:00:12. > :00:19.Hello and welcome to the Week In Parliament.
:00:20. > :00:21.Westminster voices its sympathy and unity with France
:00:22. > :00:31.But what should Britain's response be to the new terror threat?
:00:32. > :00:41.It's vital not to be drawn into responses that feed a cycle of
:00:42. > :00:44.violence and hatred. I will set out a comprehensive strategy for dealing
:00:45. > :00:46.with Isil. The Stormont Assembly
:00:47. > :00:50.returns to normal working. It has been a long ten weeks, a
:00:51. > :00:59.pretty gruelling process. Or are 16-year-olds mature enough
:01:00. > :01:12.to be given the right to vote? Whether it is about the transport
:01:13. > :01:16.links, these are all political issues that are affecting 16 and
:01:17. > :01:17.17-year-olds are everybody has an interest in politics.
:01:18. > :01:20."The kaleidoscope has been shaken, the pieces are in flux".
:01:21. > :01:23.Tony Blair's reaction to the 9/11 terror attacks 14 years ago hasn't
:01:24. > :01:26.seemed entirely out of place in the last seven days at Westminster.
:01:27. > :01:30.The political temperature slowly changed, as MPs and peers thought
:01:31. > :01:33.through what Britain's response should be to the carnage of last
:01:34. > :01:38.Friday night when 129 innocent Parisians lost their lives at
:01:39. > :01:45.President Hollande announced France was "at war" with the terror group,
:01:46. > :01:51.Questions were asked by the politicians about intelligence,
:01:52. > :01:54.about the security of borders, about resources for the police, about
:01:55. > :02:06.The Commons was in solemn mood on Monday.
:02:07. > :02:12.The terrorists seek to divide us and to destroy our way of life but
:02:13. > :02:19.theirs is an empty, perverted and murderous ideology. They represent
:02:20. > :02:25.no one, and they will fail. France Greaves but she does not grieve
:02:26. > :02:28.alone. Through is this strategic defence review, we will make new
:02:29. > :02:39.funding available to the security agencies to provide for 1900 new
:02:40. > :02:46.officers. To better respond to the threat posed by international
:02:47. > :02:50.terrorism. The name of Isil is to divide our communities, to divide us
:02:51. > :02:55.politically, and to divide us from our European partners with whom we
:02:56. > :03:01.share common values. The message goes out today that we will not let
:03:02. > :03:06.them prevail. Let us state clearly today that they won't succeed, that
:03:07. > :03:09.we will stand as one in our communities, in our country and
:03:10. > :03:14.united with our European partners. Events in Paris have expose the
:03:15. > :03:18.truth about Isis and their fellow jihadists, and that truth is they
:03:19. > :03:23.hate us not because of what we do but because of what we are. They
:03:24. > :03:26.hate our history, our identity and our values. Does Mike Right
:03:27. > :03:30.Honourable friend agree that those who say if we leave them alone they
:03:31. > :03:37.will leave us alone are peddling a Aintree 's and deadly deception? I
:03:38. > :03:44.think my friend Mike makes a very important point. I'm sure the
:03:45. > :03:46.Secretary of State will join me in stressing that Europe's response to
:03:47. > :03:53.the actions of a small group of fanatical motorist terrorist 's must
:03:54. > :03:56.not be to pull up the drawbridge of thousands of Syrian refugees who are
:03:57. > :04:01.fleeing terror summit of that which was inflicted on Paris on Friday. I
:04:02. > :04:06.also applaud the fact the Home Secretary seems determined not to
:04:07. > :04:11.make an ill considered response to these atrocities and is approaching
:04:12. > :04:16.matters with her good fashion. On behalf of all of those that love
:04:17. > :04:21.France in this place, I expressed our solidarity with our French
:04:22. > :04:27.colleagues today. We stand shoulder to shoulder. May I speak directly to
:04:28. > :04:39.them and say... SPEAKS IN FRENCH.
