:00:17. > :00:18.Hello and Welcome to the Week In Parliament.
:00:19. > :00:22.Coming up, after the Prime Minister's big Brexit speech
:00:23. > :00:28.the Labour leader challenges Theresa May on her EU exit plan.
:00:29. > :00:37.Can I urge her to stop her threat of a bargain basement Brexit. I
:00:38. > :00:43.consider the issue, I set out my plan and I stick to it. It's called
:00:44. > :00:44.leadership. He should try it some time.
:00:45. > :00:48.With the Supreme Court due to rule on whether MPs and Peers should
:00:49. > :00:51.have a say in triggering our formal exit from the EU, we talk
:00:52. > :00:55.to a Brexiteer and a Remainer about Parliament and Brexit laws.
:00:56. > :00:59.And, there's no decision yet on whether to move everyone out
:01:00. > :01:03.of the Palace of Westminster which needs essential repairs.
:01:04. > :01:05.The Chairman of the Treasury Committee tells us why he's decided
:01:06. > :01:17.The big question is whether we need to spend ?3.5 to ?4 billion and
:01:18. > :01:19.pretty quickly. But first, there'd been mutterings
:01:20. > :01:21.in the Commons on Tuesday after Theresa May decided
:01:22. > :01:24.to make her big Brexit speech not in the Chamber
:01:25. > :01:26.but to an outside audience. So Prime Minister's Questions
:01:27. > :01:30.was the first chance for MPs to grille her directly
:01:31. > :01:31.on her 12-point plan. In her speech, Theresa May made
:01:32. > :01:36.clear that the UK would not stay in the single market,
:01:37. > :01:41.that MPs and peers would get a vote on the final exit deal and insisted
:01:42. > :01:45.no deal was better than a bad The Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn
:01:46. > :01:49.began with a swipe at the Prime Minister for not setting
:01:50. > :02:02.out her plans in Parliament. Restoring Parliamentary democracy
:02:03. > :02:06.whilst sidelining Parliament. Not so... Mr Speaker, it's not so much
:02:07. > :02:21.the Iron Lady as the irony lady. Yesterday, Mr Speaker, the Prime
:02:22. > :02:32.Minister finally provided some detail. Request I urge her -- can I
:02:33. > :02:36.urge her to stop her threat of a bargain basement Brexit. Low pay tax
:02:37. > :02:39.hive none Europe won't necessarily damage the EU but it will certainly
:02:40. > :02:44.damage this country. Businesses, jobs and public service. She demeans
:02:45. > :02:50.herself and her office and our country's standing by making these
:02:51. > :02:55.kind of threats. Well, I set out yesterday a plan for
:02:56. > :02:59.a global Britain, bringing prosperity to this country and jobs
:03:00. > :03:02.to people and spreading economic growth across the country. But
:03:03. > :03:11.actually yesterday, we also learnt a little more of the Right Honourable
:03:12. > :03:17.gentleman's thinking on this issue. What he said was the following: She
:03:18. > :03:20.has said that leave the single market, then at same time says she
:03:21. > :03:25.wants to have access to the single market. I'm not quite sure how
:03:26. > :03:30.that's going to go down in Europe. I think we have to have a deal that
:03:31. > :03:36.ensures we have access to the market.
:03:37. > :03:41.I've got a plan. He doesn't have a clue.
:03:42. > :03:45.Jeremy Corbyn said Theresa May had talked about the pressure migration
:03:46. > :03:48.put on public services but tens of thousands of EU citizens worked
:03:49. > :04:00.Instead of threatening to turn Britain into an off shore tax haven,
:04:01. > :04:04.let's look after those who fund our Public Services properly so that we
:04:05. > :04:08.do have the fully functioning NHS that we all need and deserve.
:04:09. > :04:16.Theresa May accepted, said there were difference
:04:17. > :04:21.between her approach and Jeremy Corbyn's.
