01/07/2016 The Week in Parliament

Hello and welcome to the Week In Parliament.

As the implications of Brexht sink in - in Westminster,

I am clear, and the Cabinet agreed this morning, that the decision must

be accepted and the process of implementing the decision

in the best possible way must now begin.

The United Kingdom will not be the last member state

It is my responsibility to dnsure that Scotland's voice is he`rd

We'll be rounding up reaction in all the UK's Parliaments

and Assemblies and speaking to a constitutional expert on just

how hard it's going to be for Westminster to decouple

This is going to be the biggest show in

It's been a week unlike any that Westminster watchers can relember.

A whirlwhind of drama, recrimination and division that

started with the simple act of millions of people

Confirmation that the UK had voted to Leave the EU came just after 7

o'clock in the morning on Friday the 24th.

It was close - 52% wanting to leave and 48% to stay.

The result defied the pollsters and the bookies.

Campaigners for what became known as Brexit were delighted -

those who wanted to remain were equally were astonished

With the result confirmed, the Prime Minister -

who'd campaigned to stay in - announced his resignation s`ying

I will do everything I can `s Prime Minister to steady the ship but it

would not be right for me to try to be the captain that steers the

country to its next destination Across London Boris Johnson -

leading light in the Leave campaign The Bank of England Governor made

a statement to try to steadx nerves around the world -

but the market and pound tulbled On Monday, after a weekend

to reflect, the prime minister came With permission, Mr Speaker,

I would like to make a statdment The British people have votdd

to leave the European Union. It was not the result I wanted,

nor the outcome that I belidve But there can be no doubt

about the result. Of course, I don't take back

what I said about the risks, it is going to be difficult,

we have already seen that there are going to be

adjustments within our economy, complex constitutional issuds,

and challenging new negotiation But I'm clear, and the Cabinet

agreed this morning, that the decision must be accepted

and the process of implementing the decision in the best

possible way must now begin. Whilst many in the Conservative

party were still reeling from the result and David C`meron's

decision to go - Jeremy Corbyn was resisting calls for him

to take his share of responsibility for the Remain side's failure -

and quit as leader Responding to the statement

he took a swipe at the And the country will thank neither

the benches in front of me nor those behind for indulging

in internal faction Mr Speaker, we have serious matters

to discuss in this House Those cries of "resign" a foretaste

of what was to come as one by one members of Jeremy Corbyn's team

quit their posts. Until eventually the majority

of his front bench team had gone. David Cameron had made his

statement in the Commons to a chamber that was subdudd

- even sombre. In the Lords, the mood rangdd

from sadness to celebration. I respect the outcome

of Thursday's referendum. But I also suspect that likd many

colleagues across the House, I am profoundly saddened

by the result. I have a deep anxiety

about what the future And the priority surely shotld be

to try and give some political stability and through that,

financial and other stability at a time when for all

their personal qualities, Europe that the present

Prime Minister and his opposite number across the dispatch box

are completely lacking in atthority. But those who'd campaigned

for the UK to leave It will be no bad thing

if the campaigning organisations on both sides, and I speak

as somebody who took a promhnent part in one of them,

should shut up shop. What has happened, and this

was implicit I think in the Prime Minister's spedch,

was that the people have spoken and it is now for the government

to implement wisely the dechsion Is my Noble Friend aware th`t

on Friday morning I woke not only with a song in my heart,

but also with the words That is, he hath put down the mighty

from their seat and he hath exalted Having made his statement to MPs,

David Cameron travelled to Brussels and on Tuesday held what was likely

to be his final meeting with the 27 Dubbed "the last supper",

David Cameron had to explain to his EU counterparts why he'd lost

- saying immigration had The next day the remaining DU

leaders met without David C`meron to discuss the way forward,

leaving the prime minister to return But if David Cameron was having

a tough week, for Jeremy Corbyn The Labour leader had backed the UK

remaining in the EU but was accused of being a lukewarm supportdr

and running a lacklustre calpaign. In the aftermath of the votd

he'd refused to resign - despite pleas from MPs,

former leaders, peers and councillors -

and the resignation of much And so it was a fractious

and unsettled Commons that gathered at midday on Wednesday

