0:00:12 > 0:00:14Hello and welcome to The Week In Parliament.
0:00:14 > 0:00:17As the government's housing bill takes another hammering
0:00:17 > 0:00:20in the Lords, we ask one of its leading opponents why peers
0:00:20 > 0:00:23are so against the plans.
0:00:23 > 0:00:27The effect of the policy is to reduce the opportunities
0:00:27 > 0:00:31for social rented, affordable rented housing for those
0:00:31 > 0:00:33who are on the lowest income.
0:00:33 > 0:00:36The Government comes under fire over plans to turn all schools
0:00:36 > 0:00:38in England into academies.
0:00:38 > 0:00:41Teachers don't want it, parents don't want it,
0:00:41 > 0:00:43governors don't want it and teachers don't want it, even his
0:00:43 > 0:00:47own MPs don't want it.
0:00:47 > 0:00:50I would say to outstanding or good schools they have nothing to fear
0:00:50 > 0:00:55from becoming academies but a huge amount to gain.
0:00:56 > 0:00:59And it's congratulations to Lib Dem John Thurso who's won
0:00:59 > 0:01:02what must be the world's most exclusive election - to regain
0:01:02 > 0:01:04a seat in the House of Lords.
0:01:05 > 0:01:08But first, it's been another difficult week for the government
0:01:08 > 0:01:10in the Lords with peers defeating yet more of its legislation.
0:01:10 > 0:01:15They turned their fire once again on the Housing and Planning Bill,
0:01:15 > 0:01:17one of the Conservatives' flagship policies in their
0:01:17 > 0:01:19manifesto last year.
0:01:19 > 0:01:22On Monday, the bill took a battering over the government's so-called
0:01:22 > 0:01:25pay-to-stay plan for social housing tenants in England.
0:01:25 > 0:01:30The bill proposes that subsidised rents for households earning more
0:01:30 > 0:01:34than ?31,000, or 40,000 in London, be scrapped, with council tenants
0:01:34 > 0:01:39being asked to pay rent at or near market rates.
0:01:39 > 0:01:42But peers backed raising the thresholds when the higher rents
0:01:42 > 0:01:46would kick in, slowing the rate at which they would rise and making
0:01:46 > 0:01:49it voluntary for councils to adopt the new rules.
0:01:50 > 0:01:55It has become increasingly clear that the pay to stay proposals
0:01:55 > 0:01:59are in reality a backdoor form of taxation.
0:01:59 > 0:02:03Local authorities will collect the money but the Chancellor
0:02:04 > 0:02:07gets to keep the income.
0:02:07 > 0:02:13How else could you describe this other than a locally collected tax?
0:02:13 > 0:02:18This is I'm afraid one of those ideas which probably looks good
0:02:18 > 0:02:24in the confines of the Treasury or in the rarefied world of special
0:02:24 > 0:02:29advisers in Number 10 but in the real world outside it
0:02:29 > 0:02:31doesn't look so good.
0:02:31 > 0:02:33I do think this is spiteful.
0:02:33 > 0:02:35I think it is unnecessary.
0:02:35 > 0:02:38I don't think it will bring in much income.
0:02:38 > 0:02:43I do not see why council tenants are expected to contribute
0:02:43 > 0:02:48to reducing the deficit in this way when we are not.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51My Lords, the policy is about fairness and our view
0:02:51 > 0:02:55is that social housing at lower rents should be provided to those
0:02:55 > 0:02:57households who need it most.
0:02:57 > 0:03:01Households who remain in social housing but can pay more should
0:03:01 > 0:03:04be expected to do so.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07At the same time, the government is making home ownership more
0:03:07 > 0:03:13accessable for tenants of both local authorities and housing associations
0:03:13 > 0:03:17through the right to buy and shared ownership.
0:03:19 > 0:03:21But at the end of the debate peers rejected those arguments
0:03:21 > 0:03:24and defeated the government by 64 votes.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27That means the bill has been defeated a grand total
0:03:27 > 0:03:30of eight times so far, making it one of the most defeated
0:03:30 > 0:03:34pieces of legislation of David Cameron's premiership.
