:00:18. > :00:19.Hello there, and welcome to the programme.
:00:20. > :00:22.The Health Minister confirms there's to be an inquiry
:00:23. > :00:27.Nearly 2,500 people are thought to have died after being given
:00:28. > :00:35.products that were infected with hepatitis C or HIV.
:00:36. > :00:36.A Government-commissioned report on employment says
:00:37. > :00:44.all work in the UK should be "fair and decent".
:00:45. > :00:49.And David Davis says there's unity at the top when it comes to Brexit.
:00:50. > :00:54.You will find in terms of public statements, it is very hard to put a
:00:55. > :00:56.cigarette paper between the Chancellor and myself.
:00:57. > :00:59.But first - Theresa May has ordered a UK wide enquiry into the use
:01:00. > :01:03.of contaminated blood products in the NHS, stemming from the 1970s.
:01:04. > :01:05.2,400 people have died as a result of the scandal.
:01:06. > :01:09.Many of them were haemophiliacs who died from hepatitis C
:01:10. > :01:14.It has been called the worst treatment disaster in
:01:15. > :01:20.Many of those affected and their families say they were not
:01:21. > :01:23.told of the risks involved and believe there was a cover-up.
:01:24. > :01:25.In an emergency debate, the Labour MP Diana Johnson,
:01:26. > :01:34.who has campaigned for an enquiry, said the victims needed answers.
:01:35. > :01:41.They deserve to be told what went wrong, why it went wrong, and who is
:01:42. > :01:44.responsible for what happened. The story of the injustice they have
:01:45. > :01:50.suffered also needs to be set out and told to the wider public. Their
:01:51. > :01:56.voices need to be heard. Apologies, compensation and other forms of
:01:57. > :01:59.support are essential, but if their right to answers is not also
:02:00. > :02:00.satisfied, I feel that they will be denied true and meaningful justice.
:02:01. > :02:03.She said successive governments of all colours had sidestepped
:02:04. > :02:06.She turned to the questions that needed to be answered,
:02:07. > :02:13.such as why the Government had not acted sooner.
:02:14. > :02:18.Because the UK was not self-sufficient in blood supplies,
:02:19. > :02:23.profit-making American companies played a considerable role in
:02:24. > :02:28.supplying factor concentrates to haemophilia patients. This plot was
:02:29. > :02:31.sourced from much riskier patients, including prison inmates, who were
:02:32. > :02:35.much more likely to have infections and had a financial incentive to be
:02:36. > :02:39.less than honest about the risks of infection. The dangers of American
:02:40. > :02:42.products were being discussed in public, not from the 1990s, nor the
:02:43. > :02:44.1980s, but from 1970. A Conservative turned his fire
:02:45. > :02:55.on one of the five charities set up In my experience, I have to say to
:02:56. > :02:59.the minister, the McFarland trust has done anything but help my
:03:00. > :03:05.constituent. They have behaved in an utterly despicable way. They refused
:03:06. > :03:10.to take meetings with my constituent or with me. I have requested
:03:11. > :03:14.meetings for the past six years. And they always come back with a reason
:03:15. > :03:22.why they can't have a meeting. They have bullied my constituent. The
:03:23. > :03:23.trustees of the McFarland have bullied her. And they have fed her
:03:24. > :03:25.scraps. Labour called for a
:03:26. > :03:34.Hillsborough-style enquiry The previous two enquiries have not
:03:35. > :03:38.been sufficient in seeking justice and this is the reason why a
:03:39. > :03:42.Hillsborough style enquiry must be actioned and secondly the evidence
:03:43. > :03:46.presented so far is clear that if we are to have the truth and
:03:47. > :03:49.reconciliation of the murky covering up of this scandal, then the
:03:50. > :03:55.strongest of daylight must be shone on every aspect of this scandal,
:03:56. > :04:00.leaving no stone unturned. I am pleased to be able to confirm to the
:04:01. > :04:08.house that the Government intends to call an enquiry into the events that
:04:09. > :04:12.led to so many people being infected with HIV and - or hepatitis C
:04:13. > :04:15.through NHS supplied blood and blood products. We have heard already
