0:00:22 > 0:00:24Hello and Welcome to the Week In Parliament.....
0:00:24 > 0:00:26Where the government promises "robust" action
0:00:26 > 0:00:34following the poisoning of a former Russian spy in the UK.
0:00:34 > 0:00:38The investigation is moving apace and this government will act without
0:00:38 > 0:00:40hesitation as the facts become clear.
0:00:40 > 0:00:43As the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia arrives for a three day visit -
0:00:43 > 0:00:45the Prime Minister hails the historic links
0:00:45 > 0:00:47between the two nations.
0:00:47 > 0:00:50But Jeremy Corbyn condemns the country's record
0:00:50 > 0:00:53on human rights -- and argues the UK shouldn't be
0:00:53 > 0:00:55selling arms there.
0:00:55 > 0:01:02They cannot be right that her government is colluding in what the
0:01:02 > 0:01:08United Nations says is evidence of war crimes.We have a very tight
0:01:08 > 0:01:11arms export regime in this country and when there are allegations of
0:01:11 > 0:01:14arms not being used within the lot dummy expect that to be
0:01:14 > 0:01:14investigated.
0:01:14 > 0:01:17Also on this programme: Parliament marks international women's day --
0:01:17 > 0:01:20but is it time for a statue to the 18th Century author
0:01:20 > 0:01:24and activist Mary Wollstonecraft?
0:01:24 > 0:01:27And: Ever signed an online petition to Parliament?
0:01:27 > 0:01:32We find out if they really make a difference:
0:01:32 > 0:01:35We have seen that some petitions to change the Government's mind. Maybe
0:01:35 > 0:01:39not on gate to the Mac day one but as we go through.
0:01:39 > 0:01:40But first....
0:01:40 > 0:01:43The Home Secretary told Mps that the poisoning of a Russian
0:01:43 > 0:01:45double agent and his daughter in Salisbury was a "brazen
0:01:45 > 0:01:47and reckless act."
0:01:47 > 0:01:50Sergei Skripal was living in the UK following a spy swap .
0:01:50 > 0:01:52He was found slumped on a bench in Salisbury in Wiltshire,
0:01:52 > 0:01:54along with his daughter Yulia.
0:01:54 > 0:01:58The couple had been poisoned with a rare nerve agent.
0:01:58 > 0:02:00Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey from Wiltshire police -
0:02:00 > 0:02:03who went to help them - was also taken to hospital.
0:02:03 > 0:02:05At prime minister's questions on Wednesday Theresa May told
0:02:05 > 0:02:08the Commons she'd held a meeting of the national security council.
0:02:08 > 0:02:10And the next day the Home Secretary came
0:02:10 > 0:02:18to the Commons to update Mps.
0:02:18 > 0:02:24The use of a nerve agent on UK soil is a brazen and reckless act. This
0:02:24 > 0:02:29was attempted murder and the most cruel and public way. The
0:02:29 > 0:02:35investigation is moving at a pace. This government will act without
0:02:35 > 0:02:39hesitation as the facts become clearer. As my right honourable
0:02:39 > 0:02:43friend the Foreign Secretary made clear on Tuesday, we will respond in
0:02:43 > 0:02:51a robust and appropriate manner once we ascertain who was responsible.We
0:02:51 > 0:02:54on this side of the House are appalled that the idea that anyone
0:02:54 > 0:02:59might be poisoned on the streets of our towns and cities. We share with
0:02:59 > 0:03:02the Government a determination that this case be brought to a speedy and
0:03:02 > 0:03:07just conclusion and that similar incidents are prevented in the
0:03:07 > 0:03:14future.I have written to her to ask that there could be a review of 14
0:03:14 > 0:03:18other cases and she will know there are many ways in which lack it
0:03:18 > 0:03:21happen and precedents for doing so. Can I also asked her, in terms of
0:03:21 > 0:03:28this initiate the leader-mac immediate investigation has she
0:03:28 > 0:03:31considered going to the UN Security Council to ask for a statement
0:03:31 > 0:03:36calling on all nations to provide assistance including willingness to
0:03:36 > 0:03:41extradite suspects should not be needed.She makes a suggestion
0:03:41 > 0:03:45regarding international activity and I can say to the right honourable
0:03:45 > 0:03:48lady that at some stage we will be coming back to the House with our
0:03:48 > 0:03:52proposals but for now we are merely preparing and concentrating on the
0:03:52 > 0:03:58incident.Isn't it time we, realistic and Russia and Canada Home
0:03:58 > 0:04:02Secretary confirm whether that memorandum of understanding between
0:04:02 > 0:04:05UK and the Russian nuclear power company that was so strongly
0:04:05 > 0:04:09championed by the former Prime Minister Mr Cameron has formally
0:04:09 > 0:04:14ended. Event has been ended, can she make it's ended so the previous love
0:04:14 > 0:04:20in with Russia that we saw a few years ago is completely finished.
