:00:24. > :00:25.Hello and welcome to the Week In Parliament.
:00:26. > :00:27.Coming up, the government gets the Queen's Speech
:00:28. > :00:29.through the Commons, but only after adopting a new policy
:00:30. > :00:32.on abortions for women from Northern Ireland.
:00:33. > :00:34.I am happy to withdraow the amendment today.
:00:35. > :00:37.Let us send a message to women everywhere that, in this Parliament,
:00:38. > :00:40.their voices will be held and their rights upheld.
:00:41. > :00:49.I will be reporting on the first Prime Minister's Questions
:00:50. > :00:53.And in the week that saw elections for Deputy Speakers
:00:54. > :00:55.to help out John Bercow, we have got some top tips
:00:56. > :01:06.But first, the Queen's Speech is the first business
:01:07. > :01:09.It sets out the programme that ministers hope to put into law.
:01:10. > :01:13.After the election left it without an overall majority,
:01:14. > :01:16.the government finally agreed a deal with the DUP in the week, to make
:01:17. > :01:23.But it came at a price - just over a ?1 billion to keep
:01:24. > :01:27.the ten Northern Ireland MPs onside for the next two years.
:01:28. > :01:30.So it was with a slender working majority of 13 that the government
:01:31. > :01:38.launched the Queen's Speech into the Commons.
:01:39. > :01:41.Labour put down an amendment, calling for an end to the pay cap
:01:42. > :01:43.limiting increases for public sector workers to 1%
:01:44. > :01:46.and called for an end to cuts in the funding of public services,
:01:47. > :01:51.linking them to the recent terrorist attacks and the Grenfell Tower fire.
:01:52. > :01:54.How long are they going to pursue austerity?
:01:55. > :01:57.When any parent who has a child at school, anyone who has
:01:58. > :02:00.been at an accident and emergency department, anyone who has an
:02:01. > :02:03.elderly relative in need of social care can see for themselves that
:02:04. > :02:05.cuts have consequences and that there is a human price
:02:06. > :02:20.Amber Rudd rejected that and insisted public safety
:02:21. > :02:21.was "an absolute priority" for the government.
:02:22. > :02:23.She pointed to the response to the Grenfell fire.
:02:24. > :02:26.With regard to her concerns about cuts to the Fire Service.
:02:27. > :02:28.Let me just remind you of some fact - sorry,
:02:29. > :02:33.Fire crews were on the scene within six minutes and over 200
:02:34. > :02:35.Can the Shadow Home Secretary really suggest
:02:36. > :02:37.that the numbers were inexcusably low?
:02:38. > :02:40.We should remember that the number of fire incidents has halved
:02:41. > :02:42.in the last decade, but the number of firefighters has fallen by
:02:43. > :02:55.But at the end of the debate, Labour's amendment to end the pay
:02:56. > :02:57.cap and public sector cuts was defeated.
:02:58. > :03:06.The government seeing off that amendment to lift
:03:07. > :03:09.the pay cap by 14 votes, although those cheers
:03:10. > :03:11.from the Conservative side angered some.
:03:12. > :03:13.Throughout the day, there had been suggestions - later rejected -
:03:14. > :03:16.that the government might reconsider the 1% limit, but in the end,
:03:17. > :03:23.But the next day, when the Queen's Speech returned
:03:24. > :03:26.to the Commons for the final time, ministers did have to bring
:03:27. > :03:29.in a new policy, to make sure their plan for
:03:30. > :03:40.The government was facing three amendments -
:03:41. > :03:42.one from the official opposition, calling for an end to austerity.
:03:43. > :03:45.One from Labour's Chuka Umunna on Brexit and a third
:03:46. > :03:47.from another Labour MP, Stella Creasy, on abortion rights
:03:48. > :03:51.Health is a devolved issue and women who travel from Northern Ireland
:03:52. > :03:55.to England for terminations currently have to pay for them.