:04:22. > :04:26.I set out my plan and stuck to it. It's called leadership. He should
:04:27. > :04:27.try it some time. at Westminster, Angus Robertson,
:04:28. > :04:32.said Theresa May's plans for leaving the European Union would lead
:04:33. > :04:41.to job losses in Scotland. The forecast for people's income is
:04:42. > :04:46.that it's likely to drop by ?2,000 and that... Mr Speaker, that 80,000
:04:47. > :04:53.people may lose their jobs in Scotland as a result of the hard
:04:54. > :05:00.Tory Brexit plan off the Prime Minister. Does the Prime Minister
:05:01. > :05:05.believe that this is a price worth paying for her Little Britain
:05:06. > :05:11.Brexit? The Right Honourable gentleman, once
:05:12. > :05:14.again, talks about the possibility of negative impacts on Scotland if
:05:15. > :05:19.Scotland were not part of the single market. His party is dedicated to
:05:20. > :05:24.taking Scotland out of the single market by taking it out of the
:05:25. > :05:28.United Kingdom. It was quite clear from the Prime Minister's speech
:05:29. > :05:32.yesterday that she seeks to build a Brexit consensus and to bring our
:05:33. > :05:39.country back together and I thank her for that. To that end and indeed
:05:40. > :05:43.to strengthen the Prime Minister's negotiating hand before article 50
:05:44. > :05:49.is triggered, would she please consider at least publishing all
:05:50. > :05:54.those 12 objectives in a White Paper so that we can debate them here in
:05:55. > :05:59.this place behalf of all our constituents?
:06:00. > :06:02.Well, my right honourable friend is right, I absolutely understand the
:06:03. > :06:05.point that she raised about Parliament's desire to be able to
:06:06. > :06:10.debate the objectives which I set out very clearly in the plan that I
:06:11. > :06:14.set out yesterday. One of the objectives, one of the principles I
:06:15. > :06:18.set was about certainty and clarity and it continues to be the
:06:19. > :06:22.Government's intention that we will provide clarity whenever it's
:06:23. > :06:26.possible and we will ensure that at appropriate times, both the public
:06:27. > :06:29.and Parliament are kept informed and are able to consider and properly
:06:30. > :06:31.scrutinise the issues. Theresa May and Anna Soubry
:06:32. > :06:33.on Parliament and Brexit. And the role of MPs and Peers
:06:34. > :06:36.will be in the spotlight The Supreme Court is due to rule
:06:37. > :06:42.on Tuesday on whether or not the Government will have to put
:06:43. > :06:45.a Bill through Parliament triggering Article 50,
:06:46. > :06:48.beginning the formal start While in the spring ministers
:06:49. > :06:53.are due to put forward the Great Repeal Bill incorporating
:06:54. > :06:57.EU laws into UK legislation. In both cases there have already
:06:58. > :07:00.been suggestions that peers, particularly the pro-EU Lib Dems
:07:01. > :07:09.could seek to put down amendments making the whole complicated process
:07:10. > :07:12.that bit more tricky. So to discuss what MPs and Peers
:07:13. > :07:16.could and should be doing I spoke to Conservative MP Sir Bill Cash
:07:17. > :07:18.and Lib Dem former MEP I began by asking her if Peers
:07:19. > :07:32.were going to cause trouble I wouldn't call it trouble if the
:07:33. > :07:39.Lords does its proper job of scrutinising legislation. After all
:07:40. > :07:42.if take back control, it meant Parliamentary sovereignty. This is
:07:43. > :07:49.triggering Brexit so how can you object? I think it's perfectly
:07:50. > :07:55.within her view of the Lord's to scrutinise very carefully what the
:07:56. > :07:59.Government's plans and negotiating objectives are and the Prime
:08:00. > :08:03.Minister spelled out 12 points, and to put them through the normal kind
:08:04. > :08:06.of scrutiny. If it's a Bill, legislation, then we have every
:08:07. > :08:12.right to pin the Government down on what exactly its plans are. Sir Bill
:08:13. > :08:15.cache, any article 50 Bill, let's call it that, will have to go
:08:16. > :08:19.through the Commons too. What do you think will happen there -- Sir Bill
:08:20. > :08:24.Cash? The indications are clear what the Commons will put it through. No
:08:25. > :08:27.doubt about that. We have had lots of indications from the Labour Party
:08:28. > :08:30.and other Members of Parliament on the other side of the House. I think
:08:31. > :08:37.it will go through the House of Commons. As to the House of Lords, I
:08:38. > :08:41.think it's, as you indicated at the beginning, pretty inKong ruous and
:08:42. > :08:45.pretty disgraceful I would say, so suggest that when you have a
:08:46. > :08:49.sovereign Act of Parliament that's decided on the referendum itself, an
:08:50. > :08:54.Act of Parliament passed by 6-1 in the House of Commons and passed by
:08:55. > :08:59.the House of Lords to have a referendum on simple questions you
:09:00. > :09:03.want to remain in or leave and then to start quibbling about the manner
:09:04. > :09:08.in which that would be done, subject only to the question of whether the
:09:09. > :09:13.Supreme Court actually makes a decision, which in itself is not -
:09:14. > :09:17.because we already had a vote on article 50 - is not going to alter
:09:18. > :09:20.the voting in the House of Commons which is the elected chamber. Let's
:09:21. > :09:25.assume the article 50 Bill goes through. The next thing we'll
:09:26. > :09:31.probably get would be the great repeal act as it's being called, due
:09:32. > :09:34.to come up in the Queen's speech. There are suggestions that the
:09:35. > :09:38.Lord's might try to block this too because this would be the
:09:39. > :09:43.legislation that puts all EU laws into our laws so it can be amended?
