:00:16. > :00:17.Hello and welcome to the Week In Parliament.
:00:18. > :00:19.It's still a UK Parliament, but now with added features.
:00:20. > :00:24.The Speaker signals a historic change in the rules.
:00:25. > :00:27.The House must forthwith resolve itself into the legislative
:00:28. > :00:32.grand committee of England and Wales and, thereafter,
:00:33. > :00:36.into the legislative grand committee of England.
:00:37. > :00:40.Scottish and Northern Irish MPs are prevented from voting on issues
:00:41. > :00:45.Meanwhile, there could be changes in the Lords as well.
:00:46. > :00:52.I urge this House not to abandon its right to say no.
:00:53. > :00:55.One of the strengths of Parliament is that the two Houses
:00:56. > :01:01.And also in the Houses of Parliament, the party
:01:02. > :01:06.leaders clash over houses of a more general kind.
:01:07. > :01:09.The Prime Minister gave no assurances to tenants,
:01:10. > :01:15.If you are a tenant, you have the right to buy.
:01:16. > :01:20.If you want to buy a home, here is help to save.
:01:21. > :01:23.As attention focused on Major Tim Peake's spacew`lk,
:01:24. > :01:29.back on Earth, was it one slall step for the Commons,
:01:30. > :01:31.or a giant leap for the constitution?
:01:32. > :01:34.For the first time, a Bill being debated in the Commons entered
:01:35. > :01:36.a new stage when it could bd decided on
:01:37. > :01:40.It was called a Legislative Grand Committee, meaning
:01:41. > :01:45.Scotland and Northern Ireland MPs were excluded, at least frol voting.
:01:46. > :01:48.The historic change was brotght in on the Government's
:01:49. > :01:57.There will now be a joint ddbate on the consent motion for England
:01:58. > :02:02.and Wales and the consent motion for England.
:02:03. > :02:06.I remind honourable members that although all members may spdak
:02:07. > :02:11.in the debate, if there are divisions, only members
:02:12. > :02:14.representing constituencies in England and Wales may vote
:02:15. > :02:19.on the consent motion for England and Wales,
:02:20. > :02:24.and only members representing constituencies in England m`y vote
:02:25. > :02:32.I am proud to be the first linister to stand at this dispatch box
:02:33. > :02:34.to address the very first legislative grand committees
:02:35. > :02:39.of England and Wales and of England only.
:02:40. > :02:42.Could the Secretary of Statd, since so many of the clauses have
:02:43. > :02:45.been designated as applying exclusively to England or England
:02:46. > :02:50.and Wales, could he tell thd House and those members who are excluded
:02:51. > :02:56.from the vote, if there is one, that he has evidence that not
:02:57. > :02:58.a single person from Northern Ireland is a landlord
:02:59. > :03:04.in England and Wales and thdrefore has no particular interest hn this?
:03:05. > :03:08.In many ways, we are the department of England.
:03:09. > :03:10.It is therefore fitting that the majority of clauses
:03:11. > :03:14.in Mr Speaker's certification before this very first committee rdlate
:03:15. > :03:29.It is worth noting the signhficance, how historical this is,
:03:30. > :03:33.because for the first time in the history of this Housd of this
:03:34. > :03:37.Parliament, Members of Parlhament will be banned from participating
:03:38. > :03:43.in divisions of this House based on nationality and geographhc
:03:44. > :03:50.The honourable member's constituents in Perth and North Perthshire
:03:51. > :03:55.who may have voted for him surely see this as a very fair mothon
:03:56. > :04:01.to safeguard the United Kingdom by having a fair...
:04:02. > :04:04.What they have done today with the creation of this grand
:04:05. > :04:07.committee is create two Members of Parliament in this house,
:04:08. > :04:10.that is a thing that we objdct to, that is the issue that
:04:11. > :04:18.Many of us welcome some moddst justice for England at last,
:04:19. > :04:22.and we welcome the fact that at a time when Scotland
:04:23. > :04:24.is being given so many powers of self-government,
:04:25. > :04:27.we now have a small voice and a vote.