:03:56. > :03:58.Stella Creasy's amendment calling for an end to those payments had
:03:59. > :04:02.And so it was that, during a debate about jobs and the economy,
:04:03. > :04:04.that Chancellor Philip Hammond announced the government
:04:05. > :04:22.My understanding is that my right honourable friend, the Minister for
:04:23. > :04:24.women and equality is is just about to make an announcement by way of a
:04:25. > :04:41.letter to members of to see that they would intervene to
:04:42. > :04:47.provide finance for anyone coming from Northern Ireland. I hope this
:04:48. > :04:51.is a willing compromise. It is good that the government is looking to
:04:52. > :04:57.end this injustice, but the devil will be in the detail. Could he make
:04:58. > :05:01.a commitment to meet with me and other organisations to look at how
:05:02. > :05:04.we can turn this into a reality saw these women in Northern Ireland
:05:05. > :05:07.today will finally have their voice here.
:05:08. > :05:10.And at the end of the debate, Ms Creasy announced she would be
:05:11. > :05:14.Let us send a message to women everywhere that, in this Parliament,
:05:15. > :05:16.their voices will be held and their rights upheld.
:05:17. > :05:23.Well, those arguments, which illustrated the challenges
:05:24. > :05:25.facing a minority government, overshadowed the last day of debate
:05:26. > :05:27.on the Queen's Speech, when the focus was supposed
:05:28. > :05:36.Labour's Shadow Chancellor called for an end to austerity.
:05:37. > :05:47.We have a government that cannot feed their people, house the people
:05:48. > :05:56.adequately protect our children from poverty. It cannot ensure that when
:05:57. > :05:59.people go to work the Ayr enough to live on, they cannot maintain basic
:06:00. > :06:05.public services. That is a government which does not deserve to
:06:06. > :06:13.remain in office. Just two years ago, Labour at least pretended that
:06:14. > :06:19.its figures added up. It would pay for its plans. They would not
:06:20. > :06:26.bankrupt the country. Not any more. Not only with the hate taxes, they
:06:27. > :06:40.would embark on a massive expansion of borrowing and subject the country
:06:41. > :06:46.to a catastrophic policy of nationalisation not seen since the
:06:47. > :06:50.1970s. People are feeling the pain of the decade of wage stagnation.
:06:51. > :06:56.They are feeling the effects of rising inflation, rising even faster
:06:57. > :07:03.than was predicted in the budget. They are looking at how we can make
:07:04. > :07:06.the household budgets last. This is a reality for people here. The
:07:07. > :07:13.Conservatives feel repeatedly to understand this. The talk about how
:07:14. > :07:20.great the economy is. People do not feel these things. That is not the
:07:21. > :07:24.experience. There is an underlying malaise not just in this country but
:07:25. > :07:30.another Western economies which is the long-term legacy of the 2008
:07:31. > :07:35.financial crisis which destroyed government budgets and kill business
:07:36. > :07:41.investment and depressed living standards. In this country, we are
:07:42. > :07:47.just beginning to emerge from that panel. No, we have superimposed on
:07:48. > :07:49.that the self-inflicted pain of Brexit.
:07:50. > :07:54.Well, at the end of that last day of debate on the Queen's Speech,
:07:55. > :07:56.the government saw off a Labour amendment on austerity.
:07:57. > :07:58.It also defeated another on Brexit, which had been put down
:07:59. > :08:02.He wanted the UK to remain part of the single market.
:08:03. > :08:04.Labour members were told to abstain on that vote,
:08:05. > :08:10.but 50 rebelled and later, Jeremy Corbyn sacked three
:08:11. > :08:13.of his shadow ministers, for backing Mr Umunna's amendment.
:08:14. > :08:15.So, Theresa May passed her first big Parliamentary test,
:08:16. > :08:20.with the Queen's Speech approved by a majority of 14.
:08:21. > :08:22.The previous day, she had faced her first PMQs
:08:23. > :08:31.Political commentator James Millar was watching.
:08:32. > :08:34.The first Prime Minister's Questions of the new Parliament and much has
:08:35. > :08:35.changed since the last session back in April.
:08:36. > :08:39.But, to almost everyone's surprise, given the expected election result
:08:40. > :08:40.and the actual election result, the two protagonists
:08:41. > :08:43.remained the same - Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn.
