0:00:18 > 0:00:21Hello and welcome to Westminster In Review,
0:00:21 > 0:00:24our look at the last three months here at Parliament, a term dominated
0:00:24 > 0:00:28by arguments over Brexit, a budget that backfired
0:00:28 > 0:00:31and an unpredictable American president.
0:00:31 > 0:00:35It is the Brexit debate that has taken up the most time and stirred
0:00:35 > 0:00:37the strongest passions.
0:00:37 > 0:00:41And you emerge in Wonderland where suddenly countries throughout
0:00:41 > 0:00:47the world are queueing up to give us trading advantages.
0:00:47 > 0:00:50Once again we become a sovereign nation state in command
0:00:50 > 0:00:55of our own destiny and I am absolutely delighted about that.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58Embarrassment for the Chancellor, forced to drop part of his budget
0:00:58 > 0:01:01almost as soon as he delivered it.
0:01:01 > 0:01:06It is shocking and humiliating that the Chancellor has been forced
0:01:06 > 0:01:12to come here to reverse a key budget decision.
0:01:12 > 0:01:14The British Prime Minister met the new US President,
0:01:14 > 0:01:17but there was an explosive reaction from the Commons Speaker.
0:01:17 > 0:01:22After the imposition of the migrant ban by President Trump I am even
0:01:22 > 0:01:29more strongly opposed to an address by President Trump.
0:01:29 > 0:01:32And there were other changes of direction as a scheme allowing
0:01:32 > 0:01:37child refugees from Europe into the UK was suddenly stopped.
0:01:37 > 0:01:41How does she live with herself leaving thousands of children
0:01:41 > 0:01:47subject to disease, people trafficking, squalor?
0:01:47 > 0:01:50What many will remember most about Westminster's spring term had
0:01:50 > 0:01:53nothing to do with arguments over Europe.
0:01:53 > 0:01:56The ancient home of Britain's democracy was at the centre
0:01:56 > 0:02:02of an attack for which the terror group IS claimed responsibility.
0:02:02 > 0:02:06In the space of 90 terrifying seconds, Khalid Masood ploughed
0:02:06 > 0:02:09a car into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge,
0:02:09 > 0:02:13killing three before storming into the precinct of Parliament.
0:02:13 > 0:02:18He fatally stabbed a police officer, PC Keith Palmer.
0:02:18 > 0:02:2552-year-old Masood was then shot dead by armed police.
0:02:25 > 0:02:27The incident did not last long, but its extreme violence
0:02:27 > 0:02:32and suddenness shocked and bewildered Parliament.
0:02:32 > 0:02:36Order, I am now going to suspend the sitting of the house.
0:02:36 > 0:02:39This house is now suspended, but please wait here.
0:02:39 > 0:02:42For several hours MPs and parliamentary workers
0:02:42 > 0:02:44were under lockdown.
0:02:44 > 0:02:48There has been a serious incident within the estate.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51It is clear that the advice from the police and director
0:02:51 > 0:02:54of security is still that the chamber should
0:02:54 > 0:02:56remain in lockdown.
0:02:56 > 0:03:01I hope the house would agree that in the current circumstances it
0:03:01 > 0:03:06would not be right to continue with today's business.
0:03:06 > 0:03:08The following morning the Prime Minister addressed
0:03:08 > 0:03:12a sombre House of Commons.
0:03:12 > 0:03:16Yesterday an act of terrorism tried to silence our democracy.
0:03:16 > 0:03:20But today we meet as normal, as generations have done before us
0:03:20 > 0:03:24and as future generations will continue to do,
0:03:24 > 0:03:27to deliver a simple message.
0:03:27 > 0:03:30We are not afraid.
0:03:30 > 0:03:33And our resolve will never waver in the face of terrorism.
0:03:33 > 0:03:36Mr Speaker, yesterday we saw the worst of humanity,
0:03:36 > 0:03:40but we will remember the best.
0:03:40 > 0:03:43We will remember the extraordinary efforts to save the life of PC
0:03:43 > 0:03:46Keith Palmer, including those by my right honourable friend
0:03:46 > 0:03:50the member for Bournemouth East.
0:03:50 > 0:03:53And we will remember the exceptional bravery of our police,
0:03:53 > 0:03:56security and emergency services.
0:03:56 > 0:04:00And as the Prime Minister said, when dangerous and violent incidents
0:04:00 > 0:04:05take place we all instinctively run away from them for our own safety.
0:04:05 > 0:04:09The police and emergency services run towards them.
0:04:09 > 0:04:14We are grateful for the public servants yesterday, today and every
0:04:14 > 0:04:18day that they pull on their uniforms to protect us all.
0:04:18 > 0:04:22This democracy is strong and this parliament is robust.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25This was an horrific crime, but as an act
0:04:25 > 0:04:27of terror it has failed.
0:04:27 > 0:04:29Hear, hear.
0:04:29 > 0:04:33Those who attacked us hate our freedom, our peaceful democracy,
0:04:33 > 0:04:36our love of country, our tolerance, our
0:04:36 > 0:04:40openness and our unity.
0:04:40 > 0:04:44As we work to unravel how this unspeakable attack happened,
0:04:44 > 0:04:47would she agree with me that we must not, either in our laws or by our
0:04:47 > 0:04:51actions, curtail these values?
0:04:51 > 0:04:54Indeed we should have more of them.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57One man cannot shut down the city and one man
0:04:57 > 0:05:00cannot lockdown democracy.
0:05:00 > 0:05:05No terrorist outrage is representative of any faith
0:05:05 > 0:05:08or of any faith community and we recommit ourselves
0:05:08 > 0:05:13to strengthening the bonds of tolerance and understanding.
0:05:13 > 0:05:16This attacker and people like him are not of my religion,
0:05:16 > 0:05:20nor are they of our community and we should condemn all of them
0:05:20 > 0:05:23who pretend to be of a particular religion because they are not
0:05:23 > 0:05:24of a religion.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27If they were of a religion, they would not be carrying
0:05:27 > 0:05:28out acts like this.
0:05:28 > 0:05:32We have to stay united and show them that they cannot win on these
0:05:32 > 0:05:35grounds and we are here to stay.
0:05:35 > 0:05:37One MP thought it surprising Westminster hadn't
0:05:37 > 0:05:39been attacked before.
0:05:39 > 0:05:43Those of us who are privy to the information and background
0:05:43 > 0:05:47of these matters know very well that it has been little short
0:05:47 > 0:05:52of a miracle that over the course of the last few years we have
0:05:52 > 0:05:57escaped so lightly from the evil that is I am afraid present
0:05:57 > 0:06:02in our society and manifests itself in the senseless, hideous acts
0:06:02 > 0:06:05of violence and evil.
0:06:05 > 0:06:08Reaction also in the House of Lords.
0:06:08 > 0:06:12Where we do what is right, where we behave properly,
0:06:12 > 0:06:16where that generosity and extraordinary sense of duty that
0:06:16 > 0:06:21leads people to treat a terrorist in shame,
0:06:21 > 0:06:26where that bravery of somebody like PC Keith Palmer is demonstrated,
0:06:26 > 0:06:29that there is a victory for what is right and good over
0:06:29 > 0:06:35what is evil, despairing and bad.
0:06:35 > 0:06:37When the roads were reopened around Westminster, the public were quick
0:06:37 > 0:06:42to place flowers as a tribute to those who had been killed
0:06:42 > 0:06:49and the tributes continued to grow in the succeeding days.
0:06:49 > 0:06:51Undoubtedly the biggest day-to-day political story
0:06:51 > 0:06:53of the term was Brexit.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56Oddly, though, at the start of the year politicians were not
0:06:56 > 0:06:58where the focus lay.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01The ten men and one woman who make up the UK's Supreme Court
0:07:01 > 0:07:04were the centre of attention.
0:07:04 > 0:07:07They were deciding if Parliament should pass an act to start
0:07:07 > 0:07:11the process of the UK leaving the EU, or could it be done by prime
0:07:11 > 0:07:15ministerial edict alone?
0:07:15 > 0:07:18Strangely the case was not brought by a politician,
0:07:18 > 0:07:20but by a businesswoman, Gina Miller, who was
0:07:20 > 0:07:22a Remain supporter.
0:07:22 > 0:07:25For five days the country had been enthralled by the court hearing
0:07:25 > 0:07:27with the politicians looking on anxiously whichever
0:07:27 > 0:07:30side they backed.
0:07:30 > 0:07:34Some saw it as a debate over the entire governance of Britain.
0:07:34 > 0:07:36Finally on January the 24th, the president of the Supreme Court
0:07:36 > 0:07:41announced its judgment.
0:07:41 > 0:07:45Today by a majority of 8-3 the Supreme Court ruled
0:07:45 > 0:07:49that the government cannot trigger Article 50 without an act of
0:07:49 > 0:07:53Parliament authorising it to do so.
0:07:53 > 0:07:55Less than a week later a bill was drawn up
0:07:55 > 0:07:57notable for its brevity.
0:07:57 > 0:08:00It was just 170 words long.
0:08:00 > 0:08:03Its title, The EU Notification of Withdrawal Bill.
0:08:03 > 0:08:07It was there to enforce the outcome of last summer's referendum
0:08:07 > 0:08:11when the British people voted in favour of EU withdrawal.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14Now it is universally known as Brexit.
0:08:14 > 0:08:17But what sort of Brexit would it be?
0:08:17 > 0:08:22Are we going to get a detailed plan, Prime Minister?