:04:40. > :04:41.I think I can only respond to my honourable friend by saying. Mac
:04:42. > :04:45.SPEAKS By Tuesday, the focus was shifting,
:04:46. > :04:47.and the possibility of RAF air strikes in Syria was
:04:48. > :04:49.being openly discussed. The UK has been taking part
:04:50. > :04:52.in air strikes against Isis only But David Cameron told MPs the Paris
:04:53. > :04:58.attacks had strengthened the case for tackling Isis, sometimes called
:04:59. > :05:14.Isil, beyond the Syria-Iraq border. and it is in Syria that Isil has its
:05:15. > :05:17.headquarters and it is from there that some of the main threat against
:05:18. > :05:24.this country are planned and orchestrated. It is the head of the
:05:25. > :05:28.snake. I will set out our comprehensive strategy for dealing
:05:29. > :05:33.with Isil, our vision for a more stable and peaceful Middle East.
:05:34. > :05:37.This strategy should include taking the action in Syria I've spoken
:05:38. > :05:41.about and I hope that in setting out the arguments in this way, I can
:05:42. > :05:46.build support right across this house for the action that I believe
:05:47. > :05:49.is necessary to take. In next week was Mac strategic defence and
:05:50. > :05:52.Security review, we will make an additional investment in our
:05:53. > :05:58.world-class intelligence agencies which will include over 1900
:05:59. > :06:02.additional staff, and more money to increase our network of
:06:03. > :06:06.counterterrorism experts. While we welcome the sensible measures to
:06:07. > :06:09.make more funding available for security services, to gather
:06:10. > :06:13.intelligence and expose and prevent plots, can he confirmed these will
:06:14. > :06:17.be balanced with the needs to protect our Civil Liberties, which
:06:18. > :06:22.was so hard won in this country and so stoutly defended by many of us?
:06:23. > :06:25.It is vital at such time of tragedy and outrage not to be drawn into
:06:26. > :06:32.responses which beta cycle of violence and hatred. President Obama
:06:33. > :06:34.has said that Isis grew out of our invasion of Iraq and it is one of
:06:35. > :06:36.its unintended consequences. Jeremy Corbyn initially said
:06:37. > :06:48.he didn't support a shoot to The Prime Minister is right that the
:06:49. > :06:53.police and security services need our full support at this time. But
:06:54. > :07:01.shouldn't it be immediately obvious to everyone that the police need the
:07:02. > :07:05.full and necessary powers, including the proportionate use of lethal
:07:06. > :07:11.force, if needs be, to keep our communities safe? As a foreign
:07:12. > :07:15.affairs committee has concluded, there doesn't seem to be a strong
:07:16. > :07:19.case for so extending air strikes, that it will achieve little or
:07:20. > :07:23.nothing, and make us simply feel good and that we are doing something
:07:24. > :07:26.as a result of the atrocities. I don't agree with that view.
:07:27. > :07:30.So, to Wednesday, and Prime Minister's Questions.
:07:31. > :07:36.Policing plays a vital role in community cakey shin. Gathering
:07:37. > :07:42.evidence on those that might be a risk to all of us. This is surely
:07:43. > :07:45.undermined if we cut the number of police officers by 5,000. Does the
:07:46. > :07:50.prime ministers agree with Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe who said," I
:07:51. > :07:56.genuinely worry about the safety of London if the cuts go through on
:07:57. > :08:00.this scale." We have also, because we have cut bureaucracy, put the
:08:01. > :08:04.equivalent of an extra 2000 police on the streets. I'll tell the Leader
:08:05. > :08:09.of the Opposition something. As well as wanting resources, the police
:08:10. > :08:14.want the appropriate powers. Hasn't it come to something when the leader
:08:15. > :08:17.of her Majesty's opposition thinks the police, when confronted by a
:08:18. > :08:19.Kalashnikov waving terrorist, isn't sure what the reaction should be.
:08:20. > :08:22.The SNP's Westminster leader said during the recent Syrian peace talks
:08:23. > :08:28.an agreement was made to involve the United Nations.