:08:44. > :08:45.The Labour leader began the session in sombre and
:08:46. > :08:55.statesman-like fashion with some questions about the Grenfell
:08:56. > :08:57.fire tragedy, to which the Prime Minister
:08:58. > :09:00.As of this morning, the cladding of 120 tower
:09:01. > :09:02.blocks across the country in 37 local authority areas
:09:03. > :09:06.had been tested and failed the combustibility test.
:09:07. > :09:09.Given the 100% failure rate, we are very clear with
:09:10. > :09:11.local authorities and housing associations that they should not
:09:12. > :09:15.They should get on with the job of fire safety
:09:16. > :09:17.checks and, indeed, they are doing that.
:09:18. > :09:19.And they should take any necessary action and the government
:09:20. > :09:25.But it did not take long for party politics to break out,
:09:26. > :09:28.as Corbyn sought to connect the tragedy to austerity.
:09:29. > :09:33.When you cut local authority budgets by 40%, we all pay
:09:34. > :09:41.Fewer inspectors, fewer building control
:09:42. > :09:44.inspectors, fewer planning inspectors.
:09:45. > :09:51.And, Mr Speaker, those cuts to the Fire Service have meant
:09:52. > :09:59.The public sector pay cap is hitting recruitment and retention right
:10:00. > :10:06.Theresa May may be Prime Minister, but her position has changed.
:10:07. > :10:08.She is considerably weakened by losing her majority at an
:10:09. > :10:15.It looks like opposition MPs will not let her forget it.
:10:16. > :10:17.Labour's Jo Stevens joked about the Prime Minister's gamble
:10:18. > :10:23.I know the Prime Minister is well aware of the misery and suffering
:10:24. > :10:33.And following her recent own experience, her own
:10:34. > :10:36.experience and the turmoil it has caused to her friends and
:10:37. > :10:38.colleagues, will she now commit to legislating against fixed odds
:10:39. > :10:40.betting terminals, the cause of so much hardship
:10:41. > :10:50.Conservative backbencher Philip Davies' pet subjects might not have
:10:51. > :10:54.changed, this week it was overseas aid,
:10:55. > :10:57.and he took a vicious swipe at that Tory election manifesto.
:10:58. > :11:07.Spending more and more money on overseas aid each year does not
:11:08. > :11:10.make us more compassionate to the public,
:11:11. > :11:13.it makes us look idiotic when that money is needed in the United
:11:14. > :11:19.Can she promise to slash the overseas aid budget, spend it on
:11:20. > :11:22.I hope she doesn't have a strange aversion to
:11:23. > :11:25.pursuing policies that might be popular with the public.
:11:26. > :11:27.The SNP group in the Commons has a new
:11:28. > :11:35.leader and he also made a reference to the fact
:11:36. > :11:51.The Scottish Secretary insisted that Scotland would seek increased
:11:52. > :11:58.funding of the DUP secured funding for Northern Ireland. I quote, I am
:11:59. > :12:02.not going to keep anything which could be regarded as back door
:12:03. > :12:10.funding for Northern Ireland. Did the Prime Minister received any
:12:11. > :12:22.recommendations from her colleagues before that was sane?
:12:23. > :12:27.I don't remember when the money was announced for Scotland the
:12:28. > :12:33.honourable gentleman complaining about more money going to Northern
:12:34. > :12:39.Ireland. But then of course he is a nationalist and not a unionist.
:12:40. > :12:43.Theresa May is still standing and she came through relatively
:12:44. > :12:46.unscathed but there was enough in the session to suggest she has a
:12:47. > :12:49.hard time ahead of her in the years to come.
:12:50. > :12:52.Well, as we saw there, the government's ?1 billion
:12:53. > :12:53.deal with the DUP is hugely controversial.
:12:54. > :12:55.At Prime Minister's Questions, the DUP's Westminster
:12:56. > :13:02.and issues of severe mental health are some of the worst
:13:03. > :13:05.in Europe and indeed in the developed world.
:13:06. > :13:07.And clinicians and others have pointed to the legacy of
:13:08. > :13:12.30 years of terrorism and violence and the awful effects of that.
:13:13. > :13:16.Part of the money that we have for investing this week goes to
:13:17. > :13:20.Extra investment in the health service.