0:04:20 > 0:04:24Does the Home Secretary share my my constituents anger of the cruel
0:04:24 > 0:04:27nature of this crime which could've resulted in considerably more
0:04:27 > 0:04:31collateral damage. Will she assured that eventually the full force of
0:04:31 > 0:04:36the law will be brought down on the perpetrators?My honourable friend
0:04:36 > 0:04:39is exactly right. Just because you want to approach this with a cool
0:04:39 > 0:04:45tide in order to collect the evidence doesn't mean that we do not
0:04:45 > 0:04:47share the outrage that his constituents and he himself clearly
0:04:47 > 0:04:49feels about this.
0:04:49 > 0:04:50The Home Secretary, Amber Rudd.
0:04:50 > 0:04:55Now let's take a look at some other news from Westminster in brief.
0:04:55 > 0:04:58There was a call for misogyny to be treated as a hate crime.
0:04:58 > 0:05:04MPs argued the definition should be extended to include the abuse
0:05:04 > 0:05:09of women, if they are targeted simply because of their gender.
0:05:09 > 0:05:14Misogyny is everywhere in our society. To the point where we often
0:05:14 > 0:05:17miss it because it's been so normalised by being continually
0:05:17 > 0:05:19unchallenged.
0:05:19 > 0:05:21She went on to detail, in very explicit language,
0:05:22 > 0:05:24some of the insults she'd received.
0:05:24 > 0:05:31Now all of these insults have been put to me because I am a woman. We
0:05:31 > 0:05:34can kid ourselves that these are a few bad and ominous depot on twitter
0:05:34 > 0:05:42but it's not. This is every day common language.I think we need to
0:05:42 > 0:05:45be careful about creating laws which would an inverted leak conflict with
0:05:45 > 0:05:47the principles of equality.
0:05:47 > 0:05:50MPs held their first big debate on a bill to cap gas
0:05:50 > 0:05:51and electricity prices.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54The aim is to provide some protection to customers who don't
0:05:54 > 0:06:01shop around for the cheapest possible energy deals.
0:06:01 > 0:06:05Those paying the terrorists are much more likely to be in reduced
0:06:05 > 0:06:10circumstances. 80% of households with an income of less than £18,000,
0:06:10 > 0:06:14ten not switch supplier in the last three years.I welcome the
0:06:14 > 0:06:18governments foray into a policy which are previously denounced as
0:06:18 > 0:06:23Marxist. But it remains a case that as a result of this government in
0:06:23 > 0:06:26action, millions of households have been left to scrape through this
0:06:26 > 0:06:32winter facing a choice between cold homes or astronomical bills.If the
0:06:32 > 0:06:36average saving between the cheapest tariff for the big six and a
0:06:36 > 0:06:42standard tariff is £300 per annum, then somebody else apart from he can
0:06:42 > 0:06:45do the math to assess that the sums that we sought to recover from this
0:06:45 > 0:06:48company...