:09:44. > :09:47.The Lord's has traditionally objected to Henry VIII classes
:09:48. > :09:52.whereby the Government aboutry Kates to itself a great deal of the
:09:53. > :10:00.decision-making. I mean, it's going to be the most enormous exercise,
:10:01. > :10:05.but again, the Lords will be subjecting it to close analysis and
:10:06. > :10:10.not just writing blank cheques to the Government. Bill Cash, doesn't
:10:11. > :10:13.Sarah have a basic point here, the Government's going to have to change
:10:14. > :10:18.a lot of rules and regulations that will be done by ministers, secondary
:10:19. > :10:22.legislation - isn't that giving the Government an awful lot of power,
:10:23. > :10:26.isn't she right that the Lord's should scrutinise it? I drafted the
:10:27. > :10:31.Repeal Bill in May because I had a feeling we were going to get the
:10:32. > :10:37.right result and I drafted it based on five principles which were that
:10:38. > :10:42.we'd withdraw, repeal the European communities act, transpose the
:10:43. > :10:47.legislation now in Europe into UK Westminster jurisdiction so that it
:10:48. > :10:51.would be UK law and that we would effectively deal with the treaties
:10:52. > :10:55.at the same time. Now, the bottom line is, that will be redrafted, I'm
:10:56. > :11:00.sure, by Parliamentary council, so the question of the scope of the
:11:01. > :11:05.Bill is something which also applies to the article 50 Bill. I think it
:11:06. > :11:08.will be drafted too tightly because the principle has been established
:11:09. > :11:12.by the outcome of the referendum which is terribly simple which is,
:11:13. > :11:16.do you want to remain in or do you want to leave. Sarah, you've
:11:17. > :11:19.obviously got reservations, you have got things about this you want to
:11:20. > :11:22.change but many watching will say look, the majority of the British
:11:23. > :11:26.public voted for Brexit and with the best will in the world, nobody voted
:11:27. > :11:29.for you? That is absolutely right. We are very conscious of the
:11:30. > :11:35.conventions and the constraints on the role of the Lord's and of
:11:36. > :11:39.course, the main constitutional role is for the House of Commons which is
:11:40. > :11:44.why we are saying, the ultimate sovereignty lies with the people.
:11:45. > :11:48.They must decide whether they accept the outcome of these negotiations or
:11:49. > :11:53.whether they want to choose to remain in the EU. The answer is
:11:54. > :11:57.implicit in what Sarah's just said. The answer lies in the decision of
:11:58. > :12:01.the referendum, do you want to remain in or to leave. That was the
:12:02. > :12:05.sovereign decision of the people, that's what we stick to as the
:12:06. > :12:09.direction, as the remainers themselves have accepted, let alone
:12:10. > :12:13.respected, that this is the outcome and that has to be implemented, it
:12:14. > :12:17.will be implemented and it's been agreed there will be a final vote in
:12:18. > :12:21.the House of Commons and in the House of Lords on the outcome of the
:12:22. > :12:25.treaty. The bottom line is that therefore the discussions that take
:12:26. > :12:29.place which she's asking for will take place, but at the same time,
:12:30. > :12:33.the outcome of that will be put to a vote in Parliament and so you get
:12:34. > :12:36.both. You get the sovereign decision of the people in the referendum
:12:37. > :12:41.which has taken place and the vote of Parliament at the end. I don't
:12:42. > :12:44.think any reasonable democratic person could argue otherwise but
:12:45. > :12:48.then, if I may say with respect, Sarah, as you were just asked, you
:12:49. > :12:52.are not exactly in the best position, you got 110 appointed
:12:53. > :12:58.peers in the House of Lords following your line. You have over
:12:59. > :13:01.more, double that. And keep appointing many more, your party.