:04:16. > :04:19.today that there have been calls for an enquiry based on the model that
:04:20. > :04:22.was used to investigate the Hillsborough tragedy, a so-called
:04:23. > :04:26.Hillsborough style panel. This will allow for a sensitive investigation
:04:27. > :04:29.of the issues, allowing those affected and their families close
:04:30. > :04:35.personal engagement with an independent and trusted panel. There
:04:36. > :04:41.have also been suggestions that only a formal statutory enquiry, led by a
:04:42. > :04:45.senior judge, under the enquiries act 2005, will provide the answer is
:04:46. > :04:48.that those affected want. The Government can see that there are
:04:49. > :04:51.merits in both approaches. And to ensure that whatever is established
:04:52. > :04:58.is in the interest of those affected, we will engage with the
:04:59. > :05:01.affected groups and interested parties, including the all-party
:05:02. > :05:06.parliamentary group, before taking a final decision on the type of
:05:07. > :05:09.enquiry. Will he confirm that in terms of drawing up the scope of the
:05:10. > :05:13.enquiry, you will be careful not to do anything that would endanger any
:05:14. > :05:15.future trials and also will he also further emphasise that anyone with
:05:16. > :05:23.information must make sure it is made available to the police? My
:05:24. > :05:28.honourable friend will recollect from the recent Hillsborough enquiry
:05:29. > :05:33.that it gave rise to certain information which was made available
:05:34. > :05:39.to the police, which led to certain charges being made. We would
:05:40. > :05:43.envisage that any enquiry that is established would have the ability
:05:44. > :05:44.to do the same thing if that is appropriate.
:05:45. > :05:47.An MP who was a former surgeon turned to one of the former reports.
:05:48. > :05:50.She wondered why there had not already been a public enquiry.
:05:51. > :05:56.I remember a criticism in response to Penrose in 2015, saying they were
:05:57. > :06:01.surprised that clinicians showed so much trust in the quality of blurbs.
:06:02. > :06:06.But a clinician was using hundreds of drugs and implants and machines
:06:07. > :06:10.and blood products must be able to trust them. We have no mechanism
:06:11. > :06:15.personally to check them. That is the role of Government and all the
:06:16. > :06:19.agencies of Government. That is why we have licensing and inspections
:06:20. > :06:21.and why when there is suspicion of harm action must be taken.
:06:22. > :06:23.Theresa May has said flexible working practices
:06:24. > :06:28.should not be an excuse to exploit employees.
:06:29. > :06:30.But she also called flexibility "the British way" -
:06:31. > :06:37.The Prime Minister was responding to a report on modern working practices
:06:38. > :06:42.The author, Matthew Taylor, recommended sick and holiday pay
:06:43. > :06:46.for workers in the gig economy and a new employment status
:06:47. > :06:52.When the report was debated in the Commons, opposition MPs
:06:53. > :06:57.Labour said that after seven years in power, the Conservatives had done
:06:58. > :07:10.They have inflicted hardship on public sector workers with a pay
:07:11. > :07:17.which has been confirmed yesterday by the Department for Education for
:07:18. > :07:20.yet another year. They promised workers on board, but rolled back
:07:21. > :07:25.scared when powerful interests said they were not particularly keen on
:07:26. > :07:27.the idea, and they have introduced employment tribunal fees, which has
:07:28. > :07:32.made it much harder for workers to enforce their rights. So today, with
:07:33. > :07:36.the publication of the Taylor review, although there was a real
:07:37. > :07:39.opportunity to overhaul the existing employment system in a way that
:07:40. > :07:46.would protect workers in a rapidly changing world of work, but in the
:07:47. > :07:49.words of the general secretary of Unite, the biggest union in the UK,
:07:50. > :07:55.instead of the serious programme the country urgently needs to ensure
:07:56. > :07:58.that once again work pays in this country we got a depressing sense
:07:59. > :08:00.that insecurity is the inevitable new normal.
