0:00:34 > 0:00:47Good evening. Theresa May...That is good news for those who voted leave,
0:00:47 > 0:00:56good news for those who voted remaining.Facing claims that they
0:00:56 > 0:00:59are pushing people into poverty and destitution ministers made changes
0:00:59 > 0:01:05to the welfare benefits, Universal Credit.
0:01:05 > 0:01:10Nor benefits system is perfect, nor motion is perfect, but we have
0:01:10 > 0:01:16worked together to make this better. And in his budget the Government
0:01:16 > 0:01:20announced a boost for house-building and first-time buyers. Opposition
0:01:20 > 0:01:28MPs reckon it is cold comfort. Before the wins of Brexit hit as the
0:01:28 > 0:01:32starting position for millions of people is that by then we will have
0:01:32 > 0:01:40been struggling with nine years of austerity.With every passing day
0:01:40 > 0:01:47the UK inches closer to Brexit. With the deadline approaching MPs have
0:01:47 > 0:01:52spent the term trying to pin down some pretty big questions such as,
0:01:52 > 0:01:57what role will Parliament have, what will the final deal with like, what
0:01:57 > 0:02:02will that UK's relationship be with you that after we have left.
0:02:02 > 0:02:07Meanwhile the Prime Minister has faced the task of trying to push
0:02:07 > 0:02:11Brexit through the Commons, hold opposing factions in her own party
0:02:11 > 0:02:19together, and keep sweet Northern Ireland's DUP. Talks over the summer
0:02:19 > 0:02:25to move Brexit/ Shaun Russell success so Theresa May travels to
0:02:25 > 0:02:38Florence in September two make a speech. -- to move Brexit ahead had
0:02:38 > 0:02:47shown little success. At the conference the Prime Minister
0:02:47 > 0:02:51had a cough, and was in front of a disintegrating back down. There was
0:02:51 > 0:02:57plenty to talk about when Parliament returned in the autumn.
0:02:57 > 0:03:03A new deep and special partnership between a solvent United Kingdom and
0:03:03 > 0:03:07a strong and successful European Union is our ambition and our offer
0:03:07 > 0:03:12to our European friends. Achieving that partnership will require
0:03:12 > 0:03:15leadership and flexibility, not just from us, but from our friends, the
0:03:15 > 0:03:2027 nations of the EU. The Florence speech demonstrated the
0:03:20 > 0:03:27scale of the mess began with a sneaking of these negotiations. 15
0:03:27 > 0:03:30months on from the referendum we are still no clearer what the future of
0:03:30 > 0:03:35this country will look like. Just at the moments when Britain needs a
0:03:35 > 0:03:40strong negotiating team have a cabinet at each other's throats.
0:03:40 > 0:03:44Half of the Conservative Party wants the Foreign Secretary sacked, the
0:03:44 > 0:03:49other half want the Chancellor sacked.
0:03:49 > 0:03:54But Theresa May ridiculed what she reckoned was Labour's shifting
0:03:54 > 0:03:59approach to Brexit.They said they wanted to leave the single market,
0:03:59 > 0:04:02now they say they might stay in the single market, they said that
0:04:02 > 0:04:07staying in the customs union was not attractive, now they want to stay in
0:04:07 > 0:04:11it forever, they used to be against a second referendum, now they have
0:04:11 > 0:04:16refused to rule it out, with such a confused edition on Brexit no wonder
0:04:16 > 0:04:20people say there will be a run on the pound if they get into power.
0:04:20 > 0:04:23When Theresa May returned to the comments if you days later the
0:04:23 > 0:04:27conflicting demands on the Prime Minister were on show. A leading
0:04:27 > 0:04:30remainder urged her to keep up the conversation with the European Union
0:04:30 > 0:04:37to stop the UK dropping out of the EU with no Deal, Sokol hard Brexit,
0:04:37 > 0:04:45and relying on world trade organisation rules.Can she says she
0:04:45 > 0:04:54will not listen to those who want talks to stop and as to go on to WTO
0:04:54 > 0:04:58rules?Well she sticks to her guns. The only people undermining her from
0:04:58 > 0:05:03this site are those threatening to go into the lobby with the Labour
0:05:03 > 0:05:09Party.When will the Prime Minister face down the ideologues and her
0:05:09 > 0:05:13party who from the safety of the stately homes, their trust funds,
0:05:13 > 0:05:20their inherited wealth, clamour for a zero deal that they know will do
0:05:20 > 0:05:27huge damage to the just about managing, leave the UK weaker, and
0:05:27 > 0:05:32leave our position in the world much smaller?Businesses need certainty,
0:05:32 > 0:05:37we need to know the details of our future trading relationship and any
0:05:37 > 0:05:40transition deal before the end of the year. It is critical that we
0:05:40 > 0:05:45stay in the single market and the customs union.Did she hear the
0:05:45 > 0:05:52Foreign Secretary's attempts to be helpful by quoting Shakespeare,
0:05:52 > 0:05:55including, there is a tide in the affairs of men which taken at the
0:05:55 > 0:06:02Flood leads on to fortune, from Julius Caesar, I Brutus, who went on
0:06:02 > 0:06:06to stab his leader, and came to a sticky end himself. Is that a
0:06:06 > 0:06:15perfect metaphor for her predicament?I always welcome the
0:06:15 > 0:06:17literally and classical references that my right honourable friend
0:06:17 > 0:06:23brings to bear on his statements. He and I are both working to get the
0:06:23 > 0:06:27right deal for the United Kingdom when we leave.
0:06:27 > 0:06:33Theresa May was not the only member of the Government facing conflicting
0:06:33 > 0:06:37pressures. Brexit secretary David Davis was pushed to give more
0:06:37 > 0:06:41information to Parliament. At the start of November MPs back the
0:06:41 > 0:06:51Labour move. The report related to 50 different sectors including
0:06:51 > 0:06:55tourism and the NHS. Ministers had resisted publishing the study saying
0:06:55 > 0:07:01that would damage the UK's negotiating position but Labour use
0:07:01 > 0:07:04an obscure parliamentary procedure to make the Government released the
0:07:04 > 0:07:09papers.Looking at the list which I have here, two things are obvious.
0:07:09 > 0:07:13The first is that in many ways but is not remarkable and could and
0:07:13 > 0:07:19should have been published months ago. The second is, that the wide
0:07:19 > 0:07:24range of sectors analysed Dennis at why it is so important for members
0:07:24 > 0:07:29of this House to see the impact assessment.After a great deal of
0:07:29 > 0:07:34debate the information was released but in an incomplete form so David
0:07:34 > 0:07:39Davis was asked to appear before the committee, revealing that the impact
0:07:39 > 0:07:43assessments were not in fact impact assessments before.The answer is
0:07:43 > 0:07:48no. The Government has not undertaken any impact assessments
0:07:48 > 0:07:56for different sectors of the British economy. There is not one on the
0:07:56 > 0:08:06automotive sector. Is there one on area space? No. No to all of them.