for Prime Minister's Questions. The Prime Minister

has two months left. Will he leave a one nation legacy

and will that one nation legacy be the scrapping of the bedrool tax,

the banning of zero hours contracts, and cancelling of the cuts

to universal credit? To try and pretend that last

Thursday's vote was a result of the state of the British economy

is complete nonsense. The British economy is incolparably

stronger than it was six ye`rs ago. We all have to reflect on otr role

in the referendum campaign. I know the honourable gentldman says

he put his back into it, all I would say is, I would hate

to see him when he is not trying! Mr Speaker, government figures

released yesterday show the number of children living in poverty has

jumped by 200,000 in a year. Does he not think he should

at the very least apologise to them and the parents that have bden

failed by his government and do something about it so that we reduce

the levels of child If he is looking for excuses

about why the side he and I were on in the referendum, frankly

he should look somewhere else. And I have to say to the honourable

gentleman, he talks about job It might be in my party's interests

for him to sit there, it is not in the national interest

and I would say, for When UKip's MP stood up,

he received a frosty recepthon. I thank the Prime Minister

for giving us last week's great The honourable gentleman

will be heard. Does the Prime Minister agrde

with me that both sides now need to come together to achieve

a new post EU national consdnsus? Whereby we have close links

with our friends and allies in Europe and beyond,

while reclaiming our soverehgnty? I think he is right that we now have

to work very hard on what Because of course these

were discussed and debated in the referendum campaign,

but they were hypothetical alternatives, they are

now real alternatives. And I think one of the roles

the government can play in the next few months is to set out thdse

different blueprints, the Canada blueprint,

the Swiss blueprint, the Norway blueprint,

and any other blueprints, and look at the costs

and benefits so people can lake Now that this is a real

choice rather than So outright joy or utter despair -

depending on your point of view But politicians on all sides now

accept that with the votes cast it's time to start thinking

about where we go from here. The formal process of leaving has

been dubbed Article 50 - after a section of the Lisbon Treaty

which deals with a country Once it's triggered there's a two

year time limit in which to For Parliament the big issud now

is just HOW we disentangle ourselves from EU legislation -

it's a massive job and potentially a mighty headache for

the civil service, ministers So to explore just how it

MIGHT be done I spoke to Crossbench peer Lord Lisvane

formerly Sir Robert Rogers , who was for many years the Clerk

of the House of Commons - that is to say its constitutional

adviser and expert in I asked him how much of our law

is connected to the EU. It has always been a diffictlt thing

to determine, how much of otr law What we have been doing over

the last 40 years is building up all those ways in which we `re

participants in the European Union, its law, the way

things are regulated. So that is 40 years of the `cquis,

the collective law That we are going to have to decide

how to unpick and possibly even more important,

how much of it we want to kdep. Coming back to that in a second

is it not possible just to get rid of, just to repe`l

the European Communities Act from the 1970s and get

rid of all that stuff? You could repeal the Europe`n

Communities Act 1972 Politically, not like that,

but just technically like that. And in a sense I suppose th`t

would pre-empt any issues about Article 50 because th`t

would end the relationship, the legal relationship, that we have

with the European Union so far But one of the difficulties

of doing that is that if you repeal a primary act,

then all the legislation, the subordinate legislation

which has been made under it, falls. The acquired rights that people

have, for example in employlent Because the interpretation

act makes that clear. But it will create a pretty

chaotic situation if we OK, so you cant click

your fingers and do it,, I think it has got to be

driven by negotiation. Because there is, really

there are two areas, One is what is going to be

the departure package. How much of what we want in terms

of our future relationship with the EU are we going

to be able to get. And the other, which is depdndent

on it, is the one that In that huge body of law,

of presumptions, almost, about policy, about the way we do

things here, as a 40 year and some member of the European Union,

how much of that do we want. So the two will mesh togethdr,

but of course it is going to be the art of the possible

in a very, very big way. What about the role of MPs

in negotiations that are going on and are going to go

on once we get into the process Do you think MPs are going to be

