0:00:17 > 0:00:21Hello and welcome to our look back at the day here at Westminster.
0:00:21 > 0:00:24Coming up in the next half hour: The Brexit Secretary says a vote
0:00:24 > 0:00:26in Parliament on any Brexit deal might come after
0:00:26 > 0:00:28the UK leaves the EU.
0:00:28 > 0:00:36MPs are confused.
0:00:36 > 0:00:40Can the Prime Minister explain how it is possible to have a meaningful
0:00:40 > 0:00:42vote on something that has already taken place?
0:00:42 > 0:00:44And the Prime Minister gives her reaction to
0:00:44 > 0:00:46the suspension of a Labour MP.
0:00:46 > 0:00:51All of us in this house should have care and attention to the way in
0:00:51 > 0:00:55which we refer to other people.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58But first, the Brexit Secretary, David Davis, says a vote
0:00:58 > 0:01:00in Parliament on any Brexit deal might not come before
0:01:00 > 0:01:01the UK leaves the EU.
0:01:01 > 0:01:04He was appearing in front of a committee of MPs
0:01:04 > 0:01:07where he predicted the talks could go right up to the wire.
0:01:07 > 0:01:09The UK is due to leave the EU in March 2019,
0:01:09 > 0:01:12but ministers hope that in the next few months they'll be able
0:01:12 > 0:01:14to secure a transitional arrangement that would apply
0:01:14 > 0:01:16temporarily after Brexit.
0:01:16 > 0:01:18David Davis said there were three reasons for wanting
0:01:18 > 0:01:25an implementation period.
0:01:25 > 0:01:30Number one, in order to give the UK Government longer to put in place in
0:01:30 > 0:01:34the changes it needs. We think we can put in place all the critical
0:01:34 > 0:01:39ones by March 2019 but it would give them longer and therefore make it
0:01:39 > 0:01:45more reliable. Secondly, critically, give European countries time to put
0:01:45 > 0:01:50in place any structure is the meat meat, whether that is new customs
0:01:50 > 0:01:55arrangements, new data exchanges and, thirdly, the point Chancellor
0:01:55 > 0:02:02is making, to give businesses time after the decision is made on what
0:02:02 > 0:02:06the final outcome will be, in order to make any subsequent changes to
0:02:06 > 0:02:08their own dispositions.
0:02:08 > 0:02:10A Conservative Brexiteer suggested that sorting out a transition
0:02:10 > 0:02:12sounded rather difficult.
0:02:12 > 0:02:20Why not just extended now membership of the EU until March 2021?
0:02:20 > 0:02:25We did have a referendum, you properly missed it. -- properly
0:02:25 > 0:02:28missed it.
0:02:28 > 0:02:30Another Brexit supporting Conservative, asked if the UK
0:02:30 > 0:02:33would have to pay a so called divorce bill for leaving the EU,
0:02:33 > 0:02:37if there were no deal.
0:02:37 > 0:02:44Is the Prime Minister's commitment to pay an unconditional one or is
0:02:44 > 0:02:49conditional on agreement? We have not got into the speculative
0:02:49 > 0:02:52outcomes of the no deal and let me see why it for a second. Much of the
0:02:52 > 0:03:00arguments about a deal or a zero deal are phrased in polemical rather
0:03:00 > 0:03:10than... Rephrase crash out. There is a no deal which we go to WTO or
0:03:10 > 0:03:20arrangements but happy bare-bones Deal on other elements such as
0:03:20 > 0:03:26aviation, data, nuclear, maybe. And then there is a complete failure to
0:03:26 > 0:03:32agree and hostile, now, I think that is so incredible it is off the
0:03:32 > 0:03:38probability scale but under those circumstances it is conceivable that
0:03:38 > 0:03:44will be no deal of any sort. And if that is we pay nothing.You
0:03:44 > 0:03:49could imagine the country paying nothing. It is no secret the way the
0:03:49 > 0:03:54union makes this decision is tends to be at the 11th minute, the 59th
0:03:54 > 0:03:58minute of the 11th hour of the 11th day and that is what I would expect
0:03:58 > 0:04:00to happen.