:13:21. > :13:23.Isn't it time that people recognised that this is
:13:24. > :13:26.delivery for all of the people of Northern Ireland across all sections
:13:27. > :13:30.of the community and it is going to help some of the most vulnerable
:13:31. > :13:33.and disadvantaged people in Northern Ireland.
:13:34. > :13:36.And people should get behind it and welcome it.
:13:37. > :13:38.But in the Queen's Speech debate the following day,
:13:39. > :13:42.one Conservative made clear she was far from happy.
:13:43. > :13:45.I can barely put into words might anger at
:13:46. > :13:47.the deal my party has done with the DUP.
:13:48. > :13:57.I cannot fault the DUP for wanting to
:13:58. > :14:00.achieve the very best for their residence
:14:01. > :14:04.nor for their tough negotiating skills.
:14:05. > :14:08.But I must put on record my distaste for the use of public funds to
:14:09. > :14:17.Now, let's take at some of the other news from around
:14:18. > :14:19.Over 700,000 pieces of NHS correspondence, rather
:14:20. > :14:21.than being delivered, were put into a warehouse
:14:22. > :14:24.by a company called NHS Shared Business Services, or SBS.
:14:25. > :14:28.Correspondence which did not reach its intended destination
:14:29. > :14:32.includes blood tests, cancer screening and
:14:33. > :14:37.I was advised by my officials not to make the issue public last March
:14:38. > :14:41.until an assessment of the risks to patient
:14:42. > :14:47.The cost of this debacle could be at least ?6.6 million for
:14:48. > :14:55.That is is the equivalent to the average annual
:14:56. > :15:00.The family of the murdered Labour MP Jo Cox unveiled a memorial
:15:01. > :15:06.It bears the motto "More In Common", a phrase from her maiden speech.
:15:07. > :15:08.Nicola Sturgeon has abandoned her demands for a new Scottish
:15:09. > :15:12.independence referendum before the Brexit deal is signed.
:15:13. > :15:15.In the general election, the SNP lost a third
:15:16. > :15:21.In Holyrood, Nicola Sturgeon said she now wanted to give people
:15:22. > :15:24.a choice at the end of the Brexit process.
:15:25. > :15:26.I am, therefore, confirming today that,
:15:27. > :15:29.having listened and reflected, the Scottish government will reset
:15:30. > :15:35.We will not seek to introduce the legislation for an independence
:15:36. > :15:42.Instead, we will, in good faith, redouble our
:15:43. > :15:45.efforts and put our shoulder to the wheel,
:15:46. > :15:49.in seeking to influence the Brexit talks in a way that protects
:15:50. > :15:54.But the issue which we have had this last year is of a
:15:55. > :15:58.First Minister who has tried to use the UK's decision to leave
:15:59. > :16:01.the European Union to try and impose another referendum on independence
:16:02. > :16:05.on Scotland at the earliest opportunity.
:16:06. > :16:10.No Edinburgh Agreement of respecting the result.
:16:11. > :16:13.Just a single vision drive to the line by Nicola Sturgeon,
:16:14. > :16:16.to try and secure her place in history.
:16:17. > :16:19.As her own MSPs have accepted, that decision cost her 21 seats
:16:20. > :16:24.and the support of half a million Scottish voters in
:16:25. > :16:30.The truth is, the threat of a unwanted second
:16:31. > :16:35.independence referendum is dead and this did not happen
:16:36. > :16:38.because Nicola Sturgeon wanted it to.
:16:39. > :16:40.The people of Scotland have taken that decision for her.
:16:41. > :16:45.If she wants to prove she has listen, the
:16:46. > :16:47.first thing the First Minister should do is trigger a
:16:48. > :16:50.vote in this chamber which would rule out another
:16:51. > :16:54.independence referendum in this parliamentary term.
:16:55. > :16:58.There was jubilation in the German Parliament after it
:16:59. > :17:01.voted overwhelmingly to legalise same-sex marriage,
:17:02. > :17:04.after the Chancellor, Angela Merkel, changed her position
:17:05. > :17:07.and decided to allow MPs to vote according
:17:08. > :17:12.The measure will grant gay and lesbian couples
:17:13. > :17:16.full marital rights, including the right
:17:17. > :17:21.Back to Westminster, where the long-stand tradition that
:17:22. > :17:24.male MPs should wear a tie in the Commons chamber appears
:17:25. > :17:28.The question came after one MP, Tom Brake,
:17:29. > :17:31.appeared in the Chamber and asked a question without one.