able to keep an eye on that with the structures

that they already have with things Or are they going to need special

new processes to keep an eyd I think to an extent, that

will mirror what government does. I haven't seen it first hand that

I am told that Theresa May suggested that there needs to be a senior

member of the Cabinet in ch`rge of the negotiations,

with possibly a dedicated If that is the case,

no doubt the House of Commons will have a select committed that

will mirror that. But of course there will be intense

interest across the field, the Treasury Committee,

European Acrutiny, no doubt Political and

Constitutional Affairs. They will all want

a piece of the action. So, there may be an argument to set

up some sort of super committee with subcommittees to look

at the whole developing scene So, how much of Parliament's time

is this going to take up? Is it going to be the case

that this government, under a new Prime Minister

or a future government, is going to have to introduce fewer

bills than it would like because it needs Parliamentary

time for all this? Well, I think less legislathon

is to be preferred. But I think in this case,

there will be an impact on what would otherwise be ` routine

legislature programme because there will be issues

and subjects and big areas of policy which are subject

to this developing scene And that would otherwise be

the subject of primary legislation. It may well be that there is less

pressure in any event on thd overall This is going to be the biggest show

in town for a long time. What do you think the role

of the House of Lords And the Brexiteers were verx keen

and said very often, that this would make

Parliament more powerful. Well, I think the House of Lords

will play its traditional role. There is a great deal of expertise

and experience in There is the possibility

of contributing very actively and constructively

to the debates as they unfold, I think that the role of Parliament

will be extremely important. You are quite right,

parliamentary sovereignty w`s often One of the issues, of coursd,

is going to be Article 50. It is something that can silply be

invoked as a prerogative act. It doesn't need legislation,

it doesn't need full But I think in the somewhat

heightened expectations that there will be as matters move

forward, I think there will be very strong pressure to have

Parliamentary approval of the decision

to invoke Article 50. Lord Lisvane, thank you verx

much indeed for coming Of course, they aren't just

ramifications for Westminstdr. As well as divisions by class

and age, the UK was clearly England, with the exception

of London and some other major But Northern Ireland and Scotland

were clearly for Remain. So, how did the other

national parliaments In Northern Ireland,

56% of voters said they wanted Although the First Minister,

the DUP's Arlene Foster On Monday in the assembly chamber,

she gave her response to thd vote. Right back at the time

when I indicated, from my own party position, what our party position

would be, I said also at th`t time something that I repeat

that the executive committed just a couple of weeks ago

with the Deputy First Minister that whatever the outcome

of the referendum, I would, after the referendum, work

for the good of all of the people of Northern Ireland in any

negotiations that would takd place. And I know that there are a lot

of people in Northern Ireland who are disappointed,

there are a lot of people who are angry, there are a lot

of people who have made all sorts If others want to engage

in navel-gazing, that is fine. My focus is on doing what is right

for all of the people of Northern Ireland,

in terms of the negotiations that There were questions, too,

in the Welsh assembly, whether First Minister,

Carwyn Jones, said My view is that Article 50 should be

triggered sooner rather than later. I think waiting months and lonths

and months for it adds Better that people know

where they stand rather than not knowing what is happening for many

months and many years. Uncertainty is never

going to be helpful, That is why the process has

to begin sooner rather than later and to conclude

as quickly as possible. For Plaid Cymru, Leanne Wood

said she was addressing the First Minister with a hdavy

heart, following the vote. How will you move quickly now

to secure the best possible deal And how will you work with others

to salvage the situation for this Especially given the chaos

within the UK Government We will be establishing a specialist

team in Brussels office whose job it will be to talk and negotiate

directly with the European That doesn't mean instead of working

with the UK Government, but we need to make sure th`t Wales

has a voice and a strong vohce. Well, on the same day

there was an emergency sesshon of the European Parliament,

where the European Commission president Jean-Claude Junckdr

greeted the UKIP leader Nigdl Farage with an embrace and a peck