:08:29. > :08:34.Will the Prime Minister confirmed that he will support the UN Security
:08:35. > :08:38.Council resolution on this before seeking to intervene militarily in
:08:39. > :08:44.Syria? What matters most of all is that any action we would take would
:08:45. > :08:46.both be legal and help protect our country and our people right here.
:08:47. > :08:49.What is the right age at which people should be allowed to vote?
:08:50. > :08:53.45 years ago, the UK voting age went down from 21 to 18,
:08:54. > :08:56.But the Lib Dems and Labour believe that society has
:08:57. > :09:00.changed, and that the voting age should fall by a couple of years.
:09:01. > :09:03.Indeed, 16 and 17-year-olds were allowed to vote in last year's
:09:04. > :09:08.In a moment, we'll talk to two people with
:09:09. > :09:14.On Tuesday night the Commons decided to keep the voting age at 18
:09:15. > :09:18.But on Wednesday the Lords did the opposite, backing the idea
:09:19. > :09:22.of 16 and 17-year-olds voting in the referendum on Britain's
:09:23. > :09:34.If we change the voting age based on maturity, I suspect all the
:09:35. > :09:41.behavioural experts would give the vote to girls aged ten and two men
:09:42. > :09:45.aged 25. So, trying to make a judgment on who is mature enough to
:09:46. > :09:49.vote is much more subjective than picking an arbitrary age. There is a
:09:50. > :09:55.huge advantage here. The advantage is that we know exact clear where
:09:56. > :10:02.these young people are. They are in school. So, most schools have their
:10:03. > :10:05.own data controls, and the government could easily request that
:10:06. > :10:10.electoral registration officials should be given access to this
:10:11. > :10:15.information. Does the noble lady believe that 16-year-olds should be
:10:16. > :10:21.allowed to drink, drive and smoke? Look, I'm not getting into this
:10:22. > :10:27.debate now. There is a much broader discussion. I think the whole
:10:28. > :10:32.situation of what 16-18 -year-olds are allowed to do is a dogs
:10:33. > :10:38.breakfast, and in fact you can have sex, but can't watch sex, which is
:10:39. > :10:42.completely ridiculous. So, obviously, we need a broader debate
:10:43. > :10:48.on these issues. I don't think this is the place to have that. I ought
:10:49. > :10:51.to explain to the house that I am a convert to the idea of 16 and
:10:52. > :10:56.17-year-olds being able to vote. At least many of them, not because
:10:57. > :11:01.there are as many as I would wish, but many of them will have benefited
:11:02. > :11:06.from citizenship education in school which is more than can be said for
:11:07. > :11:09.the vast majority of the population. There are only four countries in the
:11:10. > :11:23.world which allows 16-year-olds a vote. Austria, Nicaragua, Brazil,
:11:24. > :11:29.where it is voluntary for 16-year-olds but compulsory for
:11:30. > :11:35.older voters, and Cuba. Now, I don't think that Castro, although with the
:11:36. > :11:45.current leadership of the Labour Party, I can see the attraction, is
:11:46. > :11:49.a great symbol of democracy. My Lords. Content is, 293. Not content
:11:50. > :11:56.is, 211. So, the contents have it. So peers there voting in favour
:11:57. > :11:58.of lowering the voting age The issue will now go back to
:11:59. > :12:01.the Commons. I was joined in the studio by
:12:02. > :12:07.Philip Cowley, professor of politics He was part of the Youth Citizenship
:12:08. > :12:13.Commission that studied the voting age issue, and by Yasmin
:12:14. > :12:17.Rufo, who's a member of the Youth Parliament and a current trustee
:12:18. > :12:23.of the British Youth council. I asked Professor Cowley
:12:24. > :12:25.if his commission had found much public enthusiasm
:12:26. > :12:36.for lowering the voting age. There is enthusiasm amongst a small
:12:37. > :12:40.group of people but amongst the population as a whole, you have
:12:41. > :12:46.opposition, really quite clear position in poll after poll and even
:12:47. > :12:52.among 16-17 -year-olds, you find an ambivalence. There's no great
:12:53. > :12:56.support there. The thing that struck me most wasn't just support or
:12:57. > :13:00.opposition. It was that went a few years ago they were asked about a
