Browse content similar to 24/03/2016. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
Line | From | To | |
---|---|---|---|
Hello and welcome to Thursday in Parliament, our look at the best | :00:13. | :00:15. | |
of the day in the Commons, the last day before | :00:16. | :00:18. | |
On this programme: reaction in the Commons to the next planned | :00:19. | :00:23. | |
This is an awful game of brinkmanship and the government must | :00:24. | :00:39. | |
press the pause button before it is too late. Governments cannot be held | :00:40. | :00:43. | |
hostage by a union that refuses to negotiate. | :00:44. | :00:45. | |
An MP places a wager with a Secretary of State. | :00:46. | :00:50. | |
I bet the minister ?100 that nuclear power station will not be built | :00:51. | :00:56. | |
without even more public subsidy being offered. | :00:57. | :00:58. | |
And an MP gives a first-hand account of being given life-saving treatment | :00:59. | :01:01. | |
I had a total of eight weeks in Saint Mary Hospital, five and a half | :01:02. | :01:10. | |
weeks in the intensive care unit. But first: Junior doctors | :01:11. | :01:14. | |
are holding the country to "ransom" with their latest plans for a full | :01:15. | :01:16. | |
walkout from hospitals. That was the verdict | :01:17. | :01:18. | |
of the Health Minister Ben Gummer. For months junior doctors in England | :01:19. | :01:21. | |
have been locked in battle with the Government over | :01:22. | :01:23. | |
the re-drawing of their terms One of their main areas of complaint | :01:24. | :01:26. | |
is that the new contracts require Three strikes have been | :01:27. | :01:33. | |
held since January. But during the next series | :01:34. | :01:37. | |
of strikes, announced for April, the junior doctors will not be | :01:38. | :01:40. | |
providing emergency cover. The Health Minister said | :01:41. | :01:43. | |
the Government would do all in its power to make sure | :01:44. | :01:46. | |
patients were protected. Given that patients presenting at | :01:47. | :01:59. | |
hospitals in an emergency are often at a point of extreme danger, the | :02:00. | :02:04. | |
action taken by the BMA will inevitably put patients in harms | :02:05. | :02:08. | |
way. But the BMA wish to do this in order to continue a dispute over how | :02:09. | :02:14. | |
Saturdays are paid is not only regrettable, it is entirely | :02:15. | :02:17. | |
disproportionate and highly irresponsible. We are in the | :02:18. | :02:23. | |
position of being faced with a trade union escalating strike action | :02:24. | :02:28. | |
despite being consistent only in its refusal to negotiate. The country | :02:29. | :02:32. | |
cannot be held to ransom like this. At some point a democratically | :02:33. | :02:35. | |
elected government must be able to proceed to fulfil the promises it | :02:36. | :02:40. | |
has made to the people. Governments cannot be held hostage by a union | :02:41. | :02:42. | |
that refuses to negotiate. He said the Government had been | :02:43. | :02:45. | |
forced, with regret, We will be presenting the new | :02:46. | :02:55. | |
contract directly to doctors to show them that it is safer than the one | :02:56. | :02:59. | |
it replaces, it's fairer, it's better for patients than the one it | :03:00. | :03:03. | |
replaces and it's better the doctors than the one it replaces. By seeing | :03:04. | :03:08. | |
the detail for themselves I am confident that doctors will see the | :03:09. | :03:15. | |
strike for what it is. This report should add that | :03:16. | :03:17. | |
micro-disproportionate, ill judged, unnecessary wrong. This is a | :03:18. | :03:25. | |
worrying time for patients and the NHS. And it is nothing short of a | :03:26. | :03:31. | |
disgrace that yet again the Health Secretary has failed to turn up. If | :03:32. | :03:36. | |
this walk-out goes ahead, this will be the first time ever that junior | :03:37. | :03:41. | |
doctors have fully withdrawn their labour. Nobody wants that to happen. | :03:42. | :03:48. | |
Deep down, he knows that this contract has nothing to do with | :03:49. | :03:51. | |