0:08:06 > 0:08:11Doesn't it strike you as rather strange, given experience that you
0:08:11 > 0:08:16have, but Government undertakes impact assessments on things all of
0:08:16 > 0:08:20the time but on the most fundamental change that we are facing as a
0:08:20 > 0:08:23country you have just told us that the gamut has not and that they can
0:08:23 > 0:08:32any impact assessment at all.The first thing to say, when these
0:08:32 > 0:08:40analyses were issued, the work done to understand the effect of various
0:08:40 > 0:08:46options, what the outcome would be. You do not need to do a formal
0:08:46 > 0:08:51impact assessment to understand that if there is a regulatory hurdle
0:08:51 > 0:08:54between our producer and a market that that will have an impact, and
0:08:54 > 0:09:00effect. The assessment of that effect, I have said to you before,
0:09:00 > 0:09:06is not as straightforward as people imagine. I am not a fan of economic
0:09:06 > 0:09:11models because they have all proven flawed.
0:09:11 > 0:09:16Away from Westminster the Brexit talks continued. In mid-October at
0:09:16 > 0:09:19the EU chief legal shooter said not enough progress had been made to
0:09:19 > 0:09:25move on to the second phase of the Brexit talks which would affect our
0:09:25 > 0:09:36future trading relationship amongst other things.
0:09:36 > 0:09:41-- chief negotiator. But how to avoid the return of a hard border
0:09:41 > 0:09:45between the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland? It was thought the
0:09:45 > 0:09:51deal had been done at the start of December but those hopes were
0:09:51 > 0:09:53torpedoed by the DUP Leader Arlene Foster who made it clear to Theresa
0:09:53 > 0:09:58May at the last and that she would not accept a deal which appeared to
0:09:58 > 0:10:01a life in Northern Ireland's trading rules with the Irish Republic
0:10:01 > 0:10:11instead of this EU -- instead of the UK. A compromise was reached in the
0:10:11 > 0:10:17early hours of the morning, Theresa May appeared alongside the European
0:10:17 > 0:10:21Commission President to announce that an interim deal had been struck
0:10:21 > 0:10:25a loving progression to these two. Returning home Theresa May need a
0:10:25 > 0:10:30long-awaited statement saying that Britain's negotiators had argued
0:10:30 > 0:10:37robust before the outcomes achievement.A fair and reciprocal
0:10:37 > 0:10:42deal for the 3 million EU citizens living in the UK and 1 million UK
0:10:42 > 0:10:46nationals living in the EU, they can carry on living their lives as
0:10:46 > 0:10:51before. A fair settlement of the accounts, meeting our rights and
0:10:51 > 0:10:55obligations as a departing state in this that of a future partnership,
0:10:55 > 0:10:59and a commitment to maintain the Common Travel Area with Northern
0:10:59 > 0:11:02Ireland, uphold the Belfast Agreement and pull, and avoid a hard
0:11:02 > 0:11:08border with Northern Ireland and Ireland whilst maintaining economic
0:11:08 > 0:11:12integrity of the entire UK.She warned that nothing would be agreed
0:11:12 > 0:11:15until everything was agreed that this was good news all round.This
0:11:15 > 0:11:18is good news for the people that voted leave, but were worried that
0:11:18 > 0:11:24we were so bogged down in the negotiations it would not happen,
0:11:24 > 0:11:28good news for those who voted to remain, worried he would clash out
0:11:28 > 0:11:33without a deal. We are going to leave but we are going to do so in a
0:11:33 > 0:11:38smooth and orderly way, securing a new, deep and special partnership
0:11:38 > 0:11:42with our friends, while taking back control of our borders, money and
0:11:42 > 0:11:47was once again. That is my mission, this is the Government's mission,
0:11:47 > 0:11:51and on Friday we took a big step towards achieving it and I commend
0:11:51 > 0:11:56this to the House.18 months on from the referendum result the Prime
0:11:56 > 0:12:01Minister has scraped through phase one of the negotiations. Scraped
0:12:01 > 0:12:09through after 18 months. Two months later than planned with many of the
0:12:09 > 0:12:16key aspects of fees one still not clear. This weekend 's Cabinet
0:12:16 > 0:12:22members have managed to contradict each other. Indeed some have managed
0:12:22 > 0:12:25to go even further and contradict themselves.
0:12:25 > 0:12:30Last week we had that humiliating scene of the Prime Minister being
0:12:30 > 0:12:34forced out of the original deal by the DUP, rushing back to London, the
0:12:34 > 0:12:40Government had to rewrite the Agreement, so as to reach that DUP's
0:12:40 > 0:12:46approval. We really had to wonder who is running the UK? Is it Arlene
0:12:46 > 0:12:50Foster or the right honourable member for Maidenhead?Which she
0:12:50 > 0:12:53confirmed that the text of this Agreement is now makes clear that in
0:12:53 > 0:12:59the event of a deal Northern Ireland will not be separated politically,
0:12:59 > 0:13:04economically, or by any regulation from the rest of the UK, along with
0:13:04 > 0:13:10no hard border, but in the event of no deal, nothing is agreed?Can I
0:13:10 > 0:13:14suggest to the Prime Minister that in order to strengthen her cleavage
0:13:14 > 0:13:17in the next stage of negotiations she might want to suspend tribal
0:13:17 > 0:13:35politics -- strengthen her leverage in the next stage. They agree on the
0:13:35 > 0:13:44fundamentals despite tactical differences.
0:13:44 > 0:13:49Has captivated the house with the lows also be regular tour the
0:13:49 > 0:13:55issues. The Brexit secretary contradicted him at the weekend
0:13:55 > 0:14:02saying the conditions on the trade deal. Her deal with the Taoiseach,
0:14:02 > 0:14:05promising fool alignment, he has dismissed as a statement of intent.
0:14:05 > 0:14:10If she can't even get her Brexit secretary to agree with her, how one
0:14:10 > 0:14:13anything she going to get a good deal that protects jobs and
0:14:13 > 0:14:19investment in our country? Phase one of the dogs concluded, but can
0:14:19 > 0:14:22Theresa May talk them up as the triumph?