:13:01. > :13:03.range of political issues, they could find only one bit of the
:13:04. > :13:08.Constitution that a majority of the public both supported and understood
:13:09. > :13:13.which was the voting age being at 18. So there wasn't much
:13:14. > :13:19.acknowledgement this was a whole argument? It isn't just there isn't
:13:20. > :13:23.any acknowledgement or there is a problem, it is the only bit of the
:13:24. > :13:27.Constitution that the majority of people understand and support. It is
:13:28. > :13:31.very bizarre as an attempt to try to reinvent democracy that we take the
:13:32. > :13:37.one bit that people like and change it against their will. OK, Yasmin, I
:13:38. > :13:43.sense that you are a pent-up tiger, you want to get stuck in. I think
:13:44. > :13:47.the point about 18-year-olds wanting to change this, everyone understands
:13:48. > :13:51.the current aquatic process, why change it? A lot of people said this
:13:52. > :13:56.when we looked at changing the voting age from 21 to 18 and when
:13:57. > :13:59.votes are women were introduced. Everyone always brings up the idea
:14:00. > :14:04.of it is in the democratic process, why do we need to change it? There
:14:05. > :14:09.is a group of people in the current Democratic process. Young people
:14:10. > :14:17.should be able to vote. We have to just look over at Scotland where we
:14:18. > :14:21.had a huge turnout. 80% of 16 and 17-year-olds registered to vote. You
:14:22. > :14:27.are passionate about bringing the voting age down to 16, but in the
:14:28. > :14:30.main, are a lot of 16 and 17-year-olds, are then large numbers
:14:31. > :14:35.of them that are passionate, or are some of them not interested in
:14:36. > :14:39.politics? I think everyone is interested important ticks. If you
:14:40. > :14:43.ask a 16-year-old which political party they support, they wouldn't
:14:44. > :14:47.perhaps be able to tell you. Whether you're looking at your local youth
:14:48. > :14:51.services, the transport links of how to get to school, six for more
:14:52. > :14:54.university, these are political issues affecting 16 and 17-year-old
:14:55. > :15:00.so everyone has an interest in politics. Maybe not partied
:15:01. > :15:04.politics, but politics is definitely. Every single person in
:15:05. > :15:09.the UK is interested. Do you think that is on the rise? Are you
:15:10. > :15:14.confident more and more people are getting involved? There is a trend
:15:15. > :15:20.to say there is an increase. If you look at the youth Parliament, which
:15:21. > :15:25.I am part of, 965,000 people voted in the make your mark ballot, up
:15:26. > :15:28.from half a million last year. So there is a rising trend in young
:15:29. > :15:40.people engaging in politics, having a voice.
:15:41. > :15:50.Philip Cowley, since you say things have moved on, not least in
:15:51. > :15:56.Scotland? There was able debtor turnout for -- a better turn out
:15:57. > :16:05.there for young people than in the 20s. This was a polarising event,
:16:06. > :16:11.not like a general election. My argument with the idea that
:16:12. > :16:17.everybody has a stake in politics, everybody does, ten-year-olds do,
:16:18. > :16:22.but there has to be a cut-off point somewhere. Wherever you cut that
:16:23. > :16:27.divide you will have people on the wrong side of it who feel it is
:16:28. > :16:35.unfair but we have to find one age that people are agreed on. The
:16:36. > :16:42.cut-off point? I agree there needs to be a cut-off point that currently
:16:43. > :16:50.under 16-year-old a 16-year-old can pay National Insurance and income
:16:51. > :16:56.tax. They can join the Armed Forces... No, they can't. They can
:16:57. > :17:00.only join with parental consent and that very phrase, with parental
:17:01. > :17:06.consent, tells you something about the way the state sees a 16 or
:17:07. > :17:11.17-year-old. The same applies to marriage in England and. We have
:17:12. > :17:16.now, since your commission sat, there is a far greater use of social
:17:17. > :17:21.media and people are talking about climate change or whatever on
:17:22. > :17:26.Twitter and Facebook. People are far more involved than a decade ago.