0:04:00 > 0:04:02Labour MPs asked when the UK Parliament would get
0:04:02 > 0:04:04to vote on the deal.
0:04:04 > 0:04:09Could it be after March 2019?It could be. It depends when it
0:04:09 > 0:04:15concludes. Sorry, the vote of our parliaments
0:04:15 > 0:04:19could be after March 2019?Yes.
0:04:19 > 0:04:22The Labour MP who chairs the committee gave his summary.
0:04:22 > 0:04:26If I may say so you have made two very significant observations, the
0:04:26 > 0:04:32first is your answer a moment ago when you miss -- you said it is
0:04:32 > 0:04:40possible parliament might not vote on the deal until after the end of
0:04:40 > 0:04:44March 2019.That is correct. In the event we do not do a deal until
0:04:44 > 0:04:52then.And secondly, being absolutely clear, it is Government policy,
0:04:52 > 0:04:59despite the recent uncertainty, that it wishes to pursue and sort out the
0:04:59 > 0:05:02nature of the implementation period as swiftly as possible because I
0:05:02 > 0:05:06think that would provide reassurance to many people for whom the
0:05:06 > 0:05:08implementation period and transitional arrangement is very
0:05:08 > 0:05:09important.
0:05:09 > 0:05:11Hilary Benn.
0:05:11 > 0:05:13Well, the main talking point following that committee session
0:05:13 > 0:05:16was David Davis's remarks about whether the Commons would get
0:05:16 > 0:05:19a vote on a Brexit deal in time for it to make any difference.
0:05:19 > 0:05:21News of the comments soon reached the Commons.
0:05:21 > 0:05:25In March 2017, the Prime Minister told the House that Parliament
0:05:25 > 0:05:29would be given a meaningful vote on the terms of the Withdrawal
0:05:29 > 0:05:31from the European Union Article 50 Bill.
0:05:31 > 0:05:33This morning, in the Select Committee on Exiting
0:05:33 > 0:05:35the European Union, the Secretary of State told us that
0:05:35 > 0:05:38that vote might not take place until March 2019.
0:05:38 > 0:05:40Will the Prime Minister please explain how it is possible
0:05:40 > 0:05:43to have a meaningful vote on something that has
0:05:43 > 0:05:45already taken place?
0:05:45 > 0:05:48As the honourable
0:05:48 > 0:05:50Gentleman knows, we are in negotiations
0:05:50 > 0:05:53with the European Union.
0:05:53 > 0:05:55The timetable under the Lisbon treaty allows the negotiations
0:05:55 > 0:05:59to take place until March 2019, but, because it is in the interests
0:05:59 > 0:06:02of both sides, and it is not just this Parliament that wants
0:06:02 > 0:06:06to have a vote on the deal.
0:06:06 > 0:06:07There will be ratification
0:06:07 > 0:06:08by other Parliaments.
0:06:08 > 0:06:11I am confident that we will be able to achieve that
0:06:11 > 0:06:13agreement and that negotiation in time for Parliament
0:06:13 > 0:06:15to have the vote to which we committed ourselves.
0:06:15 > 0:06:16And the matter didn't rest there.
0:06:16 > 0:06:21After PMQs a Labour MP took it up with the Speaker.
0:06:21 > 0:06:24It seems to me that this House, on behalf of the people
0:06:24 > 0:06:29we represent, cannot take back control unless we have that vote.
0:06:29 > 0:06:32Mr Speaker, can you advise on what we, as a House of Commons,
0:06:32 > 0:06:36can do about the, at best, contradiction or, at worst,
0:06:36 > 0:06:41false impression given to the House during the debate on 7th February?
0:06:41 > 0:06:43A Conservative MP thought he'd misunderstood
0:06:43 > 0:06:46David Davis's intention.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49The question the Secretary of State had was whether or not he thought
0:06:49 > 0:06:56there would be an agreement before midnight on 29th March 2019
0:06:56 > 0:06:59and he indicated that he thought it might be reached a nanosecond before
0:06:59 > 0:07:02midnight on that day.