:08:01. > :08:02.The Minister said the Government would be considering
:08:03. > :08:10.He does criticise Government's record and so I would like to remind
:08:11. > :08:13.her that it is this Government that has introduced the National Living
:08:14. > :08:18.Wage, that it is this Government that has presided over the minimum
:08:19. > :08:26.wage being at its highest rate in real terms since it was introduced,
:08:27. > :08:31.and the facts remain that the wage increase we have seen in the last
:08:32. > :08:36.year have been at their highest amongst the lowest paid thanks to
:08:37. > :08:38.the National Living Wage. Today's response in the Taylor review for
:08:39. > :08:42.the Government tells us everything we need to know about their frailty
:08:43. > :08:44.and their approach to work's rights. A weak set of proposals that
:08:45. > :08:50.probably will not be admitted that the set of talking bout that leads
:08:51. > :08:53.the power with the businesses. It was interesting that the Prime
:08:54. > :08:58.Minister did not mention the role of the trade unions in securing fair
:08:59. > :09:03.rights at work. If the news reports are right, Matthew Taylor goes for
:09:04. > :09:06.flexibility rather than always implementing the National Minimum
:09:07. > :09:09.Wage. Can we have an undertaking from the Government that they will
:09:10. > :09:17.always abide by the National Minimum Wage, even if there is a loss of
:09:18. > :09:22.flexibility? I congratulate the honourable gentleman for all the
:09:23. > :09:25.work he did sharing the work and pensions Select Committee in the
:09:26. > :09:31.last parliament. And I can assure him that minimum wage rates are
:09:32. > :09:37.absolutely sacrosanct. There will be no trade-off with regard to ensuring
:09:38. > :09:37.that everybody is paid at least the minimum wage.
:09:38. > :09:42.One MP - a former actor - is a fan of flexible working.
:09:43. > :09:50.I have spent 45 years in the deep economy and what I liked about the
:09:51. > :09:54.Digital economy is that it was very flexible and in order to big build a
:09:55. > :09:58.career, I found myself delivering bacon across north London from
:09:59. > :10:00.Smithfield market. I became a removal man and many things. But
:10:01. > :10:05.does my Right Honourable friend agree with me that it is very
:10:06. > :10:10.welcome that this report supports a flexible labour market and is not in
:10:11. > :10:16.favour of restricting that flexibility were individuals wanted?
:10:17. > :10:21.Someone who has done a few gigs in his time. Can I urge the Minister to
:10:22. > :10:27.reject this think tank the jargon of the phrase depended contact? Work is
:10:28. > :10:30.work. Workers are workers. Depending contractors of the world unite, you
:10:31. > :10:32.have nothing to lose but your chains is not going to change anything.
:10:33. > :10:34.The Speaker explained to new MPs that when Mr Brennan mentioned gigs,
:10:35. > :10:37.he was talking about his involvement in Parliament's rock band.
:10:38. > :10:38.You're watching Tuesday in Parliament,
:10:39. > :10:50.The Foreign Secretary has told MPs the European Union can "go whistle"
:10:51. > :10:53.for any "extortionate" final payment from the UK on Brexit.
:10:54. > :10:55.And Boris Johnson said that the Government had "no plan"
:10:56. > :11:00.for what to do in the event of no deal being agreed.
:11:01. > :11:03.The Prime Minister has said that "no deal is better than a bad deal".
:11:04. > :11:06.However, Number Ten has played down suggestions that Theresa May
:11:07. > :11:09.could walk away from the Brexit talks over the EU's demand
:11:10. > :11:14.for a settlement worth tens of billions of pounds.
:11:15. > :11:17.The subject was raised with the Foreign Secretary
:11:18. > :11:23.Since we joined the Common Market on the 1st of February 1973
:11:24. > :11:26.until the date we leave, we will have given the EU and
:11:27. > :11:29.its predecessors, in today's money, in real terms,
:11:30. > :11:37.Will the Foreign Secretary make it clear to the EU that
:11:38. > :11:39.if they want a penny piece more, they can go whistle?