0:14:22 > 0:14:29# Talks. Chris Mason will be joining me to the programme. I pleased will
0:14:29 > 0:14:34she be with what she has got out of this? . But if you tilt at your year
0:14:34 > 0:14:38in the direction of Downing Street from wherever you were watching, you
0:14:38 > 0:14:42would be able to hear the sighs of relief, because there was a huge
0:14:42 > 0:14:46sense they were getting to the point about moving into phase two was the
0:14:46 > 0:14:53key thing they have always wanted to do by Christmas.There was a huge
0:14:53 > 0:14:57amount of noise around that aborted trip to Brussels and the phone call
0:14:57 > 0:15:04from Arlene Foster. And then there is a week of telephone diplomacy
0:15:04 > 0:15:08from getting out there and getting the deal. Then there was the
0:15:08 > 0:15:19embarrassment in the defeat in the Commons vote. As she said in the
0:15:19 > 0:15:22newspaper at article before Christmas, she got to where she
0:15:22 > 0:15:28wanted to at the outset. She will be relieved.But, and it is a big but,
0:15:28 > 0:15:35it did take ages to get there. What did that tell us?It took longer
0:15:35 > 0:15:42than originally thought. October is the first date in the diary. Not
0:15:42 > 0:15:49everything in those discussions is resolved. The barrier is sufficient
0:15:49 > 0:15:52progress. It doesn't mean it is all done. There are still huge
0:15:52 > 0:15:58questions. There is an agreement that the border should be soft, but
0:15:58 > 0:16:01there isn't much of an agreement about exactly how you go about
0:16:01 > 0:16:07achieving that. What does all of this tell you? It is very competent
0:16:07 > 0:16:17leader trying to not a that has gone back generations. -- complicated
0:16:17 > 0:16:24relationship trying to untie. That is before starting negotiations to
0:16:24 > 0:16:29see they can get what they want to achieve.Are we any closer to
0:16:29 > 0:16:34knowing what Theresa May really want out of all of this?I am not sure
0:16:34 > 0:16:42that we are. The argument you hear from the Prime Minister's supporters
0:16:42 > 0:16:48is that she's being the ultimate pragmatist. She is absorbing the
0:16:48 > 0:16:53views in the party and the country to come up with a solution that the
0:16:53 > 0:16:56country can accept. The tricky thing, and this is the essence of
0:16:56 > 0:17:03the whole thing, is that referenda divide, people are forced onto one
0:17:03 > 0:17:09side or the other. The politics after a referendum is the return of
0:17:09 > 0:17:15degree. The task is to try and find some sort of solution around Brexit
0:17:15 > 0:17:20that is acceptable to those who voted for it that isn't seen as a
0:17:20 > 0:17:24watering down of what they would want and is acceptable to those on
0:17:24 > 0:17:30the losing side. That is hard, because compromise guarantees some
0:17:30 > 0:17:37people will be disappointed.Thank you very much indeed. Let's look at
0:17:37 > 0:17:42some other stories from around Westminster in brief. It's been
0:17:42 > 0:17:46described as the tragedy unprecedented in modern times, the
0:17:46 > 0:17:51fire that swept through Grenfell Tower in west London in June left 71
0:17:51 > 0:17:55people dead. It is thought that the blaze began accidentally in the
0:17:55 > 0:18:00kitchen of a flat on the fourth floor. At its height, 250
0:18:00 > 0:18:05firefighters across London were on the scene. In the immediate
0:18:05 > 0:18:08aftermath, the community rallied round to provide shelter and relief
0:18:08 > 0:18:16centres were set up to provide for those who flooded in. A memorial
0:18:16 > 0:18:20service was held at St Paul's Cathedral in London, attended by the
0:18:20 > 0:18:27Prime Minister and members of the Royal family.The council has been
0:18:27 > 0:18:40tasked with finding places for people to live for 200 and doing 750
0:18:40 > 0:18:44people. I have always been very clear that we should move at pace of
0:18:44 > 0:18:48the families involved, and that's nobody should be rushed pushed into
0:18:48 > 0:18:52making a decision about where to live. But to have some a families,
0:18:52 > 0:19:00including some children still living in Nortel 's and other accommodation
0:19:00 > 0:19:03six months after the tragedy is simply not good enough. -- in Nortel
0:19:03 > 0:19:09's. The use of tax havens hit the headlines with the Government
0:19:09 > 0:19:12accused of failing to crack down on the biggest tax scandal of the
0:19:12 > 0:19:20generation.It followed revelations by the BBC's panorama programme of
0:19:20 > 0:19:25leaked documents could be paradise papers showing many being sheltered
0:19:25 > 0:19:31and taxes avoided overseas.Does the Government not recognise that the
0:19:31 > 0:19:35ordinary tax payer listening today is utterly outraged that if your
0:19:35 > 0:19:38Rectory business then you can avoid tax, there are schemes on an
0:19:38 > 0:19:44industrial scale and we are protected by lack of transparency.A
0:19:44 > 0:19:47Government commissioned review concluded it was conceivable that
0:19:47 > 0:19:52the bombing of a pop concert at Manchester Arena inmate could have
0:19:52 > 0:19:56been avoided. The Home Secretary Amber Rudd told MPs that the man
0:19:56 > 0:20:02responsible for the attack had been a former subject of interest. Nine
0:20:02 > 0:20:06other attacks have been adverted since March. The Government have
0:20:06 > 0:20:12rejected calls to ban surgical mesh implants. They are offered to men
0:20:12 > 0:20:17and women to treat a number of conditions such as internal origin
0:20:17 > 0:20:21prolapse and other conditions. Many women have come forward saying the
0:20:21 > 0:20:27procedures have twisted or degraded and left them in debilitating pain.
0:20:27 > 0:20:30One person came forward to explain the problems. Once stopped, the
0:20:30 > 0:20:37message is never fully removed and the mesh will Hughes, road and stick
0:20:37 > 0:20:45to organs, nerves and blood vessels creating lifelong injuries.It is
0:20:45 > 0:20:50still the best product for treating stress incontinence... But the
0:20:50 > 0:20:53evidence regarding prolapse is rather mixed. I can give that advice
0:20:53 > 0:21:03to members today.And the health minister is back in the Commons
0:21:03 > 0:21:07weeks later to tell MPs a cap on social care costs in England you to
0:21:07 > 0:21:13come into effect in four years' time is to be scrapped. The cap of
0:21:13 > 0:21:19£72,500 on an individual's care costs was brought in following
0:21:19 > 0:21:22recommendations in 2011 and had already been put into an Act of
0:21:22 > 0:21:27Parliament, but there will now be a fresh consultation on the future
0:21:27 > 0:21:31system of social care.We will not be taking forward the previous
0:21:31 > 0:21:36Government's plans to implement a cap on care costs in 2020.It's no
0:21:36 > 0:21:40good to see that the Government are consulting on this cap. They
0:21:40 > 0:21:46consulted on this in a general election and their proposals were
0:21:46 > 0:21:51rejected by the electorate.I am 53. Will my Georgia be suffering the
0:21:51 > 0:21:55same level of misery about my care costs in the next 30 years? Water
0:21:55 > 0:22:00back in the absence provisions I might make and I might be encouraged
0:22:00 > 0:22:04to make, is it reasonable for me to expect from a social care costs be
0:22:04 > 0:22:09paid for by the state and yet my areas to inherit my substantial
0:22:09 > 0:22:16housing assets?I think my honourable friend in a Nacho
0:22:16 > 0:22:19actually summarises neatly one of the debates that we have to have in
0:22:19 > 0:22:23this space, which is how about we ensure that people can achieve care
0:22:23 > 0:22:29when you need it and that it will be paid for a well the same time
0:22:29 > 0:22:33achieving intergenerational fairness?No to an issue that
0:22:33 > 0:22:39rumbles on all hot as MPs demanded the Government make changes to
0:22:39 > 0:22:44Universal Credit. It replaces six existing working age benefits with
0:22:44 > 0:22:47the aim of simple binary system and making it easier for people to get
0:22:47 > 0:22:52into work. But whilst many MPs supported the idea, there was a
0:22:52 > 0:22:57growing chorus of concern about the six-week wait before claimants
0:22:57 > 0:23:02received their first claim. It was pushing people into debt and rent
0:23:02 > 0:23:06arrears. Jeremy Corbyn took up the tide at Prime Minister's Questions.
