24/11/2017 The Week in Parliament

Hello and welcome to

the Week In Parliament, when

the Chancellor unveiled

the contents of his budget box.

I will assess if Philip Hammond has

done enough to win over the

doubters in his party.

For the first time Jeremy Corbyn

uses PMQS to challenge

Theresa May over Brexit.

The Brexit secretary

said he would guarantee

free movement for

bankers post-Brexit.

Are there any other groups

to whom the Prime Minister

believes freedom of

movement should apply?

We have been absolutely clear.

We will be introducing new

immigration rules and we will take

account of the needs

of the British economy doing so.

And calls on the government to do

more to cut air pollution.

We are affecting people who are

disadvantaged with diseases and

putting them to increased risk.

And we're affecting people

who are living in disadvantaged

communities to a greater extent.

But first.

The Chancellor Philip Hammond took

the traditional photo call outside

number 11 on Wednesday morning

as he prepared to deliver

his autumn budget.

As is tradition the

Chancellor was flanked

by his junior ministers

as he stepped into Downing Street

and held aloft the budget box

containing that all important

speech.

After smiles and photos

it was into the official car

for the short journey to the Commons

to unveil his plans.

So, what did he have to say -

and how did it go down?

Political commentator James Millar

was watching for us...

I now call the Chancellor

of the Exchequer, the right

honourable Philip Hammond.

Mr Deputy Speaker, I report today

on an economy that continues

to grow, continues to create more

jobs than ever before

and continues to confound those

who seek to talk it down.

It sometimes felt that

the topsy-turvy politics of 2017

were all just a set up

for Philip Hammond to joke

about in his second budget

of the year.

There was a reference

to the Prime Minister's

disastrous conference speech...

I did take the precaution

of asking my right honourable friend

to bring a packet of cough sweets

just in case.

APPLAUSE AND LAUGHTER.

In announcing more money

for Maths, he made fun

of his own dour reputation.

More maths for everyone.

Mr Speaker, don't let anyone

say I don't know how

to show our nation a good time.

And he took on the Westminster

rumour that Michael Gove has been

auditioning for his job.

Mr Deputy Speaker, I shall first

report to the House on the economic

forecast of the independent OBR.

This is the bit with a long

economicy words in it.

LAUGHTER.

Unfortunately, the content

of the Budget was no joke.

Growth forecast

significantly downgraded.

The economy is still ailing

and productivity, the latest key

measures to kick-start the economy

is still lagging.

That did not mean that there

was not money to hand out.

Among a number of funding

announcements for the NHS,

there was a £350 million boost

to the service but not

that £350 million.

£350 million immediately to allow

trust to plan for this winter.

£1.6 billion in 2018-19

and the balance in 19-20.

Taking the extra resource

into the NHS next year

to £3.75 billion in total.

There were goodies for those bits

of the country that voted Tory

in the mayoral elections in May

and the general

elections in June.

So the West Midlands, Teesside and

and particularly bits of Scotland.

Progress is being made on city

deals in Tay and Stirling

and for the borderlands.

I am getting used to the experience

of having my ear bent by 13

Scottish Conservative colleagues.

The election result loomed large

over the whole budget as Hammond

desperately tried to

woo younger voters.

Jeremy Corbyn promised to bin

tuition fees back in June

and Hammond offered under 30s money

off their rail fares.

It all felt a bit

gimmicky in its timidity.

The big plan was to stop stamp duty

for first-time buyers.

This was quickly trashed by the OBR.

Without an ambitious house-building

scheme it would only

push up prices further.

Jeremy Corbyn was

unimpressed by all of it.

Economic growth has

been revised down.

Productivity has been revised down.

Business investment revised down.

Peoples wages and living

standards revised down.

What sort of strong economy is that?

Hammond is unlikely to make many

new enemies with this budget

but then he has plenty of these

in the Tory party, among those

who suspect he is not

sufficiently Brexity.