0:03:34 > 0:03:38And it's still got one more day of detailed scrutiny to go.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41So just why are their Lordships so against it?
0:03:41 > 0:03:44Among those unhappy with the bill is the president
0:03:44 > 0:03:46of the Local Government Association and former head of the civil
0:03:46 > 0:03:50service Lord Kerslake, who we saw in action there.
0:03:50 > 0:03:53When he came into the studio I asked him why the House of Lords
0:03:53 > 0:03:55disliked the bill so much.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58There are some of the proposals in the bill that the
0:03:58 > 0:04:00Lords just don't like.
0:04:00 > 0:04:04For example, they're really concerned about proposals that give
0:04:04 > 0:04:07opportunities to those who are on middle and higher
0:04:07 > 0:04:11incomes at the expense of those on lower incomes
0:04:11 > 0:04:13who desperately need housing.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16But there's also a concern about whether the bill was really
0:04:16 > 0:04:19ready when it came into the Lords.
0:04:19 > 0:04:22A lot of missing detail, a lot of details which had to be
0:04:22 > 0:04:26clarified as the bill has progressed and because they couldn't see
0:04:26 > 0:04:29the detail there was a tendency to try and put that detail
0:04:29 > 0:04:32on the face of the bill.
0:04:32 > 0:04:35Let's look at some of the things the House of Lords have inserted
0:04:35 > 0:04:36into this bill.
0:04:36 > 0:04:39One of them is that very local parish councils should be able
0:04:39 > 0:04:42to appeal against developments if they think they go
0:04:42 > 0:04:43against the local plan.
0:04:43 > 0:04:45Shouldn't you be doing everything that you can
0:04:45 > 0:04:48to encourage houses to be built?
0:04:48 > 0:04:50We want to see more houses built, I'm sure that's true
0:04:50 > 0:04:53across the House of Lords, but there's also a very strong view
0:04:53 > 0:04:58about local power and local initiative and making sure that
0:04:58 > 0:05:02when plans are agreed they absolutely go with the grain
0:05:02 > 0:05:04of local sentiment.
0:05:04 > 0:05:07You've also raised the threshold at which people in social housing
0:05:07 > 0:05:10have to pay a higher rent or in future will have to pay it.
0:05:10 > 0:05:14If you live in London, you can now be earning ?50,000
0:05:14 > 0:05:17before you have to start paying a higher rent.
0:05:17 > 0:05:19For people on very low-income jobs, that will seem like
0:05:19 > 0:05:21an awful lot of money.
0:05:21 > 0:05:24Let's start with what's going on here.
0:05:24 > 0:05:28This is about household income, not about individuals' incomes,
0:05:28 > 0:05:34so two people on really quite modest jobs, for example, a teaching
0:05:34 > 0:05:36assistant or a caretaker, you add up the incomes
0:05:36 > 0:05:39and they will go over the so-called threshold
0:05:39 > 0:05:41that the government have created...
0:05:41 > 0:05:45But with that you could be one person on a good income with no
0:05:45 > 0:05:47dependents and not the pay the rent.
0:05:47 > 0:05:51That's right and the problem is raising income through this route.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54What is happening is this extra income is not going back
0:05:54 > 0:05:58into benefiting the tenants who are part of the housing
0:05:58 > 0:06:02association or local authority, it's going back to the Chancellor.
0:06:02 > 0:06:04It's a form of taxation.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07This bill has really taken a battering in the Lords.
0:06:07 > 0:06:10There have been eight defeats so far, will there be more to come?
0:06:10 > 0:06:11Difficult to tell.
0:06:11 > 0:06:15Monday is the last day of report as it's called and we will see
0:06:15 > 0:06:18what comes out of that stage of the debate so there
0:06:18 > 0:06:20could be more defeats.
0:06:20 > 0:06:25We then go into third reading and ping-pong.
0:06:25 > 0:06:27How problematic is it for the government and the civil
0:06:27 > 0:06:31service if bills are very much torn apart in this way?
0:06:31 > 0:06:33It depends on what happens next.