0:06:49 > 0:06:51The big thaw following the big freeze led to thousands of homes
0:06:51 > 0:06:54being left without water as engineers battled to deal
0:06:54 > 0:06:55with leaks and burst pipes.
0:06:55 > 0:06:57Some areas were without supplies for several days, relying
0:06:57 > 0:07:01on emergency stocks of bottled water.
0:07:01 > 0:07:07There is absolutely no excuse for water companies making huge profits
0:07:07 > 0:07:10not being able to provide the resilience by what a protected
0:07:10 > 0:07:15businesses and indeed residents around the country.Thames water
0:07:15 > 0:07:20made pre-tax profits of £638 million last year. Or is simply no excuse
0:07:20 > 0:07:26for not having robust emergency plans in place.Thames water are
0:07:26 > 0:07:30very much under the spotlight. I'm angry with them too. This is
0:07:30 > 0:07:32returning. They recognise there's been a change of ownership and
0:07:32 > 0:07:37leadership. I'm determined that Thames water customers receive a far
0:07:37 > 0:07:39better service than they have today.
0:07:39 > 0:07:41Ministers have been urged to introduce a licensing
0:07:41 > 0:07:42regime for air weapons.
0:07:42 > 0:07:45In the Lords, peers heard that there had been thousands
0:07:45 > 0:07:54of attacks on pets involving airguns in the last five years.
0:07:54 > 0:07:58The charity recorded 164 attacks and cats within airgun last year while
0:07:58 > 0:08:02they received nearly 900 calls to their cruelty hotline to report in
0:08:02 > 0:08:08air weapon attacks on animals making 4.5 thousand attacks in the last
0:08:08 > 0:08:11five years. Is it time to licence these weapons to ensure they are
0:08:11 > 0:08:14possessed only for legitimate purposes by responsible owners and
0:08:14 > 0:08:18not by those who would truly inflict pain and suffering and often death
0:08:18 > 0:08:25and defenseless domestic animals. The Government does take animal
0:08:25 > 0:08:35welfare seriously. With causing unnecessary suffering. We are
0:08:35 > 0:08:38increasingly the maximum penalty for this offence from six months
0:08:38 > 0:08:43imprisonment and or in unlimited fine to five years imprisonment and
0:08:43 > 0:08:45or in unlimited fine.
0:08:45 > 0:08:48Does the fake fur bobble on your winter hat contain real fur?
0:08:48 > 0:08:50The Environment Committee has been gathering evidence after a spate
0:08:50 > 0:08:52of cases where garments trimmed with fake fur contained
0:08:52 > 0:08:54the real thing.
0:08:54 > 0:08:57Samples sent to a laboratory were found to contain a variety
0:08:57 > 0:08:59of different animal furs, which were often cheaper
0:08:59 > 0:09:05than synthetic fibres.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08To the naked eye into the field you wouldn't necessarily tell the
0:09:08 > 0:09:18difference would you?No, absolutely. The use of Friday of
0:09:18 > 0:09:23completely unreliable cues including price. 50% of people used cheap
0:09:23 > 0:09:27price as an indicator of fake fur. Colour. If it's bright pink then you
0:09:27 > 0:09:34know there is no bright pink animals.We've come a long way from
0:09:34 > 0:09:36the 1930s.
0:09:36 > 0:09:38were used in circuses - with lion tamers as
0:09:38 > 0:09:39the star attraction.
0:09:39 > 0:09:41Even into the 1960s elephants were performing gravity defying
0:09:41 > 0:09:44tricks to the amazement of children crowded into the big top.
0:09:44 > 0:09:49Now one MP wants a total ban on wild animals in circuses.
0:09:49 > 0:09:52According to the department for the environment there
0:09:52 > 0:09:55are currently 18 wild animals licensed for travelling shows
0:09:55 > 0:10:00in England, including six reindeer, three camels, three zebra,
0:10:00 > 0:10:04three raccoons, one fox, a macaw and a zebu.