He may still be subject

to a New Year flip from number

11 in the reshuffle.

I commend this place.

The good gags papered over

the modest content in the budget.

The question is, has Philip Hammond

done enough for an encore

or will he be booed off

the political stage in 2018?

James Millar.

In recent weeks and months

Jeremy Corbyn has used his six

questions at PMQs to challenge

Theresa May on everything

from Universal Credit to the NHS.

The one subject he's

never raised is Brexit -

but all that changed on Wednesday

when he brought up one

of the main sticking points

in the current talks.

Mr Speaker, the Irish Prime Minister

who has discussed Brexit

with the British Government says

sometimes it does not

seem like they have

thought all this through.

So can the Prime Minister

reassure him by clearly outlining

the government policy

on the Irish border?

We are very clear that in relation

to the movement of people,

the Common travel area will continue

to operate as has done

since 1923 and on trade and movement

of goods and services

across the border, we will not see

a hard border being introduced.

We have been very clear.

Last week the British secretary said

he would guarantee free movement

for bankers post-Brexit.

Are there any other groups

for whom the Prime Minister believes

freedom of movement should apply?

Nurses, doctors, teachers,

scientists, agricultural

workers, care workers, who?

I'm very interested that the right

honourable gentleman has found

that his appearances at PMQs have

been going so well he had

to borrow a question

from the Liberal Democrats,

which he asked me last week.

Perhaps he should pay more

attention to what happens

in Prime Minister's Questions.

We have been absolutely clear

that we will be introducing

new immigration laws

and as we introduce those

immigration rules, we would take

account of the British economy

in doing so.

We want to get on and deal

with the question of the future

trading relationship we have

at the European Union and I also

optimistic about the opportunities

that will be available to this

country and about the deal

we can get from the

negotiations we are having.

The right honourable gentleman

cannot even decide whether he wants

to be in the customs union or out

of it, in or out, in or out.

He needs to get his act together.

Theresa May, well, just the day

before, MPs had held their third day

of detailed debate

on the EU withdrawal bill -

the crucial bit of legislation that

moves EU law into UK law

in time for Brexit.

Although it transfers over

a mass of legislation,

as it stands it doesn't bring over

the EU Charter of

Fundamental Rights.

The Charter guarantees

rights under the headings

of dignity, equality,

justice, solidarity and freedom.

In the Commons, there were arguments

both for keeping the Charter

and for dropping it.

The charter is the most effective

key to unlocking vital rights and

the failure to transpose it and make

it operable in UK law is to lock

those rights are weak and deny UK

citizens the key to accessing them.

My point is our rights will be

guaranteed once we have left by

Supreme Court and common law

or the application of statute.

I cannot think of a right

that he and I would

value which will be

destroyed if we have not

incorporated the charter.

They will be guaranteed

by these ancient methods.

One MP put forward an amendment,

calling for ministers to put forward

a report on the effect of not having

the charter.

We need to have a far

more detailed report from ministers

about the consequences of deleting

this Charter. They are potentially

far ranging.

My worry is the charter

is sufficient -- is too complicated.

Everyone is in favour of the rights

we have in the convention that have

been incorporated in English law, we

want to protect human rights but we

do not feel the Charter adds

sufficiently.

The honourable lady has suggested

the charter contains

rights too complicated to be

incorporated in English law.

Will the honourable

member reassure those

rights will be incorporated into

Scots law which is a separate legal

system and the other legal systems

of members of the European union?

Former Attorney General

Dominc Grieve put forward

a proposal that would lead

to the Fundamental Charter of Rights

continuing to apply to those EU laws

that are 'retained' in UK law.

He called it 'a very big issue'.

It worries me that

we're going to come

into a period when we leave in March

2019 where we will have a hiatus

there will be a gap where areas of

law which matter to people are not

protected in any way at all.

He said he'd put his

proposal to a vote

unless the Government could give him

assurances on the issue.

The minister said the Government

was prepared to look again

at the protection of rights.