0:06:33 > 0:06:37The Lords recognise that where there's a manifesto commitment
0:06:37 > 0:06:40from government we have to respect that and our role
0:06:40 > 0:06:43is to review, revise, improve.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46So as we go into the final stages of this bill there will be
0:06:46 > 0:06:49an appetite to see - can we reach agreement?
0:06:49 > 0:06:51A compromise?
0:06:51 > 0:06:55I very much hope the government is in listening mode.
0:06:55 > 0:07:02I know that peers want to find ways of agreeing and if we can do that
0:07:02 > 0:07:07then perhaps some of these deeply difficult issues can be addressed.
0:07:07 > 0:07:10Do you think it would be better if the government actually went back
0:07:10 > 0:07:12to the drawing board and started again?
0:07:12 > 0:07:15I suspect they wouldn't see it that way and there's been
0:07:15 > 0:07:16a lot of work done here.
0:07:16 > 0:07:19I do genuinely think that there are some difficult issues
0:07:19 > 0:07:23but if we really work hard over the next two weeks we can actually
0:07:23 > 0:07:27address quite a lot of the genuine concerns there are about the bill
0:07:27 > 0:07:29as currently drafted.
0:07:29 > 0:07:30This is no way to make legislation.
0:07:30 > 0:07:34A last-minute dash to get anything done before the end of the session.
0:07:34 > 0:07:36I would share that view.
0:07:36 > 0:07:40I'm a new peer and it's been an instruction from me.
0:07:40 > 0:07:45Perhaps the lesson learnt here is that more time at the front
0:07:45 > 0:07:49of the process would ease the passage of the bill
0:07:49 > 0:07:53and actually get the work done to the same timetable.
0:07:53 > 0:07:56Thank you very much.
0:07:58 > 0:07:59Lord Kerslake.
0:07:59 > 0:08:02Now to Prime Minister's Questions where David Cameron defended his
0:08:02 > 0:08:05plans to force all schools in England to become academies free
0:08:05 > 0:08:08from local authority control.
0:08:08 > 0:08:11The Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn attacked the idea, describing it
0:08:11 > 0:08:16as a top-down reorganisation that even senior Conservatives opposed.
0:08:17 > 0:08:21Could the Prime Minister explain why he is intent on forcing good
0:08:21 > 0:08:26and outstanding schools to become academies against the wishes
0:08:26 > 0:08:32of teachers, parents, school governors and local councils?
0:08:32 > 0:08:37The short answer is because we want schools to be run by head teachers
0:08:37 > 0:08:40and teachers are not by bureaucrats.
0:08:40 > 0:08:43That is why we support the policy.
0:08:43 > 0:08:47We also support it because of the clear evidence of academies.
0:08:47 > 0:08:51If you look at converter academies, 88% of them are either
0:08:51 > 0:08:54good or outstanding, and, if you look at schools
0:08:54 > 0:08:56started by academies, they see a 10% improvement
0:08:56 > 0:08:59on average over the first two years.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02The results are better education is improving,
0:09:02 > 0:09:05I say let's complete the work.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08Can the Prime Minister explain why good school leaders should
0:09:08 > 0:09:12focus their time and resources not on educating children
0:09:12 > 0:09:17but on arbitrary changes imposed from above?
0:09:17 > 0:09:20Let me make two points on the specific issue
0:09:20 > 0:09:21he raises on spending.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24I would say to outstanding or to good schools, they have
0:09:24 > 0:09:30nothing to fear from becoming academies but a huge amount to gain.
0:09:30 > 0:09:35Mr Speaker, we appear to be heading into some kind of fantasy land here.
0:09:35 > 0:09:40The Institute for Fiscal Studies states that school spending
0:09:40 > 0:09:48is expected it to fall by at least 7% in real terms in
0:09:48 > 0:09:50the next four years.
0:09:50 > 0:09:53The biggest cuts since the 1970s.
0:09:53 > 0:10:00Why on earth is the Prime Minister proposing to spend ?1.3 billion
0:10:00 > 0:10:05in a top-down reorganisation that wasn't in his manifesto?