0:23:06 > 0:23:12The roll-out of Universal Credit is already causing debt, poverty and
0:23:12 > 0:23:17homelessness. Does the Prime Minister accept it would be
0:23:17 > 0:23:21irresponsible to press on regardless? Book-mac to a explained
0:23:21 > 0:23:25why it had been introduced.We want the welfare system that provides a
0:23:25 > 0:23:29safety net for those who need it, healthy but Aaron Maurer, and to
0:23:29 > 0:23:34provide for themselves and their families.With discontent growing,
0:23:34 > 0:23:39later called a debate demanding a pause in the benefits roll-out, but
0:23:39 > 0:23:42the Conservatives the suggesting that his party did not understand
0:23:42 > 0:23:51the problems that people face.We had bailiffs on the doors, my father
0:23:51 > 0:23:56died at an early age, there wasn't any support. We do understand the
0:23:56 > 0:23:59importance of providing opportunity. That's what drove me into politics
0:23:59 > 0:24:04and that's why I support Universal Credit, I know to see it being
0:24:04 > 0:24:10paused, because it does offer an opportunity for people.I want to
0:24:10 > 0:24:14genuinely say the benches of the set, none of us are lying about our
0:24:14 > 0:24:18experiences here, we're not making things up, we are coming to you with
0:24:18 > 0:24:22genuine problems here that the Government is failing to address.
0:24:22 > 0:24:30MPs were also worried about change. One young mum was with her disabled
0:24:30 > 0:24:35son. She was moved on to Universal Credit and waited seven weeks. She
0:24:35 > 0:24:40told one by clergy she took paper napkins from Donald because she was
0:24:40 > 0:24:44unable to afford toilet paper. Her son Paul is like a condition means
0:24:44 > 0:24:49that he wears nappies that she was unable to afford. Can any of us here
0:24:49 > 0:24:55imagine the stress and indignity of such a situation?The MPs will
0:24:55 > 0:24:59deliver the Government to cut the waiting time for payments, although
0:24:59 > 0:25:04MPs from the Government's side didn't take part in that vote. The
0:25:04 > 0:25:09Work and Pensions Secretary said that in future money could be paid
0:25:09 > 0:25:16to landlords and to be paid more slowly.We now offer a balanced
0:25:16 > 0:25:20package of approval which puts money into claimants earlier and shows
0:25:20 > 0:25:24extra support to those who need it most.Whilst those changes were
0:25:24 > 0:25:32welcome, the MPs said that... A leading campaigner reminded MPs why
0:25:32 > 0:25:38he had fought for the policy to be changed.On Friday, Birkenhead,
0:25:38 > 0:25:43which is the most brilliant but ought to be unnecessary organisation
0:25:43 > 0:25:48reported a family coming in of husband, wife and young child. The
0:25:48 > 0:25:54child was crying with hunger. The family was fed. The father said it
0:25:54 > 0:26:01had been a lucky we cry him because neighbours had taken pity and
0:26:01 > 0:26:04invited him to a funeral is that they could finish off the field
0:26:04 > 0:26:11after the other funeral guests had been fed.I don't know where to
0:26:11 > 0:26:16start after that. I am humbled by the words from my honourable friend
0:26:16 > 0:26:21from Birkenhead. No Government is perfect. No benefit system is
0:26:21 > 0:26:25perfect. No debate or motion is perfect, but by God we were together
0:26:25 > 0:26:32and make this better.With Brexit dominating the agenda at
0:26:32 > 0:26:37Westminster, are issues like Universal Credit slipping under the
0:26:37 > 0:26:41major politicians and pundits? I am pleased to see Chris Mason is back
0:26:41 > 0:26:46with me. Either a long list of policies aren't getting through?I
0:26:46 > 0:26:50think there are. There is a fascinating game at play. What would
0:26:50 > 0:26:56really talking out if Brexit wasn't happening? There would still have
0:26:56 > 0:26:59been a row about our place in the European Union because the
0:26:59 > 0:27:03referendum results would have been equal but opposite. There would have
0:27:03 > 0:27:07been a chunk of the population arguing our relationship had to
0:27:07 > 0:27:14change. But it wouldn't have been a big moment as it was. What is
0:27:14 > 0:27:23striking is to the extent that within this postcode, politicians,
0:27:23 > 0:27:25advisers and journalists, collectively, the vast majority of
0:27:25 > 0:27:30our headspace is taken up by Brexit, day in and out. That means allsorts
0:27:30 > 0:27:39of other issues, the rich power play of discussion we are used to barely
0:27:39 > 0:27:44get any coverage. Universal Credit, a huge and radical and controversial
0:27:44 > 0:27:49reform of the welfare system is exactly one of those issues. We saw
0:27:49 > 0:27:52it briefly at the retail end of the year making some headlines, but
0:27:52 > 0:27:55nowhere near I would have thought the Mount of headlines it would have
0:27:55 > 0:28:01made simply because Brexit is the default topic that Westminster talks
0:28:01 > 0:28:05about at the woman. There is a bigger challenge journalist at the
0:28:05 > 0:28:12frost covering it. On the one hand, this is under library if asked the
0:28:12 > 0:28:17important your defying moment. On a day-to-day sense, it can often be a
0:28:17 > 0:28:22little bit dull. Often from the perspective of the viewer or
0:28:22 > 0:28:25listener, it doesn't seem to move very far in the course of the day.
0:28:25 > 0:28:29That is a big challenge and when I speak to MPs there is a real
0:28:29 > 0:28:34frustration from some. Is sure that there are plenty of other topics
0:28:34 > 0:28:39that matter to people every day, whether it be schools or schools or
0:28:39 > 0:28:43hospitals or whatever it might be that aren't getting the amount of
0:28:43 > 0:28:47attention either journalistically or in terms of legislation.Thank you,
0:28:47 > 0:28:53Chris.
0:28:53 > 0:28:57You are watching Westminster in review. You can find a daily
0:28:57 > 0:29:02round-up of all the goings on in the comments, Lawrence, committees,
0:29:02 > 0:29:11every week night, or you can catch up with BBC iPlayer.
0:29:11 > 0:29:16Now to one of Parliament's set piece events, the budget. The Autumn
0:29:16 > 0:29:20Statement came against the backdrop of Brexit and murmurings about
0:29:20 > 0:29:24divisions in the cabinet with suggestions that the position of the
0:29:24 > 0:29:29Chancellor was under threat. Budget day began with Philip Hammond taking
0:29:29 > 0:29:33the traditional foresaw call outside number 11. He was flanked by his
0:29:33 > 0:29:37junior ministers as he stepped into Downing Street holding aloft the
0:29:37 > 0:29:41budget box containing that all-important speech. After smiles
0:29:41 > 0:29:45and photos it was into the official car for the short journey to the
0:29:45 > 0:29:49Commons to unveil his plans. The Chancellor spoke for nearly one hour
0:29:49 > 0:29:52with announcements on health spending, Universal Credit, and
0:29:52 > 0:29:59stamp duty, but he began with the preparations for Brexit.We have
0:29:59 > 0:30:03already invested almost £700 million in the Brexit preparations as today
0:30:03 > 0:30:09I am setting aside over the next two years another £3 billion, and I
0:30:09 > 0:30:14stand ready to allocate further sums if and when needed.