There should be appropriate

mechanisms for challenging the

actions of the executive.

I am happy to discuss

with my right honourable friend

what might be needed.

I am also willing to discuss

if there needs to be some formal

challenge on secondary legislation.

This satisfied Dominic Grieve for

now at least.

I am most grateful

to my right honourable

friend and he has made

at the

dispatch box an important concession

which I might appreciate

and clearly reflects

the disquiet which is

access the House.

In the light of that, I will not be

pressing my amendment to a

vote.

vote.

Dominic Grieve.

Well, MPs have five more days

of detailed debate on the EU

Withdrawal bill still to go -

they will return to it

on December the 4th -

when they've finished

debating the budget.

Now let's take a look at some

other news in brief.

Emmerson Mnangagwa has been sworn-in

as the new president of Zimbabwe.

He formally took up office

in a ceremony in the national

sports stadium in Harare,

in front of tens of

thousands of people.

People in the country took

to the streets in the capital Harare

following the news that 93 year

old President Mugabe -

who'd run the country since 1980 -

was finally standing down.

So Peers asked what would the UK do

to support the country?

As Zimbabwe's oldest friend,

we will do all we can to support a

legitimate government

to rebuild the country working

with international and regional

partners and pressing

--addressing, economic

and human rights and

constitutional issues,

including

free and fair elections.

The UK's amphibious forces capable

of landing troops from the sea

are an elite fighting force vital

for an island nation.

That was the message from MPs

as they urged the Chancellor,

Philip Hammond, not to cut

the defence Budget.

Media reports suggested plans

were being considered to reduce

the number of Royal Marines by 1,000

or take two specialist

landing ships, HMS Albion

and Bulwark, out of action.

We cannot do national

security on the cheap.

We must ensure that our Armed Forces

have the resources that they need

to deal with the threats

that we face, and any

reduction in our amphibious

capabilities or in the number

of our Royal Marines are the wrong

cuts at the wrong time.

The chancellor hinted

in the Budget he'd look at taxes

to cut plastic waste.

It follows the introduction of a 5p

charge on single use carrier bags,

which cut use by 85%.

Now there are calls to bring

in a levy on plastic drinks bottles

and disposable coffee cups.

In the Lords, Peers reckoned that

couldn't come too soon.

Could the ministers say something

about the millions and millions

of plastic bottles that can't be

recycled and are simply

being put into waste.

Can't we have a positive action

to cut down the number

of plastic bottles?

They are a disgrace.

Hear, hear.

My Lords, the noble Lord

will probably be aware that

in the budget speech,

the Chancellor has announced

that we are going to be looking

at how we can tackle that particular

problem, perhaps through taxation

in relation to single use plastics.

But in relation to bottles, he's

right, there is a challenge there.

However, we shouldn't beat ourselves

up to much, my lords.

In 2000, 13,000 tonnes of plastic

bottles were recycled.

By 2016, that was 343,000 tonnes.

There is much to do

but we are on track, my lords.

The BBC TV licence came up

for discussion in Westminster Hall

after thousand of people

signed an e-petition.

The fee, just over £12 a month,

has to be paid by all households

that use BBC services,

but over 75s are exempt.

One Conservative spoke up in favour

of the Corporation's

freeview channels.

The free view channels

include BBC One, BBC Two,

BBC Three, BBC Four,

CBBC, CBeebies, the BBC News

channel, and the BBC Parliament

channel, worth of course the entire

licence fee on its own!

Peter Heaton-Jones.

Staying in Westminster Hall an MP

used a debate on Wednesday to warn

that the UK could be facing

an epidemic of opiod abuse.

It follows thousands of deaths

in the United States linked

to the synthetic opiod,

fentanyl - a painkiller many times

stronger then heroin.

Between 2009 and 2015,

it is estimated that fentanyl

and its derivatives have killed

approximately 300,000 people

in the US during that time.

Now, these numbers are of virtual

biblical proportions.

