Members of the british house of commons yesterday backed a motion to allow the Prime Minister to call an early election on june 8, despite some criticism from about a dozen members, the final vote was 52213. The debate and vote came one day after Prime Minister theresa may made the surprise announcement for the snap election in london stating was the best way forward to ensure a unified front on brexit negotiations. Heres the 90 minute debate leading up to the vote. Motion oncome to the the early parliamentary general election to move the motion, i call the Prime Minister. P. M. May thank you, mr. Speaker. Beg to move that motion confronts every member of this house with a clear and simple opportunity, a chance to vote for a general election that will secure a strong and stable leadership the country needs to see us through brexit and beyond. It invites each one of us to do the right thing for britain and to vote for an election that is in our countrys National Interest. My priority when i became Prime Minister was to provide the country with economic certainty, a clear vision and strong , leadership after the long and passionately fought referendum campaign. This government has delivered on those priorities. Ite in the timehonored fashion, my right honorable friend has called his election in what she considers, and i consider, to be the National Interest at this moment. It would be a brave man or woman who voted against this motion. Therefore, the fixed Term Parliament act is seen to be in it for her without clothes. It serves no purpose. Many of us have questioned it for many years. Will the first line of our manifesto be to scrap it . P. M. May well, my honorable friend is trying to tempt me down that road. What is clear is that the fixedTerm Parliaments act gives us an opportunity, notwithstanding the fixedterm element of it, to have elections at another time. But it is for this house to vote for such an election. Like my honorable friend such an like my honorable friend i , think it is very clear that every member of this house should be voting for this election. Pledged, and again not to call an early election. She talked greatly of her christian values. Could the promised her explain why she has such a loose and complicated relationship with telling the truth . Order. Order. Order. Order. Is able toinister fend for herself, but in terms of order, with the honorable gentleman has said is a breach of it. I must ask him, his forceful and use of language, he used to pin articles for newspapers and very happy to a draw. Withdraw and reformulate. What is the premise or have such a complicated and lose relationship with getting the country a clear indication of her intentions . He Prime Minister p. M. May ive have given the country very clear indication of my digits will stop if he has patience, youll hear my reasons. The government has delivered on the priorities i set out last year, despite predictions of immediate mental and economic danger since the referendum, listing Consumer Confidence remain high, Record Numbers of thatgoing Economic Growth has exceeded all expectations. At the same time, we have delivered on the mandate we were handed by the referendum result a triggering article 50 before the end of march as he pledged to do. As result, britain is leaving the eu and there can be no turning back. Some to call takes a general election youre facing allegations p. M. May i have to say that was not worthy of the honorable gentleman. Can the Prime Minister clarify, does she support six turn parliaments six turned parliaments . P. M. May we have a fixed earned Parliament Act host up i believe at this point in time, it is right for us to have this debate, the have this vote in the house and write for members of this house to vote, and i will explain why freston have a general election at this stage. Im not going to take any further interventions for a while. This is a limited time debate. Honorable members wish to make their contributions. Today we face a new question. How best to secure the stability and certainty we need over the longterm in order to get the right deal for britain and brexit negotiations and make the most of the opportunities ahead. I have come to the conclusion the answer to that question is to hold general election now in this window of opportunity before the negotiations begin. I believe it is in britains National Interest holder an election now, a general election is the best way to strengthen britains hand in the negotiations ahead. Because securing the right deal for britain is my priority and i am confident that we have the plan to do it. , ahave set out our ambition deep and special partnership between a strong and successful European Union and a United Kingdom that is free to chart its own way in the world. It means just a minute. It means we will regain a troll of her own money, our own laws, and our own borders, and we will be free to strike trade deals with old friends and new partners all around the world. Very grateful to the Prime Minister. I can understand she was to give the house the opportunity to determine whether there should be an election. It of the house determines it, wise of the Prime Minister stands in the face of the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Parliament that have voted for a referendum on scotlands future . If it is rather the people here have a vote, why shouldnt the scottish people begin at the vote as well . P. M. May now is the time for a general election because it will strengthen our hand in the negotiations on brexit. Now stop the time for a second scottish independent