0:30:14 > 0:30:20But the Chancellor finds time for a well set up joke as he drank a glass
0:30:20 > 0:30:23of water, and made reference to Theresa May troubled conference
0:30:23 > 0:30:28speech when he had handed her a lozenge to help with a persistent
0:30:28 > 0:30:32cough.I took the precaution of asking my right honourable friend to
0:30:32 > 0:30:41bring a packet of cough sweets, just in case.
0:30:41 > 0:30:45Conservative MPs roared, but the next section of the speech was less
0:30:45 > 0:30:48light-hearted, as the Chancellor revealed figures from the Office for
0:30:48 > 0:30:53Budget Responsibility addicting slower growth in the coming years.
0:30:53 > 0:31:00Regrettably our productivity performance continues to disappoint.
0:31:00 > 0:31:05The old BR has assumed at each of the last 16 fiscal events, that
0:31:05 > 0:31:11productivity growth would return to his precrisis trend of about 2% per
0:31:11 > 0:31:15year, but it has remained stubbornly flat. Today the revised downwards
0:31:15 > 0:31:23the outlook for productivity growth, business investment, and GDP growth
0:31:23 > 0:31:26across the forecast period.That one surprise announcement came and
0:31:26 > 0:31:31Philip Hammond said there would be 44 billion to meet a target of
0:31:31 > 0:31:35building 300,000 new homes per year by the middle of the next decade.
0:31:35 > 0:31:40With effect from today for all first-time buyer purchases up to
0:31:40 > 0:31:47£300,000 I am abolishing stamp duty altogether.And when the din had
0:31:47 > 0:31:53died down he said that would be a cut for 95% of all first-time buyers
0:31:53 > 0:31:58to pay stamp duty but the measure does not apply in Scotland.
0:31:58 > 0:32:02That is down to the Leader of the Opposition, not the Shadow
0:32:02 > 0:32:05Chancellor, to reply to the budget. What little time to absorb the noted
0:32:05 > 0:32:10that is seen as one of the toughest parliamentary occasions. Jeremy
0:32:10 > 0:32:16Corbyn said the test of any budget was how it affected people's lives.
0:32:16 > 0:32:30P is now lower than it was in 2010 and Regis are now falling again. --
0:32:30 > 0:32:35Pay is now lower. Economic growth is the slowest of the major economies
0:32:35 > 0:32:39in the G7.Jeremy Corbyn said over a 1 million older people were not
0:32:39 > 0:32:45getting what they needed and he reacted and lead to a heckle from a
0:32:45 > 0:32:48Conservative MP.Over 6 billion will have been cut from social care
0:32:48 > 0:32:52budgets from next March, I hope the honourable member begins to
0:32:52 > 0:32:57understand what it is like two weeks for social care, stuck in a hospital
0:32:57 > 0:33:02bed, while other people are happy to give up their work to care for them.
0:33:02 > 0:33:07And on housing Jeremy Corbyn reckoned he had heard it all before.
0:33:07 > 0:33:10Big Government promised 200,000 starter homes to be usable, not a
0:33:10 > 0:33:16single one has yet been built in those three years. We need a large
0:33:16 > 0:33:19scale publicly funded house-building programme, not this Government's
0:33:19 > 0:33:24accounting tricks and empty promises.The SNP Westminster leader
0:33:24 > 0:33:30reckons people in Scotland would be worse off.Before the winters Brexit
0:33:30 > 0:33:33hurt as the starting position for millions of people is that by then
0:33:33 > 0:33:38we will already have been struggling with nine years of austerity. The
0:33:38 > 0:33:41cats being imposed on public services meaning that service
0:33:41 > 0:33:45delivery is being impacted and public service workers in particular
0:33:45 > 0:33:49are feeling the squeeze. This is a budget that shows the Chancellor is
0:33:49 > 0:33:54either blind to what is going on, or that he is behaving like a
0:33:54 > 0:33:59frightened rabbits caught in the headlights.Many a decent budget has
0:33:59 > 0:34:03unravelled in the days after the Chancellor's speech, and whilst this
0:34:03 > 0:34:08one contained huge attic headlines, it did for the most part stick
0:34:08 > 0:34:12together, no doubt to the relief of Theresa May and her party managers.
0:34:12 > 0:34:15Where does that leave Philip Hammond who many thought was in danger of
0:34:15 > 0:34:22being reshuffled?How safe is the Chancellor? It has been an
0:34:22 > 0:34:26extraordinary year for a Philip Hammond because he is probably one
0:34:26 > 0:34:28of the few Conservatives who can point to how the general election
0:34:28 > 0:34:32was good news for him because the widespread feeling before the
0:34:32 > 0:34:38election was that Philip Hammond would be quietly shuffled out and
0:34:38 > 0:34:42we'd disappear, would be fired basically. He'd barely featured at
0:34:42 > 0:34:47all on the campaign trail, much of his public frustration as he
0:34:47 > 0:34:49acknowledged afterwards, he felt the Conservatives should have pushed a
0:34:49 > 0:34:53strong hand on the economy during the campaign. That did not happen
0:34:53 > 0:34:58and he was parcelled up and be saw the light of day. But he survived as
0:34:58 > 0:35:02Chancellor. What was striking in the build-up to the budget as it was
0:35:02 > 0:35:09pretty easy to find Conservative MPs, not just those who disagree
0:35:09 > 0:35:12with him on Brexit where he is instinctively keen for a close
0:35:12 > 0:35:14alignment with the EU, but there were quite a few Conservative MPs
0:35:14 > 0:35:23who just felt that he was, to borrow a phrase used by David Cameron used
0:35:23 > 0:35:26about Gordon Brown, an analog Chancellor and a digital age. But
0:35:26 > 0:35:36along came that budget, unlike a tedious George Osborne budget, or a
0:35:36 > 0:35:42previous Philip Hammond budget, this one seems to hold water politically,
0:35:42 > 0:35:47even although the overall message around the numbers, as far as the
0:35:47 > 0:35:53economy is concerned, were pretty grim.I was going to come to that.
0:35:53 > 0:35:57It is one of the great offices of state but in the current pilot who
0:35:57 > 0:36:03would want the job?Exactly. Here you are having a discussion around
0:36:03 > 0:36:07the economy that is still shipped by something that happened in political
0:36:07 > 0:36:14terms a long time ago, 2008, the financial crisis. The sense that
0:36:14 > 0:36:17that is still a huge driver and the way that people perceive politics,
0:36:17 > 0:36:22standard of living, the gamut is still living the on its means,
0:36:22 > 0:36:27spending more every year than it is bringing and in taxes. That issue
0:36:27 > 0:36:31around the deficit is still there and all of the targets that first
0:36:31 > 0:36:34the Coalition and then the conservatives set out to eradicate
0:36:34 > 0:36:40keep getting pushed further and further back. And yet, therefore,
0:36:40 > 0:36:46the Chancellor still has an issue where he cannot splash the cash.