He feared we were on the brink

of an epidemic and called for better

education and increased sentences

for drug dealers.

And I feel that we should be

giving some thought now,

as we cope or potentially have

to cope with fentanyl

and similar lethal derivatives.

Perhaps by creating a new class,

double A class of these

really truly lethal drugs.

A former justice minister said

the so-called war on drugs had been

an unmitigated disaster.

We should be learning

from decriminalisation and public

health approach in other countries.

In Portugal, for example,

where the possession of small

amounts of drugs has been

decriminalised a step well short

of licensing and regulation,

usage rates are amongst

the lowest in Europe.

Let's treat it as a health issue,

not a criminal justice issue.

Let's accept across our country

the principle of safer

drug consumption rooms.

There are already saving lives

in eight European countries.

In Canada, in Australia,

it is endorsed by the BMA,

no one dies of an overdose

in our drug consumption room.

The minister cannot come before us

today and say that he honestly

believes his government

are improving services and seriously

addressing this issue

when we are all seeing such

significant cuts that

are rolling back provision

of addiction services?

The minister said an ambitious

drugs strategy had been

unveiled earlier this year.

Deaths linked to fentanyl

and contaminated heroin have been

seen in parts of the UK.

He gave us a graphic

illustration of the impact

in the States which,

I agree with him,

is extremely worrying.

These underlined the importance

of vigilance and strong enforcement

action by the police

and the National Crime Agency,

as well as accessible treatment

and the availability

of life-saving interventions.

Philip Dunne.

A leading clinical professor

specialising in air pollution has

condemned the Chancellor for not

targeting white van

man in the Budget.

Medical experts say air pollution

can be a contributory

factor in heart attacks,

lung cancer, asthma,

pneumonia, and stroke.

There's also concern that pollution

may affect the developing organs

of babies in the womb and contribute

towards conditions such

as diabetes and dementia.

Four committees joined forces

to take evidence on the issue.

Professor Stephen Holgate set out

the scale of the problem.

We are affecting people

who are at the extremes of life,

we are affecting people

who are disadvantaged with diseases

that put them at increased risk,

and we are affecting people who live

in disadvantaged communities

to a great extent.

So there is an equality

issue in all of this.

And of course it is preventable

because we now have such strong

evidence that we can demonstrate

that if you do start reducing

pollution, you do improve

the health of the nation.

One MP asked about

Wednesday's Budget.

The Chancellor specifically heralded

the fact that he is not

going to target white van man

or white van woman,

as if that were good thing

in the long-term going forward.

Lost opportunity, I'm afraid, there.

Mr White Van, I'm afraid if you look

in our graph here, it is the one

area that is going on increasing

as people start doing

more of their shopping

through the internet.

This is a big issue.

Environmental lawyers, Client Earth,

took the Government to Court

over pollution levels.

If Brexit happens, how

are we going to enforce any of this?

Yeah.

You've hit on a very

important point and one that

keeps me awake at night.

At the moment, the understanding

is that the current standards under

the Ambient Air Quality Directive

and the EU Transfers

in Regulations will transfer

across through the Withdrawal Bill.

But, and it is a big but,

we are very concerned

that the enforceability of these

standards will decline post Brexit.

Later, MPs heard from the Mayor

of London, who called

for a new Clean Air Act.

We talked about the rising

nitrogen dioxide.

Half of that in London

comes from transport,

and we are taking bold action

in London to try

and ameliorate that.

The other half comes

from construction,

comes from the river,

comes from buildings.

I have no powers in relation to...

If there were new legislation

of the type described,

what are you asking for it to be...

So, what we hoped the new Clean Air

Act would do is to give mayors

in regions the powers and resources

to tackle the other half in relation

to emission standards.

In relation to regulation, in

relation to who is in charge of it.

And I don't see how

without a new clean act,

we can move forward and get

the clean air that

we desperately need.

The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan.

Time for a look at what's been

happening in the wider

world of politics.