0:10:05 > 0:10:07Teachers don't want it, parents don't want it,
0:10:07 > 0:10:10governors don't want it, headteachers don't want it,
0:10:10 > 0:10:14even his own MPs and councillors don't want it.
0:10:14 > 0:10:18Can't he just think again and support schools and education,
0:10:18 > 0:10:25not force this on them?
0:10:25 > 0:10:26Let me answer his question very directly.
0:10:26 > 0:10:29We have of course protected spending per pupil all the way
0:10:29 > 0:10:32through the last Parliament and all the way through this
0:10:32 > 0:10:33Parliament.
0:10:33 > 0:10:37We are spending ?7 billion on more school places to make up
0:10:37 > 0:10:41for the woeful lack of action under the last Labour government.
0:10:42 > 0:10:44David Cameron, with, as ever, the last word
0:10:44 > 0:10:46at Prime Minister's Questions.
0:10:46 > 0:10:50The so-called Islamic State group is guilty of genocide
0:10:50 > 0:10:55against Christian, Yazidi and other ethnic groups in Syria and Iraq.
0:10:55 > 0:10:58That was the view of MPs who unanimously backed a motion
0:10:58 > 0:11:01calling on the Government to ensure the United Nations
0:11:01 > 0:11:05and the International Criminal Court takes action.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08In the debate, every speaker condemned the group also known
0:11:08 > 0:11:11as Daesh for its brutality.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14Several quoted the testimony of a young Yazidi girl
0:11:14 > 0:11:16to a meeting of MPs.
0:11:16 > 0:11:20My father and my two brothers killed in front of me.
0:11:20 > 0:11:24They took me way from my mother.
0:11:24 > 0:11:30He grabbed my arm and my leg and then he raped me.
0:11:30 > 0:11:32He was 32 years old.
0:11:32 > 0:11:34I was 15.
0:11:34 > 0:11:36We know that those who are perpetrating these
0:11:36 > 0:11:41crimes are doing so to exterminate and extinguish a people.
0:11:41 > 0:11:44We know that they mean what they are doing
0:11:44 > 0:11:47to be genocide and to have all of the bloody
0:11:47 > 0:11:49and awful consequences of genocide.
0:11:49 > 0:11:52Here is the chance for the United Kingdom to show leadership
0:11:52 > 0:11:54and to take action.
0:11:54 > 0:11:58To stand up and respond to the plea for help from
0:11:58 > 0:11:59all of those who have suffered.
0:11:59 > 0:12:01This is our chance.
0:12:01 > 0:12:05So, like in 1942, will we do the right thing in 2016
0:12:05 > 0:12:09or are we just going to stand back, wring our hands
0:12:09 > 0:12:13and watch as Daesh break their bitter harvest?
0:12:27 > 0:12:30That
0:12:32 > 0:12:35Wouldn't it be a contempt of Parliament for the
0:12:35 > 0:12:36government to say this is non-binding?
0:12:36 > 0:12:42In taking this matter to the Security Council for those
0:12:42 > 0:12:52responsible for the crimes to be accountable.
0:12:52 > 0:12:55As the Prime Minister has said, and I am aware he has
0:12:55 > 0:12:58written to the noble Lord about this, he says genocide is about
0:12:58 > 0:13:06legal, rather than physical opinion.
0:13:06 > 0:13:07legal, rather than political opinion.
0:13:07 > 0:13:09We are not the judge of the jury.
0:13:09 > 0:13:11We may not be all of those things but I
0:13:11 > 0:13:14say to Daesh and the perpetrators, we have a long memory, we have
0:13:14 > 0:13:19allies, we will not forget.
0:13:19 > 0:13:22And they will play the price.
0:13:25 > 0:13:28Now let's take a look at some other news from around
0:13:28 > 0:13:29Westminster in brief.
0:13:29 > 0:13:31In the Lords, the government announced a concession over
0:13:31 > 0:13:33trade union funding.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36Ministers were planning to end the collection of union subs
0:13:36 > 0:13:38directly from employees' pay - a system known as check-off.