0:36:46 > 0:36:49Somewhat grudgingly we assume, having to put aside a shed load of
0:36:49 > 0:36:53money for Brexit.Yes and said in the budget that millions of pounds
0:36:53 > 0:36:57would be set aside for a Brexit. It will potentially be quite an
0:36:57 > 0:37:01expensive business. The item and from the Government is that that is
0:37:01 > 0:37:05a pragmatic thing to do and it will not this Ali had to be spent but
0:37:05 > 0:37:17that has to be parcelled up for Brexit expenditure. -- it will not
0:37:17 > 0:37:22necessarily have to be spent. But Brexit, yet again, even though it is
0:37:22 > 0:37:28a conversation about the budget, or about Universal Credit, Brexit is
0:37:28 > 0:37:31the topic that keeps into every discussion about politics.We will
0:37:31 > 0:37:37be back with you one last time in the programme, for now, thank you.
0:37:37 > 0:37:40Philip Hammond is not the only one making a budget statement of this
0:37:40 > 0:37:43autumn, the Scottish Parliament has increasing power over how money is
0:37:43 > 0:37:48spent and for the last year has had the ability to view the levels of
0:37:48 > 0:37:52income tax. The finance sectors of the outlined his own plans to help
0:37:52 > 0:37:56first-time buyers. But the most eye-catching announcement was
0:37:56 > 0:38:00proposal to increase taxes for higher earners, raising over £160
0:38:00 > 0:38:08million to help fund public sector Pay rises and health expenditure.
0:38:08 > 0:38:12This enables me to reverse the real terms cut that Westminster has
0:38:12 > 0:38:17imposed on a resource budget next year whilst ensuring that Scotland
0:38:17 > 0:38:23is not just the fearless taxed part of the UK but for the majority of
0:38:23 > 0:38:30taxpayers, the lowest taxed part of the UK.
0:38:30 > 0:38:35The message of this budget is simply this. Do not be ambitious, do not be
0:38:35 > 0:38:40hard-working, do not be six this will in the SNP's Scotland because
0:38:40 > 0:38:45we will penalise you for our failure to grow the Scottish economy.The
0:38:45 > 0:38:49truth is Scotland needs real and radical change, not tinkering around
0:38:49 > 0:38:58the edges. And it should be based on the principle of from each according
0:38:58 > 0:39:02to the means, to each according to their needs, a penny on the top
0:39:02 > 0:39:10rates just does not do that.By adding new bands we sure that we can
0:39:10 > 0:39:14raise additional revenue for public services while reducing tax at the
0:39:14 > 0:39:19bottom end of the income scale, not at the top end as the conservative
0:39:19 > 0:39:23UK Government seem to continue to want.This budget does not do enough
0:39:23 > 0:39:29to meet the long-term needs of the economy, it does not include the
0:39:29 > 0:39:34transformational investment in education that we are good for.Now
0:39:34 > 0:39:39News in brief. The International Development Secretary resigned over
0:39:39 > 0:39:44unauthorised meetings with Israeli officials. She was ordered back from
0:39:44 > 0:39:47an official trip to Africa by the Prime Minister and driven straight
0:39:47 > 0:39:52to Downing Street to explain herself. She had already apologised
0:39:52 > 0:39:55for holding an authorised meetings in August with Israeli politicians
0:39:55 > 0:40:02including the Prime Minister of Israel but it later emerged she had
0:40:02 > 0:40:05two further meetings without Government officials present. She
0:40:05 > 0:40:08resigned saying it had been a privilege to work as International
0:40:08 > 0:40:14Development Secretary. Britain has flowed of its special
0:40:14 > 0:40:18relation ship with the United States but the election of President Trump
0:40:18 > 0:40:24has caused a few bumps around the roads. The President recognised
0:40:24 > 0:40:29Jerusalem as the capital of Israel reversing decades of US policy and
0:40:29 > 0:40:34outraged many MPs who said it could set the Peace Process back by
0:40:34 > 0:40:39decades. And as the tooting of an anti-Islamic video by a UK far right
0:40:39 > 0:40:49group led many to demand that a future visits the Koltsov.He was
0:40:49 > 0:40:55wrong to retweet videos. When we look at the wider picture, the
0:40:55 > 0:40:59relationship between the UK and America, I know how valuable the
0:40:59 > 0:41:03friendship is between our two nations.One of the key dangers of a
0:41:03 > 0:41:11state visit is that we have no idea of what the President will see or
0:41:11 > 0:41:16Tweet next. What does he need to see or Tweet before the idea of a state
0:41:16 > 0:41:22visit is ditched once and for all? An invitation for the visit has been
0:41:22 > 0:41:25extended and accepted but the dates and precise arrangements had yet to
0:41:25 > 0:41:30be agreed. President Trumppos-macro in the
0:41:30 > 0:41:36world came up again when North Korea announced it had fired a missile
0:41:36 > 0:41:44over Japan and successfully tested a weapon that could be loaded on to a
0:41:44 > 0:41:48long-range missile.I disagree with the Government cosying up to Donald
0:41:48 > 0:41:52Trump but if there is to devalue in those actions the Foreign Secretary
0:41:52 > 0:41:59should uses influence to get Donald Trump to use his phone for talking
0:41:59 > 0:42:01instead of sending inflammatory Tweets into an inflammatory
0:42:01 > 0:42:11situation.I really must disagree powerfully with the honourable lady
0:42:11 > 0:42:15's assertion that this crisis has somehow been whipped up by the
0:42:15 > 0:42:20Americans or by the White House, when you look at the history, not
0:42:20 > 0:42:26just in the last year, the last ten years, 30 years, this has been a
0:42:26 > 0:42:30movement towards the acquisition of thermonuclear weapons by a rogue
0:42:30 > 0:42:33state. There is still no Northern Ireland
0:42:33 > 0:42:37De Ceglie after the power-sharing executive collapsed in January.
0:42:37 > 0:42:41Talks to end the deadlock failed again in November causing the
0:42:41 > 0:42:44Northern Ireland Secretary James Brokenshire to intervene and set a
0:42:44 > 0:42:49budget, although he stopped short of reimposing direct rule.
0:42:49 > 0:42:56Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale took people by surprise when she
0:42:56 > 0:43:00announced she was stepping down after two use in the job. She later
0:43:00 > 0:43:04got into hot water with her party after swapping Edinburgh for
0:43:04 > 0:43:10Australia to take part in the TV show, I'm a celebrity get me out of
0:43:10 > 0:43:16here. She was replaced by left-winger Richard Leonard. Labour
0:43:16 > 0:43:20is now the third largest party at Holyrood behind the SNP and the
0:43:20 > 0:43:25Conservatives. Westminster once again found itself
0:43:25 > 0:43:30at the centre of scandal in the autumn as allegations of sexual
0:43:30 > 0:43:34harassment and inappropriate behaviour emerged. Several MPs find
0:43:34 > 0:43:38themselves under investigation by the parties, and in some cases the
0:43:38 > 0:43:42police. An early casualty was the Defence Secretary Michael Fallon. He
0:43:42 > 0:43:48quit in November seeing his behaviour may have fallen short of
0:43:48 > 0:43:52the standards expected by the UK ability. He said what had been
0:43:52 > 0:44:00acceptable ten years ago is clearly not acceptable now.