referendum because it will weaken our hand in negotiations on brexit. With the conservatives, division on weakness with the scottish means we will just make a little more progress. I believe this delivers on the will of the british people. It is the right approach and will deliver a more secure clear that other parties in this house have a different view about the right future for our country, while members of the other place have vowed to fight the government every step of the way. In the referendum, the people of rossendale and darwen gave my right honorable friend and the government a mandate to exercise article 50. She has done that and we are now grateful to have the opportunity to strengthen the Prime Ministers hand so that she can go out there and get the best possible deal for people who live in rossendale and darwen, manufacturers in rossendale and darwen, and every family in rossendale and darwen. Prime minister may my honorable friend is absolutely right. We should be united in this parliament in wanting to get the best possible deal not just for the country as a whole, but for everybody across the whole of this country. I commend him for the work that he has done in rossendale and darwen to support his constituents on this matter. I will give way to the right honorable gentleman, and then i will make progress. I can see how it suits the Prime Ministers purposes to make this election all about brexit, but does she accept the possibility that it may just become a referendum on her brutal cuts, which have left older people without care, schools sending begging letters to parents and a Record Number of Homeless People on the streets of Greater Manchester . Prime minister may of course when we come into the general election campaign, people will look at a wide range of issues. They will look at the fact that pensioners are £1,250 a year better off because of the actions of the conservative government. They will look at the fact that 1. 8 million more children are in good or outstanding schools. If the right honorable gentleman wants to talk about impact on the economy, i suggest he searches his memory for the time he spent as chief secretary to the treasury, when labour were trashing the economy of this country and leading us to virtual bankruptcy. No, i am going to make some progress. Mr. Speaker, i have set out the divisions that have become clear on this issue. They can and will be used against us, weakening our hand in the negotiations to come, and we must not let that happen. I believe that at this moment of enormous National Significance, there should be unity here in westminster, not division. That is why it is the right and responsible thing for all of us here today to vote for a general election, to make our respective cases to the country, and then to respect the result and the mandate it provides to give britain the strongest possible hand in the negotiations to come. Very grateful. In the last election, the conservatives made a manifesto commitment to stay in the Single Market. Will the Prime Minister withdraw that commitment from the new manifesto and, if she does, will that not weaken her negotiating position, as well as removing two months from the negotiation window . Prime minister may we gave a commitment in the last manifesto to provide the people of the United Kingdom with a vote on whether or not to leave the European Union. We gave them that vote, with the support of parliament, and they gave a clear message that they want the United Kingdom to leave the European Union. That is exactly what we are going to do. Grateful to the Prime Minister, and i fully support the fact that the Prime Minister needs a stronger hand going into the negotiations as we leave the European Union. Does she not think it perverse that some people who did not want a referendum in the first place now want a second referendum at the very end of the procedure, just in case the British Government do not get a good deal from brussels . Does she not believe that if we were to have that second referendum, it would deeply weaken her position in the negotiations she will have with the European Union . Prime minister may my honorable friend is absolutely right in his description of what would happen. Those who say that they want a second referendum would actually be denying the will of the people, because people voted for us to leave the European Union. We are going to go out there and get the best possible deal. Waiting to hold the next election in 2020, as scheduled, would mean that the negotiations would reach their most difficult and sensitive stage just as an election was looming on the horizon. A general election will provide the country with five years of strong and stable leadership to see us through the negotiations and ensure we are able to go on to make a success of the result. And that is crucial. That is the test. It is not solely about how we leave the European Union, but what we do with the opportunity that counts. Leaving the eu offers us a unique, onceinageneration opportunity to shape a Brighter Future for britain. We need the leadership provided by a strong and stable government to seize it, a government who have a plan for a stronger britain, a government with the determination to see it through, and a government who will take the right longterm decisions to deliver a more secure future for britain. The conservative party i lead is determined to be that government. Is the Prime Minister at all concerned that, having tried her best to build a reputation for political integrity both as home secretary and Prime Minister, she is now