:11:40. > :11:42.I'm sure that my honourable friend's words will have broken
:11:43. > :11:44.like a thunder clap over Brussels and they will pay attention
:11:45. > :11:49.to what he has said, and he makes a very valid point,
:11:50. > :11:56.and I think that the sums that I have seen that they propose
:11:57. > :12:03.to demand from this country seem to me to be extortionate and I think
:12:04. > :12:06."Go whistle" is an entirely appropriate expression.
:12:07. > :12:08.In March, the Foreign Secretary said that
:12:09. > :12:12.leaving the EU with no deal would be perfectly OK.
:12:13. > :12:15.However, last month, the Chancellor of the Exchequer
:12:16. > :12:20.said that that would be a very, very bad outcome for Britain.
:12:21. > :12:22.Since the two positions are clearly completely contradictory,
:12:23. > :12:26.who should the British public believe?
:12:27. > :12:29.I think what the British public can take from both the Chancellor
:12:30. > :12:35.and myself and indeed from the vast majority of Labour members opposite,
:12:36. > :12:39.as I understand their position, that we all want to get on and do
:12:40. > :12:45.the deal and do the best deal possible and to leave the EU.
:12:46. > :12:48.With the Chancellor and the First Secretary of State,
:12:49. > :12:51.they were going to need at least a transitional period of three years
:12:52. > :12:55.during which we will remain under the jurisdiction of the ECJ.
:12:56. > :12:57.Neither the Chancellor nor the First Secretary of State
:12:58. > :13:01.Other European leaders were making it clear that they would not
:13:02. > :13:05.accept a deal on any terms and does he share my view that what is sauce
:13:06. > :13:09.for the goose is sauce for the gander?
:13:10. > :13:12.He makes a very good point about the negotiating stance of
:13:13. > :13:15.our friends and partners across the Channel.
:13:16. > :13:18.They do sound at the moment as though they're pretty hard over,
:13:19. > :13:24.But I have no doubt that in the fullness of time, a subtle
:13:25. > :13:27.mist will descend and a willingness to compromise, because after all,
:13:28. > :13:32.a great Brexit deal, a great free trade deal, a deep and special
:13:33. > :13:37.partnership is in the interest of both sides of the Channel.
:13:38. > :13:40.Can he explain what that no deal option
:13:41. > :13:44.would mean for the people and businesses of Great Britain?
:13:45. > :13:46.As I have said before, I think that the chances
:13:47. > :13:49.of such an outcome are vanishing and unlikely since it is
:13:50. > :13:54.manifestly in the interest of both sides of the Channel to get a great
:13:55. > :13:57.free trade deal and a new deep and special partnership between us
:13:58. > :13:59.and the European Union, and that is what we
:14:00. > :14:04.I thank the Foreign Secretary for that answer,
:14:05. > :14:07.but unfortunately it leaves us none the wiser.
:14:08. > :14:20.After all, it is the Prime Minister, at least the Prime Minister for now,
:14:21. > :14:23.who decided to put the deal of the no deal option
:14:24. > :14:26.couldn't stop using the phrase during the election campaign.
:14:27. > :14:28.Given that a plan for no deal would be
:14:29. > :14:31.worse than a dereliction of duty, can the Foreign Secretary spell out
:14:32. > :14:34.publicly what no deal would mean and can he reassure
:14:35. > :14:36.us that if he is not prepared to tell us publicly,
:14:37. > :14:40.at the very least he has a detailed private plan to manage that risk?
:14:41. > :14:43.There is no plan for no deal because we are going to get
:14:44. > :14:48.Just for the sake of example and illustration, I would remind
:14:49. > :14:51.the honourable lady that there was a time, and I am
:14:52. > :14:54.old enough to remember it, when Britain was not in what we now
:14:55. > :14:57.Given that the Prime Minister has appealed to these
:14:58. > :14:59.benches to help out today, where does the Foreign
:15:00. > :15:03.Secretary think there are areas for compromise?