0:44:00 > 0:44:04The Prime Minister and later announced there will be a grievance
0:44:04 > 0:44:10procedure to deal with harassment. The working group has agreed that a
0:44:10 > 0:44:16new system should provide support, advice and action on a wide spectrum
0:44:16 > 0:44:18of complaints around bullying and harassment. We will do everything in
0:44:18 > 0:44:26our power to insure the solution is transparent, fair and effective.
0:44:26 > 0:44:30Just before Christmas, Theresa May suffered another blow when she lost
0:44:30 > 0:44:35her third Cabinet minister in three months. She sacked her closest
0:44:35 > 0:44:43political ally after a Government enquiry found the twice made
0:44:43 > 0:44:47inaccurate and misleading statements about the discovery of pornography
0:44:47 > 0:44:50on his parliamentary computer. He denied downloading pornography but
0:44:50 > 0:44:54admitted he should have been clear that the police had spoken to him
0:44:54 > 0:45:00and his lawyers about the material. Let's go back to Brexit. We saw
0:45:00 > 0:45:03earlier in the programme the delicate balancing Act the Prime
0:45:03 > 0:45:07Minister was trying to strike to keep her party together and make
0:45:07 > 0:45:11progress in talks with the rest of the EU, but there was an equally
0:45:11 > 0:45:15tricky high wire Act to navigate in Westminster itself as ministers
0:45:15 > 0:45:20tried to push through the Great Repeal Bill, which is now called the
0:45:20 > 0:45:28EU withdrawal Pearl. It repeal the Act which triggers into the EU in
0:45:28 > 0:45:321972 and sets up the process to transfer current EU laws into UK law
0:45:32 > 0:45:38so that the legal system doesn't collapse after Brexit. When the Bill
0:45:38 > 0:45:42had its first full debate in the Commons, the Minister explained why
0:45:42 > 0:45:48it was needed.Put simply, this Bill is essential. Was it does not take
0:45:48 > 0:45:53us out of the European Union, that is matter for Article 50, it doesn't
0:45:53 > 0:45:58show that on the day we leave, businesses know where they stand.
0:45:58 > 0:46:03Workers' rights are upheld and consumers remain protected. This
0:46:03 > 0:46:07Bill is vital for ensuring that as we read we do so in an orderly
0:46:07 > 0:46:16manner.Are you keen to portray this Bill as a technical exercise without
0:46:16 > 0:46:19raising any serious constitutional issues about the role of Parliament.
0:46:19 > 0:46:27Nothing could be further from the truth.This Bill is utterly
0:46:27 > 0:46:30incompatible with the idea of parliamentary sovereignty. It is not
0:46:30 > 0:46:38taking back control for those nations of the UK, this role will
0:46:38 > 0:46:43hold a straight once and for all. The truth is, this Bill was always
0:46:43 > 0:46:48ring to be a sows ear because the Government side of the negotiations
0:46:48 > 0:46:52without clear objectives or outcomes and therefore the Bill to cater for
0:46:52 > 0:46:54any eventuality, any scenario, the all or outcomes and therefore the
0:46:54 > 0:46:56Bill had to cater for any eventuality, any scenario, the law
0:46:56 > 0:47:00no deal.Cutting and pasting laws from the EU bit into the UK one
0:47:00 > 0:47:05simply isn't enough, because laws are only as effective as the
0:47:05 > 0:47:09mechanisms to implement them in practice. In the absence of
0:47:09 > 0:47:15mechanisms to replace the laws, we are effectively going to be left
0:47:15 > 0:47:20with zombie legislation. It is not enforceable.The arguments that have
0:47:20 > 0:47:26been made against this Bill say that this is... It is quite clear from
0:47:26 > 0:47:31what the ministers have said, from what the legislation has said, from
0:47:31 > 0:47:35the restrictions placed on minister is that that is not the case...
0:47:35 > 0:47:43First of all it enables the EU law to be brought into the sphere of
0:47:43 > 0:47:46this Parliament were eventually if it is not appropriate it can be
0:47:46 > 0:47:52amended.As the Bill moved into scrutiny, there were two or three
0:47:52 > 0:47:56issues that bubbled to the surface. As we thought earlier in the
0:47:56 > 0:48:00programme, one of the key sticking points was how to deal with the
0:48:00 > 0:48:04border between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic. As MPs got down
0:48:04 > 0:48:10to the detail of the EU withdrawal Bill, one Northern Ireland MP made a
0:48:10 > 0:48:15plea for the principles of the Good Friday Agreement to be preserved.
0:48:15 > 0:48:19Any powerful speech, she recalled how the Troubles had affected her
0:48:19 > 0:48:22family and community, and put forward an amendment that she said
0:48:22 > 0:48:25was designed to protect the principle of mutual respect for all.
0:48:25 > 0:48:36I grew up not in some stately home, I grew up on a 50 acre farm in
0:48:36 > 0:48:39County Tyrone. Very close to what unfortunately became known as the
0:48:39 > 0:48:45murder triangle for a number of people who were murdered with
0:48:45 > 0:48:53Catholic and Protestant by the fiery and subsequently... -- by the IRA.
0:48:53 > 0:48:57Are opposed and was murdered at the end of our lane. Many of our family
0:48:57 > 0:49:00members were attacked on their tractors or went out to be shared
0:49:00 > 0:49:04and opened it and there was a booby-trapped and had their heads or
0:49:04 > 0:49:09faces blown off. In the event of no deal, we certainly face a hard
0:49:09 > 0:49:18border and dissident republicans will regard each variety offices, UK
0:49:18 > 0:49:21border officials, as legitimate targets. I don't want that on my
0:49:21 > 0:49:24conscience and I don't believe one moment that the Prime Minister wants
0:49:24 > 0:49:29that either.Well ministers were able to offer assurances on that
0:49:29 > 0:49:34point, they weren't able to persuade MPs, including some of their own, on
0:49:34 > 0:49:39another. In October, David Davis told the committee that scrutinises
0:49:39 > 0:49:42his apartment but a parliamentary vote on the exit deal might not come
0:49:42 > 0:49:50until after March 2019, the UK's intended exit date. The ensuing
0:49:50 > 0:49:53outrage prodded a compromise with David Davis telling the Commons he
0:49:53 > 0:49:56would bring forward a separate Bill implementing for a final Brexit deal
0:49:56 > 0:50:03and giving MPs a chance to go through it in detail. That still
0:50:03 > 0:50:08wasn't enough some of his own side. During detailed scrutiny of the EU
0:50:08 > 0:50:11withdrawal Bill, a Conservative former minister put down an
0:50:11 > 0:50:16amendment demanding and meaningful vote be put into law. Parliament
0:50:16 > 0:50:22should have a say on how we left the EU.The most worrying aspect of the
0:50:22 > 0:50:28debate as far as I can see is how we have become polarised that we have
0:50:28 > 0:50:32failed to look at means, we look at the top of the mountain and not
0:50:32 > 0:50:35where we are going to put our foot next.The board has got to take
0:50:35 > 0:50:41place before it the British Government has committed itself to
0:50:41 > 0:50:48the terms of the treaty agreement that is painted into the other
0:50:48 > 0:50:52members.The reality of this Bill is that it would allow ministers to
0:50:52 > 0:50:57start implementing a withdrawal agreement entirely through secondary
0:50:57 > 0:51:03legislation and would indeed allow ministers to do so even before
0:51:03 > 0:51:08Parliament has its Intourist agreement.We are recovering from a
0:51:08 > 0:51:10situation where as memories of the European Union we have handed all
0:51:10 > 0:51:16these decisions over to European Union. This is a massive improvement
0:51:16 > 0:51:19and to address this attempt to rid their specs it...