Claire Gould has our countdown.

Two new introductions

into the Lords this week.

The Lord Chief Justice,

Lord Burnett.

And a familiar face

from the bishops' bench,

the former Bishop of London returns

as Lord Charters.

But with peers are retiring

as well as joining,

the ermine-o-meter stays at 801.

Proving there is life

after you retire from the Lords,

Baroness Trumpington,

famous for that hand gesture,

was announced as one of the Radio 4

Today programme's guest editors over

the Christmas period.

New Scottish Labour leader

Richard Lennon had his first chance

to grill Nicola Sturgeon at FMQs

this week, making the case

for greater spending

on the Fire Service in Scotland.

Former Scottish leader Kezia Dugdale

will be hoping to avoid

the political wilderness by heading

for the jungle instead

as the latest contestant

to appear on reality TV show

I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here.

Catching the Speaker's eye

is an essential talent for any

backbench MP so you wouldn't think

they would need reminding

but Mr Bercow felt there some

were lacking enthusiasm by the end

of the busy week in the Commons.

He bobs once, he thinks

that is sufficient of his

desire to participate.

Repeated bobbing has

always been required.

Clare Gould.

A minority Tory government faced

with steering nation-changing

legislation through Parliament.

Sounds familiar?

We're talking about 150 years ago

when the Tories were 70 seats short

of the combined Opposition.

Two previous administrations had

fallen over the issue

of voting reform.

But the Tories brought in the 1867

Reform Act, which gave the vote

to many working-class men.

Simon Vaughan reports.

Parliament itself needed to resolve

this issue because it kept

on upsetting the normal

process of government.

Rather like today, this issue

has become so important

that normal routine,

domestic legislation, other issues

that needed to be addressed,

were now being held up.

A challenge for the Leader

of the House, Benjamin Disraeli.

The way they managed

this whole situation,

the briefing, behind-the-scenes,

going to the clubs, talking

to the backbenchers in particular,

he managed to create a situation

in which he was able to isolate

the key party leaders,

Gladstone, and Bright,

for example, and he was able

to appeal to the backbenchers,

particularly radical Tory

backbenchers, to help

get this bill through.

You end up with a situation

where he puts the bill

in but the final act has 61 clauses,

only four of those were

in the original bill.

So the whole thing comes completely

modified by the Commons.

In other words, what Disraeli does

is to put power back to the MPs.

The act went further

than many Tories wanted,

boosting the electorate by 82%.

But Disraeli held

his party together.

It was an extraordinary achievement,

a piece of political manoeuvring

by a master political operator.

The vote also saw the first debate

in Parliament of extending

the franchise to women.

Though the amendment was voted down.

John Stuart Mill introduced

an amendment to clause four

of the act to replace the word man

with person so that the act

would have applied to women

who met the qualifications

as well as to men.

And that was the basis,

to keep it as simple

as possible, really.

I think the fact that it was debated

as a parliamentary question,

even if only briefly,

is a really landmark moment

in the women's suffrage campaign.

And 150 years ago this weekend,

that campaign was boosted

by one Lily Maxwell.

She managed to vote

in a parliamentary by-election.

She was a shopkeeper

in Manchester, and she was

on the register by accident.

It was a clerical error.

Somebody had written down

Lily Maxwell, and not

realised this was a woman.

So, if you are on the register,

you are entitled to vote.

So, she went to the polling booth,

accompanied by Lydia Becker,

who was one of the leaders

of the women's suffrage

movement in Manchester,

and she cast her vote.

The story got into the newspapers

that there was this female voter.

Her vote stood, but attempts

by other women to join

the register failed,

and women wouldn't gain the right

to elect their MPs until 1918.

Simon Vaughan bringing us to the end

of this edition of the programme,

but do join Keith Macdougall

on Monday night at 11 for a full

roundup of the day at Westminster,

including the continuing debate

on the Chancellor's budget.

But for now, from me,

Alicia McCarthy, goodbye.