seven-day services and everything to do with setting a precedent to save | :03:52. | :04:01. | |
money on the NHS pay bill. Change the definition of unsociable hours | :04:02. | :04:05. | |
in this contract and pave the way for changing it for nurses, porters | :04:06. | :04:14. | |
and a whole host of other NHS staff. Am I wrong, Minister? Mr Speaker, | :04:15. | :04:19. | |
the government has 32 days to prevent a fall walk-out of junior | :04:20. | :04:23. | |
doctors. The Secretary of State may think the matter is closed, I say | :04:24. | :04:29. | |
that is arrogant and dangerous in the extreme. This is an awful game | :04:30. | :04:35. | |
of brinkmanship and the government must press the pause button before | :04:36. | :04:42. | |
it's too late. There is a point at which you cannot continue | :04:43. | :04:45. | |
discussions. Firstly if your counter party refuses to talk, secondly in | :04:46. | :04:49. | |
the knowledge that over so many occasions a promise to talk has been | :04:50. | :04:53. | |
given by the BMA only fair that promise to be renovated upon as a | :04:54. | :04:58. | |
future point. We have to move ahead, we have to move ahead with a | :04:59. | :05:01. | |
contract that is better for patients and better for doctors. She hasn't | :05:02. | :05:06. | |
yet told us what the position of the opposition is. I could understand | :05:07. | :05:10. | |
that although I don't agree with it. I can understand it when the | :05:11. | :05:14. | |
industrial action is to do with elective nonemergency care. But the | :05:15. | :05:20. | |
call for strike action on emergency care is of an altogether different | :05:21. | :05:26. | |
order. It does demand a response from the opposition because this is | :05:27. | :05:32. | |
about emergency cover for patients. The opposition needs to say very | :05:33. | :05:37. | |
clearly whether it supports or condemns the action. Does my | :05:38. | :05:42. | |
honourable friend agree that this time the BMA has gone too far and | :05:43. | :05:48. | |
will he join me in calling on junior doctors reaching beyond the BMA to | :05:49. | :05:55. | |
put their patients first and the BMA leadership second? I know that NHS | :05:56. | :06:01. | |
staff do not take strike action lightly. The government 's failure | :06:02. | :06:07. | |
to negotiate has fuelled this crisis in our NHS. The BMA in their | :06:08. | :06:11. | |
statement yesterday said they wanted to end this dispute through talks. I | :06:12. | :06:14. | |
implore the Minister to get background that table for the sake | :06:15. | :06:21. | |
of patients and every citizen of this country. The Secretary of State | :06:22. | :06:26. | |
has promised that there will be more junior doctors working at weekends | :06:27. | :06:30. | |
while at the same time no fewer working during the week. The UK | :06:31. | :06:34. | |
Government has this week decided the best way to reform disability | :06:35. | :06:39. | |
welfare payments is to listen to disabled people. Will the UK | :06:40. | :06:43. | |
Government now make a similar U-turn on the NHS reform and concede that | :06:44. | :06:47. | |
the best way to reform junior doctor contracts is to listen to junior | :06:48. | :06:52. | |
doctors? Given the responsible announcement yesterday by the BMA | :06:53. | :06:57. | |
they are willing to walk out even on emergency patients shows that the | :06:58. | :07:01. | |
doctors union are prepared to put patients lives that risks. Will my | :07:02. | :07:05. | |
honourable friend look at the law and see how that can be brought in | :07:06. | :07:10. | |
line for emergency medicine so that emergency doctors are prevented from | :07:11. | :07:15. | |
taking action as irresponsible and appalling of this in future. | :07:16. | :07:17. | |
Eight days have gone by since the Budget statement, | :07:18. | :07:19. | |
and it's no exaggeration to say that George Osborne's measures have taken | :07:20. | :07:22. | |
The row over disability benefits, prompting the resignation | :07:23. | :07:25. | |
from the Cabinet of Iain Duncan Smith, has overshadowed a measure | :07:26. | :07:28. | |
that the Chancellor clearly hoped would make the headlines, | :07:29. | :07:30. | |