:17:32. > :17:33.It seems to me that as long as a member
:17:34. > :17:36.arrives in the House in what might thought to be business-like attire,
:17:37. > :17:42.the question of whether that member is wearing a tie is not absolutely
:17:43. > :17:52.So, am I minded not to call a member simply because
:17:53. > :17:55.that member is not wearing a tie? No.
:17:56. > :17:58.Now, securing trade deals after Brexit will be
:17:59. > :18:00.like "filling a swimming pool with a teaspoon",
:18:01. > :18:02.according to one of the Government's top infrastructure advisers.
:18:03. > :18:06.Labour's Lord Adonis, the head of the National
:18:07. > :18:11.Infrastructure Commission, was moving an amendment
:18:12. > :18:14.to the the Queen's Speech, regretting that it contained
:18:15. > :18:19.in the customs union and the single market.
:18:20. > :18:22.In total, more than 60%, 60% of our trade is with the EU or third
:18:23. > :18:27.countries where we enjoy free and preferential access by virtue of
:18:28. > :18:31.customs union and single market membership.
:18:32. > :18:36.My Lords, the government's Brexit policy is
:18:37. > :18:42.basically one of trying to fill a swimming pool with a teaspoon.
:18:43. > :18:46.It is an interesting and very challenging
:18:47. > :18:48.idea but don't jump in for about three centuries.
:18:49. > :18:53.Taking back our own control over our own affairs
:18:54. > :18:56.includes gaining control of our borders and setting out our own
:18:57. > :19:00.We'll also clear that respect the referendum
:19:01. > :19:03.outcome, we cannot enter being half in and half out of the EU.
:19:04. > :19:08.So, my Lords, we will be leaving the single market and customs union.
:19:09. > :19:12.I would approach her job with immense trepidation.
:19:13. > :19:19.She is carrying a valuable vase across a
:19:20. > :19:25.In the government's hands is the future of
:19:26. > :19:32.And, thus, the well-being of our people.
:19:33. > :19:33.How the government negotiates our future
:19:34. > :19:36.with the EU will have immense consequences on businesses, workers,
:19:37. > :19:43.Every time the minister attacks those who ask
:19:44. > :19:47.questions about the detail of Brexit as unpatriotic, people on the
:19:48. > :19:49.continent as well as here become more suspicious
:19:50. > :19:53.that the government still does not know the answers.
:19:54. > :19:58.To those who want to stop Brexit, and I have
:19:59. > :20:02.heard one or two speeches which seem to say they would like to, we
:20:03. > :20:04.must listen to the democratic decision of the people.
:20:05. > :20:06.I was particular struck by Lord Adonis who
:20:07. > :20:09.made a very good speech but it seemed to me that he was ignoring
:20:10. > :20:13.Of course we will still with control be able
:20:14. > :20:16.to import into this, people who
:20:17. > :20:21.have come into this country as immigrants, people with the
:20:22. > :20:23.necessary skills of the necessary unskilled people to fill certain
:20:24. > :20:29.job, but the public have made it very clear that they wanted tighter
:20:30. > :20:33.Once one has accepted that, once one has also
:20:34. > :20:38.accepted free trade, the logic is inescapable
:20:39. > :20:45.What I believe, and my nose which is close to the
:20:46. > :20:48.ground, is that the future will have blood on the streets because up at
:20:49. > :20:55.the level that we are, we cannot give the benefit of the doubt, we
:20:56. > :21:00.cannot go to people who we know are not doing
:21:01. > :21:04.as well as we could and say to them, let's work together.
:21:05. > :21:12.And when Lord Oak said earlier that in fact the poor are
:21:13. > :21:16.going to pay for Brexit, I say, OK, how can the House of Lords
:21:17. > :21:18.and the House of Commons stop the poor playing for Brexit?
:21:19. > :21:22.MPs elected a new deputy speaker on Wednesday.
:21:23. > :21:25.Labour's former chief whip Rosie Winterton will serve alongside
:21:26. > :21:29.Lindsay Hoyle and Eleanor Laing, who were both re-elected.