0:13:38 > 0:13:42But unions argued this would be more complicated for members
0:13:42 > 0:13:46and lead to a loss of funds.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49In a major concession the practice will now continue if the employer
0:13:49 > 0:13:52and the union agree.
0:13:52 > 0:13:57A peer has been suspended from the House of Lords for eight
0:13:57 > 0:14:01months over the double-claiming of hundreds of pounds in expenses.
0:14:01 > 0:14:04Lord Bhatia was found to have claimed mileage from the Lords
0:14:04 > 0:14:06on 63 occasions while also claiming from another organisation.
0:14:06 > 0:14:10It's the second time he has been suspended from the House,
0:14:10 > 0:14:14having been barred for eight months in October 2010 for wrongly claiming
0:14:14 > 0:14:20over ?27,000 in overnight allowances and mileage expenses.
0:14:20 > 0:14:23The Home Secretary was called to the Commons to reveal the budget
0:14:23 > 0:14:24for the UK Border Force.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27The force is part of the Home Office, responsible
0:14:27 > 0:14:29for frontline border control operations at air, sea and rail
0:14:29 > 0:14:32ports in the United Kingdom.
0:14:32 > 0:14:35It's also responsible for checking the immigration status of people
0:14:35 > 0:14:38arriving in the UK, searching bags, vehicles and cargo
0:14:38 > 0:14:40and patrolling the UK coastline.
0:14:40 > 0:14:42Theresa May insisted Border Force spending was being protected,
0:14:42 > 0:14:50despite Labour claims of a revenue cut.
0:14:50 > 0:14:52She has announced a budget of 558 million.
0:14:52 > 0:14:57In 2012/13, the budget was 617 million so
0:14:57 > 0:15:02the budget is down by over ?50 million on her watch.
0:15:02 > 0:15:05That is the Home Secretary's record on border funding.
0:15:05 > 0:15:09Border Force spending is protected.
0:15:09 > 0:15:11Compared to 2015.
0:15:11 > 0:15:15Over the next four years, we will invest ?130 million in state
0:15:16 > 0:15:18of the art technology at the border.
0:15:18 > 0:15:21Since I became Home Secretary six years ago, we've pursued
0:15:21 > 0:15:23an ambitious programme of reform at the border
0:15:23 > 0:15:29to keep this country safe.
0:15:29 > 0:15:31Only 10% of dogs bought in the UK are from registered breeders.
0:15:31 > 0:15:33The Environment Food and Rural Affairs committee
0:15:33 > 0:15:35heard that the vast majority come from abroad
0:15:35 > 0:15:39or from unlicensed operators.
0:15:39 > 0:15:42The trend for fashionable breeds was driving a demand that could not
0:15:42 > 0:15:44be easily met and that meant many animals were suffering ill health.
0:15:44 > 0:15:46There are clearly some of puppies that are
0:15:46 > 0:15:49desirable in the UK.
0:15:49 > 0:15:51Those breeds are being bred in Eastern European
0:15:51 > 0:15:52countries.
0:15:52 > 0:16:01For example Hungary, Lithuania, Romania.
0:16:15 > 0:16:16For example Hungary, Lithuania, Romania.
0:16:16 > 0:16:17The conditions are shocking.
0:16:17 > 0:16:19The provenance of the parents is not good.
0:16:19 > 0:16:21I saw some examples where the parties had been
0:16:21 > 0:16:22the product of siblings meeting.
0:16:23 > 0:16:25They are being transported by road into the UK -
0:16:25 > 0:16:26a trip of some 40 hours,
0:16:26 > 0:16:28and brought into the country under
0:16:28 > 0:16:29the Pet Travel Scheme which is
0:16:29 > 0:16:31non-commercial movement, rather than commercial movement.
0:16:31 > 0:16:32The passports are being falsified.
0:16:32 > 0:16:34Last year, we received 3,500 calls about puppy farm
0:16:34 > 0:16:38issues.
0:16:38 > 0:16:41The sad fact is that 80% of these puppies were sold through
0:16:41 > 0:16:42internet adverts.
0:16:42 > 0:16:44The dreadful fact that comes out of it is that over
0:16:44 > 0:16:4620% of those puppies actually die.