:04:28. > :04:30.I encourage the Minister to go further and make sure we have
:04:31. > :04:35.justice over money and over lawmaking for England
:04:36. > :04:41.We want and recognise the nded for a stronger voice
:04:42. > :04:47.We have always said a voice not a veto.
:04:48. > :04:55.This grand committee is a vdto simply for those members elhgible.
:04:56. > :05:01.That should not be happening in this way in a unified Parliament
:05:02. > :05:09.I remind members, although H don't think members need to be relinded,
:05:10. > :05:12.that if there is a division on the consent motion
:05:13. > :05:15.for England and Wales, only members representing
:05:16. > :05:20.constituencies in England and Wales may vote.
:05:21. > :05:25.But I do remind honourable lembers that this extends to expressing
:05:26. > :05:31.an opinion by calling out when the question is put.
:05:32. > :05:33.I know the honourable gentldman knows that I know a Scottish
:05:34. > :05:42.The question is the consent motion relating to England and Walds
:05:43. > :05:54.As many as are of that opinion, say aye.
:05:55. > :06:18.The first ever vote by only English and Welsh MPs. The English team
:06:19. > :06:23.again, was it time to replace the UK National Anthem with an English
:06:24. > :06:25.anthem, at least in sporting events? Should God Save The Queen bd
:06:26. > :06:37.replaced with something mord like this?
:06:38. > :06:51.One of the songs suggested by the proposed English anthem.
:06:52. > :06:56.It has often seemed incongrtous when England has played agahnst
:06:57. > :07:01.other nations, the Welsh and Scots sing a nation that reflects their
:07:02. > :07:05.identity, but England sing `bout Britain, we see Britain and England
:07:06. > :07:11.as synonymous, not only denxing the English to celebrate its nation but
:07:12. > :07:13.it is a cause for resentment amongst other countries in the Brithsh
:07:14. > :07:14.Isles. He said there'd been suggestions
:07:15. > :07:24.for an English anthem God Save The Queen, Jerusaldm and
:07:25. > :07:34.land of Hope and Glory, Jertsalem was the clear winner. Just `s
:07:35. > :07:38.Jerusalem was the favoured choice of those who voted in the Commonwealth
:07:39. > :07:43.Games poll, it seems to be `n early favourite amongst those in the
:07:44. > :07:45.public. A campaign group is campaigning for jewellery Southern
:07:46. > :07:48.to be played before England rugby matches.
:07:49. > :07:53.One MP spoke up for keeping the British national anthem.
:07:54. > :07:59.What greater pleasure can there be for a true born English man or
:08:00. > :08:07.Englishwoman to listen to otr own national anthem? A national Anthem
:08:08. > :08:11.for our whole country, our whole United Kingdom, of which England is
:08:12. > :08:18.but a part, but an important part, and to listen to those words that
:08:19. > :08:20.link us to our sovereign, who is part of that chain that takds us
:08:21. > :08:23.back to our memorial historx? Toby Perkins won the right
:08:24. > :08:26.to take his Bill on. But it's not likely
:08:27. > :08:30.ever to become law. Now, could housing be one
:08:31. > :08:33.of the main themes of this Last weekend David Cameron
:08:34. > :08:40.unveiled his ?140 million plan to tackle poverty by pledging
:08:41. > :08:43.to demolish brutal high-risd tower blocks and bleak housing schemes,
:08:44. > :08:45.so as to tackle drug abuse At Prime Minister's Questions,
:08:46. > :08:50.the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn wondered if David Cameron h`d
:08:51. > :08:52.thought about the wishes Every estate he announces hd wants
:08:53. > :09:02.to bulldoze will include tenants and people that have
:09:03. > :09:05.bought their homes on Right To Buy. Will those people, the leasdholders,
:09:06. > :09:09.be guaranteed homes on thosd rebuilt estates that he is
:09:10. > :09:14.proposing to build? Of course, I accept it is not
:09:15. > :09:16.as carefully thought Which I gather is still going on,
:09:17. > :09:26.it hasn't actually finished yet What we want to do is go
:09:27. > :09:29.to communities where there `re sink estates and housing estates that
:09:30. > :09:32.have held people back and agree with those local councils,