:15:04. > :15:06.As I have said before, I think the striking thing
:15:07. > :15:09.about this debate is how much unanimity there really is between
:15:10. > :15:15.the two sides of the chamber on these fundamental questions
:15:16. > :15:18.and I have been very struck by the Right Honourable
:15:19. > :15:23.gentleman that was the leader of the Labour Party who seems to me
:15:24. > :15:28.very much on all fours with the objectives of the Brexit...
:15:29. > :15:34.He very much agrees with the position that we are
:15:35. > :15:37.taking and I hope to see him in the lobbies with us.
:15:38. > :15:42.Well, later, the Brexit Secretary, David Davis, laughed off those
:15:43. > :15:45.comments by Boris Johnson about the "extortionate"
:15:46. > :15:51.As we saw, Mr Johnson said the EU could "go whistle"
:15:52. > :15:55.Appearing before a Lords committee, David Davis was asked
:15:56. > :16:03.The Foreign Secretary this morning says that, um,
:16:04. > :16:10.the money that it looks like the EU is asking for is "extortionate"
:16:11. > :16:13.and it is quite appropriate to say that "go whistle"
:16:14. > :16:23.The truth is, we all read this, the Europeans read this...
:16:24. > :16:28.He is not the only one, other members of Government say
:16:29. > :16:34.things which absolutely blow the strategy off-course.
:16:35. > :16:37.You'll have to get the Foreign Secretary here to explain his views,
:16:38. > :16:40.if you really want to, I'm not going to comment
:16:41. > :16:45.But in terms of the tone, you'll find two levels
:16:46. > :16:51.of knowledge when you go to our continental partners.
:16:52. > :16:55.You'll see local knowledge in Brussels, in which, frankly,
:16:56. > :16:59.They read all the British newspapers, you're quite right,
:17:00. > :17:03.and they take them, if anything, to seriously, is what I say to them.
:17:04. > :17:14.It was the reason of humorous exchange between Jean-Claude Juncker
:17:15. > :17:18.But more importantly, in the context of the 27,
:17:19. > :17:20.actually very little of what happens here percolates across.
:17:21. > :17:23.I remember talking to the Austrian Foreign Secretary,
:17:24. > :17:26.who is turning into a very good friend of mine,
:17:27. > :17:30.This was about two months ago, and we were talking about the issue
:17:31. > :17:32.of the citizens' rights, and I explained what we wanted
:17:33. > :17:35.to do, and he said, "Well, you'd better come to Austria
:17:36. > :17:37.and say that, because nobody in Austria knows this."
:17:38. > :17:40.Lady Armstrong turned to what she saw as another area
:17:41. > :17:44.The discussion that we have heard within government around
:17:45. > :17:48.a transitional agreement, or implementation period,
:17:49. > :17:52.whatever you like to call it, has varied enormously.
:17:53. > :17:55.Between the Chancellor talking about no cliff edge,
:17:56. > :17:58.and therefore really raising the question of single
:17:59. > :18:01.market and Customs union membership continuing,
:18:02. > :18:06.whereas others say something very different.
:18:07. > :18:13.I mean, leave aside the briefings which I can't speak for,
:18:14. > :18:15.but you'll find in terms of public statements, it's very hard
:18:16. > :18:18.to put a cigarette paper between the Chancellor and myself
:18:19. > :18:24.on the transitional or implementation agreement.
:18:25. > :18:26.Because we have discussed it at length, virtually
:18:27. > :18:33.You will similarly find, on another controversial area,
:18:34. > :18:38.in terms of issues of migration policy, we have both said,
:18:39. > :18:41.time and again, bringing back control of migration policy
:18:42. > :18:44.in the UK is not the same as slamming the door.
:18:45. > :18:47.The session ended with a question from another Labour peer.