0:10:04 > 0:10:11Is it right I question that we allow wild animals to travel around the
0:10:11 > 0:10:15country from temporary enclosures to circus tent and back to a lorry for
0:10:15 > 0:10:21a journey onto the town? What sort of a life is bad for animals such as
0:10:21 > 0:10:24zebras and camels? Without space to forage and interact with other
0:10:24 > 0:10:29animals of their own kind in the way that they would naturally. These
0:10:29 > 0:10:40wild animals cannot truly be said to be wild.
0:10:40 > 0:10:42Emboldened by her latest speech on Brexit , Theresa May told
0:10:42 > 0:10:44the Commons she's confident Britain can reach an agreement
0:10:44 > 0:10:45with the European Union.
0:10:45 > 0:10:47She said she wants trade across borders which is
0:10:47 > 0:10:49as frictionless as possible, and that while the UK
0:10:49 > 0:10:51will leave the single market, and the jurisdiction
0:10:51 > 0:10:54of the European Court of Justice, some regulations will remain
0:10:54 > 0:10:58in step with the EU.
0:10:58 > 0:11:01A short time later the chancellor appeared in front of a committee
0:11:01 > 0:11:07of MPs and told them the UK needed a free-flowing border between Dover
0:11:07 > 0:11:10and Calais and that he was setting aside £3 billion over the next two
0:11:11 > 0:11:12years to prepare for Brexit.
0:11:12 > 0:11:15The next day it was the turn of the Brexit Secretary
0:11:15 > 0:11:17to answer questions.
0:11:17 > 0:11:21In a lively session he was asked whether the UK would stay in the EU
0:11:21 > 0:11:23if Parliament voted down the final Brexit deal in what's called
0:11:23 > 0:11:29a "meaningful vote."
0:11:29 > 0:11:38With respect that is been dealt with at length. I don't want to retract.
0:11:38 > 0:11:45I recommend you go back. When he was a Minister your colleague on the
0:11:45 > 0:11:54committees comments on this matter...I think we have a right to
0:11:54 > 0:12:01ask these questions. There's no with respect. Will there be an
0:12:01 > 0:12:07opportunity to suspend Article 50 the event that there isn't time to
0:12:07 > 0:12:13have a meaningful vote?I don't think a meaningful vote is
0:12:13 > 0:12:14overruling the referendum.
0:12:14 > 0:12:15And after a request from the Committee Chair
0:12:15 > 0:12:18for the government to tell the EU it can't dictate terms,
0:12:18 > 0:12:23David Davis gave his top tips on how to negotiate.
0:12:23 > 0:12:27At the beginning of this process I said to the House one of the debates
0:12:27 > 0:12:31that they would be astonished how to play I was going to be in the next
0:12:31 > 0:12:40two years. I take the view that when public aggression in negotiations
0:12:40 > 0:12:45generally doesn't work very well. It creates an attitude on the other
0:12:45 > 0:12:49side and I avoid it. What anyone else does is up to them. We've give
0:12:49 > 0:12:59me different advise?Now, two prime Ministers questions were Theresa May
0:12:59 > 0:13:03defended the UK's relationship with Saudi Arabia the start of a
0:13:03 > 0:13:07three-day visit by the crown prince. His schedule included talks with
0:13:07 > 0:13:12Theresa May and once with the queen.
0:13:12 > 0:13:18The ground and is credited with kick-starting economic forms in the
0:13:18 > 0:13:27kingdom such as the the ban on women driving.Despite much talk of
0:13:27 > 0:13:32reform, there has been a sharp increase in the arrest and detention
0:13:32 > 0:13:37of dissidents, torture of prisoners is common, human rights defenders
0:13:37 > 0:13:42routinely sentenced to lengthy prison terms. Unfair trials and
0:13:42 > 0:13:46executions are widespread as Amnesty International confirms. As if she
0:13:46 > 0:13:51makes her arms sales pitch will she also call on the crown prince to
0:13:51 > 0:13:56halt this shocking abuse of human rights in Saudi Arabia?I look
0:13:56 > 0:14:03forward to welcoming the crown prince from Saudi Arabia to this...