0:07:02 > 0:07:08He was then asked whether that meant this House would not be able to vote
0:07:08 > 0:07:10on such an agreement until after 29th March,
0:07:10 > 0:07:12and he said that obviously it
0:07:12 > 0:07:16will not be able to vote on an agreement
0:07:16 > 0:07:17until after 29th March
0:07:17 > 0:07:19if there has not been an agreement until 29th March.
0:07:19 > 0:07:23That was the point he was making, and it was a perfectly sensible one.
0:07:23 > 0:07:25But another Labour MP said that wasn't what he'd said.
0:07:25 > 0:07:28As somebody who was also in attendance at the Select
0:07:28 > 0:07:30Committee meeting - indeed, I was the person who asked
0:07:30 > 0:07:33the question of the Secretary of State - my understanding is that
0:07:33 > 0:07:39which has been reflected by my Labour colleagues.
0:07:39 > 0:07:44If the Government had changed their position on something
0:07:44 > 0:07:47of such constitutional significance, would it not be in order that that
0:07:47 > 0:07:54change should be brought before this House in a ministerial statement?
0:07:54 > 0:07:57In response - the Speaker said everyone would just have to read
0:07:57 > 0:08:00what it said in Hansard, the official report of proceedings.
0:08:00 > 0:08:04Later the Brexit Department issued a clarification: they expected
0:08:04 > 0:08:06and intended to give Parliament a vote on the Brexit deal
0:08:07 > 0:08:09before the UK's departure.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12You're watching Wednesday in Parliament with me, Mandy Baker.
0:08:12 > 0:08:15If you want to catch up with all the news
0:08:15 > 0:08:17from Westminster on the go, don't forget our sister programme,
0:08:17 > 0:08:19Today in Parliament, is available as a download
0:08:19 > 0:08:27via the BBC Radio 4 Website.
0:08:27 > 0:08:30It was the issue of benefits that dominated the main exchanges at this
0:08:30 > 0:08:34week's Prime Minister's Questions.
0:08:34 > 0:08:36If you haven't been following the long-running saga
0:08:36 > 0:08:38of Universal Credit, allow me to explain.
0:08:38 > 0:08:41Last week the Labour Party initiated a debate on the issue,
0:08:41 > 0:08:44unhappy that claimants were having to wait up to six weeks
0:08:44 > 0:08:48to get their first payment.
0:08:48 > 0:08:50The Conservatives abstained in the vote that followed -
0:08:50 > 0:08:53a vote which was won by Labour.
0:08:53 > 0:08:55Then with cries that the Government was ignoring Parliament
0:08:55 > 0:08:57ringing in his ears, the Speaker granted an emergency
0:08:57 > 0:08:58debate which took place on Tuesday.
0:08:58 > 0:09:07So the scene was set for PMQs.
0:09:07 > 0:09:16Will the Prime Minister respect the will of the house?
0:09:16 > 0:09:20As I have said before, we acknowledge the fact that there are
0:09:20 > 0:09:24concerns people have raised with Universal Credit and we have been
0:09:24 > 0:09:28listening and changes have been made. Perhaps I could update the
0:09:28 > 0:09:34house on where we are on the roll-out of Universal Credit.