:13:02. > :13:09.With which is the problem. The real... No, you have to let Bill
:13:10. > :13:14.Cash finish. The will of the people, as expressed in the referendum
:13:15. > :13:18.itself demonstrates point one and point two, that that referendum
:13:19. > :13:21.itself, a sovereign act was passed by 6-1 of the House of Commons who
:13:22. > :13:27.are elected. That is the bottom line and I don't think it's up to the
:13:28. > :13:30.House of Lords or indeed for that small part of the unelected body
:13:31. > :13:32.which represents the Liberal Democrats to stand in the way of the
:13:33. > :13:49.will of the British people. We can talk about this a lot longer
:13:50. > :13:52.but we're out of time. Sarah Ludford and back -- Bill Cash, thank you.
:13:53. > :13:55.Now, let's take a look at some more news from around
:13:56. > :13:59.A bill which aims to speed up house building in England
:14:00. > :14:00.with neighbourhood plans received a mixed welcome in
:14:01. > :14:04.Many peers liked the idea of consultation with local
:14:05. > :14:07.people about how best to develop their area.
:14:08. > :14:09.But others warned of a top down system.
:14:10. > :14:14.The minister said home ownership was becoming harder.
:14:15. > :14:20.Millions of young people live with their parents until in their 30s or
:14:21. > :14:25.struggling to save for a deposit while they rent. Too many cannot
:14:26. > :14:31.afford a roof over their head at all. This is a profound social
:14:32. > :14:36.failure. In spite of the general consensus about the urgent need for
:14:37. > :14:42.new homes, there is always that tendency within every group, even
:14:43. > :14:49.MPs in the debates, to say yes but. We must make an exception for this
:14:50. > :14:55.valley, this village, etc. I do hope we don't have an outbreak of yes but
:14:56. > :14:59.and I hope that every amendment will be looked at in terms of Will this
:15:00. > :15:00.reduce or increase the number of homes available to the younger
:15:01. > :15:02.today. The Northern Ireland Secretary James
:15:03. > :15:05.Brokenshire says he hopes campaigning for Assembly elections
:15:06. > :15:06.does not "exacerbate Northern Ireland is going
:15:07. > :15:11.to the polls on March the second following the collapse
:15:12. > :15:13.of the Executive in Belfast. The Deputy First Minister
:15:14. > :15:15.Martin McGuinness resigned - in protest at the handling
:15:16. > :15:20.of a renewable energy scheme. His decision meant
:15:21. > :15:21.the First Minister - the Democratic Unionists Arlene
:15:22. > :15:24.Foster - was also out of a job - bringing the Northern Ireland
:15:25. > :15:35.Executive to a halt. This election is about the future of
:15:36. > :15:40.Northern Ireland and its political institutions. Not just the assembly
:15:41. > :15:44.but all the arrangements that have been put in place to reflect
:15:45. > :15:49.relationships through these islands. That is why it will be vital that
:15:50. > :15:53.the campaign to be conducted respectfully and in ways that do not
:15:54. > :15:56.simply exacerbate tensions and division.
:15:57. > :15:59.Around eight million tonnes of food is wasted each year in the UK.
:16:00. > :16:01.The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee
:16:02. > :16:03.is investigating and heard from the big supermarkets.
:16:04. > :16:08.A Conservative questioned the policy on selling misshapen fruit and veg.
:16:09. > :16:18.I just wondered why you bought these vegetables were less than perfect.
:16:19. > :16:22.They are perfect, they are just a different shape. I wonder if you are
:16:23. > :16:28.contributing to the problem as referring them to buy products,
:16:29. > :16:36.wouldn't it be better to sell them as they are? Why don't you do that?