0:16:46 > 0:16:55Their mortality is incredibly high.
0:16:55 > 0:16:56The increasingly bitter EU referendum battle has
0:16:56 > 0:16:58produced lively scenes at a Commons committee session.
0:16:58 > 0:17:01The director of the Vote Leave campaign group, Dominic Cummings,
0:17:01 > 0:17:03faced claims that Vote Leave had used misleading literature
0:17:03 > 0:17:04when he was questioned about leaflets distributed
0:17:04 > 0:17:14at hospitals in London.
0:17:14 > 0:17:17You are saying in hospitals in your literature, aren't you,
0:17:17 > 0:17:25that we can give a lot more money to hospitals.
0:17:25 > 0:17:26You are distributing literature to that affect.
0:17:26 > 0:17:28You are doing that, aren't you?
0:17:28 > 0:17:30No, we are not.
0:17:30 > 0:17:35I have a piece of literature here with your logo, it
0:17:35 > 0:17:42says vote leave, take control.
0:17:42 > 0:17:47It says help protect your local hospital.
0:17:47 > 0:17:51And it has got here at the
0:17:51 > 0:17:52bottom, vote leave.
0:17:52 > 0:17:55I'm asking you a straightforward, simple question.
0:17:55 > 0:17:59Is this a leaflet of your organisation?
0:17:59 > 0:18:03Do you mean that individual leaflet?
0:18:03 > 0:18:08I'm asking you if this leaflet is one of your
0:18:08 > 0:18:09organisation's leaflets?
0:18:09 > 0:18:11Yes, it is.
0:18:11 > 0:18:14We have arrived.
0:18:14 > 0:18:17Let's try question two.
0:18:17 > 0:18:25Do you think that it is reasonable that somebody might
0:18:25 > 0:18:29misconstrue this leaflet at first glance as leaflet produced by the
0:18:29 > 0:18:38NHS, since this has NHS logo in the top right-hand corner?
0:18:42 > 0:18:42No,
0:18:42 > 0:18:42No, it
0:18:42 > 0:18:43No, it says
0:18:43 > 0:18:43No, it says vote
0:18:43 > 0:18:43No, it says vote leave,
0:18:43 > 0:18:43No, it says vote leave, take
0:18:43 > 0:18:46No, it says vote leave, take control.
0:18:46 > 0:18:48What do you make of that NHS logo?
0:18:48 > 0:18:51Do you think it looks like the logo of the NHS?
0:18:52 > 0:18:54It looks like it from here.
0:18:54 > 0:18:56Well, it looks roughly like it from almost
0:18:56 > 0:18:59any distance.
0:18:59 > 0:19:03Here is an NHS document.
0:19:03 > 0:19:06You will see the logo is strikingly similar.
0:19:06 > 0:19:08They are almost identical.
0:19:08 > 0:19:13It takes an expert eye to tell that one is not the other.
0:19:13 > 0:19:15One of them is italicised slightly, one
0:19:15 > 0:19:20is not.
0:19:20 > 0:19:24Do you, now that you have had a chance to consider it, and you
0:19:24 > 0:19:28have agreed it looks like an NHS logo from any reasonable distance,
0:19:28 > 0:19:32to think it might be good idea to think twice
0:19:32 > 0:19:34about putting Outlook to
0:19:34 > 0:19:37like this?
0:19:37 > 0:19:40I certainly don't and I think you are confused about what my
0:19:40 > 0:19:42answer was before.
0:19:42 > 0:19:45You were asking me if the leaflet in my hand could
0:19:45 > 0:19:47be put into hospital, has that come from us?
0:19:47 > 0:19:49And I was saying, no, it
0:19:49 > 0:19:51hasn't come from us, as in we did not
0:19:51 > 0:19:53distribute leaflets to the
0:19:53 > 0:19:56hospital, we're as baffled as almost everyone else is out the story that
0:19:56 > 0:19:57appeared on the website.
0:19:57 > 0:19:58Dominic Cummings.
0:19:58 > 0:20:00How would you feel if you won an election with 100%
0:20:00 > 0:20:02of the electorate voting for you?