seen, after all the denials that there would be a snap election, simply as a political opportunist . Prime minister may i have not denied the fact that when i came into this role as Prime Minister, i was clear that what the country needed was stability and a government who would show that they would deliver on the vote people had made in the referendum on leaving the e. U. We have provided that over the last nine months. Now it is clear to me that if we are to have the strongest possible hand in the negotiation, we should have an election now. As i have just said, leaving the election to 2020 would mean that we would be coming to the most sensitive and critical part of the negotiations in the runup to a general election. That would be in nobodys interests. Mr. Speaker, i have said that the conservative party i lead is determined to be that government who have the determination to see through our plan for a stronger britain. We are determined to provide that leadership, and determined to bring stability to the United Kingdom for the long term. That is what the election will be about leadership and stability. Does the Prime Minister, like me, appreciate decisiveness . Does she agree that voting yes to the motion signifies strength, whereas abstaining is a symbol of weakness . Prime minister may absolutely. Voting yes is a sign of strength, i would say a little more about abstaining, but i would say anybody who abstains and thinks we should not have a general election is presumably endorsing the record of the conservative government, so we are happy both ways. Does the Prime Minister agree with lord hill, who was a european commissioner, when asked by the Foreign Affairs committee what was the best strategy for negotiation is . His response was that we have to come together, because our interlocutors will be watching this place and will exploit any weakness in our political system. Prime minister may my honorable friend is absolutely right and i am grateful to him for reminding us what lord hill, with his experience, said. In it is important that we come together, that we do not show the divisions that have been suggested in the past, and that we are able to show a strong mandate for a plan for brexit and for making a success of it. We are determined to bring stability to the United Kingdom for the long term. That is what this election will be about leadership and stability. The decision facing the country will be clear. I will be campaigning for strong and stable leadership in the National Interest with me as Prime Minister. I will be asking for the publics support to continue to deliver my plan for a stronger britain, to lead the country through the next five years, and to give the country the certainty and stability that we need. I think that Prime Minister for getting way. On the timetable before yesterday, the Prime Minister would have concluded her negotiation by 2019. We would have gone into the general election in 2020, a year later, talking about her deal. That would have given the country an outlook as to what it would be voting for. She is asking the country to strengthen her hand, but does she agree that she is asking the country to vote for a blank check . Prime minister may no, i am not asking the country to write a blank check. We have been very clear about what we intend in terms of the outcome of the negotiations. I set that out in my lancaster house speech in january, it has been set out in the white paper, and it was set out in the letter we submitted that to the president of the European Council to trigger article 50. The choice before the house today is clear. I have made my choice to do something that runs through the veins of my party more than any other. It is a choice to trust the people, so let us vote to do that today, let us lay out our plans for brexit, let us put forth our plans for the future of this great country, let us put our fate in the hands of the people, and then let the people decide. Quite the question is that there shall be an early parliamentary election. Jeremy corbyn. Mr. Corbyn we welcome the opportunity of a general election because it gives the british people the chance to vote for a Labour Government who will put the interests of the majority first. The Prime Minister says she has only recently and reluctantly decided to go for a snap election. Just four weeks ago, her spokesperson said, there isnt going to be an early general election. How can any voter trust what the Prime Minister says . Mr. Speaker, britain is being held back by the Prime Ministers government. She talks about a strong economy, but the truth is that most people are worse off than they were when the conservatives came to power seven years ago. The election gives the british people the chance to change direction. This election is about her governments failure to rebuild the economy and Living Standards for the majority. It is about the crisis into which her government have plunged our National Health service, the cuts to our childrens schools, which will limit the chances of every child in britain, 4 million of whom now live in poverty. A chance of an alternative to raise Living Standards. As more and more people do not have security in their work or their housing. [indiscernible] i give way to my friend the member for stokeontrent. Mr. Gareth snell. Mr. Snell i try not to take it personally that, having arrived so recently, the Prime Minister is that desperate to get rid of me that she is calling an election. What i was saying, my honorable friend does my right honorable , friend agree that the Prime Minister, in calling this election, has