0:08:22 > 0:08:24How far from the tentacles of the European Union did
0:08:24 > 0:08:25Britain want to get?
0:08:25 > 0:08:28Prime Minister Theresa May left no one in any doubt
0:08:28 > 0:08:30with a speech in mid-January.
0:08:30 > 0:08:33But I want to be clear.
0:08:33 > 0:08:37What I am proposing cannot mean membership of the single market.
0:08:37 > 0:08:41I am equally clear that no deal for Britain is better
0:08:41 > 0:08:46than a bad deal for Britain.
0:08:46 > 0:08:49Although Brexit supporting politicians hadn't wanted any bill,
0:08:49 > 0:08:54fearing it was really about vetoing the referendum result, a mass of MPs
0:08:54 > 0:08:58still piled into the Commons for the Brexit Bill's first debate.
0:08:58 > 0:09:03At the core of this bill lies a very simple question.
0:09:03 > 0:09:06Do we trust the people or not?
0:09:06 > 0:09:10Above all it is our duty to ensure an outcome that is not just
0:09:10 > 0:09:15for the 52% or the 48%, but for the 100%.
0:09:15 > 0:09:17This is a big deal.
0:09:17 > 0:09:20You are not just divvying up the Nana Mouskouri records
0:09:20 > 0:09:25here or divvying up the bargain box set, where this has an impact
0:09:25 > 0:09:28on each and every one of us.
0:09:28 > 0:09:31The British people did not vote to make themselves poorer by pulling
0:09:31 > 0:09:34ourselves out of the greatest free trading single market
0:09:34 > 0:09:36the world has ever seen.
0:09:36 > 0:09:39A veteran pro-European thought the Brexiteers were living
0:09:39 > 0:09:42in the world of Lewis Carroll in how they saw the UK's future
0:09:42 > 0:09:44trading prospects.
0:09:44 > 0:09:48Apparently you follow the rabbit down the hole and you emerge
0:09:48 > 0:09:53in Wonderland where suddenly countries throughout the world
0:09:53 > 0:10:00are queueing up to give us trading advantages and access
0:10:00 > 0:10:03to their markets that previously we have never been able to achieve.
0:10:03 > 0:10:05I do want the best outcome for the United Kingdom
0:10:05 > 0:10:09from this process.
0:10:09 > 0:10:13No doubt somewhere there is a Hatter holding a tea party
0:10:13 > 0:10:19with a dormouse with a teacup.
0:10:19 > 0:10:23We need success in these trading negotiations to recoup
0:10:23 > 0:10:28at least some of the losses which we are going to incur
0:10:28 > 0:10:33from leaving the single market.
0:10:33 > 0:10:37For me this referendum was a massive, peaceful revolution
0:10:37 > 0:10:41by consent of historic proportions.
0:10:41 > 0:10:46This bill at last endorses that revolution.
0:10:46 > 0:10:50I feel I would be abandoning my duty to my constituents who have
0:10:50 > 0:10:54overwhelmingly and unwaveringly made their point that they do not
0:10:54 > 0:11:02want to leave the European Union.
0:11:02 > 0:11:02I campaigned like others on this side for Remain but I accept
0:11:02 > 0:11:04the democratic vote and I think we should allow the Article 50
0:11:04 > 0:11:06notice to be triggered.
0:11:06 > 0:11:09This is the moment we begin to take back control of our laws,
0:11:09 > 0:11:11our borders and our money.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14Once again we become a sovereign nation state in command
0:11:14 > 0:11:19of our own destiny and I am absolutely delighted about that.
0:11:19 > 0:11:22For Labour these were difficult times.
0:11:22 > 0:11:24Most of their northern MPs had supporters back
0:11:24 > 0:11:28in their constituencies who voted in their thousands to leave the EU.
0:11:28 > 0:11:32History has its eyes on us today so here is my answer.
0:11:32 > 0:11:35I can no more vote for this than I can vote against my conscience.
0:11:35 > 0:11:38I can no more vote for this because it is against my values.
0:11:38 > 0:11:44I can no more vote for this than I can vote against my own DNA.
0:11:44 > 0:11:47Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, had imposed a three-line whip.
0:11:47 > 0:11:51Labour MPs had to back the government and vote for the bill.
0:11:51 > 0:11:55That meant a handful of resignations within Labour's shadow team.
0:11:55 > 0:12:03For the shadow Home Secretary, Diane Abbott, it meant
0:12:03 > 0:12:05a dubious absence from the Commons voting lobbies.
0:12:05 > 0:12:08The following week, the Brexit Bill went through all its stages
0:12:08 > 0:12:09with no alterations.
0:12:09 > 0:12:11One Conservative Remain supporter saw her fervent Brexiteer party
0:12:11 > 0:12:14colleagues in a less than favourable way.
0:12:14 > 0:12:17I feel sometimes I am sitting along with colleagues who are like jihadis
0:12:17 > 0:12:20in their support for a hard Brexit.
0:12:20 > 0:12:24No Brexit is hard enough, be gone, you evil Europeans, we never want
0:12:24 > 0:12:27you to darken our doors again.
0:12:27 > 0:12:32I am afraid I heard speeches last week exactly making that point.
0:12:32 > 0:12:36As the bill passed through the Commons the pro-EU SNP claimed
0:12:36 > 0:12:38it had all been done in a rush.
0:12:38 > 0:12:41The government's refusal to accept a single amendment means
0:12:41 > 0:12:45there will be no report stage.
0:12:45 > 0:12:48The programme motion means there is no debate on third reading.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51I am informed by the library that the last time that combination
0:12:51 > 0:12:55happened was the Defence of the Realm Act of 1914
0:12:55 > 0:12:57which was about the First World War.
0:12:57 > 0:13:00For this to happen in any bill would be an abuse.
0:13:00 > 0:13:03To happen on this bill is an outrage.
0:13:03 > 0:13:07What is it about the procedures of this place that allow a bill
0:13:07 > 0:13:09of this constitutional significance to be railroaded through in this
0:13:09 > 0:13:14disgraceful fashion?
0:13:14 > 0:13:16When the result was declared there was no doubt about
0:13:16 > 0:13:17the government's victory.
0:13:17 > 0:13:27The ayes to the right 494, the noes to the left, 122.
0:13:33 > 0:13:35There was a curious footnote.
0:13:35 > 0:13:38While waiting for the vote, the SNP MPs struck a defiant musical
0:13:38 > 0:13:40note in the chamber, perhaps like the band playing
0:13:40 > 0:13:43on as the Titanic sank.
0:13:43 > 0:13:50The SNP sang the European anthem, Beethoven's Ode to Joy.
0:13:50 > 0:13:52Order, order.
0:13:52 > 0:14:09Until they were told to stop.
0:14:09 > 0:14:10Order!
0:14:10 > 0:14:12Huge political change wasn't confined to Europe.
0:14:12 > 0:14:12On January 20th, Donald Trump was sworn in as 45th president
0:14:12 > 0:14:14of the United States of America.
0:14:14 > 0:14:17I, Donald John Trump, do solemnly swear...
0:14:17 > 0:14:20So who would be the first British politician to meet the new top dog?
0:14:20 > 0:14:22The Prime Minister?
0:14:22 > 0:14:24The Foreign Secretary?
0:14:24 > 0:14:26No, it was this man, Nigel Farage of Ukip,
0:14:26 > 0:14:29the man credited in some quarters at least for achieving Brexit.
0:14:29 > 0:14:31When news emerged that Theresa May would be
0:14:31 > 0:14:33going to meet the new president, the Labour leader thought some
0:14:33 > 0:14:36plain talking was needed.
0:14:36 > 0:14:39How confident is she of getting a good deal for global Britain
0:14:39 > 0:14:42from a president who wants to put America first, buy American
0:14:42 > 0:14:45and build a wall between his country and Mexico?
0:14:45 > 0:14:50I am not afraid to speak frankly to a president of the United States.
0:14:50 > 0:14:55I am able to do that because we have that special relationship,
0:14:55 > 0:14:58a special relationship that he would never have
0:14:58 > 0:15:02with the United States.
0:15:02 > 0:15:05President Trump produced a series of executive orders,
0:15:05 > 0:15:08the most controversial being his intended ban
0:15:08 > 0:15:10on people travelling to the United States from certain
0:15:10 > 0:15:11countries, mainly Muslim.
0:15:11 > 0:15:14The Home Secretary was asked to comment.
0:15:14 > 0:15:18Do you disagree with Trump's ban?
0:15:18 > 0:15:23Yes, and I support the position the government has taken -
0:15:23 > 0:15:27the Foreign Secretary spelt out that it is divisive and wrong.
0:15:27 > 0:15:31When Theresa May visited President Trump in Washington
0:15:31 > 0:15:33at the end of January, not everyone was convinced that
0:15:33 > 0:15:35handholding within sight of TV cameras at the White House
0:15:35 > 0:15:40was a wise move.
0:15:40 > 0:15:42The Prime Minister said the new president was welcome
0:15:42 > 0:15:44to come to Britain this year for a state visit.
0:15:44 > 0:15:48A protest petition sprang up.
0:15:48 > 0:15:50He has threatened to dump international agreements
0:15:50 > 0:15:51on climate change.
0:15:51 > 0:15:54He's praised the use of torture.
0:15:54 > 0:15:57He's incited hatred against Muslims.
0:15:57 > 0:16:01He's directly attacked women's rights.