0:20:02 > 0:20:05That's what happened in the week, when former MP John Thurso returned
0:20:05 > 0:20:07to the House of Lords to sit as a hereditary peer
0:20:07 > 0:20:12following a by-election triggered by the death of Lord Avebury.
0:20:12 > 0:20:16It was a contest in which only the three existing Lib Dem
0:20:16 > 0:20:19hereditary members of the House of Lords were able to vote.
0:20:19 > 0:20:23Viscount Thurso sat in the Lords between 1995 and 1999,
0:20:23 > 0:20:27leaving when Labour's reforms axed most hereditary members.
0:20:27 > 0:20:30He was then MP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross from 2001
0:20:30 > 0:20:35until losing his seat in 2015.
0:20:35 > 0:20:38He becomes the first person to go into the Lords,
0:20:38 > 0:20:44then the Commons and back to Lords and keep his hereditary title.
0:20:44 > 0:20:47Let's take a look at some of the other political
0:20:47 > 0:20:48stories of the week.
0:20:48 > 0:20:49Here's Chris Davies.
0:20:54 > 0:20:56Fancy being an MP for a week?
0:20:56 > 0:20:59Now you can, by playing Parliament's online game
0:20:59 > 0:21:02game, way you put yourself in the shoes of an MP.
0:21:02 > 0:21:05The game, designed for 11 to 16-year-olds,
0:21:05 > 0:21:07did admittedly prove
0:21:07 > 0:21:11a bit too difficult for the team at BBC Parliament.
0:21:11 > 0:21:13Online retailer Amazon isn't participating in a
0:21:13 > 0:21:16scheme to help people operate drones responsibly,
0:21:16 > 0:21:19the Transport Minister told a Lords committee.
0:21:19 > 0:21:22Constanza about the unlicensed use of the unmanned
0:21:22 > 0:21:24aircraft were heightened last week after reports
0:21:24 > 0:21:26of the drone strike
0:21:26 > 0:21:28on a passenger plane approaching Heathrow.
0:21:28 > 0:21:31Mr Goodwill said a lot of drones were bought online which is
0:21:31 > 0:21:34why the government were keen to engage with the company.
0:21:34 > 0:21:36How good is your maths?
0:21:36 > 0:21:38Take a look at this equation.
0:21:38 > 0:21:41This is the Treasury's basic equation which measures the
0:21:41 > 0:21:44level of trade between lots of different pairs of countries for
0:21:44 > 0:21:45which data is available.
0:21:45 > 0:21:47Easy.
0:21:47 > 0:21:49Burger chain McDonald's says it is disappointed
0:21:49 > 0:21:51by Labour's decision to
0:21:51 > 0:21:54ban the company from its party conference in Liverpool this year.
0:21:54 > 0:21:57David Cameron couldn't resist a jibe at the decision, using the company's
0:21:57 > 0:21:58slogan as a punch line.
0:21:58 > 0:22:01Frankly, I'm loving it.
0:22:01 > 0:22:03And Her Majesty The Queen celebrated her 90th birthday this
0:22:03 > 0:22:07week and although the main party took place in Windsor, Parliament
0:22:07 > 0:22:12marked the occasion by lighting up the building in red, white and blue.
0:22:21 > 0:22:24And staying with that regal theme, we end with tributes to the Queen.
0:22:24 > 0:22:27MPs and peers sent Her Majesty their best wishes as she
0:22:27 > 0:22:30celebrated her 90th birthday.
0:22:30 > 0:22:33Mr Speaker, in her 90 years, Her Majesty has lived through some
0:22:33 > 0:22:36extraordinary times in our world.
0:22:36 > 0:22:38From the Second World War, when her parents,
0:22:38 > 0:22:40the king and queen, were
0:22:40 > 0:22:43nearly killed as bombs dropped on Buckingham Palace to the Russians
0:22:43 > 0:22:45with which she bought the material for her wedding dress.
0:22:45 > 0:22:47From presenting the World Cup to England
0:22:47 > 0:22:51at Wembley in 1966 to a man landing on the moon and number of years
0:22:51 > 0:22:53later.