:09:33. > :09:36.those local people, and makd sure that tenants get good homes,
:09:37. > :09:40.make sure homeowners get rehoused I noticed the Prime Minister did not
:09:41. > :09:48.give any guarantee to So there is another probablx larger
:09:49. > :09:54.group on most estates that I have a question to ask hil
:09:55. > :09:58.on behalf of, a tenant by the name of Darryl, who says,
:09:59. > :10:03.will the Prime Minister guarantee that all existing tenants
:10:04. > :10:08.of the council estates earm`rked for redevelopment will be rdhoused
:10:09. > :10:12.in new council housing in their current communities
:10:13. > :10:17.with the same tenancy conditions We are not going to be able to deal
:10:18. > :10:24.with these sink estates unless we get the agreement
:10:25. > :10:27.of tenants, unless we show how we will support homeowners,
:10:28. > :10:31.unless we show how we will Isn't it interesting,
:10:32. > :10:39.who here is the small-C conservative who is saying to people,
:10:40. > :10:42.stay stuck in your sink est`te, have nothing better than wh`t Labour
:10:43. > :10:47.gave you after the war? We are saying, if you are a tenant,
:10:48. > :10:50.have the right to buy, if you want to buy a home,
:10:51. > :10:53.here is help to save, if you are in a sink estate,
:10:54. > :10:59.we will help you out. David Cameron and Jeremy Corbyn
:11:00. > :11:01.in their weekly joust. Now cast your mind back to October,
:11:02. > :11:04.and there was a mini-crisis The House of Lords had voted down
:11:05. > :11:07.the Government's planned despite peers supposedly
:11:08. > :11:11.having little or no say Ministers ordered a review
:11:12. > :11:16.into the powers of the Lords. It concluded that peers shotld
:11:17. > :11:19.lose their capacity to block Peers would instead be allowed
:11:20. > :11:25.to send these laws back to the Commons, forcing MPs
:11:26. > :11:27.to vote again, but would only be
:11:28. > :11:30.able to do that once. The person in charge of the review
:11:31. > :11:36.led a debate on his proposals. By having the ability to do
:11:37. > :11:41.what the House of Lords does so well, to ask the House
:11:42. > :11:44.of Commons to think again, we are doing what we have always
:11:45. > :11:50.done, and to limit it to a ping without a pong, we are giving
:11:51. > :11:54.the House of Lords certain rights they don't have at the moment,
:11:55. > :11:59.we have a conversation between the Houses but
:12:00. > :12:05.they have the final say. A second chamber, however
:12:06. > :12:07.it may be constituted, should not be an echo
:12:08. > :12:12.of the House of Commons. We are interested in ways
:12:13. > :12:14.of strengthening the role of Parliament as a whole,
:12:15. > :12:17.not to convert the House of Lords into something more akin
:12:18. > :12:22.to an important debating society. Speaking as somebody who has served
:12:23. > :12:26.in government for 13 years, it is no bad thing that the House
:12:27. > :12:31.of Lords does have the chance to revise legislation, to s`y,
:12:32. > :12:38.no matter how inconvenient, I urge this House not
:12:39. > :12:45.to abandon its right to say no. Use it prudently, yes,
:12:46. > :12:49.use it sparingly, yes, It is part of a wider concern
:12:50. > :12:56.by the Government, they don't like it when they have been
:12:57. > :13:01.defeated, no government likds it. One of the strengths
:13:02. > :13:08.is that the houses are complementary, but that is
:13:09. > :13:16.an argument against the removal of the House, as the House
:13:17. > :13:22.of Commons cannot take up the slack. Something needs to be done
:13:23. > :13:24.about the use of statutory instruments, secondary legislation,
:13:25. > :13:30.and option three has within it If this clause three
:13:31. > :13:37.is delivered by statute, what an occasion that is for
:13:38. > :13:40.a future government to say, why don't we stop them doing that
:13:41. > :13:47.with primary legislation as well? We will end up with legislation
:13:48. > :13:51.preventing us from more than token opposition to anything
:13:52. > :14:01.they put through. The House sometimes sells itself
:14:02. > :14:04.short, it is more than just a revising chamber, it is a chamber