0:16:01 > 0:16:04Just what more does President Trump have to do before the Prime Minister
0:16:04 > 0:16:06will listen to the 1.8 million people who have already
0:16:06 > 0:16:16called for his state visit invitation to be withdrawn?
0:16:21 > 0:16:25The right honourable gentleman's foreign policy is to object
0:16:25 > 0:16:27to and insult the democratically-elected head of state
0:16:27 > 0:16:28of our most important ally.
0:16:28 > 0:16:38The arguments over President Trump's visit also had lighter moments.
0:16:38 > 0:16:43Given the Foreign Secretary once famously declared that he wouldn't
0:16:43 > 0:16:46go to New York in case he was mistaken for Mr Trump,
0:16:46 > 0:16:48is there any chance that President Trump will not come
0:16:48 > 0:16:51to London on a state visit in case he is mistaken
0:16:51 > 0:16:53for the Foreign Secretary?
0:16:53 > 0:16:56I am embarrassed to tell you, Mr Speaker, that not only...
0:16:56 > 0:16:59I think I was mistaken for Mr Trump in Newcastle,
0:16:59 > 0:17:00which rather took me back.
0:17:00 > 0:17:06But also in New York.
0:17:06 > 0:17:13A very humbling experience it was, as you can imagine.
0:17:13 > 0:17:19I can't tell you who was the exact progenitor of the excellent idea
0:17:19 > 0:17:22to accord an invitation to the president to
0:17:22 > 0:17:25come on a state visit but the invitation has been issued.
0:17:25 > 0:17:27I think it is a wholly appropriate thing.
0:17:27 > 0:17:29And what about President Trump coming to Parliament?
0:17:29 > 0:17:33The Commons Speaker said an address to MPs and peers by a foreign leader
0:17:33 > 0:17:36was not an automatic right.
0:17:36 > 0:17:40He spoke about the President's intended travel ban.
0:17:40 > 0:17:43Before the imposition of the migrant ban, I would myself have been
0:17:43 > 0:17:45strongly opposed to an address by President Trump
0:17:45 > 0:17:52in Westminster Hall.
0:17:52 > 0:17:54After the imposition of the migrant ban by President Trump,
0:17:54 > 0:17:57I am even more strongly opposed to an address by President Trump
0:17:57 > 0:18:07in Westminster Hall.
0:18:10 > 0:18:12We value our relationship with the United States.
0:18:12 > 0:18:16If a state visit takes place, that is way beyond and above the pay
0:18:16 > 0:18:18grade of the Speaker.
0:18:18 > 0:18:22However, as far as this place is concerned, I feel very strongly
0:18:22 > 0:18:25that our opposition to racism and to sexism, and our support
0:18:25 > 0:18:28for equality before the law and an independent judiciary
0:18:28 > 0:18:37are hugely important considerations in the House of Commons.
0:18:47 > 0:18:49APPLAUSE.
0:18:49 > 0:18:52Two words: well done.
0:18:52 > 0:18:54We shouldn't have clapping in the chamber but sometimes it's
0:18:54 > 0:19:02easier just to let it go on than to make a huge fuss about it.
0:19:02 > 0:19:04It'd been a remarkably strong intervention by John Bercow.
0:19:04 > 0:19:06I asked the BBC's political reporter, Iain Watson,
0:19:06 > 0:19:08how surprising it was to hear a Speaker so forthright
0:19:08 > 0:19:12in the Commons.
0:19:12 > 0:19:13It was very surprising.
0:19:13 > 0:19:15It's not something you would expect in Parliament.
0:19:15 > 0:19:25You would expect people to abide by certain conventions,
0:19:26 > 0:19:28a certain degree of diplomacy, certainly by the historic
0:19:28 > 0:19:30role of the Speaker.
0:19:30 > 0:19:31That was surprising and it certainly surprised me.
0:19:31 > 0:19:34It wouldn't be Westminster if we didn't have conspiracy theories,
0:19:34 > 0:19:36gossip and all the rest of it.
0:19:36 > 0:19:38Some people were suggesting that what John Bercow was trying to do
0:19:38 > 0:19:42was trying to maintain his role as Speaker for a few more years yet
0:19:42 > 0:19:44by saying something that would please the opposition benches
0:19:44 > 0:19:46- Labour, Liberal Democrat, the Scottish nationals -
0:19:46 > 0:19:49people who are not at all keen on Donald Trump and his message.
0:19:49 > 0:19:51So to some extent he was getting them onside.
0:19:51 > 0:19:53But it was interesting that a Conservative MP soon afterwards,
0:19:53 > 0:19:56James Duddridge, tried to get a motion of no confidence
0:19:56 > 0:19:58in the Speaker.
0:19:58 > 0:20:02So rather than elongating his time in that prestigious chair,
0:20:02 > 0:20:05it looked as though, for a short amount of time, that he
0:20:05 > 0:20:06might actually be out.
0:20:06 > 0:20:09But then it transpired that there was not really much
0:20:09 > 0:20:10support for that after all.
0:20:10 > 0:20:13So in fact he seems to have got away with what was a very robust
0:20:13 > 0:20:16denunciation of a foreign leader, and certainly what he succeeded
0:20:16 > 0:20:18in was preventing, whatever else happens with Donald Trump,
0:20:18 > 0:20:20preventing him from having the same honour as President Obama
0:20:20 > 0:20:30and addressing MPs in Westminster Hall.
0:20:31 > 0:20:36Economic austerity has remained in place in the first months of 2017
0:20:36 > 0:20:39and looks set to stay for the rest of this Parliament.
0:20:39 > 0:20:41Cuts continued across all areas of spending,
0:20:41 > 0:20:43including local councils.
0:20:43 > 0:20:46Perhaps the most human effect of the squeeze was in the area
0:20:46 > 0:20:48of caring for the elderly.
0:20:48 > 0:20:50With people living longer, the cost of social care looks
0:20:50 > 0:20:51set to keep on rising.
0:20:51 > 0:20:53So how can things change?
0:20:53 > 0:20:56At a committee session, a minister suggested the way forward
0:20:56 > 0:21:01lay with sons and daughters.
0:21:01 > 0:21:06I wonder how you plan to fund social care to keep pace
0:21:06 > 0:21:10with those growing numbers.
0:21:10 > 0:21:13Nobody ever questions the fact that we look after our children.
0:21:13 > 0:21:18That's just obvious.
0:21:18 > 0:21:20Nobody say it's a caring responsibility -
0:21:20 > 0:21:21it's just what you do.
0:21:21 > 0:21:25I think some of that logic and some of the way that we think about that
0:21:25 > 0:21:28in terms of the sort of volume of numbers that we see
0:21:28 > 0:21:30coming down the track, will have to impinge on the way
0:21:30 > 0:21:33that we start thinking about how we look after our
0:21:33 > 0:21:36parents.
0:21:36 > 0:21:38Because in a way, it is a responsibility -
0:21:38 > 0:21:40in terms of our life-cycle, it's similar.
0:21:40 > 0:21:43So should we all be paying for rising social care costs
0:21:43 > 0:21:44by shelling out more in our council tax?
0:21:44 > 0:21:47A big rise in the tax in Surrey was suddenly called off,
0:21:47 > 0:21:50leading to speculation that a secret deal had been done
0:21:50 > 0:21:51between the government and the local council.
0:21:51 > 0:21:54After all, Surrey is well represented in the Cabinet.
0:21:54 > 0:22:03Information had fallen into the lap of the Labour leader.
0:22:05 > 0:22:08I have been leaked copies of texts sent by the Tory
0:22:08 > 0:22:10leader, David Hodge, intended for somebody called Nick,
0:22:10 > 0:22:12who works for ministers in the Department for Communities
0:22:12 > 0:22:14and Local Government.
0:22:14 > 0:22:17And these text read: "I am advised that DCLG officials have been
0:22:17 > 0:22:22working on a solution and that you will be
0:22:22 > 0:22:26contacting me to agree a memorandum of understanding."
0:22:26 > 0:22:36Will the government now publish this memorandum of understanding?
0:22:40 > 0:22:43What the Labour Party fails to understand is that this is not
0:22:43 > 0:22:46just a question of looking at money, it is a question of looking
0:22:46 > 0:22:50at spreading best practice and finding a sustainable solution.
0:22:50 > 0:22:54And I have to say to him that if we look at social care
0:22:54 > 0:22:56provision across the entire country, the last thing social care
0:22:56 > 0:23:01providers need is another one of Labour's bouncing cheques.
0:23:01 > 0:23:03Saving for a rainy day, Chancellor?
0:23:03 > 0:23:11So could the Chancellor help with cheques that didn't bounce?
0:23:11 > 0:23:12March 8th was budget day.
0:23:12 > 0:23:14Time for Philip Hammond, doing his first budget,
0:23:14 > 0:23:16to parade the familiar red box.
0:23:16 > 0:23:17Grinning and bearing it, Chancellor?
0:23:17 > 0:23:19We already knew that the budget was going to be moved
0:23:19 > 0:23:21from the spring to the autumn.
0:23:21 > 0:23:23In the Commons, Mr Hammond went into reflective mode,
0:23:23 > 0:23:28recalling the last time a Chancellor presented a final spring budget.
0:23:28 > 0:23:3124 years ago, Norman Lamont also presented what was billed them
0:23:31 > 0:23:34as the last spring budget.
0:23:34 > 0:23:37He reported on an economy that was growing faster
0:23:37 > 0:23:40than any other in the G7 and he committed to continued
0:23:40 > 0:23:44restraint in public spending.
