28/06/2017 Wednesday in Parliament

Coming up, the government sees off calls for an end to cuts to public

services and the public sector pay cap.

The eyes to the right, 309, the nose to the left, 323.

Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn clash at their first

Prime Minister's Questions of the new parliament over

whether counsel cuts were a factor in the Grenfell fire.

When you cut local authority budgets by 40%, we all pay a price in public

safety. The cladding of tower blocks began under a Tony Blair government.

And the government's told to rethink its approach to trade

The government's Brexit policy is one of trying to fill a swimming

pool with a teaspoon. But first, after a couple of months

away for a general election, which produced a result few had

rejected, it was time which produced a result few had

predicted, it was time for Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn

to face each other for the first prime ministers questions

of the new parliament. Much as happened since MPs last met,

including terrorist attacks in Manchester and London

and the fire at Grenfell Tower, which is thought to have

claimed at least 80 lives. Add in the aftermath of the tower

block fire which dominated the exchanges between Theresa May

and Jeremy Corbyn in the session. PMQs was coming just ahead

of the fifth day of debate on the Queen's speech,

where Labour had down an amendment calling on the government to end

the public service pay cap and to recruit more

police and fire officers. Theresa May began with

an update on cladding tests. As of this morning the cladding from

120 tower blocks across the country in 37 local authority areas had been

tested and had failed the test. Under her predecessor, fire safety

audits and inspections work at by a quarter, Fire Authority budgets were

cut by a quarter, can the Prime Minister give an assurance to the

House that the further 20% cuts to the Fire Service planned by 2020

will now be halted? Can I say to him that in his reference to the

building regulations I think he has missed part of the point in this

which is it is not a question of what laws you have, it is how those

are being applied and that is the issue. We have the building

regulations about compliant materials. The question is, why is

it that despite that, we have seen in local authority area after local

authority area materials being put up that appear not to comply with

those building regulations. When you cut local authority budgets by 40%,

we all pay a price. In public safety. Fewer inspectors, fewer

building control inspectors, fewer planning inspectors, we all pay a

price. And those cuts to the Fire Service have meant there are 11,000

fewer firefighters, the public sector pay cap is hitting

recruitment and retention right across the public sector. What the

tragedy of Grenfell tower has exposed is the disastrous effect of

austerity. I urge the Prime Minister to come up with the resources needed

to test and remove cladding, sprinklers, properly fund the Fire

Service and the police, so that all of our communities can truly feel

safe in their own homes. Mr Speaker, this disaster must be a wake-up

call. The cladding of tower blocks did not start under this government.

It did not start under the previous coalition government. The cladding

of tower blocks began under a Tony Blair government. That is why I say

to him, this should be an issue that across this House we recognise is a

matter that has been developing over decades, is a matter that has

occurred under governments of both colours, under councils of all

political persuasions and is something I would hope we would say

just come together and ensure that we get to the answers of why this

has happened over many years. What has gone wrong and how do we stop it

from happening in the future. A Labour backbencher

turned to policing. Britain's for most senior police

officers, the commission of the Met, heads of counterterrorism, the

National Crime Agency and the police chief's counsel all wrote to the

government saying the counterterrorism policing and

protecting security grant is being cut by 7.2%. We have protected

counterterrorism policing. We have put money end. We have also put

money into an uplift for an uplift in armed policing and the commission

of the Metropolitan Police has made the point that the Metropolitan

Police are well resourced and have a wide diversity of tools they can use

in countering terrorism. Well, when PMQs was over,

it was onto the debate on the Queen's speech,

where Labour had down that amendment demanding an end to 1% pay cut

for public sector staff and an end to cuts in the police

and Fire Service. The question ministers have the

answer is this. How long are they going to continue to peddle hard

line austerity when their own targets for closing the deficit

received ever further away, raising the question as to whether savage

cuts are not counter-productive in terms of encouraging growth and how

long are they going to pursue austerities when any parent who has

a child at school, anybody that uses an accident or emergency

departments, anyone who has an elderly relative in need of social

care, can see for themselves that cuts have consequences and that

there is a human price to pay for Tory austerity.