0:09:34 > 0:09:38Currently, of people claiming benefits, 8% are Universal Credit
0:09:38 > 0:09:43and by next January that will rise to 10%. The roll-out is being
0:09:43 > 0:09:49conducted in three phases and the intention is it will be completed by
0:09:49 > 0:09:572022. It is being done in a measured way and I am pleased to say four out
0:09:57 > 0:10:00of five people are satisfied or very satisfied with the service they are
0:10:00 > 0:10:11receiving. Universal... Universal Credit helps people into the
0:10:11 > 0:10:13workplace and make sure work pays and that is what the welfare system
0:10:13 > 0:10:20should do. I would have thought that if only 8%
0:10:20 > 0:10:26of the roll-out has taken place, and 20% of the people in receipt of an
0:10:26 > 0:10:31dissatisfied that is a cause for thoughts, maybe a pause in the
0:10:31 > 0:10:37process. A Conservative member of the Welsh Assembly Angela Byrne
0:10:37 > 0:10:44said, "For the life of me I cannot understand why a six or four week
0:10:44 > 0:10:49gap is deemed acceptable." She called Universal Credit calloused at
0:10:49 > 0:10:54best and downright cruel at worst and concluded by saying she is
0:10:54 > 0:11:01ashamed of her Government. Can the Prime Minister ease colic's shame by
0:11:01 > 0:11:06pausing and fixing Universal Credit? We introduced it as a more
0:11:06 > 0:11:10straightforward system that ensures work pays and helps people into the
0:11:10 > 0:11:15workplace. Under Labour, let's look at what happened in the benefit
0:11:15 > 0:11:20system. Under Labour the low paid paid tax and then had it paid back
0:11:20 > 0:11:25to them in benefits. Under Labour people were trapped on a life of
0:11:25 > 0:11:36benefits for years. Under Labour, the number of workless household
0:11:36 > 0:11:44doubled and Labour's benefit system cost households that extra £3000 a
0:11:44 > 0:11:49year. What the Conservatives have done is given the low paid a given
0:11:49 > 0:11:52the work as a tax cut and ensure we have the benefit system that helps
0:11:52 > 0:12:00people into work. Mr Speaker, under Labour, 1 million
0:12:00 > 0:12:08children were lifted out of poverty. Under Labour we introduced the
0:12:08 > 0:12:12principle of the national minimum wage, posed by all Tories over
0:12:12 > 0:12:19there. Can. This Government does not know if it is coming or going. They
0:12:19 > 0:12:29say... Mr Speaker, the Conservative Party and the Government says they
0:12:29 > 0:12:33have full confidence in Universal Credit. But they will not vote for
0:12:33 > 0:12:43it. They say they will and the NHS pay cap but will not allocate any
0:12:43 > 0:12:49money to pay for it. The Communities Secretary backs £50 billion of
0:12:49 > 0:12:53bordering on housing but the Chancellor says it is not policy.
0:12:53 > 0:12:58The Brexit secretary says they are planning for a no deal Brexit and
0:12:58 > 0:13:03the Chancellor says they are not. Isn't it the case, Mr Speaker, this
0:13:03 > 0:13:12Government is weak, incompetent, divided and unable to take a
0:13:12 > 0:13:14decision. Of course we want to see people
0:13:14 > 0:13:20earning higher wages and we want to ensure we can invest in our public
0:13:20 > 0:13:24services but the wait to have a higher standard of living and high
0:13:24 > 0:13:29wages and invest in public services and have a better future for people
0:13:29 > 0:13:33in this country is to build and continue to build a stronger economy
0:13:33 > 0:13:38and you do not build a stronger economy by losing control of public
0:13:38 > 0:13:41finances. You do not build a stronger economy by uncontrolled
0:13:41 > 0:13:45borrowing and you don't build a stronger economy by hitting people
0:13:45 > 0:13:50with the highest taxes in our peacetime history. You don't build a
0:13:50 > 0:13:54stronger economy by voting against progress in our Brexit negotiations.
0:13:54 > 0:14:05And you don't... And you don't build a stronger economy by planning for
0:14:05 > 0:14:08capital flight and a run on the pound. That is what Labour would do
0:14:08 > 0:14:11and we will never let it happen.
0:14:11 > 0:14:12Away from Parliament, the Labour Party announced
0:14:12 > 0:14:15the suspension of one of its MPs while it investigates misogynistic
0:14:15 > 0:14:17and homophobic comments he's alleged to have made.
0:14:17 > 0:14:19Jared O'Mara beat the former Liberal Democrat leader
0:14:19 > 0:14:23Nick Clegg in the constituency of Sheffield Hallam.
0:14:23 > 0:14:27He's apologised for remarks made online in 2002 and 2004,
0:14:27 > 0:14:28but he denies some more recent allegations.
0:14:28 > 0:14:38The situation was raised in the Commons.