:16:37. > :16:40.I think it helps our customers to work out what they are buying
:16:41. > :16:48.in-store. Soap for example, if you were to buy onions from our wonky
:16:49. > :16:53.range, they may be more dirty, the sizes may be different. If the
:16:54. > :16:57.customer isn't aware they are buying something different from what they
:16:58. > :17:03.ordinarily would buy, typically they will come back and question what we
:17:04. > :17:06.are selling them. What we are trying to do is speak clear about what it
:17:07. > :17:09.is they buying and providing the choice.
:17:10. > :17:11.MPs have been told that staffing is the biggest problem facing
:17:12. > :17:14.The Health Committee heard that enough midwives
:17:15. > :17:16.are being trained but they are not necessarily being employed.
:17:17. > :17:18.The committee's hearing followed a report from
:17:19. > :17:21.the National Childbirth Trust which blamed a shortage of midwives
:17:22. > :17:27.for women feeling like they had been treated "like cattle".
:17:28. > :17:40.The number has been granted of 2600 of the gap, if that figure you
:17:41. > :17:48.would... Our current figure is we are 3500 full-time with white short.
:17:49. > :17:52.There are various issues. We are seeing a rapidly increasing number
:17:53. > :17:58.of midwives retiring from the service so the number of midwives
:17:59. > :18:03.now over 50 is very significant so there is a need to replace, as
:18:04. > :18:09.midwives to leave and the number going out is now pretty much
:18:10. > :18:10.equating to the number coming in so you are getting flat-lining of the
:18:11. > :18:13.workforce. As Donald Trump prepared to take
:18:14. > :18:15.over as US President, a Conservative peer lambasted his predecessor
:18:16. > :18:17.Barack Obama as "the most "useless American
:18:18. > :18:20.president in my lifetime". Lord Blencathra was taking part
:18:21. > :18:23.in a debate on the rise of populism He made clear he'd be pleased to see
:18:24. > :18:40.the end of the Obama era. Tomorrow we will be rid of the most
:18:41. > :18:46.useless American president I have ever seen in my entire lifetime
:18:47. > :18:50.whose only legacy is rhetoric. He has withdrawn America from the world
:18:51. > :19:00.stage and left a disastrous back Hume which has been filled by Putin
:19:01. > :19:05.and China. -- he laid down laws in Syria did nothing to enforce them
:19:06. > :19:07.they were reached. She turned up line guide to Russian hacking for
:19:08. > :19:12.seven years and nine months but suddenly became conservator when
:19:13. > :19:18.Hillary lost the election. But never mind, he has his face in history,
:19:19. > :19:22.the next time I visit the US, I will be able to use transgender toilets.
:19:23. > :19:24.His world view was challenged by a former Liberal Democrat leader
:19:25. > :19:27.who argued it was time for politicians to abandon
:19:28. > :19:37.Spare a thought for the lost tribes of Labour and the Tory party. What
:19:38. > :19:41.you do these days if you are part of that great Tory tradition of
:19:42. > :19:45.internationalism and now find yourself in a party that has
:19:46. > :19:49.completely abandoned it? What do you do if you are a Labour member of
:19:50. > :19:53.Parliament who believes in the free market not as our master but as our
:19:54. > :19:58.servant and finds your party has expository reject it? It is
:19:59. > :20:02.extraordinary how much politics has spun away to the extreme and this is
:20:03. > :20:08.the time for us to get out of our tribes and start working together to
:20:09. > :20:12.ensure we can help build that moderate, liberal consensus in which
:20:13. > :20:13.I believe the only chance lies for altering the very dangerous
:20:14. > :20:15.trajectory of our country. Back in the Commons, an MP raised
:20:16. > :20:18.concerns about human rights abuses in Myanmar,
:20:19. > :20:20.also known as Burma. Thousands of Rohingya Muslims
:20:21. > :20:22.are said to have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh
:20:23. > :20:24.amid allegations that the Burmese army has carried out
:20:25. > :20:28.human rights abuses. Troops took control of the region
:20:29. > :20:47.after armed men raided police posts, It is very difficult to get accurate
:20:48. > :20:51.information. In order to get to the truth, when he called for full
:20:52. > :21:01.access to independent observers and journalists to bilges and
:21:02. > :21:08.displacement camps -- villages? Can I just say that UN led commission
:21:09. > :21:11.can be established in one of three ways, either by the Security
:21:12. > :21:16.Council, the human rights Council of the Secretary General. It would
:21:17. > :21:23.require broad international support which does not exist right now. The
:21:24. > :21:26.Minister Rather sidestepped the question of action in the UN by
:21:27. > :21:33.saying that the government opinion wasn't sufficiently consensus at the
:21:34. > :21:38.present time. Will the government commit to trying to build that
:21:39. > :21:42.consensus as opposed to remarking that it doesn't exist? Will the
:21:43. > :21:45.Minister may clear to the Birmingham property is that there are welcome
:21:46. > :21:50.re-entry into the international community will not be helped if they
:21:51. > :21:54.failed to protect minorities and particularly the Rohingya community
:21:55. > :22:00.rushed and Mark Hunt was up being attacked, many are being murdered.