The Home Secretary tackled claims about cuts the essential

services and the response to the Grenfell fire.

The fire crew was on the scene at Grenfell tower within six minutes

and over firefighters 200 responded. Can the Shadow Home Secretary really

suggest the numbers were inexcusably low? We should also a member that

the number of fire incidents has halved in the last decade but the

number of firefighters had fallen by less than 20%.

She said police budgets had been protected since 2015.

The real point is that the party opposite have cut budgets not since

2015 but since 2010. He is right there were cuts between 2010 and

2015 but I would say to him, we must look at what the outcome is and

crime fell by a third during that period. She is presumably not wholly

taken in by the Shadow Home Secretary posturing as a defender of

people safety when in 1989 she famously signed an early day motion

calling for the scrapping of MI5 and the Metropolitan Police special

Branch. I want to hear that outcomes and I know that recently one of the

outcomes for West Midlands Police was that as police officers are

pulled away onto anti-terrorist alerts and more high alert policing

the call-outs on other crimes have to be downgraded and one of the

things that was downgraded and outcome of it not being police the

West Midlands was call-outs on domestic violence. I would say to

her that the past three months have seen an extraordinary series of

attacks that have put pressure on our police and generally they have

dealt incredibly well with it by having mutual aid coming from

different areas to support them. We recognise there has been a

particular struggle. I don't think her point holds water that we need

to operate at this level as if there were this level of attacks every

three months but I do recognise and I will be in gauging with police and

police chief officers to find out whether they have the support we

expect them to have despite the additional work they need to do. In

the SNP we believe that they have sufficient power that their disposal

and the real issue the government should be looking at is whether the

police and security services have sufficient sources to fight

terrorism. It is already a crime to incite violence. People suspected of

terrorist activity can already be stopped and searched and people who

aid terrorists are already imprisoned and those convicted of

plotting an attack can be locked up for life so we have the powers.

Somehow the government can find ?1 billion to support Northern Ireland

and to support the government keeping its own jobs but cannot

support the additional resources that the police and emergency

services need to support their jobs at this difficult time as well.

Apart from the immense complexities and difficulties and grave

uncertainties of the Brexit negotiations, this country has more

than its fair share of major issues with which the government has got to

close. What is it in our system that seems to mean that we cannot arrive

at the same national plan, like Denmark, the Netherlands or Japan,

that deals effectively, humanely and decently with careful the elderly in

all its complexity? I say to the government, just get on and do it

and work across all the parties and all the considerable expertise that

this country has to get this done. Well, at the end of the evening MPs

voted on Labour's amendment to end the public sector pay cap and end

cuts to the police and Fire Service. The eyes to the right, 309. The noes

to the left, 323. The government winning that

first vision of this MPs will hold their final

day of debate and vote You're watching Wednesday In

Parliament with me, Alicia McCarthy. Talks to restore the devolved

government in Northern Ireland are continuing as the deadline

for a deal approaches. Meanwhile, the implications

of an agreement between the Democratic Unionists

and the Conservatives to ensure the government has a majority

at Westminster are becoming clearer. DUP have secured over ?1 billion

in funding in return for their support to enable

ministers to get key The DUP's leader at

Westminster, Nigel Dodds, was anxious to explain that the ?1

billion of havoc spending would be was anxious to explain that the ?1

billion of public spending would be spent in areas such

as mental health. Isn't it time people recognised this

is the delivery for people all across Northern Ireland, all

sections of the community and it will help some of the most

vulnerable and disadvantaged people in Northern Ireland and people

should get behind it and welcome it. P makes a very important point on

this. It is the case as we said in the agreement that we recognise the

particular circumstances of Northern Ireland that have arisen as the

result of Northern Ireland's history and as he says, there will be

mental-health issues that arise as a result of that.

Earlier, the Northern Ireland Secretary was questioned

about what some see as conflict of interest.

We are in a odd position where each DUP MP is worth more than Ronaldo.