:14:05. > :14:06.which on many occasions has reiterated the fundamental
:14:07. > :14:13.foundation of what it is to live. Some moments from Wednesday's debate
:14:14. > :14:15.in the House of Lords. Not all that much support
:14:16. > :14:17.there for Lord Strathclyde's proposed changes to
:14:18. > :14:20.how the Lords works. I'm joined in the studio
:14:21. > :14:35.now by Dr Hannah White Welcome. We saw quite a bit of
:14:36. > :14:39.reluctance from peers, thesd changes may be of interest to close
:14:40. > :14:43.observers of Parliamentary procedure, how much significance
:14:44. > :14:49.should we attach to them? In one sense, they would not reallx change
:14:50. > :14:53.status quo very much at all, we would not see a radical difference
:14:54. > :14:58.in what goes on. Actually, the review in some ways is a bit of a
:14:59. > :15:04.distraction from wider issuds that we all ought to be thinking about,
:15:05. > :15:08.about how the house of Lords is structured, its membership, and also
:15:09. > :15:11.the wider issue which was r`ised by the tax credits debate, abott what
:15:12. > :15:20.the government chooses to do using secondary registration.
:15:21. > :15:24.Tears, always resistant to having their wings clipped, but thd
:15:25. > :15:29.government could force thesd changes through. They could do that. I'm not
:15:30. > :15:33.sure that it would be a wisd course of action but they could, if it
:15:34. > :15:40.decided that was a priority for them to do. He suggested that it was a
:15:41. > :15:46.bit of an opportunity missed for Lord Strathclyde. I would h`ve
:15:47. > :15:52.thought so. It is odd to look at secondary legislation procedure in
:15:53. > :15:55.isolation. The review identhfied wider issues such as the ond I
:15:56. > :15:59.mentioned about what the government chooses to do using secondary
:16:00. > :16:04.legislation, which were not covered in any depth, and also, the issue of
:16:05. > :16:09.how the House of Commons looks at secondary legislation, argu`bly much
:16:10. > :16:14.less well than the House of Lords. It was an opportunity missed, as you
:16:15. > :16:18.say. What changes would you like to see to the House of Lords, ` broad
:16:19. > :16:22.question I know, but perhaps you could summarise? As a starthng
:16:23. > :16:28.point, it is a thorny issue which many have struggled with, I would
:16:29. > :16:32.like to see the introduction of a retirement age for peers. And a
:16:33. > :16:35.concerted effort for all parties to think about ways to bring down the
:16:36. > :16:38.numbers of the House of Lords, one of the largest legislatures in the
:16:39. > :16:43.ward. Looking to the future, will we see a more harmonious 12 months and
:16:44. > :16:47.is of the Commons- Lords relationship, do you think? It
:16:48. > :16:51.depends on both parties. It depends on how the government decidds to
:16:52. > :16:57.proceed with the Lord Strathclyde proposals, whether it decidds to
:16:58. > :16:59.proceed at all or whether it leaves a sword of Damocles hanging over the
:17:00. > :17:04.House of Lords, and it depends whether they, how they decide to
:17:05. > :17:08.deal with pieces of secondary legislation. Thank you for joining
:17:09. > :17:11.us on the programme. Definitely not the last word
:17:12. > :17:13.about the House of Lords. A look now at some of the other
:17:14. > :17:16.stories in Parliament Peers have given first approval
:17:17. > :17:20.to the Trade Union Bill, Under the Bill, strikes would only
:17:21. > :17:27.go ahead if half a union's And in some sectors,
:17:28. > :17:37.at least 40 per cent of members This Bill is about bringing more
:17:38. > :17:41.democracy and transparency to industrial orations and it seeks to
:17:42. > :17:46.achieve a better and fairer balance between the rights of workers and
:17:47. > :17:50.the needs of people who relx on important public services. H don't
:17:51. > :17:56.think it will be much of a surprise to anyone when I say that the bill
:17:57. > :18:00.is extraordinarily partisan, vindictive and selective. It
:18:01. > :18:03.breaches legal conventions, civil liberties, agreement between
:18:04. > :18:05.political parties and reintroduces adversarial is.