0:14:03 > 0:14:08Labour backbenchers from sedentary preventions are shouting shame. Can
0:14:08 > 0:14:13I say to those backbenchers that the point we have with Saudi Arabia is
0:14:13 > 0:14:18historic, an important one, and it has saved the lives of potentially
0:14:18 > 0:14:25hundreds of people in this country. Jeremy Corbyn moved on from Saudi
0:14:25 > 0:14:29Arabia's human rights record to its involvement in the war in Yemen,
0:14:29 > 0:14:33where it is backing attempts to restore the country's President.
0:14:33 > 0:14:38Germany has suspended arms sales to Saudi Arabia, but British arms sales
0:14:38 > 0:14:42have sharply increased and British military advisers are directing the
0:14:42 > 0:14:48war. It cannot be right that her government... Mr Speaker, it cannot
0:14:48 > 0:14:53be right that her government is colluding in what the United Nations
0:14:53 > 0:14:58says is evidence of war crimes.We have a very tight arms export regime
0:14:58 > 0:15:02in this country, and when there are allegations of arms not being used
0:15:02 > 0:15:07within the lob and we expect that to be investigated and to be -- lessons
0:15:07 > 0:15:10to be learned on that.Theresa May.
0:15:10 > 0:15:12Ever felt so annoyed - or so concerned - about an issue
0:15:12 > 0:15:15that you wanted to have it aired in Parliament?
0:15:15 > 0:15:17Two recent debates by MPs - one on live animal exports
0:15:17 > 0:15:20and the other calling for British Sign Language to be
0:15:20 > 0:15:22on the National Curriculum - both stemmed from online
0:15:22 > 0:15:25petitions to Parliament.
0:15:25 > 0:15:26So how does the system work?
0:15:26 > 0:15:29There's a website where you can click on a link to set
0:15:29 > 0:15:31up your own petition.
0:15:31 > 0:15:34If you can attract 10,000 signatures, the government
0:15:34 > 0:15:36has to give a response.
0:15:36 > 0:15:39If 100,000 people sign up, the petition might be
0:15:39 > 0:15:44debated in Parliament.
0:15:44 > 0:15:46Liz Twist is on the Commons Petitions Committee and was involved
0:15:46 > 0:15:49in that recent sign language debate.
0:15:49 > 0:15:51On a rather windy day at Westminster, I asked her why
0:15:51 > 0:15:53petitions weren't automatically debated once they reached that
0:15:53 > 0:15:58magic 100,000 figure.
0:15:58 > 0:16:00As the petitions committee, we look at them quite carefully.
0:16:00 > 0:16:03Sometimes they've been debated very recently and it
0:16:03 > 0:16:06will be repeated in debate.
0:16:06 > 0:16:08Sometimes they are about things that perhaps the Government cannot deal
0:16:08 > 0:16:12with, so rejected from that point of view.
0:16:12 > 0:16:18So, we have a certain criteria that we look at.
0:16:18 > 0:16:20That'sa set of criteria.
0:16:20 > 0:16:21And how you do you decide?
0:16:21 > 0:16:24What kind of thing are you looking for in a petition?
0:16:24 > 0:16:27Well, we are looking to see that it has a clear point to make,
0:16:27 > 0:16:30that it's something that can be debated and that we are able
0:16:30 > 0:16:32to take that forward.
0:16:32 > 0:16:34There is a threshold for 100,000 signatures
0:16:34 > 0:16:37for something to be debated, but you do occasionally debate
0:16:37 > 0:16:40things which don't reach that 100,000 threshold.
0:16:40 > 0:16:46Your debate on sign language being an example of that.