0:51:19 > 0:51:26THEY SPEAK OVER EACH OTHER In favour parliamentary sovereignty
0:51:26 > 0:51:35is nothing but cant.Oh my what Stalin as is this that somehow any
0:51:35 > 0:51:40attempt to disagree with the way in which this Bill is drawn up is
0:51:40 > 0:51:47somehow a betrayal of Brexit. What rubbish!And other Conservative
0:51:47 > 0:51:50fears parliamentary votes on the detail would drag the process out.
0:51:50 > 0:51:54If the treaty isn't right in the Ayes of this Parliament, a couple of
0:51:54 > 0:51:58months could turn into a couple of years, indeed some people would like
0:51:58 > 0:52:03it to be a couple of decades. When she talks about a meaningful vote,
0:52:03 > 0:52:07what about the meaningful vote of the people in this country who last
0:52:07 > 0:52:11June voted to leave the European Union? Surely we need to get that
0:52:11 > 0:52:14done as quickly as possible to deliver what the British people
0:52:14 > 0:52:19voted for? CHEERING
0:52:19 > 0:52:22The Government did offer a last-minute concession to come back
0:52:22 > 0:52:26from the issue of the next stage of the Bill's consideration, but it was
0:52:26 > 0:52:29too little and too late for the rebels and so the Government
0:52:29 > 0:52:36suffered its first defeat on the Bill by just 4-mac votes.
0:52:36 > 0:52:45CHEERING
0:52:50 > 0:52:54And so the Government headed into the Christmas recess with a
0:52:54 > 0:52:57legislative hangover which they will try to cure in the New Year. So what
0:52:57 > 0:53:01does all this tell us about the state of Westminster's biggest
0:53:01 > 0:53:06parties? Much of the focus has been on the internal divisions of the
0:53:06 > 0:53:11Conservative Party, meaning Labour's policies haven't come in to any
0:53:11 > 0:53:14detailed scrutiny. Chris Mason is here one last time. Labour has come
0:53:14 > 0:53:23to a position on Brexit, hasn't it? -- Labour has struggled.It has. It
0:53:23 > 0:53:28is going to divide political parties which are inevitably broad churches.
0:53:28 > 0:53:31We have seen that with Labour as well spending much of the year,
0:53:31 > 0:53:36senior figures contradicting one another and sometimes contradicting
0:53:36 > 0:53:39themselves about their outlook on Brexit. What was striking was that
0:53:39 > 0:53:43during the general election campaign, broadly speaking, they
0:53:43 > 0:53:46seem to be able to profit from sounding a little warmer towards the
0:53:46 > 0:53:50European Union than the Conservatives work, even though
0:53:50 > 0:53:53there are internal contradictions you can point to in Labour as you
0:53:53 > 0:53:59can with the Conservatives. That was possibly a factor in helping them
0:53:59 > 0:54:03along to gain some seats in the election, but after that and indeed
0:54:03 > 0:54:07before it, they managed to benefit from one of the few joys of
0:54:07 > 0:54:11opposition which is that you don't get as much scrutiny as the
0:54:11 > 0:54:15Government, particularly if the Government is trying to execute
0:54:15 > 0:54:20something you are defining and when the Government is full of its own
0:54:20 > 0:54:24divisions.Doesn't matter if Labour's position is constantly
0:54:24 > 0:54:27shifting given that they are not in power had the Government is
0:54:27 > 0:54:30struggling to come to a point that it is happy with?It doesn't matter
0:54:30 > 0:54:43as much. But as Labour spokesmen will point out, given the power of
0:54:43 > 0:54:47state on the Government in terms of numbers, given that Theresa May is
0:54:47 > 0:54:53reliant on the DUP to get softer in Commons, that means occasionally you
0:54:53 > 0:54:57lose votes, it's not impossible to imagine a scenario where in 2018
0:54:57 > 0:55:01there is a general election. It's also not impossible looking at
0:55:01 > 0:55:09opinion polls, Labour are not bills ahead, most polls are pretty close,
0:55:09 > 0:55:12but it's entirely possible that Jeremy Corbyn could be Prime
0:55:12 > 0:55:16Minister and in that instance it would matter.Let's talk about
0:55:16 > 0:55:20Jeremy Corbyn and his position and the amazing transformation over the
0:55:20 > 0:55:24last 12 months. You say is possible he could be Prime Minister, is it
0:55:24 > 0:55:29just taking that his position as Labour leader is unassailable now?
0:55:29 > 0:55:33Quarterback yes. The fact I have been able to answer that with one
0:55:33 > 0:55:44word. Comparing the Conservative Party conferences between last year
0:55:44 > 0:55:49and this year. Jeremy Corbyn with the butt of the joke last year. 2017
0:55:49 > 0:55:53he was a genuine threat and fear that he was going to be the next
0:55:53 > 0:55:55Prime Minister, which is the ultimate compliment friends from
0:55:55 > 0:56:03them. -- for him from them. He has been transformed. He appears more
0:56:03 > 0:56:07confident. He and his team got they would do better than many people
0:56:07 > 0:56:11thought they would, but this still outperformed what they thought they
0:56:11 > 0:56:15would achieve at the general election. He is going nowhere as
0:56:15 > 0:56:19Labour leader until he decides he doesn't want to do the job. Theresa
0:56:19 > 0:56:25May looks anything apart from strong and stable.It has been a horrible
0:56:25 > 0:56:29year politically for her. The biggest political gamble she has
0:56:29 > 0:56:34ever taken backfired. The results went backwards instead of a big leap
0:56:34 > 0:56:39forwards. What is useful is that she has got to the point in Brexit
0:56:39 > 0:56:43negotiations that she promised she would and there is no obvious
0:56:43 > 0:56:47successor. That put the Conservatives off having a
0:56:47 > 0:56:49readership vote coupled with the fact that if they did at the moment
0:56:49 > 0:56:59they would be doing so in a middle of Brexit negotiations. Both of
0:56:59 > 0:57:05those factors could be remarkably important in keeping Theresa May as
0:57:05 > 0:57:09Prime Minister for quite a while yet.Thank you very much indeed for
0:57:09 > 0:57:14joining us throughout the programme. Finally for now, there was one piece
0:57:14 > 0:57:17of news on which politicians on all sides were able to unite and offer
0:57:17 > 0:57:25the very best wishes, the news that Prince Harry had becoming gauged to
0:57:25 > 0:57:29American actor Meghan Markle. The couple made their announcement at
0:57:29 > 0:57:37the end of November. -- had become engaged. And that happy news brings
0:57:37 > 0:57:43us to the end of this addition of the programme. Do join us on the 8th
0:57:43 > 0:57:48of January when Parliament returns. We will be back with our daily
0:57:48 > 0:57:51round-up of life here at Westminster. For now, with best
0:57:51 > 0:57:59wishes for all of us for the New Year and from me, goodbye.