:18:06. > :18:07.Put on the spot over intelligence gathering.
:18:08. > :18:10.Following the killing of two British jiahidists in an RAF drone strike
:18:11. > :18:12.in Syria, David Cameron is challenged over how much
:18:13. > :18:15.the Intelligence and Security committee, or ISC, should bd told
:18:16. > :18:28.If you have excluded the circumstances surrounding the use of
:18:29. > :18:33.that military asset, the military operation from the ISE, havdn't you?
:18:34. > :18:36.No, I haven't, I have said they can look at the intelligence and
:18:37. > :18:44.rounded... Hold on a second, hang on. We are currently engaged in an
:18:45. > :18:50.operation to defeat a terrorist organisation that is intendhng to
:18:51. > :18:56.blow up, kill and maim our citizens. We have to focus on that and think
:18:57. > :19:00.about how we keep this country safe. It is a current operation. Hf you
:19:01. > :19:04.don't think there is a cell of people sitting in Raqqa, trxing to
:19:05. > :19:09.do damage to this country, then you do not know what your talking about.
:19:10. > :19:14.Prime Minister, I am asking whether you have excluded the milit`ry
:19:15. > :19:16.aspects of this operation from the ISC inquiry.
:19:17. > :19:17.And bravely going across that final frontier.
:19:18. > :19:20.The activities of astronaut Tim Peake inspire MPs to debate
:19:21. > :19:21.space exploration and how bdst to encourage
:19:22. > :19:38.He sends us these extraordinary aerial views alongside spacd suit
:19:39. > :19:43.selfies, he gets a feeling of life on the space station as well as
:19:44. > :19:48.these iconic views. The valte of the space sector has gone up to ?11 8
:19:49. > :19:51.billion in 2014. It has almost doubled with a potential to double
:19:52. > :19:58.again. We need to believe what we can do. And I think this mission of
:19:59. > :20:05.Major Tim people achieve th`t. I call on ministers to be 's lethod
:20:06. > :20:06.and enable this industry across the entire UK, so that it can lhve long
:20:07. > :20:09.and prosper. It was last summer that the car
:20:10. > :20:11.maker Volkswagen admitted that 11 million of its vehicles had been
:20:12. > :20:14.fitted with software designed to defeat checks
:20:15. > :20:17.on emission controls. When the UK boss of Volkswagen came
:20:18. > :20:20.to a committee session about the scandal, the questioning
:20:21. > :20:33.quickly accelerated. You claim to be unable to qtantify
:20:34. > :20:38.differences between laboratory testing and real-world levels but
:20:39. > :20:43.experts suggest that your bdcause would have been sensitive under
:20:44. > :20:52.real-world driving conditions. There is no prescribed one-off botndary
:20:53. > :20:56.for what real-world driving is. I would invite you to go and look at
:20:57. > :21:00.the independent analysis whhch has got nothing to do with us, nothing
:21:01. > :21:06.to do with the major manufacturers. Those independent surveys m`y not
:21:07. > :21:11.necessarily be full for real-world driving, because you and I could go
:21:12. > :21:14.to work on the same route and drive the prickly. So there is no
:21:15. > :21:20.definition of real-world drhving. I have got to renew down on this one.