namely the sugar tax. The levy's aimed at high-sugar | :07:31. | :07:33. | |
drinks, particularly fizzy drinks, popular among teenagers. | :07:34. | :07:38. | |
The tax will be imposed on companies and apply in two bands depending | :07:39. | :07:41. | |
Full-strength Coca-Cola and Pepsi, and Irn-Bru, would fall under | :07:42. | :07:48. | |
the higher rate of the tax which, it's suggested, | :07:49. | :07:51. | |
At the Treasury committee, the Chancellor was asked | :07:52. | :07:56. | |
if he was prepared to back the move in court. | :07:57. | :08:05. | |
There's been some press speculation prompted by some of the | :08:06. | :08:12. | |
manufacturers, either they might mount a legal challenge or they are | :08:13. | :08:16. | |
urging the government to rethink. Can you comment on the government 's | :08:17. | :08:22. | |
position in response to the recent press reports? Many companies are | :08:23. | :08:28. | |
doing the right thing and reducing the sugar content in their drinks | :08:29. | :08:33. | |
and that is to be applauded. Other companies are saying either this | :08:34. | :08:37. | |
sugar taxes and going to happen or they are going to challenge it in | :08:38. | :08:41. | |
the courts. I would say if they want to have an argument about the sugar | :08:42. | :08:46. | |
tax, bring it on. We are going to introduce a sugar tax. It's the way | :08:47. | :08:51. | |
it's going to be. I think it's the right thing for this country. I | :08:52. | :08:54. | |
think it will make a huge improvement to childhood health. | :08:55. | :09:01. | |
It's been warmly welcomed across the political spectrum but also very | :09:02. | :09:06. | |
much supported by the health profession and the education | :09:07. | :09:09. | |
profession. We will now consult on the technical details of the tax and | :09:10. | :09:16. | |
setup the parameters and it will be introduced in 2018. Precisely so | :09:17. | :09:20. | |
that companies have two years to reformulate products or change their | :09:21. | :09:25. | |
marketing if they wish to do so. Otherwise they will pay the tax. Any | :09:26. | :09:31. | |
legal challenge will be read but he defended by the government? We took | :09:32. | :09:35. | |
legal advice before introducing it. We are very clear it's legal. And we | :09:36. | :09:40. | |
will of course robotically defend it if there was a legal challenge. I | :09:41. | :09:44. | |
would say to companies, don't waste time and money on a legal challenge. | :09:45. | :09:50. | |
Use this period to look at job products and see if you can | :09:51. | :09:57. | |
reformulate. Robinsons, Tesco, Sainsbury, the Co-op, they have all | :09:58. | :10:02. | |
reformulate it. These are products you can reduce sugar in. I would | :10:03. | :10:06. | |
suggest that is what we would like to see the industry do. Ultimately | :10:07. | :10:08. | |
it will be up to them. Then on to those proposals for cuts | :10:09. | :10:10. | |
to disability benefits, In the process of the budget you | :10:11. | :10:21. | |
talked this week about the lessons that need to be learned or the | :10:22. | :10:24. | |
lessons you will learn, I wondered what lessons you are taking away | :10:25. | :10:28. | |
from this budget both in terms of the process you went through but | :10:29. | :10:33. | |
also the content? Obviously attention has focused on the changes | :10:34. | :10:38. | |
that were proposed to personal independence payments just prior to | :10:39. | :10:46. | |
the budget. Clearly, if you are going to make reforms to disability | :10:47. | :10:50. | |
benefits we need to go about it in a better way than we did because they | :10:51. | :10:55. | |
were intended to make sure that a rising disability budget, more money | :10:56. | :10:59. | |
was focused on those who need it most and that the disability benefit | :11:00. | :11:05. | |
budget was well used. But it did not come and support as was perfectly | :11:06. | :11:09. | |
obvious. So that's where I think lessons need to be learned. | :11:10. | :11:11. | |
Another Labour MP wondered how the chancellor would | :11:12. | :11:13. | |