essentially said that she does not have confidence in her own government to deliver a brexit deal for britain . One way in which she could secure my vote and the votes of my honorable friends is to table a motion of no confidence in her government, which i would happily vote for. Mr. Corbyn i congratulate my friend on his election to the house and on his work. I agree with him i have no confidence in this government either. In the interest of unity, what else can i do . My right honorable friend highlighted the fact that the Prime Minister for 12 months dithered over whether she wanted an election, and all the time said that she did not want one, but is not the reality that her mind was focused by the fact that she may well lose some of her backbenchers if the Crown Prosecution Service has its way . Mr. Corbyn the timing of the election and the role of the cps is extremely interesting, and it is interesting that the Prime Minister did not mention it in her contribution. Mr. Speaker, i give way to the gentleman here. You talk about trust in leaders. What trust can the public put in a leader who has no confidence from his parliamentary colleagues, and who is put in place not by people inside parliament, but people outside . Mr. Corbyn mr. Speaker, i was elected leader of my party by 300,000 votes. I do not know how many people voted for the Prime Minister to be leader of her party. I suspect it was none whatsoever. So mr. Speaker, to the 6 Million People working in jobs that pay less than the living wage, i simply say this it does not have to be like this, because labour believes that every job should pay a wage people can live on, and that every worker should have decent rights at work. To the millions of people who cannot afford a home of their own, or who have spent years waiting for a council home, i say that this is their chance to vote for the home their family deserves. Cant we believe that a housing policy should provide homes for all, and not Investment Opportunities for a few . To the millions of Small Businesses fed up with the red tape of quarterly reporting, hikes in Business Rates and broken promises on national insurance, this is their chance to vote for a government who invest and who support wealth creators, not just the wealth extractors. Mr. Speaker the Prime Minister , says that she has called the election so that the government can negotiate brexit. We had a referendum that established that mandate. Parliament has voted to accept that result. There is no obstacle to the government negotiating, but instead of getting on with the job, she is painting herself as the prisoner of the lib dems, who have apparently threatened to grind government to a standstill. Mr. Speaker, there are nine of them and they managed to vote three different ways on article 50, so it is obviously a very serious threat. The tories want to use brexit to turn us into a lowwage tax haven. Labour will use brexit to invest in every part of this country to create a highwage, highskill economy in which everyone shares the rewards. The Prime Minister also says this campaign will be about leadership, so let us have a headtohead tv debate about the future of our country. Why has she rejected that request . Mr. Speaker, mr. Speaker, labour offers a better future. We want richer lives for all, not a country run for the rich. I thank the right honorable gentleman for mr. Speaker order. Giving way to the right honorable gentleman. Order. Order. Order, order. I have known the right honorable member for more than 30 years, since we stood against each other in a student election. He is not going to take it in personally, but the right honorable member for islington north has finished his speech. If the right honorable gentleman wants to raise a point of order, i will hear it with courtesy. On a point of order, mr. Speaker. Is that it . Mr. Speaker it is very generous of the right honorable gentleman to seek to invest me with additional powers, but the question of whether it is it, as he puts it, is a matter not for me but for the right honorable gentleman he has completed his contribution. Sir desmond swayne. I accept entirely the logic laid out by my right honorable friend the Prime Minister in her statement yesterday in downing street. I reached that conclusion somewhat earlier, but i did not believe it was possible to deliver. Indeed, i found myself discombobulated by a reversal in government policy for the second time in a few weeks, having told the readers of the forest journal in terms that there was no question of there being an early general election, because it was not in the Prime Ministers gift to deliver it. Because of the fixedterm act 2011, that decision lies with a 2 3 of the members of the house of commons and, as i told those readers with absolute confidence, turkeys will not vote for christmas. I congratulate my right honorable friend for having achieved the impossible and secured the fact that today those turkeys will indeed vote for that. The reason why i reached the opinion that an election was firstly during the passage of the article 50 bill. Opposition member after opposite member got up to announce their recantation that, notwithstanding having voted to remain, they were now going to abide by the will of their constituents. Yet at every opportunity they cheered to the rafters those few who spoke out to say that they remained with the 48 and believed that, as events unfolded, the 48 would become a majority. They pursued a strategy of desperation, a strategy of hang on, something might turn up, whether that was the longpromised economic shock or