LAUGHTER Does the Secretary of State agree

that it is now impossible for the UK Government to be evenhanded in

Northern Ireland? No, identical James Brokenshire I. A deal between

the Conservatives and the DUP, which will see an extra ?1 billion go to

Northern Ireland rankled. The new leader of the SNP at Westminster

register at Prime Minister's Questions, asking what the Scottish

Secretary, David Mundell, had known about the deal. The Scottish

Secretary insisted Scotland would see increased funding if the DUP

secured money for Northern Ireland as part of a confidence and supply

deal consisting, I am not going to deal between Gregory to anything

that could be structured as back door funding to Northern Ireland.

The Prime Minister receive any representation from a Scottish

Secretary about the DUP deal either before or after it was signed? Of

course, when we look at what has happened in terms of funding for the

rest of the United Kingdom, in the Autumn Statement last year my right

honourable friend the Chancellor that aside and infrastructure fund

of ?23 billion. We're putting more money into our NHS, more money into

our schools and there is an impact on Scotland as a result of that

Autumn Statement. ?100 billion extra spending is going to Scotland. As a

result of the budget, ?350 million extra going to Scotland -- ?800

million extra going to Scotland. The honourable gentleman complaining

about more money going to Northern Ireland. But of course he is a

nationalist and not a unionist. A Asma MP turned to Brexit. -- a

Labour MP ten to Brexit. People have no confidence in the

ministers in charge of the Brexit deal, and fear that our country is

going to be deeply damaged in terms of our economy and our role in the

world if we do not get our act together. I have to say to the

honourable gentleman that the Brexit negotiations have not started

former, the formal negotiations have not started. And there was a very

positive start to those negotiations, with my right

honourable friend the Secretary of State for exiting the EU and the

appointed negotiator, we have set up three working groups dealing with

key issues initially, including citizens not about rights, I'm very

pleased about that, and started a dialogue on the issue of the border

between Ireland and Northern Ireland, which is important for

Northern Ireland but also for the whole of the United Kingdom. We are

published, we have set out our objective, we have published our

white papers, we will break our repeal bill before this house, we

know the plan we have got, the part that doesn't know its plan for

Brexit is his party. A new Conservative MP raised Jeremy

Corbyn's history on Trident. I was deeply alarmed to hear a report made

by the opposition at Glastonbury Festival that in power, she would

abandon Trident and a Chila undermine the security and safety of

our country. Would my right honourable friend the Prime Minister

agree that it is only her Government and the Conservative Party that can

provide the safety and security our country needs? Can I first well,

honourable friend, in this house, I am sure he is going to be a fine

representative of the fine people of the Aldershot constituency. I can I

join with him in saying that I think people were shocked to hear that in

public, the Leader of the Opposition appeared to support Trident, but in

private, said he wanted to scrap it. It's only the Conservative Party...

Only the Conservative Party that is clear about retaining our nuclear

deterrent and in the case of the leader of the position, it appears

he says one thing to the many and another thing to the few. Theresa

May. Well, the session had started just after the news broke that six

senior figures will be prosecuted over the 1989 Hillsborough disaster.

96 Liverpool fans were fatally injured in a crush at

Today, the Crown Prosecution Service announced charging decisions

I know from working closely with the families

when I was Home Secretary that this will be a day of mixed

But the house will understand that I cannot say anything further

on matters that are not subject to a criminal prosecution.

This prosecution, the enquiry, and this development only happened

because of the incredible work done by the Hillsborough Justice

Campaign, Andy Burnham, Steve Rotherham and other colleagues

I think we should pay tribute to all of those that spent a great

deal of time trying to ensure there was justice for those that

Securing trade deals after Brexit will be

like "filling a swimming pool with a teaspoon",

one of the Government's top infrastructure

Labour's Lord Adonis, the head of the National

Infrastructure Commission was moving an amendment to the the Queen's

Speech regretting that it contained no plan for Britain to remain

in the customs union and the single market.