Is it possible Chancellor that you might make further cuts to welfare | :11:14. | :11:28. | |
spending? We've got no plans. That's not the question I asked. We are not | :11:29. | :11:34. | |
going to replace the ?1 billion more than we are going to be spending on | :11:35. | :11:38. | |
disability benefits with some other cuts... That's not the question I | :11:39. | :11:45. | |
asked. Is it possible you will make further cuts to welfare spending? I | :11:46. | :11:50. | |
imagine if the country votes to remain in the European Union will | :11:51. | :11:54. | |
will be seeking to make good progress and introducing the welfare | :11:55. | :11:55. | |
break on EU migrants. It is possible you will make further | :11:56. | :12:11. | |
cuts to welfare? That is something that is probably announced. Is it | :12:12. | :12:14. | |
possible that the Autumn Statement you will make further cuts to other | :12:15. | :12:17. | |
spending? We have no plans for further cuts. That is not the | :12:18. | :12:23. | |
question I asked. It is the answer I am giving you. We do not plan for | :12:24. | :12:26. | |
the reductions in welfare spending beyond what we have already | :12:27. | :12:31. | |
announced. We will get in focus preventing the proposals in the | :12:32. | :12:35. | |
welfare reform Act. I think anybody listening to this will have to | :12:36. | :12:38. | |
conclude it is entirely possible you will make further cuts to welfare at | :12:39. | :12:44. | |
the Autumn Statement. That's not the conclusion I would draw from | :12:45. | :12:48. | |
listening to me. Can you understand, Chancellor, why people might not | :12:49. | :12:51. | |
trust politicians in general and perhaps you in particular if you | :12:52. | :12:56. | |
refuse to answer what are pretty important questions, particularly | :12:57. | :12:59. | |
for people who are reliant on these sorts of benefits? I think people | :13:00. | :13:04. | |
know what we have set out to achieve. It was in our manifesto, | :13:05. | :13:07. | |
this budget delivers our manifesto, that is what the country voted on. | :13:08. | :13:11. | |
You're watching our round up of the day at Westminster. | :13:12. | :13:13. | |
Still to come: MPs plead for a re-think on plans to close | :13:14. | :13:16. | |
The doubts remain over whether a new nuclear power station | :13:17. | :13:27. | |
will ever be built at Hinkley Point, in Somerset. | :13:28. | :13:30. | |
The energy company, EDF, said two weeks ago it couldn't | :13:31. | :13:39. | |
confirm its commitment to build the new ?24 billion reactor | :13:40. | :13:42. | |
unless the French government came up with more money. | :13:43. | :13:44. | |
On Wednesday a French government spokesman said a final decision | :13:45. | :13:46. | |
When the subject was raised at Energy questions in the Commons, | :13:47. | :13:51. | |
a Labour MP was in a gambling frame of mind. | :13:52. | :13:57. | |
The government has already offered ridiculously large subsidies | :13:58. | :13:59. | |
I bet the minister ?100, proceeds to charity of course, | :14:00. | :14:05. | |
that that nuclear power station will not be built without even more | :14:06. | :14:08. | |
Will the Secretary of State take that bet? | :14:09. | :14:14. | |
Mr Speaker, apart from looking people in the eyes, I'm not | :14:15. | :14:16. | |
in the habit of taking bets across the chamber. | :14:17. | :14:19. | |
But I'm very happy to reassure the honourable gentleman that I'm | :14:20. | :14:22. | |
completely confident that the Hinkley Point C project | :14:23. | :14:25. | |
will go ahead, and will not be the only new nuclear reactor | :14:26. | :14:27. | |
It appears that Britain's energy security is now in the hands | :14:28. | :14:34. | |
of the French and Chinese governments. | :14:35. | :14:37. | |
If the French government decides not to offer up more money | :14:38. | :14:41. | |
for the Hinkley Project, will our taxpayers be on the hook | :14:42. | :14:43. | |
I can reassure the honourable lady that this proposal in Hinkley Point | :14:44. | :14:52. | |
But in order to give further reassurance to the honourable lady, | :14:53. | :14:59. | |