0:23:44 > 0:23:48The then-Prime Minister described it as the right budget at the right
0:23:48 > 0:23:53time from the right Chancellor.
0:23:53 > 0:23:56What they failed to remind me, Mr Deputy Speaker, was that ten
0:23:56 > 0:23:59weeks later he was sacked - so wish me luck today.
0:23:59 > 0:24:03The joke would come back to bite Mr Hammond.
0:24:03 > 0:24:07He failed to spot the massive trouble that lay ahead.
0:24:07 > 0:24:09For those worried about the social care crisis,
0:24:09 > 0:24:11the Chancellor had some good news.
0:24:11 > 0:24:13So today, Mr Deputy Speaker, I am committing additional grant
0:24:13 > 0:24:16funding of ?2 billion for social care in England over
0:24:16 > 0:24:26the next three years.
0:24:26 > 0:24:28But someone's to pay for that ?2 billion injection
0:24:28 > 0:24:30and that is where Mr Hammond's budget went seriously wrong.
0:24:30 > 0:24:34He explained why self-employed workers, including Britain's army
0:24:34 > 0:24:38of tradesmen in their distinctive white vans, were going to pay more
0:24:38 > 0:24:47tax in the form of higher national insurance contributions or NICs.
0:24:47 > 0:24:49Employed and self-employed alike use our public
0:24:49 > 0:24:50services in the same way.
0:24:50 > 0:24:53But they are not paying for them in the same way.
0:24:53 > 0:24:55The lower national insurance paid by the self-employed is forecast
0:24:55 > 0:24:58to cost our public finances over ?5 billion this year alone.
0:24:58 > 0:25:01This is not fair to the 85% of workers who are employees.
0:25:01 > 0:25:04To be able to support our public services in this budget,
0:25:04 > 0:25:06and to improve the fairness of the tax system, I will act
0:25:06 > 0:25:09to reduce the gap to better reflect the current differences
0:25:09 > 0:25:19in state benefits.
0:25:24 > 0:25:26It was a disastrous move, as the Scottish Nationalists soon spotted.
0:25:26 > 0:25:28We've seen a scandalous attack on aspiration,
0:25:28 > 0:25:32on the self-employed, taxing them more, changes to NICs,
0:25:32 > 0:25:42?4.2 billion or so from people.
0:25:43 > 0:25:46The 'party of aspiration' taxing those self-employed
0:25:46 > 0:25:49putting in active,
0:25:49 > 0:25:52real, hard disincentives to starting businesses, to employ people,
0:25:52 > 0:25:53for stepping out on one's own.
0:25:53 > 0:25:55I think that is a decision which will come back
0:25:55 > 0:25:56to haunt this Chancellor.
0:25:56 > 0:25:59The next day's headlines were not good news for the Chancellor.
0:25:59 > 0:26:07There were stories of a massive falling out in numbers
0:26:07 > 0:26:0910 and 11 Downing St between Prime Minister
0:26:09 > 0:26:10and Chancellor.
0:26:10 > 0:26:12Then, in an embarrassing U-turn, Philip Hammond dropped
0:26:12 > 0:26:14the national insurance rise, and he did it in the Commons,
0:26:14 > 0:26:16to the undisguised glee of the opposition.
0:26:16 > 0:26:18Since the budget, Parliamentary colleagues and others have
0:26:18 > 0:26:20questioned whether the proposed increase in class 4 contributions...
0:26:20 > 0:26:22JEERING.
0:26:22 > 0:26:24..have questioned whether the proposed increase in class 4
0:26:24 > 0:26:26contributions is compatible with the tax lock commitments made
0:26:26 > 0:26:36in our 2015 manifesto.
0:26:36 > 0:26:39The Chancellor said a 2015 act made clear the government's
0:26:39 > 0:26:41tax lock applied only to some self-employed people.
0:26:41 > 0:26:48It is clear from discussions with colleagues over the last few
0:26:48 > 0:26:52days that this legislative test of the manifesto commitment does
0:26:52 > 0:26:55not meet...
0:26:55 > 0:26:57..Mr Speaker, does not meet a wider understanding
0:26:57 > 0:26:59of the spirit of that commitment.
0:26:59 > 0:27:02LAUGHTER.
0:27:02 > 0:27:05Mr Speaker, it is very important, both to me and to my
0:27:05 > 0:27:07right honourable friend, the Prime Minister, that we comply
0:27:07 > 0:27:10not just with the letter, but also the spirit of the commitments
0:27:10 > 0:27:18that were made.
0:27:18 > 0:27:19This is chaos.
0:27:19 > 0:27:21LAUGHTER.
0:27:21 > 0:27:24It is shocking and humiliating that the Chancellor has been forced,
0:27:24 > 0:27:26forced to come here to reverse a key budget decision announced
0:27:26 > 0:27:33less than a week ago.
0:27:33 > 0:27:36If the Chancellor had spent less time writing stale
0:27:36 > 0:27:38jokes for his speech and the Prime Minister less time
0:27:38 > 0:27:40guffawing like a feeding seal on those benches,
0:27:40 > 0:27:48we would not be landed this mess.
0:27:48 > 0:27:50Let's be clear, let's be clear.
0:27:50 > 0:27:57This was a ?2 billion tax hike for many middle and lower earners.
0:27:57 > 0:28:06Loyal conservatives had initially supported the Chancellor's tax rise,
0:28:06 > 0:28:09so the about turn had caused one loyal Tory, a New Forest MP,
0:28:09 > 0:28:10a spot of embarrassment.
0:28:10 > 0:28:12I'm in some difficulty because my article robustly
0:28:12 > 0:28:15supporting the Chancellor's early policy in the Forest Journal
0:28:15 > 0:28:25is already with the printer.
0:28:26 > 0:28:27LAUGHTER.
0:28:27 > 0:28:28And I just...
0:28:28 > 0:28:30Having been persuaded of the correctness of the course
0:28:30 > 0:28:33that he is now following, I merely needed an opportunity
0:28:33 > 0:28:37in which to recant.
0:28:37 > 0:28:39I asked Iain Watson how bad relations between Prime Minister
0:28:39 > 0:28:47and Chancellor have got in the days following the budget.
0:28:47 > 0:28:49I suppose if you're doing the scale of disagreements between,
0:28:49 > 0:28:52say Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, it'd be at ten.
0:28:52 > 0:28:54Between David Cameron and George Osborne, publicly -
0:28:54 > 0:28:56their predecessors - that'd probably be around one
0:28:56 > 0:28:57or two on the scale.
0:28:57 > 0:29:03This was certainly above five, I would say.
0:29:03 > 0:29:05There were briefings from either side, none of these,
0:29:05 > 0:29:06of course, were official.
0:29:06 > 0:29:08Friends of the Prime Minister, friends of the Chancellor,
0:29:08 > 0:29:10there were suggestions that the Chancellor found some
0:29:10 > 0:29:12people in Downing Street, some people working
0:29:12 > 0:29:14with the Prime Minister, to be economically illiterate.
0:29:14 > 0:29:17There was also a view from Downing Street that the Cabinet
0:29:17 > 0:29:19had not been fully informed of what he intended to do
0:29:19 > 0:29:21on national insurance, and just to underline how serious
0:29:21 > 0:29:24that was, this wasn't simply about some people paying a bit more
0:29:24 > 0:29:27in what is effectively a tax, it was breaching a Conservative
0:29:27 > 0:29:32manifesto commitment.
0:29:32 > 0:29:35That is what has caused the problems and Downing Street looked as though
0:29:35 > 0:29:37they were trying to distance themselves from that very swiftly.
0:29:37 > 0:29:40If I was a wealthy investor, should I be buying shares
0:29:40 > 0:29:41in Philip Hammond?
0:29:41 > 0:29:47I think in the short term, you probably should actually,
0:29:47 > 0:29:50because, and this will pop up time and again, and we have
0:29:50 > 0:29:53to use the B-word, Brexit, what Theresa May does not want to do
0:29:53 > 0:29:55is create any impression of instability, just as very crucial
0:29:55 > 0:29:57negotiations have to begin within the European Union.
0:29:57 > 0:30:01To lose our Chancellor would be unfortunate,
0:30:01 > 0:30:03to say the least.
0:30:03 > 0:30:05And I think losing anyone else from the Cabinet
0:30:05 > 0:30:06would look like carelessness.
0:30:06 > 0:30:10So therefore she wants to hold on to the people
0:30:10 > 0:30:15in the key positions, even if he made a bit of a mistake.
0:30:15 > 0:30:18I think what we had was really a private rapping of the knuckles.
0:30:18 > 0:30:21I think he will stay in place during the Brexit process.
0:30:21 > 0:30:24In the longer term, if you're going to say "Is he going to be
0:30:24 > 0:30:26Chancellor again at the time of the next General Election
0:30:26 > 0:30:29or beyond?", I think perhaps she might be thinking of another
0:30:29 > 0:30:32potential role for him by them.
0:30:32 > 0:30:34Just as one of Philip Hammond's main budget policies turned to ashes,
0:30:34 > 0:30:37there was another burning issue elsewhere in the UK that caused
0:30:37 > 0:30:38a political impasse.
0:30:38 > 0:30:40With unexpected speed the Northern Ireland Assembly in
0:30:40 > 0:30:42Belfast came to an end in January.
