change
:19:16. > :19:18.the rules to allow for new grammar schools?
:19:19. > :19:21.I think he can hear from members on both sides
:19:22. > :19:23.of the House there is a desire for new grammar schools,
:19:24. > :19:25.but let me be very clear, this does not change
:19:26. > :19:28.policy, we do not anticipate changing the law, this
:19:29. > :19:31.is a particular case decided on the particular circumstances.
:19:32. > :19:33.Is this the winds of change blowing through Parliament?
:19:34. > :19:36.Ministers' energy policy is blown off course when the ending
:19:37. > :19:39.of subsidies for onshore wind farms is rejected in the Lords.
:19:40. > :19:43.And in relation to meeting EU targets, it's simply not true
:19:44. > :19:46.that there is no more room for onshore
:19:47. > :19:49.wind, all we should be throttling back.
:19:50. > :19:52.The hasty and trash and poorly thought through policies of this
:19:53. > :19:55.Government in the early months of its Government really have,
:19:56. > :20:04.I think, sent shock waves. The commitment in the manifesto
:20:05. > :20:09.was to avoid, or reject, any new subsidies,
:20:10. > :20:12.whereas what we are talking about here
:20:13. > :20:16.is getting rid of existing subsidies.
:20:17. > :20:19.My objection to the wind industry is not ideological,
:20:20. > :20:22.it is economic and scientific. Wind is making a trivial
:20:23. > :20:26.contribution to our energy supplies. It supplied 4% of our total energy
:20:27. > :20:30.use last year, my lords. Bearing down on
:20:31. > :20:33.overweight youngsters. How do we improve the nutritional
:20:34. > :20:37.quality of what children consume? When a celebrity chef comes
:20:38. > :20:40.to Parliament to demonstrate his idea for labelling sugar content
:20:41. > :20:43.of drinks, it's less committee
:20:44. > :20:46.session, more game show. There are humongous amounts
:20:47. > :20:49.in sugary sweetened drinks, which just to remind you,
:20:50. > :20:54.is the largest single source of sugar in our children's
:20:55. > :20:57.and teenagers' diet, that's why I have honed in on them.
:20:58. > :21:00.All I have done is stick a little sticker on a thing.
:21:01. > :21:03.Everyone of you will have an immediate opinion.
:21:04. > :21:07.I am talking about empowering parents
:21:08. > :21:11.that are busy and I just stuck this on, but I believe Britain should
:21:12. > :21:21.have this and I am massively passionate that British people,
:21:22. > :21:23.if given clear information, make good choices - a lot.
:21:24. > :21:26.Not all the time, but a lot. The death of the 92-year-old
:21:27. > :21:30.poppy-seller Olive Cooke focuses attention on the methods used
:21:31. > :21:34.by some of Britain's charities. Do they put too much pressure
:21:35. > :21:36.on us to raise money? A committee focuses on what can be
:21:37. > :21:42.done to keep the charities in check. We were not inactive,
:21:43. > :21:45.but we were active on a very wide front.
:21:46. > :21:48.You might not have been inactive but what I am suggesting
:21:49. > :21:51.is you were actually in effective in curbing the activities of these
:21:52. > :21:53.charities, who continued their abuses until June,
:21:54. > :22:01.when the Mail expose them. In acting on that information,
:22:02. > :22:04.the evidence is that the charities are now coming to heel.
:22:05. > :22:13.I'm confident that we are going to be able to force the law.
:22:14. > :22:18.Parliament goes international, when, during his state visit
:22:19. > :22:22.to the UK, the President of China addresses MPs and peers
:22:23. > :22:23.in the splendour of the Royal Gallery.
:22:24. > :22:25.TRANSLATION: Parliamentarians are the cream of a society.
:22:26. > :22:29.I hope you will, as we Chinese often say, scale
:22:30. > :22:31.higher to see further. I hope that you will continue
:22:32. > :22:36.to promote the UK's relations with China, strengthen
:22:37. > :22:38.our friendship and support our cooperation.
:22:39. > :22:41.And tributes are said to Labour's Michael Meacher,
:22:42. > :22:44.who's died aged 75. He was an Environment Minister
:22:45. > :22:49.in Tony Blair's Government after being a junior Minister
:22:50. > :22:53.in the governments of the ?70s. He'd been an MP for 45 years.
:22:54. > :22:56.Many colleagues here present will have known Michael well.
:22:57. > :23:00.He served his party, his constituency and his
:23:01. > :23:04.country with dedication, ability and commitment.
:23:05. > :23:08.In recent years, he was a very prominent, active and effective
:23:09. > :23:12.contributor to the work of Parliament first.
:23:13. > :23:18.I was privileged to come to know him well over the last six years
:23:19. > :23:21.since I took the chair. He will, I believe, be sadly missed.
:23:22. > :23:23.John Bercow. Now with a look at some
:23:24. > :23:25.of the offbeat stories around Big Ben's bongs could fall silent
:23:26. > :23:39.if repairs costing up to ?40 million are not carried out,
:23:40. > :23:42.according to the Finance Committee report seen by the Mail on Sunday
:23:43. > :23:46.and the Sunday Times. Parliament officials insist that
:23:47. > :23:49.there is no risk of the great Is that the jumper that
:23:50. > :23:54.your mum made? Jeremy Corbyn's sartorial elegance
:23:55. > :23:59.was called into question yet again this week, this time
:24:00. > :24:02.for scrubbing up too well. He ditched his brown suit for white
:24:03. > :24:08.tie and tails for the State banquet Brainchild of the broadcast
:24:09. > :24:12.and comedian Sandi Toksvig, the Women's Equality Party held
:24:13. > :24:14.their official launch. The party, led by Sophie Walker,
:24:15. > :24:18.called for quotas for female MPs, an end to the gender pay gap
:24:19. > :24:21.and more affordable childcare. Bank of England Governor Mark Carney
:24:22. > :24:25.waded in on the in out Speaking in Oxford,
:24:26. > :24:30.he said EU membership had opened up the UK economy and made it more
:24:31. > :24:33.dynamic, but said it also left them Will the noble lady urge Mr Cameron
:24:34. > :24:41.to stem this inflow before we enter the Guinness book of Records as the
:24:42. > :24:47.largest Assembly in the world? By members, the House of Lords is
:24:48. > :24:54.the second largest legislative body in the world, just behind the
:24:55. > :24:57.National People's Congress of China. With the introductions to the
:24:58. > :25:00.chamber last week and this week, the number of peers has
:25:01. > :25:05.smashed through the 800 mark. And that's it for this programme.
:25:06. > :25:20.A busy few days coming up. The Lords could scupper
:25:21. > :25:23.the Government's tax credit changes. And on Wednesday, Greg Dyke
:25:24. > :25:27.of the Football Association will be talking to the Culture Committee
:25:28. > :25:31.about corruption in football. Do join Georgina Pattinson
:25:32. > :25:34.for the next Week In Parliament. Until then, from me,
:25:35. > :25:38.Keith Macdougall, goodbye.