whatever. The hang on strategy requires an essential ingredient delay. Delay was the tactic they clearly pursued through their amendments to the bill and they promised there would be more. With respect to the other place, the other place is currently not bound, in respect of the governments policy, by the salisbury convention. My honorable friend from north norfolk and i were invited to debate in front of a city audience the motion that the United Kingdom is leaving the e. U. Two highly respected peers lord butler, the former cabinet secretary, and lord lester, one of our premier human rights lawyers argued the case that we would not leave the European Union because they were in a position to prevent it and would do so. It is essential, therefore, i believe that the policy the Prime Minister announced, of pursuing a general election and securing a mandate in this house and a mandate to bind the other house to the salisbury convention, is therefore essential. I am confident that the Prime Minister will achieve that majority, because i am confident that she will be backed by the overwhelming majority of this nation, who, as i, and she will know that last year i voted for every other possible candidate for the leadership of the tory party herrder to avoid having become my leader. I have to tell her that i have become her greatest fan. As my constituents recognise and tell me continually, she is doing magnificently. May she long continue to do so. Mr. Speaker angus robertson. Mr. Robertson the Prime Minister says that she wants unity and an end to division; she intends to achieve that by crushing opposition, with political opponents described as saboteurs, something i invited her earlier to distance herself from that, but she was not prepared to do so. This is not a vision or an understanding of mainstream democracy that i share with the Prime Minister. For months we have heard from the Prime Minister that now is not the time for the public to vote, that no one wants it, and that it is important to get on with the day job. We have been told that the Prime Minister needs to concentrate all her time on the brexit negotiations and that nothing, nothing should get in the way. As we have learned in the past 24 hours, however, that was all empty rhetoric. There are two key reasons why there is going to be an early general election. The first is total political expedience it is about the woeful, unelectable state of the labour party, and not wanting to repeat the political error that gordon brown made. The Prime Minister wants to receive her own electoral mandate and to crush political opposition in england. The second reason for holding an early general election is that it has finally dawned on the u. K. Government that the brexit negotiations are going to be very difficult and the realities of the hard brexit that the Prime Minister is pursuing have not yet fully dawned on the public. As one commentator wrote today, the e. U. Is not going to roll over and give the u. K. Free and frictionless access to the internal market. The Prime Minister is cutting and running. Getting a vote in before the reality of hard brexit hits home. The Prime Minister might think she can get her way with all this against the labour party in england, she will not get away with it in scotland. I thank him for giving way. On the subject of hard brexit, does the right honorable gentleman agree that it is incumbent on those who advocate it to set out very clearly their assessment of the impact on jobs of our coming out of the Single Market and the Customs Union . Mr. Robertson that would be an opportunity in a normal general election campaign, there would be an opportunity to do just that when the Party Leaders debate issues on the record. There has been an Interesting Development since this debate began i notice colleagues looking at their mobile phones because itv has confirmed that there will be a Leaders Debate. I am looking around at a number of the other Party Leaders in the chamber. Is the leader of the opposition intending to take part in the debate . That is the leader of the liberal democrats and the green party. I have made my point here. I suspect that he probably will take part in a Television Debate as, no doubt, will the leaders of the liberal democrats and the green party. It is unsustainable in the multimedia age of the 21st century to go to the country but not debate with the leaders of the other parties. The notion that the u. K. Prime minister might be empty chaired because she was not prepared to stand up for her arguments is just not sustainable. Perhaps she would wish that the honorable member might take her place. Mr. Evans as i said in the house yesterday, i hope that the Prime Minister will go head to head with the leaders of other parties, and the reason is quite simple she would floor them all. Mr. Robertson i do not think she would manage that with nicola sturgeon. However, i am surprised by, and welcome, what the honorable gentleman has to say in encouragement to the Prime Minister, because i think that the public deserve a debate indeed, more than one debate during the election campaign, and i think that the Prime Minister should have more confidence in herself. I think she should be prepared to address the country, and to debate the ideas presented by all the different Political Parties in the United Kingdom. We in scotland, of course, have already learned that the Prime Minister is prepared to ignore the mandate and wishes of the scottish electorate, the Scottish Parliament, and the scottish government, so why would anyone in scotland vote for such a