0:14:38 > 0:14:42Next year sees the Centenary of the first woman member of Parliament,
0:14:42 > 0:14:45would my right honourable friend Stella is what leadership and
0:14:45 > 0:14:49encouragement to the women and girls of his constituency to take part in
0:14:49 > 0:14:52public life the member for Sheffield Hallam as shown in his remarks?I
0:14:52 > 0:14:58want to see young women and women actually able to see this house has
0:14:58 > 0:15:03a place they actively want to come to, that they want to contribute to
0:15:03 > 0:15:06their society, they want to respond to the needs of local constituents
0:15:06 > 0:15:09and make a real difference to people's lives, that is what I am in
0:15:09 > 0:15:13it for and why I have encouraged women to come into this house and I
0:15:13 > 0:15:18am pleased to say we have more women on benches than ever before. And
0:15:18 > 0:15:26finally, all others -- all of ours in this house, all of us in this
0:15:26 > 0:15:31house should have due care and attention to the way in which we
0:15:31 > 0:15:38refer to other people and should sure women in public life the
0:15:38 > 0:15:40respect they deserve.
0:15:40 > 0:15:42At the general election, the Conservatives proposed that
0:15:42 > 0:15:43people in England with assets of over £100,000
0:15:44 > 0:15:46would have to pay for social care.
0:15:46 > 0:15:48They also said for people receiving care at home,
0:15:48 > 0:15:50the means test would - for the first time -
0:15:50 > 0:15:52include the value of their home.
0:15:52 > 0:15:54Critics called the measure a "dementia tax".
0:15:54 > 0:15:56In a debate initiated by Labour, Ministers were urged
0:15:56 > 0:16:04to abandon the plan.
0:16:04 > 0:16:07After the Battle of the demented taxpayer has been continuing concern
0:16:07 > 0:16:10that current and future issues over the funding of social care are not
0:16:10 > 0:16:16being addressed. He worry stirred up by the party opposite during the
0:16:16 > 0:16:19general election are not going to be resolved without a better idea about
0:16:19 > 0:16:24what the future now holds for social care. One place where people were
0:16:24 > 0:16:28expecting to hear some discussion on this was the party conferences in
0:16:28 > 0:16:31September, but if we thought we would hear about this in the
0:16:31 > 0:16:34conference speeches of the secretaries of State responsible for
0:16:34 > 0:16:40social care we were sadly let down. She said 1.2 million people had an
0:16:40 > 0:16:44Medicare needs and without extra money that figure would rise.And a
0:16:44 > 0:16:48lack of publicly funded care means that the task of meeting care needs.
0:16:48 > 0:16:52Heavily onto unpaid family carers, many carers have to give up work
0:16:52 > 0:16:56because of the demands of caring but a real impact on their finances and
0:16:56 > 0:16:59future career prospects.These debates are helpful for educating
0:16:59 > 0:17:03people about the difficult issues, the disappointing thing about the
0:17:03 > 0:17:06motion and I am happy to accept that we did not handle this issue well in
0:17:06 > 0:17:10the general election, but what we did not do, the mistake we made was
0:17:10 > 0:17:13not being clear about the current system and that is why her
0:17:13 > 0:17:16referencing here to what we propose without setting at the current
0:17:16 > 0:17:21system where people could potentially lose all but £20,000 of
0:17:21 > 0:17:27assets, is something that would help contribute to the public debate.Mr
0:17:27 > 0:17:32Speaker we will come onto that but if the honourable member wants to
0:17:32 > 0:17:37get into the mess that his party made of this the truth is we
0:17:37 > 0:17:42legislated, we legislated a number of years ago to lift the asset for
0:17:42 > 0:17:46two 118,000, what his party did during the general election is
0:17:46 > 0:17:50dropped that to 100,000 from the 118,000 that it was at and in fact
0:17:50 > 0:17:53we learn that the weekend that there was an intention to make it only
0:17:53 > 0:17:5850,000 so I think he should be clear and perhaps speak to his front bench
0:17:58 > 0:18:03colleagues, what were they trying to do? And since then we have heard
0:18:03 > 0:18:08that a deafening silence.She talks their -- talks about there being a
0:18:08 > 0:18:11squeeze on funding, on that basis would she agree that it would be
0:18:11 > 0:18:14right to ask those who have the means to contribute more towards