:18:48. > :18:52.May I ask the Minister, how many women are on the negotiating team?
:18:53. > :18:56.The photo in the Times was a disgrace.
:18:57. > :19:12.Being taken to task by Lords committee.
:19:13. > :19:15.Many pundits have suggested that there was an obvious and
:19:16. > :19:17.gaping hole in the general election campaign last month.
:19:18. > :19:19.There was little discussion about the economy and the state
:19:20. > :19:23.Well, a Conservative MP thought it was a subject worthy of debate
:19:24. > :19:25.and led a discussion in the alternative chamber
:19:26. > :19:30.He attacked Labour's public spending plans.
:19:31. > :19:33.If they had carried on spending at the rate they were when they left
:19:34. > :19:37.office, there would be an extra ?1 trillion added to the public debt
:19:38. > :19:41.And we saw their manifesto at the last general election
:19:42. > :19:44.was just spend, spend, spend other people's money with
:19:45. > :19:50.And that way, I suggest, Ms Ryan, is not the route
:19:51. > :19:55.And the fact that so few of them are here to defend their plans,
:19:56. > :19:58.I suspect, tells us everything we need to know.
:19:59. > :20:01.He turned to the spending demands facing ministers.
:20:02. > :20:03.There are many pressures on public spending.
:20:04. > :20:07.There is public sector pay, funding for our National Health Service,
:20:08. > :20:10.funding for social care, colleagues want more money put
:20:11. > :20:14.into schools, there are many, many pressures on public spending,
:20:15. > :20:16.and part of the challenge of being in government is that
:20:17. > :20:20.you cannot say yes to everybody, you have to make choices
:20:21. > :20:27.Would he also agree with me that our public services are under
:20:28. > :20:31.real pressure at the moment, and I think we have to recognise
:20:32. > :20:34.that, and I speak as someone who works in those public services,
:20:35. > :20:37.and I see that in my working life there.
:20:38. > :20:40.According to the latest forecast, the target, a structural deficit
:20:41. > :20:45.of less than 2% of national income in 2020-21 will be comfortably met
:20:46. > :20:48.by sticking with the current tax and spending plans.
:20:49. > :20:52.So there is about ?25 million worth of leeway to invest a little bit
:20:53. > :20:56.more in those very important public services, whilst at the same time
:20:57. > :20:58.paying down the deficit in a responsible manner.
:20:59. > :21:00.When the Chancellor looks at the public finance
:21:01. > :21:03.position in his Budget, he needs to look at the grade
:21:04. > :21:05.forecast from the independent Office for Budget Responsibility,
:21:06. > :21:09.so he needs to look at what tax revenues he is likely to have,
:21:10. > :21:11.he then needs to look at the pressures on our public
:21:12. > :21:14.servants, on our public services, he needs to look across the piece,
:21:15. > :21:18.look at all of the pressures he faces, then he needs to come
:21:19. > :21:22.to a balanced budget judgment, weighing up all of those things,
:21:23. > :21:25.and then we need to back him in those decisions.
:21:26. > :21:29.What we cannot do is each week, have a particular story
:21:30. > :21:31.that's running around, we then decide that happens to be
:21:32. > :21:34.the flavour of the month, then when we get to the Budget,
:21:35. > :21:36.we discover we have run out of money.
:21:37. > :21:39.Ms Ryan, I feel somewhat like Custer at the Battle
:21:40. > :21:41.of Little Bighorn at the moment, as the Comanches come running
:21:42. > :21:44.towards me, and I want to apologise to Tories present for pouring water
:21:45. > :21:51.on some of the more political points that the honourable member
:21:52. > :21:56.Over the past seven years, the Government, I believe,
:21:57. > :21:59.has been very good at one thing, that is patting themselves
:22:00. > :22:02.on the back and congratulating themselves on what a great job
:22:03. > :22:06.Even though some many families are more pessimistic
:22:07. > :22:10.than ever about the future, the Government still trades
:22:11. > :22:14.on a myth they are overseeing a strong and robust economy.