0:22:53 > 0:22:56From the end of the Cold War to peace in Northern Ireland.
0:22:56 > 0:23:00Throughout it all, as the sounds of culture sift and the tides of
0:23:00 > 0:23:04politics at and flow, Her Majesty has been stood fast.
0:23:04 > 0:23:07In her reign, Mr Speaker, she has seen off 12
0:23:07 > 0:23:10prime ministers.
0:23:15 > 0:23:18Whilst recently I attended my first state
0:23:18 > 0:23:22dinner, she has received over 100 state visits and visited,
0:23:22 > 0:23:25as the Prime Minister indicated, well over 100 countries
0:23:25 > 0:23:28on our behalf.
0:23:28 > 0:23:31I admire her energy, wish her well in her continuing and
0:23:31 > 0:23:35outstanding commitment to public life.
0:23:35 > 0:23:37Throughout the decades of her
0:23:37 > 0:23:40reign, she has been a regular visitor to Scotland.
0:23:40 > 0:23:43For me, the most remarkable events have been in
0:23:43 > 0:23:44recent years.
0:23:44 > 0:23:46Including the 1999 reopening of the Scottish
0:23:46 > 0:23:53Parliament, after recess of nearly 300 years.
0:23:53 > 0:23:56Who can forget the entire chamber, all MSPs of all parties and
0:23:56 > 0:24:05the public gallery, Her Majesty and the Duke of Edinburgh,
0:24:09 > 0:24:12all singing and Man is a Man for all that by Robert Burns.
0:24:12 > 0:24:14She has seen technological advances race ahead
0:24:14 > 0:24:17from one telegram or a radio programme was a thing of great
0:24:17 > 0:24:19excitement to the prevalence of satellite television, the iPhone and
0:24:19 > 0:24:21letters being supplanted by e-mail, playground conversations by tweets,
0:24:21 > 0:24:24and Facebook status updates.
0:24:24 > 0:24:27But through all those years of changes,
0:24:27 > 0:24:36one thing has been a constant, and that has been Her Majesty's selfless
0:24:36 > 0:24:38service to Britain.
0:24:38 > 0:24:40Admired at home and around the world for her
0:24:40 > 0:24:42constant and consistent advocacy of Britain at its best.
0:24:42 > 0:24:44One peer recalled a reception he'd attended.
0:24:44 > 0:24:46My colleague had the misfortune of being in the
0:24:46 > 0:24:48process of eating a large biscuit.
0:24:48 > 0:24:49LAUGHTER.
0:24:49 > 0:24:51Something was bound to go wrong.
0:24:51 > 0:24:53And indeed it did.
0:24:53 > 0:24:55When he turned around, he was so astonished
0:24:55 > 0:24:59to see her standing on the side of him, that he dropped this biscuit
0:24:59 > 0:25:01onto the floor right in front of Her Majesty, at her feet.
0:25:01 > 0:25:04Now, Her Majesty, who has a great sense of
0:25:04 > 0:25:06humour, she was most amused.
0:25:06 > 0:25:10There are very few people to whom an archbishop can
0:25:10 > 0:25:13open his heart, knowing that his confidences will go
0:25:13 > 0:25:15no further.
0:25:15 > 0:25:18And suddenly, at the end, of the conversation, she would
0:25:18 > 0:25:21go away affirmed and encouraged.
0:25:21 > 0:25:24Let this be a day of thanksgiving and
0:25:24 > 0:25:27much rejoicing for Her Majesty's birthday.
0:25:27 > 0:25:30Long live the Queen!
0:25:30 > 0:25:32ALL: Hear! Hear!
0:25:32 > 0:25:35Those birthday wishes brings us to the end of this
0:25:35 > 0:25:37edition of the programme, but do join Kristiina Cooper
0:25:37 > 0:25:40on Monday night at 11 for another round-up of the best of the day
0:25:40 > 0:25:42here at Westminster, including more debate on that
0:25:42 > 0:25:44controversial housing bill.
0:25:44 > 0:25:46But until then, from me, goodbye.