0:16:47 > 0:16:47Yeah.
0:16:47 > 0:16:49OK, so there are two things.
0:16:49 > 0:16:51First of all, once a petition gets 10,000 signatures,
0:16:51 > 0:16:53the Government has to produce a response and publish that
0:16:54 > 0:16:55on the petition's website.
0:16:55 > 0:16:58Very often as a committee we ask the Government to go back and look
0:16:58 > 0:16:59at its response and improve it.
0:16:59 > 0:17:01So, that is something we take very seriously.
0:17:01 > 0:17:04But beyond that, we do look at issues like the sign language
0:17:04 > 0:17:07one, where we felt it would be really difficult for the petitioners
0:17:07 > 0:17:10to get to that 100,000 threshold.
0:17:10 > 0:17:13And yet it was still a matter of great importance
0:17:13 > 0:17:16in the public interest.
0:17:16 > 0:17:18These debates are not binding on the Government.
0:17:18 > 0:17:20The Government doesn't have to do anything once these
0:17:20 > 0:17:23debates have been had.
0:17:23 > 0:17:26Do you think that it perhaps gives people a bit of false hope
0:17:26 > 0:17:28because they think I've signed this petition, it's been debated,
0:17:28 > 0:17:30something has to change now.
0:17:30 > 0:17:32I think everything has to start somewhere, and for some people it
0:17:32 > 0:17:34starts on the campaign to raise awareness.
0:17:34 > 0:17:37But we have seen that some petitions do change the Government's mind.
0:17:37 > 0:17:39Maybe not on day one, but as we go through,
0:17:39 > 0:17:43for example the debate that was held on brain tumours a couple of years
0:17:43 > 0:17:44ago, has actually seen the Government responding
0:17:44 > 0:17:51and putting some extra money in, £45 million into research.
0:17:51 > 0:17:53Let's take a look at some of the other stories making
0:17:53 > 0:17:56the political news this week.
0:17:56 > 0:18:01Here's Ryan Brown with this countdown.
0:18:06 > 0:18:08The UK's first purple plaque was unveiled at Cardiff Bay.
0:18:08 > 0:18:16The plaque commemorates notable women.
0:18:16 > 0:18:18This one on their former Welsh Assembly Member,
0:18:18 > 0:18:19and equalities campaigner.
0:18:19 > 0:18:21Leader of the House Andrea Leadsom wishes resident rock star
0:18:22 > 0:18:23Keith Richards a happy birthday.
0:18:23 > 0:18:25I hear, Mr Speaker, that he's 21 again.
0:18:25 > 0:18:33But actually, I might be confusing that with his majority.
0:18:33 > 0:18:36Former first lady meets her biggest fan after a photo of her enamoured
0:18:36 > 0:18:38by Michelle Obama's portrait goes viral.
0:18:38 > 0:18:42Shake it off, shake it off.
0:18:42 > 0:18:43Ministers questioned the environmental audit
0:18:43 > 0:18:47committee's proposed 25p charge on disposable coffee cups.
0:18:47 > 0:18:49They say voluntary discounts are better for shops.
0:18:49 > 0:18:52Caffeine addicts are safe for now.
0:18:52 > 0:18:55At question time Jeremy Corbyn asked Theresa May about human rights
0:18:55 > 0:18:57abuses in Saudi Arabia and reminds her of the importance
0:18:57 > 0:19:01of International Women's Day.
0:19:01 > 0:19:06I think that's what's called mansplaining.
0:19:15 > 0:19:18Women took to the streets to mark International Women's Day,
0:19:18 > 0:19:20including a march on Parliament and mass strikes and
0:19:20 > 0:19:24demonstrations in Spain.
0:19:24 > 0:19:26In a speech in Westminster the grandaughter of suffragette
0:19:26 > 0:19:36Sylvia Pankhurst said 2018 could be a turning point for women's rights.