:17:27. > :17:30.They are far more involved on Twitter because it didn't exist ten
:17:31. > :17:36.years ago. I have seen no evidence that people are far more involved in
:17:37. > :17:42.politics. Philip Cowley, history is probably in the favour of lowering
:17:43. > :17:51.the voting age. The 1970s, we saw it go down from 21 to 18, is arguing
:17:52. > :17:56.for it to go to 21 again. That age, 21, was way out of line with all
:17:57. > :18:02.other rights and responsibilities. In recent years in Britain we have
:18:03. > :18:06.seen quite a lot of age related responsibilities and move from 16 to
:18:07. > :18:12.18, you can't buy cigarettes any more at 16 or go into a tanning
:18:13. > :18:18.booth or a firework. These were things you could do at 16 until very
:18:19. > :18:26.recently and the age has moved up. If you want to ask if it is coming,
:18:27. > :18:29.I would say probably. Cigarettes and fireworks, these things actually
:18:30. > :18:34.harm people. There is no medical evidence to suggest that voting
:18:35. > :18:40.harms a 16 or 17-year-old, if anything it engages them more and
:18:41. > :18:45.helps them feel accepted in society. I think we can agree that there is
:18:46. > :18:48.no harm in voting at all. Thank you both very much for joining us.
:18:49. > :18:52.Now a look at some of the other stories in Parliament
:18:53. > :18:56.The Government has said it intends closing down all of the UK's
:18:57. > :19:00.The news comes just ahead of the United Nations Climate
:19:01. > :19:09.The Commons welcomed the announcement.
:19:10. > :19:17.The announcement yesterday to phase out coal with gas is equivalent to
:19:18. > :19:20.doubling the amount of renewables in our system, possibly the biggest
:19:21. > :19:25.reduction of carbon ever announced by the Secretary of State. I thank
:19:26. > :19:30.the honourable member for pointing out the announcement I made
:19:31. > :19:33.yesterday which shows such strong leadership in reducing carbon
:19:34. > :19:37.emissions in Europe and the world and it is interesting he draws
:19:38. > :19:42.attention to asking me whether other European countries will do that. I
:19:43. > :19:46.am not sure they will and we don't lecture our European friends but I
:19:47. > :19:47.have had a lot of congratulations and comments about it positive
:19:48. > :19:49.nature internationally. Almost 44 years after the day
:19:50. > :19:56.in Londonderry that became known as Bloody Sunday, when 14 civilians
:19:57. > :20:10.died, there's anger in the Commons What about the families of the 1441
:20:11. > :20:15.soldiers who died in Northern Ireland. It is immoral for the state
:20:16. > :20:21.to seek nearly half a century after the event to put these men on trial
:20:22. > :20:29.while others who deployed bombs and bullets in the Shadows are now in
:20:30. > :20:38.government or received royal pardons. The government is not above
:20:39. > :20:39.the law and neither should it be. It is the difference between us and the
:20:40. > :20:40.terrorists. Junior doctors vote
:20:41. > :20:43.for strike action over what they see as worse terms of employment,
:20:44. > :20:45.as the Health Secretary aims He's fearful about the effects
:20:46. > :20:54.of a doctors' strike. Something like delaying a cancer
:20:55. > :20:57.clinic that means somebody gets a late diagnosis than they otherwise
:20:58. > :21:00.would, these are things it will be very hard to avoid an impact on
:21:01. > :21:02.patients. Proposals to give housing
:21:03. > :21:05.association tenants the right to buy their homes prompts
:21:06. > :21:15.deep concern at a committee session We were very disappointed and angry
:21:16. > :21:27.and dismayed by the deal that was done. So I can watch all of my
:21:28. > :21:38.painstakingth built up and then under these proposals sold off, who
:21:39. > :21:44.knows? Replacement stock won't relate to the place the stock has
:21:45. > :21:49.been lost from, is the fear. That the replacement stock will not be of
:21:50. > :21:54.the same size. A couple of months back,
:21:55. > :21:57.the future of devolution in Northern Ireland looked decidedly dodgy,
:21:58. > :22:00.because of disagreements over the welfare budget and over fears of
:22:01. > :22:03.continuing paramilitary activity. But a breakthrough came
:22:04. > :22:06.on Wednesday. A deal was struck between the DUP
:22:07. > :22:10.and Sinn Fein. A financial arrangement will help
:22:11. > :22:15.those affected by welfare reforms and tax-credit
:22:16. > :22:22.cuts, and a new watchdog to stop It means the
:22:23. > :22:34.Northern Ireland Assembly The agreement places new obligations
:22:35. > :22:39.on elected ministers to work together in ridding society of all
:22:40. > :22:44.paramilitary groups and challenging such activity in all of its forms.