0:30:42 > 0:30:46Part of the reason was a row over a green energy scheme that had cost
0:30:46 > 0:30:47millions of pounds in public money.
0:30:47 > 0:30:49When the Northern Ireland first Minister, Arlene Foster
0:30:49 > 0:30:52of the DUP, didn't stand down because of the scandal,
0:30:52 > 0:30:56the Deputy first Minister, Martin McGuinness of Sinn Fein,
0:30:56 > 0:31:00did resign, meaning the assembly couldn't continue.
0:31:00 > 0:31:03Mr McGuinness was known to be in declining health.
0:31:03 > 0:31:07His death was announced on March the 21st.
0:31:07 > 0:31:11The elections for a new Stormont Assembly produced
0:31:11 > 0:31:13a remarkable result.
0:31:13 > 0:31:16Sinn Fein won 27 seats, one behind the Democratic Unionist
0:31:16 > 0:31:19tally of 28 seats.
0:31:19 > 0:31:23For the first time the Unionists did not have a majority on the assembly.
0:31:23 > 0:31:25Talks began on power-sharing, but several weeks later
0:31:25 > 0:31:28the future of devolution in Northern Ireland
0:31:28 > 0:31:31looked uncertain.
0:31:31 > 0:31:35Voting in other parts of the UK was meanwhile producing some
0:31:35 > 0:31:37traditional by-election excitement.
0:31:37 > 0:31:39A one-time member of the Shadow Cabinet, Tristram Hunt,
0:31:39 > 0:31:42announced he was leaving Parliament and taking up a top
0:31:42 > 0:31:46job at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
0:31:46 > 0:31:50It meant a by-election in Stoke-on-Trent Central.
0:31:50 > 0:31:54The Ukip candidate was its newly elected leader, Paul Nuttall,
0:31:54 > 0:31:59but when stories emerged that he had been making some exaggerated
0:31:59 > 0:32:02claims about his past, Mr Nuttall's campaign ran
0:32:02 > 0:32:04out of steam.
0:32:04 > 0:32:06Stoke Central was retained for Labour.
0:32:06 > 0:32:10200 miles further north in scenic West Cumbria,
0:32:10 > 0:32:13it was a different story when Trudy Harrison gained Copeland
0:32:13 > 0:32:15for the Conservatives.
0:32:15 > 0:32:20Will the member wishing to take her seat please come to the table.
0:32:20 > 0:32:23It was the first time in 35 years that a governing party had
0:32:23 > 0:32:28made a by-election gain.
0:32:28 > 0:32:31Trudy Harrison enjoyed a rapturous welcome
0:32:31 > 0:32:33into the Commons chamber a few days later.
0:32:33 > 0:32:39CHEERING.
0:32:39 > 0:32:41But what about the reasons for the by-elections?
0:32:41 > 0:32:44I asked Ian Watson why two Labour MPs had simply walked
0:32:44 > 0:32:46away from Westminster.
0:32:46 > 0:32:49One thing that united the pair of them, they were basically
0:32:49 > 0:32:51Blairite if you like, they were people who were not
0:32:51 > 0:32:53regarded as modernisers within the Labour Party,
0:32:53 > 0:32:55in the not too distant past people who were seen
0:32:55 > 0:32:56as ministerial material.
0:32:56 > 0:33:00In fact Tristram Hunt was even seen as a potential Labour leader at one
0:33:00 > 0:33:02stage and considered standing in the leadership election
0:33:02 > 0:33:04after the 2015 general election.
0:33:04 > 0:33:07But I think from private conversations I had with one of them
0:33:07 > 0:33:10there was a feeling they wanted to put Jeremy Corbyn to the test.
0:33:10 > 0:33:15He was saying effectively that in some other electoral tests Labour
0:33:15 > 0:33:19was never expected to win certain by-elections where Conservatives
0:33:19 > 0:33:22were up against Liberal Democrats.
0:33:22 > 0:33:25They were saying, here is two Labour seats.
0:33:25 > 0:33:32If your left-wing brand of Labour politics is really going to triumph,
0:33:32 > 0:33:34you should win in those seats.
0:33:34 > 0:33:37What actually happened of course is Labour lost Copeland rather
0:33:37 > 0:33:42disastrously and even had a fall in share of the vote in Stoke
0:33:42 > 0:33:44at a time when usually governments are losing votes
0:33:44 > 0:33:46and losing seats midterm.
0:33:46 > 0:33:48There has been a lot of talk of coup attempts
0:33:48 > 0:33:49and manoeuvrings by the Unite union.
0:33:49 > 0:33:51What is going on?
0:33:51 > 0:33:54What I think we have is a kind of proxy coup going
0:33:54 > 0:33:56on if you like in the Unite union.
0:33:56 > 0:33:59It is the country's largest union, it is also the biggest single donor
0:33:59 > 0:34:00to the Labour Party.
0:34:00 > 0:34:03It is currently run by an ally of Jeremy Corbyn, Len McCluskey,
0:34:03 > 0:34:05who is up for re-election at the moment.
0:34:05 > 0:34:07He has given money directly to Jeremy Corbyn's re-election
0:34:07 > 0:34:10campaign, so not just giving money to the party, but to someone
0:34:10 > 0:34:14he believes will keep the party on the left of British politics,
0:34:14 > 0:34:18some would say the far left of British politics.
0:34:18 > 0:34:21At the moment Labour is somewhere in the region of 19-20 points behind
0:34:21 > 0:34:24the Conservatives in the polls and those who oppose
0:34:24 > 0:34:26Jeremy Corbyn within the party and here at Westminster believe
0:34:26 > 0:34:30the only way Labour can recover, it would be a huge job to do,
0:34:30 > 0:34:33but the only way it can recover is by first removing
0:34:33 > 0:34:35an unpopular leader.
0:34:35 > 0:34:37Their way of doing that is to try to remove another leader,
0:34:37 > 0:34:41a leader of a trade union who is seen as his bulwark his
0:34:41 > 0:34:44funder and his greatest supporter.
0:34:44 > 0:34:51Westminster's committees had another good time,
0:34:51 > 0:34:52Westminster's committees had another good term,
0:34:52 > 0:35:09probing deeper into issues and shedding new light
0:35:09 > 0:35:10on national scandals.
0:35:10 > 0:35:12Some big reputations took a hammering.
0:35:12 > 0:35:12The credibility of Britain's speed cyclists was hanging by a thread
0:35:12 > 0:35:12when hearings continued into the doping allegations that
0:35:12 > 0:35:13have surrounded the sport.
0:35:13 > 0:35:16Damning evidence was given about the absence of any record
0:35:16 > 0:35:19keeping into exactly what was given to riders and when it was given.
0:35:19 > 0:35:22The extent of our investigation is confined to this particular race
0:35:22 > 0:35:24for which there are zero records by Doctor Freeman.
0:35:24 > 0:35:26What excuse has British Cycling given to you for this woeful
0:35:26 > 0:35:27lack of record-keeping?
0:35:27 > 0:35:29We haven't had an excuse from them.
0:35:29 > 0:35:31There is just an acknowledgement that there was no
0:35:31 > 0:35:32policy and no records.
0:35:32 > 0:35:33That's it.
0:35:33 > 0:35:35And the same for Team Sky as well?
0:35:35 > 0:35:38Team Sky did have a policy, it is just that not everybody
0:35:38 > 0:35:40was adhering to it.
0:35:40 > 0:35:42There was a pasting too for the Internet giants Google,
0:35:42 > 0:35:44Facebook and Twitter.
0:35:44 > 0:35:47MPs on the Home Affairs Committee accused them of doing too little
0:35:47 > 0:35:50to remove online content that was either objectionable,
0:35:50 > 0:35:54exploitative or racist.
0:35:54 > 0:35:58You are providing a platform which has acted as a moneymaking
0:35:58 > 0:36:02machine for the peddlers of hate, extremism, supporters of ISIS,
0:36:02 > 0:36:07for supporters of neo-Nazi groups.
0:36:07 > 0:36:09That is happening on your platform and the way
0:36:09 > 0:36:12in which you are prevaricating and dancing around
0:36:12 > 0:36:14this is disturbing.
0:36:14 > 0:36:18If I am honest with you, Mr Barron, all you need to do is say, "Yes,
0:36:18 > 0:36:20that has happened and this is what we are doing."
0:36:20 > 0:36:24We have no interest in making money from that.
0:36:24 > 0:36:28It has happened, we work very hard to make sure that doesn't happen
0:36:28 > 0:36:33and we work with advertisers to give us more transparency so they do not
0:36:33 > 0:36:41appear next to political content but it is worth pointing out that
0:36:41 > 0:36:44some of the videos you are referring to were not those that
0:36:44 > 0:36:45break our guidelines.
0:36:45 > 0:36:47There are not many business activities where somebody openly
0:36:47 > 0:36:50would come and give evidence to this committee and have to admit,
0:36:50 > 0:36:55no matter how many times they danced around, have to admit
0:36:55 > 0:36:58that they are making money and people who use their platform
0:36:58 > 0:37:01are making money out of hate.
0:37:01 > 0:37:03That is happening on your platform.
0:37:03 > 0:37:05We never want to make money out of hate.
0:37:05 > 0:37:08You as an outfit, you are not working nearly hard
0:37:08 > 0:37:12enough to deal with this.
0:37:12 > 0:37:15We are looking very hard in this area.
0:37:15 > 0:37:17Does the Prime Minister know what she is doing?