0:19:37 > 0:19:41Is it that one, two, three generations down from that act we
0:19:41 > 0:19:45have women who have been able to occupy many more spaces through
0:19:45 > 0:19:48education, through their work, through political spaces, and they
0:19:48 > 0:19:51are coming across all the continued barriers and they are feeling that
0:19:51 > 0:19:55maybe again another place, another weight is required and it really
0:19:55 > 0:19:59does feel that we are at one of those moments that 2018 will be
0:19:59 > 0:20:03remembered not because it's... That because something else was
0:20:03 > 0:20:04happening.
0:20:04 > 0:20:06On international Women's day itself the Commons held
0:20:06 > 0:20:09a debate to celebrate that, and to mark 100 years
0:20:09 > 0:20:10since some women got the vote.
0:20:10 > 0:20:13The Labour MP Jess Philips began by reciting of women killed
0:20:13 > 0:20:20by men in the last year.
0:20:20 > 0:20:24As always the women are all ages and were killed in violent episodes at
0:20:24 > 0:20:28the hands of men. Violence against women and girls is an epidemic. If
0:20:28 > 0:20:34as many people died every week at a sporting event or because they had a
0:20:34 > 0:20:39specific job, there would be national outcry. These women deserve
0:20:39 > 0:20:44the same. We must all do better to hear their stories and to end the
0:20:44 > 0:20:46culture of male violence that killed them.
0:20:46 > 0:20:48Over the next nearly four minutes, she read out the names
0:20:48 > 0:20:51of all the women who had died from domestic violence
0:20:51 > 0:20:56in the UK since the last International Women's Day.
0:20:56 > 0:21:02Our test should always be did we do everything we could to protect all
0:21:02 > 0:21:07women? For too many women in this country the answer to this is still
0:21:07 > 0:21:10simply now. We must do better.
0:21:10 > 0:21:13An SNP MP argued sexism was deeply embedded in our culture.
0:21:13 > 0:21:17Other MPs spoke of encouraging more women into politics -
0:21:17 > 0:21:24We see it in this House, a juvenile, grinning idiocy that is so offensive
0:21:24 > 0:21:28sometimes that the smugness of a minority of men who think that
0:21:28 > 0:21:33supposedly clever point scoring proves something. An
0:21:33 > 0:21:37anti-intellectual nonsense that makes this continuing debate so
0:21:37 > 0:21:41tiring. There are many in this House who had a record of opposing
0:21:41 > 0:21:46progressive politics without substantive argument, but with
0:21:46 > 0:21:51plenty of bluster and filibuster, opposing equality is as a playground
0:21:51 > 0:21:57joke. I command I'm sure others, are tired of engaging with men with so
0:21:57 > 0:22:02little, so very little to offer. And I am pleased that they represent a
0:22:02 > 0:22:07tiny percentage of the men I encounter.Other MPs spoke of
0:22:07 > 0:22:11encouraging more women into politics and Westminster.The best thing that
0:22:11 > 0:22:14we are doing at the moment to encourage young women to be
0:22:14 > 0:22:19interested in politics is having a female prime Minister, because
0:22:19 > 0:22:22suddenly for me it was when I saw Margaret Thatcher become prime
0:22:22 > 0:22:25Minister and in the leader of the party and prime Minister of our
0:22:25 > 0:22:29country, which may politics relevant for me. It turned politics from
0:22:29 > 0:22:34being frankly a lot of old men in grey raincoats to something which
0:22:34 > 0:22:37was a Technicolor relevant issue for me to be involved in as a
0:22:37 > 0:22:4114-year-old girl living in South Wales where there weren't too many
0:22:41 > 0:22:49Tories around and I could see an amazing role model on the
0:22:49 > 0:22:53television.It is important that we in this House take responsibility
0:22:53 > 0:22:56for inspiring other women, our daughters, but I think we should
0:22:56 > 0:23:01also remember in this day that many of us owe our inspiration to our
0:23:01 > 0:23:04mothers and our grandmothers and important women in our lives. My own
0:23:04 > 0:23:08grandmother when she was born did not have the right to vote, and I
0:23:08 > 0:23:10wear her writing link to this chamber every day and occasionally
0:23:10 > 0:23:13it serves as a reminder of what we owed to generations past -- I wear
0:23:13 > 0:23:15her wedding ring.