I would like to tell her that Hinkley Point is an important part | :15:00. | :15:02. | |
of our low carbon future, but it is not the only nuclear | :15:03. | :15:05. | |
If she had paid attention during the Budget she might have | :15:06. | :15:09. | |
heard the Chancellor announce further support for small modular | :15:10. | :15:12. | |
reactors which could be an important part of a low carbon future. | :15:13. | :15:16. | |
Is the intention of this government to build Hinkley Point C | :15:17. | :15:19. | |
The honourable gentleman I'm sure is aware that it is not for this | :15:20. | :15:26. | |
It is for EDF to build Hinkley Point C. | :15:27. | :15:30. | |
That is why we have put the arrangement in place | :15:31. | :15:33. | |
where we only pay when the electricity is generated. | :15:34. | :15:36. | |
That is the sound arrangement that we have and it is due to start | :15:37. | :15:39. | |
generating that electricity when we will start paying | :15:40. | :15:42. | |
Well, back now to the question of health, because the Labour MP | :15:43. | :15:51. | |
Mike Gapes has been giving MPs in Westminster Hall a vivid | :15:52. | :15:54. | |
description of HIS first-hand experience of the National Health | :15:55. | :15:56. | |
He became seriously ill five months ago. | :15:57. | :16:01. | |
This is my first speech or question apart from interventions in this | :16:02. | :16:07. | |
And my friend and neighbour referred to my extended break. | :16:08. | :16:13. | |
It was not voluntary, it was not by choice. | :16:14. | :16:16. | |
I had been at a concert at the Royal Albert Hall. | :16:17. | :16:28. | |
Jools Holland saved my life, because if I have not gone | :16:29. | :16:30. | |
to the concert I would not have had friends with me when I had | :16:31. | :16:34. | |
the events occurr that evening in November. | :16:35. | :16:37. | |
And I was rushed by ambulance initially to Chelsea | :16:38. | :16:40. | |
and Westminster Hospital, where I collapsed, and they scanned | :16:41. | :16:45. | |
me and decided I had such a serious rupture to the thoracic aneurysm | :16:46. | :16:51. | |
that they had to refer me by ambulance into Saint Mary's | :16:52. | :16:54. | |
I have a vivid memory of going down the ramp out of the ambulance | :16:55. | :17:05. | |
into the A at St Mary's with about ten people waiting | :17:06. | :17:07. | |
there and running me in the trolley straight into the operating theatre, | :17:08. | :17:12. | |
where the consultant said, "I hope you don't mind, | :17:13. | :17:18. | |
"we have injected you with anaesthetic but do you mind | :17:19. | :17:21. | |
"Because we have to start straightaway. | :17:22. | :17:26. | |
"The anaesthetic will take a moment to work." | :17:27. | :17:29. | |
And then I heard a female voice saying, "I know this is hurting, | :17:30. | :17:32. | |
I had a total of eight weeks in Saint Mary 's Hospital. | :17:33. | :17:44. | |
Five and a half weeks in the intensive care unit. | :17:45. | :17:48. | |
Nearly three of which I was in an induced coma. | :17:49. | :17:53. | |
I had a series of operations on my heart, and also a | :17:54. | :18:00. | |
tracheostomy, which is an interesting experience whereby | :18:01. | :18:02. | |
permanently inside you, or it seems like eminently. | :18:03. | :18:12. | |
Fortunately it is not there any more. | :18:13. | :18:15. | |
I also had other operations whilst I was there. | :18:16. | :18:17. | |
I haven't yet flown anywhere, and I'm waiting to see what happens | :18:18. | :18:27. | |
to the metal detectors at the airport, because I do have | :18:28. | :18:29. | |
some stents which might cause some competitions. | :18:30. | :18:31. | |
I have to say I have been at the hospital this morning | :18:32. | :18:34. | |
and they are very pleased with my progress, and I am able | :18:35. | :18:37. | |
MPS are urging the government to rethink its decision to close | :18:38. | :18:45. | |
a fifth of courts in England and Wales. | :18:46. | :18:48. | |
The plans are part of reforms to modernise courts and reduce | :18:49. | :18:53. | |
But across the house MPs said local justice was in danger and a Labour | :18:54. | :19:01. | |