If we are leaving the EU, we should not jeopardise our trade with the EU

because upon it depends the jobs and prosperity

because upon it depends the jobs and prosperity of tens

In total, more than 60% of, 60% of our trade is with the

EU or third countries where we enjoy free

of the customs union and single market membership.

My Lords, the Government's Brexit policy is

basically one of trying to fill a swimming pool with a teaspoon.

It is an interesting and very challenging

idea, but don't jump in for about three centuries.

Taking back our own control over our own affairs, includes regaining

control of our borders and setting our own immigration policies.

It is also clear that to respect the referendum outcome,

we cannot end up being half in and half out of the EU.

So, my Lords, we will be leaving the single market and Customs union.

I would approach her job with immense trepidation.

She is carrying an invaluable Ming vase across a

In the Government's hands is the future our

economy and thus the well-being of our people.

How the Government negotiates our future with the EU

will have immense consequences for the nation.

Our businesses, workers, consumers, young people,

Every time the minister attacks those who ask questions about the

details of Brexit as unpatriotic, people on the continent as well as

here become more suspicious that the Government

still does not know the answers.

To those who want to stop Brexit, and I heard one

or two speeches that seem to say they would like to, we must listen

to the democratic decision of the people.

I was particularly struck by Lord Adonis, who made a very good

speech, but it seemed to me that he was ignoring

the fact that we had a referendum.

The public recognise the need to control our borders.

Not least at a time when you publish an

increased last year about 580,000 people.

Of course we will still, with control, be able to

import into this, have come as immigrants into this country people

with the necessary skills or the necessary on skilled people

with the necessary skills or the necessary unskilled people

But the public have made it very clear that they wanted

Once one has accepted that, once one has

also accepted free trade, the logic is inescapable that one must leave

What I believe, and my nose which is close to the

ground, is that in the future there will be blood on the streets because

at the level that we are, we cannot give the benefit of the doubt, we

cannot go to people who we know are not doing

as well as we could and say to them, "Let's work together."

And when it was said earlier that in fact the poor

are going to pay for Brexit, I say, OK.

How can the House of Lords and House of Commons stop

Back now to the Commons, where Labour's Dame Rosie Winterton

has been elected as one of the Commons Deputy Speakers.

She'll join Labour MP Lindsay Hoyle and Conservative Eleanor Laing

Meanwhile, new MPs have continued making their first

There are 84 brand new MPs, here's a smattering of those

who spoke in the Queen's speech debate.

I come to this house with no gilded lineage, but

My mother, born in Britain but grew up in Nigeria,

My father, born and bred in Nigeria,

Both came to this country in the 1980s in

In particular, Mr Deputy Speaker, they believed that a good

quality education is the key, not just for giving a child,

an individual, a decent start in life, but being

future health and prosperity of our society as a whole.

As a family doctor, everyday, I have seen too

many people who have been left behind.

People battling mental health problems, besieged by

loneliness and people with learning disabilities

This holds people back and it drains their potential.

Not only is it unjust, but it is damaging

When a person's health becomes so poor that they can't

work, or someone's father dies a premature death, we all lose.

made on the doorsteps of Edinburgh West last

to stand up for the constituents' view,

clearly expressed now in two referendums and

in the recent general election that while it's overwhelming

preference is to remain a part of the EU,

they will have no truck with independence

will be as part of this United Kingdom.

Gordon is an outward-looking constituency.

A confident area, an area of optimism and

growth, ready to embrace opportunities, including Brexit.

Through the democratic process, Gordon has fiercely defended its

Madam Deputy Speaker, I would suggest to the

honourable members opposite, this country needs to talk up its

opportunities, talk up its position in the world and be positive about

A new Conservative use to teach medieval history.

I see a great many resonances between that

You might want to take the Peasants' Revolt, 1381,

which started on the high street in Brentwood.

A rebellion against vexatious taxation, levied by a

I would warn the house that my constituents' attitude

to taxation has changed very little in the intervening 636 years.

And that's it from me for now, but do join us at the same time

tomorrow for another round-up of the day here at Westminster.