0:23:15 > 0:23:17And while we're on the subject of groundbreaking women,
0:23:17 > 0:23:20this year sees several new statues of suffrage campaigners to mark
0:23:20 > 0:23:21the centenary of votes for women.
0:23:21 > 0:23:24This one in Leicester is of Alice Hawkins, with others
0:23:24 > 0:23:26planned for Emmeline Pankhurst in Manchester and Millicent
0:23:26 > 0:23:29Fawcett in London.
0:23:29 > 0:23:33But women campaigners argue that a statue to the pioneering
0:23:33 > 0:23:3518th century feminist - Mary Wollstonecraft -
0:23:35 > 0:23:39is long overdue.
0:23:39 > 0:23:41Now a group of male Labour politicians has
0:23:41 > 0:23:42joined that campaign.
0:23:42 > 0:23:48Among them, Lord Adonis.
0:23:48 > 0:23:53This is a statute to Emeline Pankhurst, right by Parliament. She
0:23:53 > 0:23:58was crucial in getting women to vote, but Mary was it anything more
0:23:58 > 0:24:03important. Her book, a vindication of the rights of women published 225
0:24:03 > 0:24:08years ago established the whole idea that women were on a par with men
0:24:08 > 0:24:12when it came to social, political and economic rights. That was a
0:24:12 > 0:24:16revolutionary idea. It is now a century since women got the vote and
0:24:16 > 0:24:20as we look at the great achievements of women over that period and how it
0:24:20 > 0:24:24was that the social campaigns got going, in order to give them those
0:24:24 > 0:24:28rights, it all was back to Mary Wollstonecraft and her extraordinary
0:24:28 > 0:24:31book, the vindication of the rights of women, which started the modern
0:24:31 > 0:24:35feminist movement. When you read it today, I got a copy here, I tried to
0:24:35 > 0:24:38get a first edition from the House of Lords but it was revolutionary
0:24:38 > 0:24:46for the House of Lords in seven to 92 as they haven't got one. Even as
0:24:46 > 0:24:49you read it now you realise how explosive it was -- 17 92. This is
0:24:49 > 0:24:51what Mary Wollstonecraft said in 1792 when Louis XVI was being
0:24:51 > 0:24:55executed in Paris: to render her a really virtuous and useful she must
0:24:55 > 0:25:01not, if she did -- discharge occurs all duties one individual is he that
0:25:01 > 0:25:04production of the lot, she must not be dependent on her husband's bounty
0:25:04 > 0:25:07for her subsistence during her life or support after his death. For how
0:25:07 > 0:25:11can a woman be generous who has nothing of her own? Or virtue is who
0:25:11 > 0:25:18is not free? Those are revolutionary ideas in 1792. We now regard them as
0:25:18 > 0:25:21of course absolutely commonplace. The fact that they were
0:25:21 > 0:25:26revolutionary then,, lace now is why they should be a statute to Mary
0:25:26 > 0:25:28Wollstonecraft in Parliament Square -- revolutionary then and
0:25:28 > 0:25:33commonplace now. The heart of our democracy since she did so much to
0:25:33 > 0:25:36liberate women.Lord Adonis on the revolutionary Mary Wollstonecraft.
0:25:36 > 0:25:39And that's it from me for now, but do join Lucy Grey on BBC
0:25:39 > 0:25:43Parliament, on Monday night at 11 for a round up of the day
0:25:43 > 0:25:44here at Westminster.
0:25:44 > 0:25:49But for now from me, goodbye.