0:37:17 > 0:37:19Also getting the Westminster committee treatment was,
0:37:19 > 0:37:21yes, the Brexit process.
0:37:21 > 0:37:24MPs grilled this man, Sir Ivan Rogers, who resigned
0:37:24 > 0:37:26as Britain's ambassador to the European Union
0:37:26 > 0:37:31in January, claiming ministers were suffering muddled thinking.
0:37:31 > 0:37:34It is a negotiation on the scale that we haven't experienced
0:37:34 > 0:37:40probably ever, but certainly since the Second World War.
0:37:40 > 0:37:43This is going to be on a humongous scale.
0:37:43 > 0:37:46We are going to have enormous amounts of business running up
0:37:46 > 0:37:50various different channels and they involve difficult
0:37:50 > 0:37:58trade-offs for her Majesty's government and different trade-offs
0:37:58 > 0:38:00trade-offs for her Majesty's government and difficult trade-offs
0:38:00 > 0:38:12for the other 27 on the other side of the table.
0:38:12 > 0:38:12A month later the minister known as the Brexit Secretary gave some
0:38:12 > 0:38:15remarkably frank views about whether Britain
0:38:15 > 0:38:17had a plan B if no deal with the EU was ever reached.
0:38:17 > 0:38:17Can you tell the committee whether the government has
0:38:17 > 0:38:17undertaken an economic assessment of the implications for the British
0:38:17 > 0:38:20economy and for British businesses of there being no deal?
0:38:20 > 0:38:24Well, in May an estimate during the Leave campaign,
0:38:24 > 0:38:28during the referendum campaign, I think one of the issues that has
0:38:28 > 0:38:30arisen is those forecasts do not appear to have been very
0:38:30 > 0:38:36robust since then.
0:38:36 > 0:38:38Not since then?
0:38:38 > 0:38:40Under my time, no.
0:38:40 > 0:38:43So you are saying there has been no further assessment
0:38:43 > 0:38:45of the implications of no deal at all since before the referendum?
0:38:45 > 0:38:47Is that correct?
0:38:47 > 0:38:49No, that's not correct.
0:38:49 > 0:38:51You are putting words in my mouth.
0:38:51 > 0:38:52No, no.
0:38:52 > 0:38:54Yes, you are.
0:38:54 > 0:38:57One of the difficulties about your sort of style of yes,
0:38:57 > 0:38:59no answers and questions is you don't deal with what we can
0:38:59 > 0:39:02do to mitigate and much of this is about mitigation.
0:39:02 > 0:39:04Any forecast that you make, any forecast that you make depends
0:39:04 > 0:39:08on the mitigation you undertake.
0:39:08 > 0:39:11David Davis was one of several Cabinet ministers to look
0:39:11 > 0:39:13in on the House of Lords from time to time.
0:39:13 > 0:39:15The Prime Minister was watching as well.
0:39:15 > 0:39:16The reason?
0:39:16 > 0:39:19The passage of the Brexit Bill in the upper house.
0:39:19 > 0:39:25A record 184 members of the Lords spoke in the initial two-day debate.
0:39:25 > 0:39:27But the real drama came in the following two weeks.
0:39:27 > 0:39:30The government suffered two heavy defeats on the bill
0:39:30 > 0:39:35at the hands of their Lordships.
0:39:35 > 0:39:38Firstly, peers wanted guarantees to be given to EU nationals living
0:39:38 > 0:39:42and working in the UK.
0:39:42 > 0:39:44We have over 3 million people living in this country
0:39:44 > 0:39:46who are European Union nationals.
0:39:46 > 0:39:48But it is not just them who are experiencing anguish,
0:39:48 > 0:39:52it is also their family members, their employers.
0:39:52 > 0:39:57These people are not bargaining chips, they actually...
0:39:57 > 0:40:00If we say quite freely that they are free to stay,
0:40:00 > 0:40:03that actually does give the moral high ground to our government
0:40:03 > 0:40:06and its negotiations.
0:40:06 > 0:40:09It is quite clear to everyone in this house that there is no
0:40:09 > 0:40:13chance parliament would approve the expulsion of EU citizens legally
0:40:13 > 0:40:16resident in this country.
0:40:16 > 0:40:18No way.
0:40:18 > 0:40:23I think that the government ought to accept that the weight
0:40:23 > 0:40:28of opinion is in favour of that unilateral guarantee.
0:40:28 > 0:40:31Why is everybody here today so excited about an amendment
0:40:31 > 0:40:38which looks after the foreigners and not the British?
0:40:38 > 0:40:41My Lords, this is a matter of principle.
0:40:41 > 0:40:46It is a simple matter of principle, of being prepared to do the right
0:40:46 > 0:40:51thing because it is the right thing, and being prepared to say so.
0:40:51 > 0:40:55These amendments are at the wrong time in the wrong bill on the wrong
0:40:55 > 0:40:58subject and we should support the rights of British
0:40:58 > 0:41:02citizens living in Europe.
0:41:02 > 0:41:05Peers voted for the guarantee for EU workers.
0:41:05 > 0:41:12A week after that another riposte for the government.
0:41:12 > 0:41:14A week after that another reverse for the government.
0:41:14 > 0:41:17Peers demanded a meaningful parliamentary vote in two years'
0:41:17 > 0:41:19time on the final EU exit deal.
0:41:19 > 0:41:21My Lords, the essence of this amendment is very clear,
0:41:21 > 0:41:23it has been clear from the start.
0:41:23 > 0:41:26It simply seeks to ensure that Parliament and not ministers have
0:41:26 > 0:41:28control over the terms of our withdrawal at the end
0:41:28 > 0:41:33of the negotiating process.
0:41:33 > 0:41:38We now face the most momentous, peace time decision of our time
0:41:38 > 0:41:42and this amendment, as my noble lord has so clearly set out, secures
0:41:42 > 0:41:49in law the government's commitment, already made to another place,
0:41:49 > 0:41:54to ensure that Parliament is the ultimate custodian
0:41:54 > 0:41:57of our national sovereignty.
0:41:57 > 0:42:00So we get to the final hour at midnight when the deal has been
0:42:00 > 0:42:03done and the Prime Minister says, "Hang on a second, I can't agree
0:42:03 > 0:42:06a deal, I've got to go and consult the House of Commons."
0:42:06 > 0:42:08It is ridiculous.
0:42:08 > 0:42:11Can it honestly be imagined that if one or other house,
0:42:11 > 0:42:14whether it is approval or an act of Parliament, goes back
0:42:14 > 0:42:16to Europe in just under two years' time and says,
0:42:16 > 0:42:20"We don't like the deal," that the other 27 will say, "Oh,
0:42:20 > 0:42:23dear, here is a much better one?"
0:42:23 > 0:42:28I ask your Lordships to rest on the long contested principle
0:42:28 > 0:42:32that this country's future should rest with Parliament
0:42:32 > 0:42:35and not with ministers.
0:42:35 > 0:42:39And it is in that spirit that I commend this new clause
0:42:39 > 0:42:42to your Lordships' house.
0:42:42 > 0:42:45The government cannot possibly accept an amendment
0:42:45 > 0:42:49which is so unclear on an issue of this importance on what the Prime
0:42:49 > 0:42:53Minister is to do if Parliament votes against leaving
0:42:53 > 0:42:56with no agreement.
0:42:56 > 0:42:58With that risk, my Lords, let us remember the first
0:42:58 > 0:43:00principle I stated.
0:43:00 > 0:43:03The government is intent on delivering the result
0:43:03 > 0:43:05of the referendum.
0:43:05 > 0:43:08Having been altered twice by peers, the bill, following strict
0:43:08 > 0:43:12Westminster procedures, had to return to the Commons.
0:43:12 > 0:43:15MPs rejected the Lords' alterations.
0:43:15 > 0:43:18But when the two issues returned to the Lords there was,
0:43:18 > 0:43:22surprisingly, little or no appetite for a protracted battle.
0:43:22 > 0:43:24The Lords caved in.
0:43:24 > 0:43:27It is now time for this house to give way to the House
0:43:27 > 0:43:32of Commons on this matter.
0:43:32 > 0:43:33And so with all final opposition voted down,
0:43:33 > 0:43:37the Brexit Bill became law.
0:43:37 > 0:43:40The next stage in the Brexit drama took place many
0:43:40 > 0:43:42miles from Westminster.
0:43:42 > 0:43:45At a news conference at her stately residence in Edinburgh,
0:43:45 > 0:43:48the First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, announced her
0:43:48 > 0:43:52intention to ask for a second independence referendum to take
0:43:52 > 0:43:58place sometime between the autumn of 2018 and the spring of 2019.
0:43:58 > 0:44:00What Scotland deserves in the light of the material change
0:44:00 > 0:44:04of circumstances brought about by the Brexit vote
0:44:04 > 0:44:10is the chance to decide our future in a fair, free and democratic way.
0:44:10 > 0:44:14When Theresa May declared now is not the time for a referendum,
0:44:14 > 0:44:18the party's Westminster leader stepped up the pressure.
0:44:18 > 0:44:23The Prime Minister can wag her finger as much as she likes.
0:44:23 > 0:44:27If she is not prepared to negotiate on behalf of the Scottish government
0:44:27 > 0:44:31and secure membership of the single European market, people in Scotland
0:44:31 > 0:44:38will have a referendum and we will have our say.
0:44:38 > 0:44:41He is comparing membership of an organisation that we have been
0:44:41 > 0:44:45a member of for 40 years with our country.