:22:15. > :22:17.When they were elected in 2010, they were given a mandate alongside
:22:18. > :22:21.the Liberal Democrats to bring about real change.
:22:22. > :22:24.Intentionally, I believe, Ms Ryan, allowing people to believe
:22:25. > :22:28.that the deficit and the national debt were one and the same thing.
:22:29. > :22:32.They told the British people in 2010 they would pay off the debt
:22:33. > :22:35.and bring the Budget into surplus by 2015.
:22:36. > :22:42.I'm really frustrated at this debate, because I cannot believe
:22:43. > :22:45.that people are able to spill this nonsense.
:22:46. > :22:48.The Chancellor, when he stood up in the Spring Budget,
:22:49. > :22:51.mentioned that inflation was going to be 2.4% in 2017.
:22:52. > :22:56.Actually, inflation, in May, over the last 12 months,
:22:57. > :23:02.The OBR's forecast for earnings growth over 2017 was 2.6%.
:23:03. > :23:04.If inflation continues to grow at 2.9% and wages
:23:05. > :23:06.continue to grow at 2.6%, then we very quickly
:23:07. > :23:12.Particularly for those households that are struggling with increasing
:23:13. > :23:18.The Bank of England are concerned at the increases in household debt.
:23:19. > :23:22.Household debt is at its highest level since 2008.
:23:23. > :23:25.Now, this is a real problem for families, especially
:23:26. > :23:28.when they are going to see their real wages eroded.
:23:29. > :23:31.And I don't think there is a case in modern political history
:23:32. > :23:34.of a British Government so regularly failing to meet
:23:35. > :23:43.There are many ways the Government can balance the books,
:23:44. > :23:46.and there were very many difficult decisions that had to be taken over
:23:47. > :23:48.the past seven years, no-one doubts that one.
:23:49. > :23:50.That being said, the Government chose the path of austerity
:23:51. > :23:53.of long-term prosperity for everyone in the country.
:23:54. > :24:01.But surely, Ms Ryan, the cruellest cut of all
:24:02. > :24:04.is when a politician struts the stage, telling the audience that
:24:05. > :24:08.which they most dearly wish to hear but knowing in his heart he has
:24:09. > :24:15.Knowing in his heart that what he is suggesting will lead
:24:16. > :24:24.Finally, there were more than 80 new MPs elected in June.
:24:25. > :24:27.Each of them have to make a first, or maiden, speech.
:24:28. > :24:30.Making hers, the new MP for Oxford East reflected
:24:31. > :24:33.on the housing crisis in the South of England.
:24:34. > :24:36.Renters of homes have fewer rights than if they were renting
:24:37. > :24:39.The rules for housing benefit have been changed so people whose
:24:40. > :24:42.families have lived in Oxford for generations are being forced out
:24:43. > :24:45.of the city for the crime of merely owning an average,
:24:46. > :24:53.And to pay for the right to buy and Housing Association properties,
:24:54. > :24:55.up to a third of Oxford's remaining council stock could vanish.
:24:56. > :24:58.As far as I'm concerned, people doing their best to bring
:24:59. > :25:00.up their children on low incomes in Oxford are today's
:25:01. > :25:05.Often running between more than one job to make ends meet.
:25:06. > :25:08.I must say, it comes as a slap in the face to them when they hear
:25:09. > :25:11.politicians refusing to admit there is such a thing as in-work
:25:12. > :25:14.poverty, and I was disturbed to hear that in this House
:25:15. > :25:19.Britain, and especially Oxford, urgently needs more
:25:20. > :25:25.The new MP for Oxford East bringing us to the end of this
:25:26. > :25:28.edition of the programe, but do join me at the same time
:25:29. > :25:30.tomorrow for a Prime Minister's Questions with a difference,
:25:31. > :25:36.as Damian Green and Emily Thornberry fill in for Theresa May
:25:37. > :25:41.But for now, from me, Alicia McCarthy, goodbye.