:22:01. > :22:07.Many been sold into slavery with the complicity of Burmese authorities.
:22:08. > :22:12.The very authority of which treat the Rohingya as a non-people. And my
:22:13. > :22:19.honourable friend the Minister has avoided the challenge that it is not
:22:20. > :22:25.sufficient for the government to cooperate. The government needs to
:22:26. > :22:33.lead UN support, if these reports are true. Since the security forces
:22:34. > :22:36.start of the campaign in October, it has been estimated that around
:22:37. > :22:44.65,000 Rohingya Muslims have Fred come three, according to reports,
:22:45. > :22:48.and ready groups have been subject to our son, rape, and murder at the
:22:49. > :22:51.hands of the military. Such allegations are incredibly serious
:22:52. > :22:57.and for that reason I asked the Minister for the fourth time if he
:22:58. > :22:57.will continue to call for the establishment of an independent
:22:58. > :23:01.investigation into these claims. The minister said there
:23:02. > :23:03.were a number of avenues the Government could pursue and that
:23:04. > :23:06.included continued work with the UN Now what's been happening
:23:07. > :23:08.in the wider world With our countdown
:23:09. > :23:26.here's Simon Vaughan. A good week for Brexit secretary
:23:27. > :23:31.David Davis. He has revealed he made ?1000 eating on the results of the
:23:32. > :23:36.EU referendum. Government and opposition whips work-out on
:23:37. > :23:42.Wednesday, they swapped their House for this House, a play set in the
:23:43. > :23:45.1970s and posed for photos with the cast.
:23:46. > :23:52.The House of Lords plans to reupholster the arms of the state in
:23:53. > :23:56.the next financial year. Big speeches on Brexit from Theresa
:23:57. > :24:04.May and she has found time to pose for US Vogue.
:24:05. > :24:06.And, finally, sport. The Speaker interrupted Scottish questions on
:24:07. > :24:12.Wednesday to update MPs on the tense.
:24:13. > :24:18.I'm pleased to inform the House I have been informed the House that
:24:19. > :24:21.Andy Murray has won his second match in Melbourne.
:24:22. > :24:27.It's one of the most iconic buildings in the world -
:24:28. > :24:31.but the Palace of Westminster is in need of urgent repairs.
:24:32. > :24:35.It's not clear yet whether MPs and peers might have to move out
:24:36. > :24:38.while the work takes place - a vote on that is expected
:24:39. > :24:43.But the estimated repair bill is substantial.
:24:44. > :24:46.The Treasury Select Committee is investigating
:24:47. > :24:59.The Palace of Westminster is in a pure state of repair and certainly a
:25:00. > :25:04.lot of money will have to be spent to sort it out. The big Western is
:25:05. > :25:10.whether we need to spend 3.5 to four alien pounds and pretty quickly. So,
:25:11. > :25:14.both, how long it takes and the amount will need to be carefully
:25:15. > :25:18.examined. The public will want to be confident that everybody has looked
:25:19. > :25:23.at this and has made sure all this spending needs to be undertaken and
:25:24. > :25:29.undertaken now, and that is what the Treasury committee will look at. It
:25:30. > :25:34.will look at the report produced by Deloittes on which both houses of
:25:35. > :25:36.the committee came to its comp allusions.
:25:37. > :25:40.And that's it from me for now, but do join Joanna Shin on Monday
:25:41. > :25:44.night at 11pm for another round up of the best of the day
:25:45. > :25:47.But for now, from me, Alicia McCarthy, goodbye.