0:44:45 > 0:44:50We have been one country for over 300 years.
0:44:50 > 0:44:53We have fought together, we have worked together,
0:44:53 > 0:44:58we have achieved together and constitutional gameplaying must
0:44:58 > 0:45:01not be allowed to break the deep bonds of our shared history
0:45:01 > 0:45:09and our future to.
0:45:09 > 0:45:11At Holyrood, the Scottish Parliament was soon debating
0:45:11 > 0:45:14the First Minister's call for an independence referendum.
0:45:14 > 0:45:16The future of Scotland should not be imposed upon us,
0:45:16 > 0:45:20it should be the choice of the people of Scotland.
0:45:20 > 0:45:22Most people in Scotland are sick to death of the games.
0:45:22 > 0:45:25Most people in Scotland don't want another referendum any time soon.
0:45:25 > 0:45:28Just three years after the last one.
0:45:28 > 0:45:32And most people in Scotland see the plain common
0:45:32 > 0:45:35sense in our own position.
0:45:35 > 0:45:39The Parliament went on to vote in favour of the demand for a second
0:45:39 > 0:45:40independence referendum.
0:45:40 > 0:45:45The motion as amended is therefore agreed.
0:45:45 > 0:45:46APPLAUSE.
0:45:46 > 0:45:4912:28pm, Wednesday March 29th, and in Brussels, Sir Tim Barrow,
0:45:49 > 0:45:53Britain's ambassador to the EU, hands over a letter to the European
0:45:53 > 0:45:57Council President, Donald Tusk.
0:45:57 > 0:45:59The endlessly talked about triggering of Article 50
0:45:59 > 0:46:09of the Lisbon Treaty had finally happened.
0:46:13 > 0:46:16The letter had been drawn up in the Prime Minister's office.
0:46:16 > 0:46:17Its delivery confirmed Britain was deadly serious
0:46:17 > 0:46:18about leaving the EU.
0:46:18 > 0:46:20Donald Tusk sounded unimpressed.
0:46:20 > 0:46:22There is no reason to pretend that this is a happy day,
0:46:22 > 0:46:26neither in Brussels, nor in London.
0:46:26 > 0:46:28Britain's EU membership wasn't ended but it did represent
0:46:28 > 0:46:31the beginning of the end or, as a Prime Minister
0:46:31 > 0:46:33put it in the Commons:
0:46:33 > 0:46:36This is an historic moment from which there can
0:46:36 > 0:46:37be no turning back.
0:46:37 > 0:46:39A few minutes ago in Brussels, the United Kingdom's permanent
0:46:39 > 0:46:41representative to the EU handed a letter to the president
0:46:41 > 0:46:43of the European Council on my behalf, confirming
0:46:43 > 0:46:45the government's decision to invoke Article 50
0:46:45 > 0:46:52of the Treaty on European Union.
0:46:52 > 0:46:54The Article 50 process is now underway and,
0:46:54 > 0:46:56in accordance with the wishes of the British people,
0:46:56 > 0:47:00the United Kingdom is leaving the European Union.
0:47:00 > 0:47:03I know that this is a day of celebration for some
0:47:03 > 0:47:04and disappointment for others.
0:47:04 > 0:47:11The referendum last June was divisive at times.
0:47:11 > 0:47:14Not everyone shared the same point of view or voted the same way.
0:47:14 > 0:47:16The arguments on both sides were passionate.
0:47:16 > 0:47:19Let us come together and work together.
0:47:19 > 0:47:22Let us together choose to believe in Britain with optimism and hope.
0:47:22 > 0:47:25For if we do, we can make the most of the opportunities ahead.
0:47:25 > 0:47:27We can together make a success of this moment.
0:47:27 > 0:47:37And we can together build a stronger, fairer, better Britain.
0:47:38 > 0:47:41Labour will not give this government a free hand to use
0:47:41 > 0:47:43Brexit to attack rights, protections and cut services.
0:47:43 > 0:47:44Or create a tax dodger's paradise.
0:47:44 > 0:47:45So let's be clear, Mr Speaker.
0:47:45 > 0:47:48The Prime Minister says that no deal is better than a bad deal
0:47:48 > 0:47:58but the reality is no deal is a bad deal.
0:48:02 > 0:48:04The Prime Minister says that she thinks that
0:48:04 > 0:48:06Brexit will bring unity to the United Kingdom.
0:48:06 > 0:48:09It will not.
0:48:09 > 0:48:15On this issue, it is not a United Kingdom.
0:48:15 > 0:48:17And the Prime Minister needs to respect
0:48:17 > 0:48:20the differences across the nations of the United Kingdom.
0:48:20 > 0:48:23I am determined that I will look my children in the eye
0:48:23 > 0:48:26and be able to say that I did everything to prevent this
0:48:26 > 0:48:28calamity that the Prime Minister has today chosen.
0:48:28 > 0:48:33I wish my right honourable friend good fortune in her negotiations
0:48:33 > 0:48:36until she comes to true glory and is welcomed back to this House
0:48:36 > 0:48:41as a 21st-century Gloriana.
0:48:41 > 0:48:44I asked Iain Watson, as the mammoth EU negotiations now begin,
0:48:44 > 0:48:50what are the potential risks for the Prime Minister?
0:48:50 > 0:48:53I think there are huge risks for Theresa May and that may seem
0:48:53 > 0:48:55a strange thing to say because at the moment her personal
0:48:55 > 0:48:56ratings are extremely positive.
0:48:56 > 0:48:59The party, as we have been discussing, is about 20 points clear
0:48:59 > 0:49:02in some polls, of the Labour opposition, but to some extent
0:49:02 > 0:49:04she may have reached a high watermark of her popularity
0:49:04 > 0:49:08because negotiations are only really beginning.
0:49:08 > 0:49:11At the moment it has been easy to keep the coalition, if you like,
0:49:11 > 0:49:13of Conservatives in her party, the Remainers and Leavers,
0:49:13 > 0:49:16and so on, together, because she has a simple message,
0:49:16 > 0:49:19which is that she is carrying out the will of the British people,
0:49:19 > 0:49:21the 52% who voted to leave the European Union
0:49:21 > 0:49:23in the referendum.
0:49:23 > 0:49:26How you carry that out becomes the tricky bit for her.
0:49:26 > 0:49:30So, for example, were she to concede that Britain had to pay an exit
0:49:30 > 0:49:33bill, a kind of divorce settlement with the rest of the European Union,
0:49:33 > 0:49:38then currently perhaps somewhere in the region of 70 or 80
0:49:38 > 0:49:42of her own MPs, who at the moment are cheering her to the rafters,
0:49:42 > 0:49:44would start to question whether she should be walking away
0:49:44 > 0:49:47from the European Union without paying a penny or by paying
0:49:47 > 0:49:49a smaller sum.
0:49:49 > 0:49:52So at the moment she's looking unassailable but that phrase,
0:49:52 > 0:49:54when it's used in politics, usually unravels rather quickly
0:49:54 > 0:49:56and people are 'sailable'.
0:49:56 > 0:50:02And as if the whole EU negotiations were not enough of a headache,
0:50:02 > 0:50:04Theresa May has that additional problem of a Scottish Parliament
0:50:04 > 0:50:07vote in favour of holding a second independence referendum north
0:50:07 > 0:50:11of the border.
0:50:11 > 0:50:14Do you think it's just a fact that big political change always brings
0:50:14 > 0:50:16about unintended consequences?
0:50:16 > 0:50:19Referendums are all the go here at the moment, aren't they?
0:50:19 > 0:50:21The Liberal Democrats are actually going for a second
0:50:21 > 0:50:22referendum on the EU.
0:50:22 > 0:50:24They are saying, let people see the final deal,
0:50:24 > 0:50:25then have another vote.
0:50:25 > 0:50:27In Scotland, the Scottish National Party and their allies,
0:50:27 > 0:50:29the Greens, are saying, let's have a second
0:50:29 > 0:50:30independence referendum.
0:50:30 > 0:50:32And although it looks like an unintended
0:50:32 > 0:50:33consequence, to be fair this
0:50:33 > 0:50:35has been flagged up, the danger has been
0:50:35 > 0:50:38flagged up for a long time because in their election manifesto,
0:50:38 > 0:50:40the SNP said they would call a second referendum if one
0:50:40 > 0:50:41of two things happened.
0:50:41 > 0:50:46If there was sustained support for independence or, secondly,
0:50:46 > 0:50:53if there was a material change in circumstances.
0:50:53 > 0:50:55And they specified, "Such as Scotland being dragged out
0:50:55 > 0:50:56of the EU against its will."
0:50:56 > 0:50:59Because that has happened, the Scottish Parliament has now
0:50:59 > 0:51:01voted for that second referendum.
0:51:01 > 0:51:04But the decision rests here at Westminster to the SNP
0:51:04 > 0:51:06will be putting pressure on the Conservative government
0:51:06 > 0:51:10to try to concede that.
0:51:10 > 0:51:13I think they have no chance of doing that
0:51:13 > 0:51:13during the Brexit negotiations.
0:51:13 > 0:51:17So to what extent do you think this demand for a referendum is simply
0:51:17 > 0:51:19a counterpoint to the SNP's own domestic difficulties
0:51:19 > 0:51:20in Holyrood?
0:51:20 > 0:51:23To some extent, calling for a second referendum will be a rallying cry
0:51:23 > 0:51:26for SNP supporters ahead of crucial local elections in Scotland in May,
0:51:26 > 0:51:27that is certainly true.