:22:45. > :22:48.It has been a long ten weeks, many meetings, pretty gruelling, but I am
:22:49. > :22:54.very conscious that whilst I have only been in gauge ten cross-party
:22:55. > :22:57.talks for a couple of years there are many fine men and women in
:22:58. > :23:02.Northern Ireland who have been engaged in this for 25 years.
:23:03. > :23:10.Without devolution we would be back to direct rule, joint rule with
:23:11. > :23:16.Dublin as far as Unionists are concerned. What we have now is a
:23:17. > :23:22.fresh start which allows us to move forward. There are over 105,000
:23:23. > :23:25.low-paid families in Northern Ireland who will be grateful that
:23:26. > :23:36.their tax credits will not be cut in the way they would have been under
:23:37. > :23:42.direct real. She said publicly and consistently that there would not be
:23:43. > :23:48.an agreement on the past without an agreement on welfare reform. We have
:23:49. > :23:53.an agreement on welfare reform and still no agreement on the past. I
:23:54. > :23:58.will continue to strive to find a way to get these legacy bodies set
:23:59. > :24:01.up, it is crucially important for victims and survivors that we do.
:24:02. > :24:05.Now with a brief round-up of some of the other events
:24:06. > :24:13.around the political world this week, here's Sam Francis.
:24:14. > :24:20.This is the 1st call for Cameron Airways. The Prime Minister is set
:24:21. > :24:26.to get his own plane for official trips. The government says refitting
:24:27. > :24:30.a plane will be cheaper than chartering flights. A new poll from
:24:31. > :24:34.northern England says George Osborne may have to work a bit harder
:24:35. > :24:37.promoting the northern powerhouse plan.
:24:38. > :24:41.The BBC commissioned survey said almost two thirds of people had not
:24:42. > :24:46.heard of the scheme or knew nothing about it.
:24:47. > :24:51.Surprise surprise, Scotland's First Minister in the -- Nicola Sturgeon
:24:52. > :24:56.has revealed a childhood passion for Cilla Black songs. She chose stepped
:24:57. > :25:02.inside Love is one of her favourite tracks.
:25:03. > :25:09.Stella Creasy was seeking a personal assistant for her concern in
:25:10. > :25:13.Walthamstow. She said that choosing East 17 is not enough to get the job
:25:14. > :25:17.done. Four peers have joined the House of
:25:18. > :25:24.Lords this week. Two other peers have retired in the same period so
:25:25. > :25:35.the grand total is now 808 and counting.
:25:36. > :25:38.And there should be even more peers introduced this week.
:25:39. > :25:41.There'll be intense interest on Wednesday when the Chancellor
:25:42. > :25:44.George Osborne reveals all the secrets of his Autumn Statement
:25:45. > :25:48.So, do join Georgina Pattinson for the next Week In Parliament.
:25:49. > :25:57.But for now, from me, Keith MacDougall, goodbye.