dismissive and disrespectful party and Prime Minister . I need to make some progress as time is limited. I will try to take some interventions later. The Prime Minister promised that she would have a unified approach with all the devolved governments an agreement before triggering brexit. She did not. She broke her word. As we have learned in recent weeks in connection with the appalling rape clause, the one thing that the scottish tories do not like talking about is tory policy, but this election will highlight the dangers posed to scotland by unfettered tory westminster governments. We live in one of the most unequal countries in the developed world, but the tories want to make it even more unfair. Experts say that their policies will cause the largest increase in inequality since the days of margaret thatcher. Will the right honorable gentleman give way . Mr. Robertson i am happy to give way to the leader of the greens. Does the right honorable gentleman agree that if this election is, as the Prime Minister says, about a more secure future for the country if it is an election of such National Significance there should be, as a matter of urgency, a change in the law to give britains 1. 5 million 16 and 17yearolds a say in what will be very much their future on 8 june . Mr. Robertson as one who made a maiden speech about enfranchising 16 and 17yearolds, i totally agree with the honorable lady. It is, again, unsustainable that young people should be given the vote in some elections and referendums, but denied it in others. I give way to the honorable gentleman. As the right honorable gentleman will know, the Supreme Court made it abundantly clear the judges decided unanimously that issues concerning brexit negotiations should be determined by this house, which represents the whole United Kingdom, and were not to be decided by any of the devolved institutions. Which bit of that does the right honorable gentleman have a problem understanding . Mr. Robertson what i have difficulty understanding is the commitment that the Prime Minister gave when she went to edinburgh. On the front page of the house journal of the conservative party, the daily telegraph, it was stated in terms that the Prime Minister wanted to seek a u. K. Wide approach and an agreement with the devolved governments. The honorable gentleman may wish to rewrite history, but the Prime Minister gave a commitment to reach an agreement, and she did not reach an agreement. Mr. Speaker the fixedterm , parliaments act 2011 was supposed to stop Political Parties abusing their position and putting party before country. Today the tories are going to do just that, and, sadly, the labour party is going to vote with the tories and make life easy for them. We on these benches will not vote with the tories but, given the reality the labour party will be voting with the tories there will be a general election, and, boy, we look forward to that contest ecause in scotland mr. Speaker order. Mr. Morris, you normally have a very emollient manner. You are a very restrained individual, bordering on the cerebral, but you have become rather overexcited. Calm yourself. Take some sort of soothing medicament that will have a beneficial impact upon you. Mr. Robertson in scotland, the general election will be a twohorse race a straight fight between the snp and the tories. Do i think that mainstream scots, regardless of whether they voted remain or leave, will vote for a hard tory brexit . No, i do not. Will most mainstream scots will vote for more austerity and cuts in Public Services . No, i do not. Will most scots will vote for a party that is actively undermining the mandate already given by the voters in a scottish general election for people in scotland to determine their future . No, i do not. We on these benches will work hard for every vote in every seat in scotland, and, mr. Speaker, we look forward to defeating the tories in this general election. Mr. Speaker order. At least 10 people wanting to speak and we have less than an hour left. Members can do the arithmetic for themselves. It would be appreciated if each member would help others by tailoring his or her contribution accordingly. Mrs. Anne main. Mrs. Main i welcome the courage that the Prime Minister has shown in taking to the public this question who do they expect to lead the country for the next five years . Having listened to the speech made by the right honorable member for moray. I think that the public will have to think long and hard, because brexit is happening. This is not about i would like everybody to get a chance to speak. This not about us in here. It is about delivering to the British Public the future that they deserve. It is about delivering the best possible outcome for this country as we leave the European Union. I know that when the election takes place on 8 june, individual members may well find themselves in difficulties with their constituencies because of whatever views they have expressed about leadership. I am proud to be standing behind a Prime Minister who has made it brutally clear that this is about not making gains in this place, but delivering a brexit that is for the good of the the European Union, that is not just for [laughter] well, it is for the good of the European Union as well, because our future relationship with the European Union will be hugely important. The question that will be posed in our constituencies is this which of the Party Leaders who could be Prime Minister should be Prime Minister after the election . That is what we will be asking the country. Does the country believe that the right honorable