MP said the government didn't realise the impact of the closures. | :19:02. | :19:07. | |
... 'S responds to the consultation says that 97 present of citizens | :19:08. | :19:14. | |
will still be able to reach their required court within an hour by | :19:15. | :19:17. | |
car. The statement is something not true. The data on which the response | :19:18. | :19:22. | |
is based is travel time between court buildings, not the travel time | :19:23. | :19:28. | |
from residents' forms to the court which will now be the closest. And I | :19:29. | :19:32. | |
feel that many people upon witnessing a crime will say, I do | :19:33. | :19:36. | |
not know if I want to come forward as a witness when it will mean that | :19:37. | :19:39. | |
additional time and cost burden to me as a witness. Until you are a | :19:40. | :19:45. | |
victim, you do not realise how important it is for the witnesses | :19:46. | :19:49. | |
and victims to turn up. This is what happened to me 20 years ago. I was a | :19:50. | :19:54. | |
victim of assault but I basically stopped a large and rampaging group | :19:55. | :19:58. | |
of girls who were kicking a young girl on a zebra crossing north | :19:59. | :20:01. | |
London and then assaulted each worker and then assaulted me. It was | :20:02. | :20:05. | |
only I turned up that I realised how important it was that the people who | :20:06. | :20:09. | |
had been the victims of assault were in that room that day so that those | :20:10. | :20:12. | |
girls leaders guilty, in that case to the charge of affray. Simply the | :20:13. | :20:20. | |
policy is wrong. The one size fits all court closure programme is both | :20:21. | :20:24. | |
crude, I think, and wrong. And it is against the principle of local | :20:25. | :20:28. | |
justice, which is the cornerstone of the British justice system. Frankly, | :20:29. | :20:33. | |
these closures, particularly for Chichester are not a policy, they | :20:34. | :20:37. | |
are the negation of policy. Everyone understands the need for financial | :20:38. | :20:46. | |
stringency. But no economic rationale has been provided despite | :20:47. | :20:48. | |
repeated requests for these closures. And until it is provided, | :20:49. | :20:54. | |
I think people will continue to be deeply concerned about it. The | :20:55. | :20:58. | |
Government defends itself by claiming that courts are underused, | :20:59. | :21:01. | |
but I have been told by credible sources that court cases are being | :21:02. | :21:04. | |
moved in order to skew these figures and justify closing some courts. And | :21:05. | :21:09. | |
if the justification is not lack of demand it is the need to save money, | :21:10. | :21:13. | |
which will effectively result in the cost of providing justice been | :21:14. | :21:16. | |
passed from the state to the individual engaging with the justice | :21:17. | :21:19. | |
system whether as an offender or as a witness or as a victim. There is a | :21:20. | :21:24. | |
real need to look at how we have a plan for the long-term future of our | :21:25. | :21:27. | |
courts, how we have a strategy to ensure that some cases can still be | :21:28. | :21:33. | |
decided locally, and a real commitment to doing that, not just a | :21:34. | :21:36. | |
allusion to it, but a real firm plan in areas where there will no longer | :21:37. | :21:42. | |
be an alternative building in the near vicinity. | :21:43. | :21:43. | |
But not everyone was against the idea: | :21:44. | :21:49. | |
Some Magistrates' Courts I can remember were in poor condition, old | :21:50. | :21:54. | |
and ill-equipped, and did not have this facility is to deal with the | :21:55. | :21:57. | |
separation of witnesses, victims and legal advisers that we all wish to | :21:58. | :22:01. | |
see and that the Honorourable Member referred to earlier. So not all | :22:02. | :22:06. | |
closures are bad, and has to be process of renewal and sometimes of | :22:07. | :22:12. | |
consolidation. These Asian to close a court is not one that I take | :22:13. | :22:16. | |
lightly. But it is a decision that I'm prepared to make when it is | :22:17. | :22:20. | |