0:51:27 > 0:51:30But equally, I think there is a feeling that they might
0:51:30 > 0:51:32have missed their moment if they don't push
0:51:32 > 0:51:35for a referendum now.
0:51:35 > 0:51:41What they are hoping to do is to pick up some
0:51:41 > 0:51:44who voted to stay in the UK in the 2014 Scotland
0:51:44 > 0:51:46referendum but now are worried about leaving the European Union.
0:51:46 > 0:51:49These 'no Remainers', if you like, are seen as a happy hunting ground
0:51:49 > 0:51:52for the SNP and if they leave the demands for a referendum much
0:51:52 > 0:52:00beyond Brexit, perhaps that vote will no longer be interested
0:52:00 > 0:52:03in coming their way and perhaps by then people might see
0:52:03 > 0:52:05the details of the Brexit deal and it'll all settle down.
0:52:05 > 0:52:07They want to exploit this when they can.
0:52:07 > 0:52:10I think that is the overwhelming reason for calling for this
0:52:10 > 0:52:12at the moment, rather than simply trying to distract people
0:52:12 > 0:52:14from what they have been doing in government.
0:52:14 > 0:52:16For many the issue of Brexit has been inextricably
0:52:16 > 0:52:17linked with immigration.
0:52:17 > 0:52:21And that issue has itself been given an added edge by the sight
0:52:21 > 0:52:23of the thousands of refugees from Syria and other war zones
0:52:23 > 0:52:28making their way to safe havens across Europe.
0:52:28 > 0:52:31Last year, largely thanks to the efforts of this man,
0:52:31 > 0:52:36the Labour peer Lord Dubs, the government agreed that the UK
0:52:36 > 0:52:38would take in some 3000 unaccompanied child
0:52:38 > 0:52:45refugees from Europe.
0:52:45 > 0:52:47But the scheme, known as the Dubs Scheme,
0:52:47 > 0:52:49was wound up in February.
0:52:49 > 0:52:51When the Home Secretary said it was acting too much
0:52:51 > 0:52:53as an incentive for people to make dangerous sea crossings.
0:52:53 > 0:52:55The abrupt ending angered opposition MPs.
0:52:55 > 0:52:58There are still so many children in need of help.
0:52:58 > 0:53:00She knows there are thousands in Greece in overcrowded
0:53:00 > 0:53:02accommodation or homeless, or in Italy, still at risk
0:53:02 > 0:53:06of human trafficking.
0:53:06 > 0:53:09Or teenagers in French centres which are being closed down now
0:53:09 > 0:53:11and they have nowhere left to go.
0:53:11 > 0:53:16These are children who need looking after over a period.
0:53:16 > 0:53:19When we accept them here, it is not job done, it is making
0:53:19 > 0:53:22sure that we work with local authorities, that we have the right
0:53:22 > 0:53:24safeguarding in place.
0:53:24 > 0:53:28It seems that the government tried to sneak out what they knew would be
0:53:28 > 0:53:30a very unpopular announcement when they were busy avoiding
0:53:30 > 0:53:32scrutiny in this House about the Brexit deal.
0:53:32 > 0:53:35Is this the shape of things to come?
0:53:35 > 0:53:38And is this what comes of cosying up to President Trump?
0:53:38 > 0:53:43How does she live with herself?
0:53:43 > 0:53:45Leaving thousands of people, leaving thousands -
0:53:45 > 0:53:48and members opposite can jeer - how does she live with herself,
0:53:48 > 0:53:50leaving thousands of children subject to disease, people
0:53:50 > 0:54:00trafficking, squalor and hopelessness?
0:54:05 > 0:54:07She describes how she doubts that the children in
0:54:07 > 0:54:08France are looked after.
0:54:08 > 0:54:11But I can say to the right honourable lady, the children
0:54:11 > 0:54:14who are most vulnerable are the ones in the camps out in
0:54:14 > 0:54:15Jordan, out in Lebanon.
0:54:15 > 0:54:17These are the ones who are really vulnerable.
0:54:17 > 0:54:19And those are the ones that we are determined
0:54:19 > 0:54:22to bring over here.
0:54:22 > 0:54:25In all, 350 children were accepted into the UK under the Dubs Scheme.
0:54:25 > 0:54:33Now, leave or remain?
0:54:33 > 0:54:36That's very definitely the big issue here at Westminster but no,
0:54:36 > 0:54:37I'm not talking about the EU.
0:54:37 > 0:54:40Parliamentarians have to decide whether they are going to leave this
0:54:40 > 0:54:43place, the Palace of Westminster, while it undergoes a massive
0:54:43 > 0:54:43restoration programme.
0:54:43 > 0:54:47And there's no doubt the work is urgently needed.
0:54:47 > 0:54:49The masonry's crumbling, the ageing electrics and plumbing
0:54:49 > 0:54:50needs serious upgrading.
0:54:50 > 0:54:53It's a mammoth programme that could take six years.
0:54:53 > 0:54:56The cost, some ?3 billion.
0:54:56 > 0:55:05MPs argued over whether the work could go on around them.
0:55:05 > 0:55:08Much of our infrastructure is well past - in some cases decades past -
0:55:08 > 0:55:14its life expectancy.
0:55:14 > 0:55:17And the risk of catastrophic failure is such as a fire or a flood rises
0:55:17 > 0:55:19exponentially every five years that we delay.
0:55:19 > 0:55:22We should be in absolutely no doubt, there will be a fire.
0:55:22 > 0:55:23There was a fire a fortnight ago.
0:55:23 > 0:55:26There are regularly fires and people patrol the building 24
0:55:26 > 0:55:34hours a day to make sure that we catch these fires.
0:55:34 > 0:55:37As during the Second World War, the House of Commons debating
0:55:37 > 0:55:40chamber should at all times retain a presence in the old
0:55:40 > 0:55:41Palace of Westminster.
0:55:41 > 0:55:49Instead of building what I would deem to be a folly costing
0:55:49 > 0:55:52?85 million of a replica chamber in the courtyard of Richmond House,
0:55:52 > 0:55:58we should, as in the war, use the House of Lords chamber.
0:55:58 > 0:56:00But still no timetable has been agreed for Parliament's restoration.
0:56:00 > 0:56:05Now spring is with us in winter is left for behind.
0:56:05 > 0:56:07But adverse wintry conditions left their mark on the supermarket
0:56:07 > 0:56:12shelves of the nation in February as freezing temperatures gripped
0:56:12 > 0:56:14the growing areas of the continent.
0:56:14 > 0:56:16In particular, courgettes disappeared for weeks on end.
0:56:16 > 0:56:18When the shortage was brought to the attention of the House
0:56:18 > 0:56:21of Lords, a minister said now was the time for British growers
0:56:21 > 0:56:23to step up to the plate.
0:56:23 > 0:56:30In a very real sense.
0:56:30 > 0:56:33He will have seen the news reports of empty shelves in supermarkets,
0:56:33 > 0:56:35with the crisis expected to last until the spring.
0:56:35 > 0:56:38And meanwhile, prices have tripled, in part because it costs more to fly
0:56:38 > 0:56:41vegetables from the USA and from Egypt than it does to bring
0:56:41 > 0:56:42them overland from Spain.
0:56:42 > 0:56:44I was seeking to be courteous to the noble Baroness
0:56:44 > 0:56:48but it is certainly no crisis.
0:56:48 > 0:56:51The only shortage will be of iceberg lettuce which we think will be
0:56:51 > 0:56:54for about a few months and there is a wonderful variety
0:56:54 > 0:56:58called cos, which is even better.
0:56:58 > 0:57:00I think it is only fair that we hear from the Greens
0:57:00 > 0:57:02on this particular subject.
0:57:02 > 0:57:04I produced a report on how to make London more sustainable
0:57:04 > 0:57:07in its food supplies and part of that was actually
0:57:07 > 0:57:08shortening supply chains.
0:57:08 > 0:57:11Half the vegetables that we eat in this country are imported,
0:57:11 > 0:57:18including native crops like cauliflowers and onions.
0:57:18 > 0:57:21Isn't it time that the government's forthcoming Green Paper on food
0:57:21 > 0:57:23and farming seeks to tackle this decline in home-grown veg?
0:57:23 > 0:57:25Very much so.
0:57:25 > 0:57:27In fact I was pleased only this morning to hear that cauliflowers
0:57:27 > 0:57:29from Cornwall are coming onto the market.
0:57:29 > 0:57:35So we have a great opportunity again to buy some British vegetables.
0:57:35 > 0:57:38Some food for thought from the appropriately-named Lord Gardiner.
0:57:38 > 0:57:40And that's it for this term.
0:57:40 > 0:57:43MPs are back straight after Easter Monday,
0:57:43 > 0:57:46so do join us for our daily round-up each evening at 11 o'clock
0:57:46 > 0:57:47on BBC Parliament.
0:57:47 > 0:57:57Until then, from me, goodbye.
0:58:08 > 0:58:11Whoo! This is what I call a proper playground.
0:58:12 > 0:58:13This is the real deal.
0:58:13 > 0:58:14Woohoo!
0:58:14 > 0:58:17She's going to kill it. You're not going to make it.
0:58:17 > 0:58:19Whoa, the acceleration is enormous!
0:58:19 > 0:58:20Whoo!
0:58:20 > 0:58:21That's insane!
0:58:21 > 0:58:22Whoa!
0:58:27 > 0:58:28For decade after decade,