:21:21. > :21:24.I'm not saying that there not other manufacturers who might simhlar
:21:25. > :21:29.problems, but why are you in the dock? Why can't you give us a
:21:30. > :21:33.straight answer as to when xou drive your brand-new diesel vehicle out of
:21:34. > :21:37.the showroom, that in real-world terms, how much pollution is that
:21:38. > :21:41.car creating or not? You should know that, and surely you should know
:21:42. > :21:45.after all the trouble you h`ve had in America and across Europd, I
:21:46. > :21:51.cannot believe for one moment that you don't know that. I do not know
:21:52. > :21:58.because there is no prescription or definition of real-world drhving. If
:21:59. > :22:01.you look at the ADEC, the Gdrman motoring Association, they have
:22:02. > :22:05.drawn out a definition of rdal-world driving and they have put it on the
:22:06. > :22:10.Internet and I invite you to look at that. You are the one with the
:22:11. > :22:16.problem with trust. If I bux a car from you, and I do buy Volkswagens,
:22:17. > :22:19.I am not against them in anx direction at all, but if I buy a
:22:20. > :22:29.brand-new car from you and xou claim that it does by, and then it does Y,
:22:30. > :22:32.you said you don't know, I do not accept that. That is not a
:22:33. > :22:38.legitimate answer. I have to refute what you said. You said to le why am
:22:39. > :22:42.I in the dock? The reason I am sitting here for Volkswagen is
:22:43. > :22:49.because in the emissions testing regime, the software did solething
:22:50. > :22:54.to change the characteristics of the marks. That is clear. And I
:22:55. > :23:00.apologise for that profuselx. Now, let's move onto real-world. There
:23:01. > :23:04.was no evidence, and it is ly strong position that in real-world driving,
:23:05. > :23:09.pre-and post, there is no difference. Don't you think that
:23:10. > :23:13.actually your customers desdrve not just having their cars fixed but a
:23:14. > :23:17.degree of compensation for the breach of trust they have stffered?
:23:18. > :23:23.To pay compensation has to be a loss, and at this stage I sde no
:23:24. > :23:30.reason for the to be a loss. As I said earlier, the adjustment of the
:23:31. > :23:34.software, so far, the enginders tell us that there will be no difference
:23:35. > :23:40.in fuel consumption as a result of this. There will be no diffdrence in
:23:41. > :23:51.drive ability and the only other area that people talk about is on
:23:52. > :23:56.the question of residual values And at the moment I have seen no clear
:23:57. > :24:01.evidence that there has been any adverse impact on residual values.
:24:02. > :24:04.And now let's take a look at what's been happening in the wider world
:24:05. > :24:06.Here's Julia Butler with our countdown.
:24:07. > :24:15.# There's a starman waiting in the sky
:24:16. > :24:17.MPs have been paying tribute to David Bowie
:24:18. > :24:26.A Commons early day motion said that he had been a musical
:24:27. > :24:30.Arlene Foster has become thd first woman First Minister
:24:31. > :24:33.The Democratic Unionist Party leader replaces
:24:34. > :24:38.Scottish Secretary David Mundell has announced he is gay.
:24:39. > :24:43.His declaration makes him the first openly gay Tory Cabinet minhster.
:24:44. > :24:49.The new A-level politics cotrse is going to include more
:24:50. > :24:51.female political theorists, after complaints
:24:52. > :24:54.there were too few of them on the draft syllabus.
:24:55. > :24:56.Schools Minister Nick Gibb said
:24:57. > :25:00.Simone De Beauvoir, Rosa Luxemburg, and Hannah Arendt might feature
:25:01. > :25:07.And finally, remember the polls putting the Tories neck and neck
:25:08. > :25:09.with Labour ahead of the general election?
:25:10. > :25:12.This is the Britain we will fight for with every breath,
:25:13. > :25:14.tomorrow until 10pm when the polls close.
:25:15. > :25:17.A new report suggests most pollsters got it wrong
:25:18. > :25:19.because they didn't sample dnough Conservative voters.
:25:20. > :25:28.Julia Butler bringing us all the news we need.
:25:29. > :25:38.Some interesting things comhng up at Westminster in the next few days,
:25:39. > :25:40.not least a debate over whether the
:25:41. > :25:42.US Presidential hopeful Don`ld Trump should be banned
:25:43. > :25:44.from entering the UK, following an online public petition.
:25:45. > :25:47.So do join me for the next Week in Parliament.
:25:48. > :25:50.Until then, from me, Keith Macdougall, goodbye.