member for islington north could lead it . I suspect that a large number of the right honorable gentlemans backbench colleagues would say no, and that the businesses in my constituency would say no as well. Does the member for westmorland and lonsdale whose voting record and attendance in the house, along with those of his colleagues, is generally pretty low two liberal democrats are present today, but none were here to vote on the budget yesterday really believe that he can lead the country . I suggest that the answer is no. I suggest that the British Public, when deciding who to vote for on 8 june, will look forward with confidence to a Prime Minister with an increased mandate to take us through the next five years, and i am delighted that she is giving the country this opportunity to examine our record. Since 2010, there has been a 73 drop in youth unemployment in st albans i hear the liberal democrats again. I have to say that i hear nothing from the thirdplaced liberal democrat who stood as a candidate in my constituency to defend st. Albans. It is surprising that the liberal democrats should be more interested in campaigning than in running the country. This party our government have , taken a strong stance. As i said, youth unemployment in st albans has fallen by two thirds since 2010, and there has also been a 76 increase in the number of young people taking up apprenticeships. That is the record that we will be putting to the public. Brexit is happening and we are going to make the best of it. I believe our Prime Minister should not have to suffer 100 unelected liberal democrats in the other place, and nine in this place who rarely turn up, trying to tug her tail. We need to make the future secure. No. I am about to finish my speech. We need to make the future secure for all our young people and all our families. The gameplaying in this place does a disservice to the British Public. They are probably fed up with having elections anyway, but let us get on with it and get a mandate for our Prime Minister. Please, the honorable lady, may i say to the honorable member for birmingham, yardley,that the public do not respect the fact that people yell from the back benches . She can speak up for her own leader, her own manifesto and her own party, and she can explain why she believes her leader, the right honorable member for islington north, is the right person to take the country through the next five years. I do not share her conviction, but she obviously has a lot of confidence in his capabilities. I will conclude my remarks to say that i know that this government, who have delivered so much already and have so much more to deliver, will have resonance with the British Public when they look at what is on offer from the other parties, who are divided, wrangling, scaremongering and in brexit denial. This government will give us the best deal for all our businesses and all our constituencies. Mr. Speaker tim farron. Mr. Farron this is an appropriate time to be called. I noticed a tweet earlier from David Cameron, the former Prime Minister, whom i am sure we all remember fondly, welcoming the Prime Ministers decision to call an early election, given that in one sense the country is in this mess because in calling the referendum David Cameron put party before country. It is hardly surprising that the current Prime Minister should follow him and choose to put party before country once again. Give me a moment. From the moment the Prime Minister took office, she has ignored the closeness of the referendum vote and has pursued the hardest form of brexit, driving division instead of cohesion. She has ignored the british people, british businesses, the British Public sector and the National Health service, and now, in another clear act of putting party before country, she has chosen an early election. Lets not by this nonsense buy this nonsense. We must not buy the nonsense that she needs a mandate to deliver brexit; the labour party has given her that mandate. She is acting upon the narrow majority of the 2016 referendum. Not for the moment. Let us all be very honest and clear about this the Prime Minister has chosen this election because she looked across the dispatch box and could not resist the temptation of doing the political equivalent of taking candy from a baby and facing this labour party in a general election. She expects a coronation, not a contest. That is why the liberal democrats relish the challenge of a general election. Given what the honorable gentleman says about a coronation, will he rule out a coalition with the conservatives . Mr. Farron the great problem we face is that the Prime Minister is running on the expectation that there will be no need for any form of coalition with anybody. The Prime Minister has called this general election in order the Prime Minister has called this general election to take advantage of what she sees as a clear opportunity for a majority of 100 or more. I have responded to the honorable gentlemans intervention. It is very clear that we are not talking about balanced parliaments. The Prime Minister takes the view that calling this general election gives her an opportunity to have a 100seat majority. An opportunity to drive through not just a hard brexit, but her agenda to slim down the National Health service, to slim down mr. Speaker order. Order, order. The atmosphere in the chamber is rather disorderly. The honorable member for na heileanan an iar is undertaking an apprenticeship to become a statesman, but he has several modules and some years to go. He must calm himself. He is listening to a