0:18:14 > 0:18:21their social care in the home?I don't agree with that and I think
0:18:21 > 0:18:26that is one of the reasons why his party's policy or the demented tax
0:18:26 > 0:18:29policy failed so badly, suddenly to bring hundreds of thousands of
0:18:29 > 0:18:32people into means testing using their homes was actually I can say
0:18:32 > 0:18:36to the honourable gentleman one of the biggest flaws in the policy that
0:18:36 > 0:18:40his party floated. The King 's fund, the health foundation and Nuffield
0:18:40 > 0:18:44trust that estimated a funding gap in the social health care budget of
0:18:44 > 0:18:48£1.9 billion this year, but the extra funding in the budget was only
0:18:48 > 0:18:551 billion so we still have a funding gap of £900 million this year. This
0:18:55 > 0:18:57is why Labour pledged an extra billion pounds for social care this
0:18:57 > 0:19:02year to start to deal with that funding crisis.I am grateful for
0:19:02 > 0:19:06the opportunity to answer this debate because I think it gives the
0:19:06 > 0:19:10government an opportunity to set out exactly where we are in this space
0:19:10 > 0:19:14and it is not as has been characterised by the honourable lady
0:19:14 > 0:19:19in her opening marks, she is as ever characteristically challenging and I
0:19:19 > 0:19:23hope to answer some of the issues she has raised today. We announced
0:19:23 > 0:19:26in the Queen's Speech that we will work to address challenges of social
0:19:26 > 0:19:31care for our ageing population, and we will bring forth proposals for
0:19:31 > 0:19:36consultation to build way to put support for future provision.She
0:19:36 > 0:19:41said the government put an X 2 billion into social care.For the
0:19:41 > 0:19:46long-term reform is required so we have a stable system for the future
0:19:46 > 0:19:48equipped to meet the challenges of the increasing number of people with
0:19:48 > 0:19:51care needs. To address these questions the government will work
0:19:51 > 0:19:56with partners including those who use services, those who work to
0:19:56 > 0:19:59provide care, and all other agencies to bring forward proposals for
0:19:59 > 0:20:04public consultation. The consultation will consult on a wide
0:20:04 > 0:20:05range of options.
0:20:05 > 0:20:08At the end of the debate, Labour put the motion to MPs.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11There were no shouts to oppose it from Conservatives
0:20:11 > 0:20:12so the motion passed unopposed, without a vote.
0:20:12 > 0:20:14Labour criticised the Conservatives for abstaining, saying
0:20:14 > 0:20:24they were picking and choosing which issues to vote on.
0:20:25 > 0:20:29Executives from one of the UK's largest supermarket chicken
0:20:29 > 0:20:32suppliers have apologised after an investigation allegedly exposed food
0:20:32 > 0:20:36safety breaches. The hearing followed an investigation from the
0:20:36 > 0:20:39Guardian and ITV news in which an undercover reporter claimed to have
0:20:39 > 0:20:44witnessed workers changing the kill dates on chickens. For the company
0:20:44 > 0:20:47the two sisters from clip they rejected any suggestion that it
0:20:47 > 0:20:53operated below standards.Do you accept that these allegations are
0:20:53 > 0:20:58accurate and that they represent the practice that went on in your plant
0:20:58 > 0:21:04even though you say you weren't aware of this situation?We are very
0:21:04 > 0:21:09disappointed and upset when we saw the footage for the first time,
0:21:09 > 0:21:16which was heard by the ITN. The absolutely apologise for the doubt
0:21:16 > 0:21:23this has caused to our customers, consumers and our employers. We want
0:21:23 > 0:21:31to reassure you, we treat food safety at the highest of standards,
0:21:31 > 0:21:37we are continuously committed to improve food safety everyday. The
0:21:37 > 0:21:43signed up across the whole factory, do not pick a product up off the
0:21:43 > 0:21:49floor. There are 400 hygiene people in these factories that were orange
0:21:49 > 0:21:53overalls, they're the only people who can take product of the forum
0:21:53 > 0:21:59still someone did it. Someone has made a mistake. We have to apologise
0:21:59 > 0:22:04for that and take responsible that if that. So what are we doing about
0:22:04 > 0:22:09it? That is more important. What we're doing his the training that we
0:22:09 > 0:22:13do for hours, we're not doing it any more. We're doing it our training.