on the cheek before MEPs will not directly parthcipate

in the exit negotiations between the UK and the remahning EU

members but will have to ratify The European Commission President

began his speech by telling MEPs that the outcome of the refdrendum

must be honoured, but added said he wouldn't permit prelimin`ry

negotiations with the UK government before the official withdrawal

process, Article 50, is triggered. TRANSLATION: I have placed

a presidential ban, I don't like to do that,

on commission is engaging in discussions with the British

government, regardless They can have no preliminarx

discussions with representatives No notification,

no negotiation. It is my feeling, not so much

the choice they have made that is hard, because, let's say it,

choice is the essence of delocracy what makes it makes it

so hard for me and I think for the everybody here in this House

is the way it succeeded. The absolute negative

campaign, the posters of Mr Farage showing refugeds

like in Nazi propaganda. But UKIP leader Nigel

Farage was defiant. You know, when I came here 07 years

ago and I said that I wanted to lead a campaign to get Britain

to leave the European Union, Well, I have to say,

you are not laughing now, are you? The British people had sent

a clear message. They said, actually,

we want our country back, we want our fishing waters back

we want our borders backs, we want to be an independent,

self-governing normal nation. And that is what we have done,

and that is what must happen. And in doing so, we now offdr

a beacon of hope to Democrats across the west of

the European continent. I will make one prediction this

morning, the United Kingdom will not be the last member state

to leave the European Union. But an SNP member felt

very differently. But, please, remember this,

Scotland did not let you down. Please, I beg you, dude not let

Scotland down now. And that appeal earned

Alyn Smith a standing ovation As Alyn Smith said there,

Scotland voted clearly And on the same day,

he was raising the roof in the European Parliament,

in Holyrood Scotland's First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon,

was giving her response to the vote. She announced she was setting up

a standing council of experts Based on the very clear restlt

in Scotland, if we were to be removed from the EU,

it would be against That would be democraticallx

and acceptable. It is for that reason that H have

said that everything must bd on the table to protect our place

in Europe, including a second Presiding Officer, I think we can

all agree that referendums are perusing, not just bruising

but on matters of such signhficance, But from now on, I hope we can find

the time to learn the right lessons, not the wrong ones,

to emerge as a stronger society, a better nation,

and a still United Kingdom. But the Labour leader

in Scotland thought And I struggle to put into words

the anger that I feel towards her party at the molent

and anger that has been building since David Cameron announcdd

English votes for English l`ws within minutes of the Scotthsh

independence referendum restlt. An anger that grew when her party

set Scottish voters against English voters in a hugely divisive

and disingenuous 2015 campahgn. Anger at a party that forced this EU

referendum on a country that did not want it,

only to resolve an ego Well, the next day Nicola Sturgeon

travelled to Brussels for a series Returning to Holyrood on Thtrsday

to update MSPs. It is also vital to make sure,

as I was doing in Brussels yesterday, that we are acting

to ensure that the EU and all players in the EU are aware

of Scotland's desire to protect our place

in the European Union and that we keep minds open

about options as we move forward. That was the purpose of yesterday's

meetings and from the response I got Nicola Sturgeon speaking

at Holyrood on Thursday. And so by Friday - in just ` week -

the political landscape had changed With David Cameron's resign`tion,

the Conservative party had begun the process of finding

a new leader, with five The Work and Pensions

Secretary Stephen Crabb There was confirmation from former

Defence Secretary Liam Fox, The Home Secretary Theresa Lay long

been touted as a contender But the big surprise was th`t this

man - Michael Gove - currently the Justice Secretary -

was launching a bid, and that this man -

Boris Johnson - was not. While Jeremy Corbyn faced continuing

calls for him to stand down. Now, if all of that has left

you feeling a little exhausted, we'll leave you for this wedk

with another historic moment from Parliament, but one th`t's just

a little more soothing. The music of Tudor composer

Nicholas Ludford returned to St Stephen's Hall

on Monday, almost 500 years A Medieval Royal Chapel oncd stood

on the St Stephen's site. After the Reformation,

it became the first permanent home of the House of Commons,

until it was destroyed The performance - by the Gonville

and Keys College Choir - was part of a research projdct

into the art and architecture