statesman. Mr. Farron. Mr. Farron to answer the heckles from my friend of many years, the honorable member for glasgow south , the reality is that we are not looking at the prospect of a balanced parliament. I have given the honorable gentleman his answer. The Prime Minister has clearly called this election on the understanding that she can reap swathes of the labour numbers and give herself a majority that will allow her to deliver not just i will not give way for the time being. The Prime Minister thinks this will allow her to deliver the hardest form of brexit, shrink our National Health service, undermine the support for our education and, indeed, take us out of the Single Market. If people want to avoid a hard brexit and keep britain in the Single Market, and if you want a britain that has a decent opposition, then only the liberal democrats will give you the final say. There is only one route to the Prime Minister losing this general election, and it is a liberal democrat route, and i am happy to explain why that might be the case. No, there is not that much time. Let me move on and explain why the only route through which the Prime Minister could lose her majority is a liberal democrat one. Unless my friends and colleagues here on the snp benches are about to launch an aggressive foreign policy, they can gain only one seat from the conservative party, and nobody, not even the labour party, believes that the labour party will be gaining seats at this general election, so the only outcome that does not lead to a conservative majority is the liberal democrats revival and growth in every part of this country. The government have already stated that they will not outline their negotiating stance any further than the damp rhetoric we have already heard. We say that that is not good enough. If they will not tell us what they are pursuing, they must instead trust the people with their say on the final deal. The Prime Minister has already confirmed that she will not do any tv debates, preferring to cower behind the hardright pages of the brexit press than stand up and present her case to the british people. Yes, i will give way. I rise to help the honorable gentleman. I think he may have misheard my honorable friend the member for glasgow south , who asked him a straight question. We have a word in scotland feartie. I say to the honorable gentleman, dont be one. Give us a straight answer will you rule out a coalition with the tories, yes or no . Mr. Farron the outcome of this general election is uncertain, and in the days and weeks to come we will no doubt talk about what will happen snp members are pushing me; they need to be a little patient, and their patience will be rewarded. And so, too, will that of the honorable gentleman, my constituency nearneighbour. I do not think the honorable gentleman gave a straight answer to that question, so let us try another question. A loss of his views will be views will bes examined over the next seven weeks. He was asked one question to which he refused to give an answer, so will he do so today does he think being gay is a sin . Mr. Farron i do not, and i tell the honorable gentleman this i am very proud to have gone through the aye lobby in the Coalition Government when the liberal democrats introduced gay marriage and equal marriage, and, indeed, did not go as far as they should have in recognising transgender rights. However there is much more to be , done, and if we campaign in this election, as we will, for an open, tolerant, united society, we will need to make sure we are not in any way complacent about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights, and not just here, but in other parts of the world, particularly given what is going on in chechnya at the moment. Let me just say this. I will not, as other members wish to speak. I am flattered that so many members want to know my views. I will put myself up for a Leaders Debate with the right honorable gentleman the leader , of the opposition and others, even if the Prime Minister does not do so, and people will have more of a chance to scrutinise me then. What we had in last junes referendum was a vote to start the process and it gave a mandate to the Prime Minister to negotiate brexit, but it did not give her a mandate to enact any old deal at the end of the process. I will not. At the end of the process. What the Prime Minister is asking for now is a blank check to allow for the british people to have to put up with whatever stitchup she and the brussels bureaucrats put together over the next two years. That is not democracy. An election taking place on 8 june will not decide the outcome. It will be about imposing upon the british people a deal that nobody voted for. So, yes, the liberal democrats welcome this opportunity to show the british people that there is another way, and that the values of tolerance, openness and fairness can help build vibrant and successful communities and opportunities across the whole of the United Kingdom and beyond. The government have made it clear that this is not the britain they believe in; they have chosen isolation over cooperation, and meanness over fairness. I believe in a better britain, and that is why we will support this motion. Mr. Speaker order. On account of the level of interest, and given that there are only about 37 minutes to go, i am going to impose a threeminute limit on backbench speeches with immediate effect. I hope that i can take up less time than that. Thee three Weeks Commission just approved expands to help people broadband networks, which is essential to health care and quality of life