necessary to do so to support the essential reform of our court | :22:21. | :22:24. | |
tribunal system and to bring the court system up to the modern | :22:25. | :22:26. | |
21st-century. There'll be two parliamentary | :22:27. | :22:34. | |
by-elections in the next few weeks. The contests follow the death | :22:35. | :22:37. | |
of the Sheffield Labour MP Harry Harpham, and decision | :22:38. | :22:39. | |
of the Labour MP for Ogmore in Wales, Huw Irranca-Davies | :22:40. | :22:41. | |
to run as a candidate Here's the Labour chief whip moving | :22:42. | :22:43. | |
the writ in the Commons, in the traditional way, | :22:44. | :22:48. | |
for the second of those elections. I beg to move that Mr Speaker do | :22:49. | :22:58. | |
issue his warrant to the clerk of the Crown to make out a new rate for | :22:59. | :23:03. | |
the electing of a member to serve in this present Parliament for the | :23:04. | :23:14. | |
county constituency of Ogmore, in the right of Mr Davies, who since | :23:15. | :23:17. | |
his election to the said constituency has been appointed to | :23:18. | :23:22. | |
the office of Stewart and Bailiff of Her Majesty's manner of Northstead | :23:23. | :23:23. | |
in the County of York. And those by-elections will be held | :23:24. | :23:26. | |
on the same day as elections to the Welsh Assembly, | :23:27. | :23:29. | |
Scottish Parliament and local councils in England, | :23:30. | :23:31. | |
namely Thursday the 5th of May. Now, the end of the week provides | :23:32. | :23:33. | |
a regular opportunity for some humorous exchanges in the chamber | :23:34. | :23:38. | |
between the Leader of the Commons, Chris Grayling, | :23:39. | :23:44. | |
and his opposite number Chris But this week it was | :23:45. | :23:46. | |
the deputies doing the job. When Labour's Melanie Onn started, | :23:47. | :23:49. | |
she made a passing reference to the internal Labour party list | :23:50. | :23:52. | |
seized on by David Cameron at Prime Minister's | :23:53. | :23:54. | |
Questions on Wednesday. This list placed Labour MPs | :23:55. | :23:57. | |
in different categories, such as, 'Hostile', | :23:58. | :24:01. | |
'Core Group' or 'neutral'. Mr Speaker, I welcome that today | :24:02. | :24:05. | |
we have three women speaking for their parties in | :24:06. | :24:07. | |
Business Questions, and I will be doing my best to | :24:08. | :24:10. | |
avoid being hostile. When I found out that | :24:11. | :24:14. | |
I was standing in for today's Business Questions I was concerned | :24:15. | :24:17. | |
that I might have nothing to talk So much has happened that | :24:18. | :24:20. | |
I have made my own list. It has been a truly dismal | :24:21. | :24:27. | |
week for the Government. Ever since the Ozzy-shambles budget | :24:28. | :24:33. | |
they have been in complete Her constituency and mine | :24:34. | :24:37. | |
have similar attributes Fishing is important, | :24:38. | :24:44. | |
and green energy offers While she has not yet knocked | :24:45. | :24:47. | |
the Honorourable Member for Rhondda off his perch, she has | :24:48. | :24:52. | |
shown she is a dab hand That said, Mr Speaker, | :24:53. | :24:55. | |
as the Honourable Lady is in the hostile gang and it seems | :24:56. | :24:59. | |
that the Honorourable Member for Rhondda has been neutered, | :25:00. | :25:03. | |
she will have to put her skates on to get back in the good books | :25:04. | :25:07. | |
of Captain Birdseye. And how about a debate | :25:08. | :25:14. | |
on the importance of unity The SNP could lead it and others | :25:15. | :25:16. | |
could learn about how to inspire The people of Scotland know | :25:17. | :25:22. | |
we are a party that puts people first, not personal ambition, | :25:23. | :25:29. | |
and that is why they are backing us Tasmina Ahmed-Shikh | :25:30. | :25:32. | |
bringing us to our close. That's it, not just for this | :25:33. | :25:35. | |
programme but for this term. MPs and peers are now | :25:36. | :25:38. | |
off for two weeks. The daily round-up will be back | :25:39. | :25:40. | |
when Parliament gets back, from me, Keith Macdougall, | :25:41. | :25:47. | |
goodbye and have a good Easter. | :25:48. | :25:50. |