:21:30. > :21:33.They will help John Bercow to keep order in the Commons.
:21:34. > :21:37.Gabrielle O'Neill asked a former Deputy Speaker, Nigel Evans,
:21:38. > :21:40.if he could pass on any tips to the new recruit.
:21:41. > :21:46.We do have a little booklet, and it contains the
:21:47. > :21:57.photographs and constituencies and names of every member of Parliament.
:21:58. > :22:01.I think the trick for Rosie is to do what I used to do which is start
:22:02. > :22:05.at the top left and work your way along the chamber and go back and
:22:06. > :22:08.mentally say the name of the person you are looking at.
:22:09. > :22:10.And if you can't get the name, then you look through
:22:11. > :22:13.the book, and have a look at the photograph and then start again.
:22:14. > :22:15.And just make sure that you remember
:22:16. > :22:20.I used to do it even when I was in the tea room, and I
:22:21. > :22:23.used to look at MPs, mentally I would say their names in my head.
:22:24. > :22:26.And if I couldn't get the name, I would go and yet the book.
:22:27. > :22:29.And how do you deal with a rowdy chamber?
:22:30. > :22:31.Labour MP Ian Austin found out in 2012.
:22:32. > :22:33.Ian was shouting at George Osborne as Chancellor of the
:22:34. > :22:36.Exchequer and he wouldn't let it go, so the usual "Order! Order!"
:22:37. > :22:40.And I just stood up and I yelled at Ian to shut up.
:22:41. > :22:49.And I remember, actually, Glenda Jackson coming up
:22:50. > :22:53.to me afterwards and saying, Nigel, I was in my office and had the TV on
:22:54. > :22:56.and the Parliament channel and you yelled at Ian,
:22:57. > :23:08.And just a reminder of the key phrases that all speakers and
:23:09. > :23:14.Order! Order!
:23:15. > :23:19.Some of the new MPs from the 2017 intake have been making their debuts
:23:20. > :23:22.So, what are the key elements of a maiden speech?
:23:23. > :23:39.The oldest constituency is the best place in the country
:23:40. > :23:42.full of the best people, and this Liberal Democrat made
:23:43. > :23:44.the bold claim for Abingdon in her Oxford West constituency.
:23:45. > :23:50.Preview are more than just a career politician and tell the House
:23:51. > :23:58.Conservative Damien Mooore clearly felt that his previous job
:23:59. > :24:01.as a supermarket manager would be a huge help in his new role.
:24:02. > :24:05.Only time will tell if my audience this afternoon is as receptive
:24:06. > :24:11.Some say it is best not to be too political in your maiden speech.
:24:12. > :24:16.But that is impossible to resist for many.
:24:17. > :24:19.The only new SNP MP David Linden took the opportunity to lay
:24:20. > :24:34.It is simply unacceptably that in Glasgow East,
:24:35. > :24:36.6,234 children are deemed as living in poverty.
:24:37. > :24:38.That is the burning injustice the Prime Minister must
:24:39. > :24:42.Even if they came from the opposing party.
:24:43. > :24:45.The DUP's Paul Girbin had warm words for the former UUP
:24:46. > :24:48.Danny and I, although we were on opposite sides
:24:49. > :24:50.during the election, we were the best of friends.
:24:51. > :24:54.Now, I don't know whether Danny will still say that about me now,
:24:55. > :25:00.And if you want to be sure of always catching the Speaker's eye,
:25:01. > :25:03.it is a good idea to point out something unique and
:25:04. > :25:13.Like Labour's new MP for Bristol North West.
:25:14. > :25:16.And now, so I am told, Mr Deputy Speaker, I am the first
:25:17. > :25:18.ever Darren Alex Tetty this House of Commons.
:25:19. > :25:25.Bristol North West is an historic and fascinating constituency.
:25:26. > :25:30.And that is it from us for another week, but do join Joanna Shinn
:25:31. > :25:35.on Monday night at 11 for another round-up of the best of the day
:25:36. > :25:38.here at Westminster, including questions
:25:39. > :25:40.to the Home Secretary, Amber Rudd.
:25:41. > :25:46.But for now, from me, Alicia McCarthy, goodnight.