0:22:13 > 0:22:21Every year.Why wear labels being changed? If it was not wrong, why
0:22:21 > 0:22:27did you sack the person that was doing it?It is essential that the
0:22:27 > 0:22:33meat reflects the label on the outside. What we found is that
0:22:33 > 0:22:37processes were not robust as they should be. We have now changed it,
0:22:37 > 0:22:40we're not labelling trace any more, every tree has a plastic liner that
0:22:40 > 0:22:45is full that on top of one another in the liner now has a label across
0:22:45 > 0:22:49its when you open the tray you read the label and it is obvious, it is
0:22:49 > 0:22:53put in at the time, sealed at the time and ripped when open so we have
0:22:53 > 0:22:56strengthened our system and made it foolproof for except with the
0:22:56 > 0:23:03reasons you're seeing. We could not get the worker took an club -- to
0:23:03 > 0:23:06collaborate with investigation and it was not as good as it should have
0:23:06 > 0:23:16been a BLT instead.Shouldn't your product be labelled?The episode as
0:23:16 > 0:23:22numbers on the pack you will be able to tell from.What will the customer
0:23:22 > 0:23:29thing?We have identification system. We do not have low
0:23:29 > 0:23:33standards. There is nothing to say we have low standards. I invite all
0:23:33 > 0:23:40of you to my factory, come announced or unannounced. We have people who
0:23:40 > 0:23:46work there, 850 people in question, and I can't accept that you say we
0:23:46 > 0:23:49have low standards because our factories don't have low standards.
0:23:49 > 0:23:51And finally, in the Lords peer were once again
0:23:51 > 0:23:53considering a matter very dear to their hearts: themselves.
0:23:53 > 0:23:55When a hereditary peer dies or retires an election
0:23:55 > 0:23:56is held for a replacement.
0:23:56 > 0:24:00A Labour peer Lord Grocott bemoaned the lack of women
0:24:00 > 0:24:08and ethnic minority people who were eligible candidates.
0:24:08 > 0:24:12Can I just ask him a very simple question, which if you could just
0:24:12 > 0:24:18give a yes to we could move onto next question. And it is this. Will
0:24:18 > 0:24:22the government do something which will hurt no one and cost nothing?
0:24:22 > 0:24:31And back my bill which would scrap this whole ludicrous system.In
0:24:31 > 0:24:37grateful to the noble Lord for that. Moving onto the next question would
0:24:37 > 0:24:46tell me at all because I have to answer that one.The Minister agreed
0:24:46 > 0:24:50the system was difficult to defend. This opposite number had a cunning
0:24:50 > 0:24:53plan.Some of my best friends are bred at a cunning plan. Some of my
0:24:53 > 0:24:58best friends are credit to peers. This is not about the individuals,
0:24:58 > 0:25:02it is about the system. Many Blackadder fans in your Lordships
0:25:02 > 0:25:09house will remember a by-election. As Blackadder said it was half an
0:25:09 > 0:25:14acre of sodden marshland, the Suffolk fence with an anti-town hall
0:25:14 > 0:25:19and a population of three mangy cals, a dashing cold: in the small
0:25:19 > 0:25:25hand in his 40s. Such bottom laws in real places had larger electorate
0:25:25 > 0:25:30and some of hereditary peers by-elections. They were abolished in
0:25:30 > 0:25:361832.Lord Young reminded her that his line manager at the Deputy Chief
0:25:36 > 0:25:38Whip was also a predatory peer.
0:25:38 > 0:25:41And that's it, but do join me at the same time tomorrow
0:25:41 > 0:25:43for another round up of the day here at Westminster.
0:25:43 > 0:25:46For now from me, Mandy Baker, goodbye.