Transcripts For BBCNEWS The Week In Parliament 20170625

Stories at the top of the error. Now on bbc news, the week in parliament. Hello and welcome to the programme, in the week the queen came to westminster for the state opening of parliament, and set out the governments plans for the next two years starting with brexit. My government will seek to maintain a deep and special partnership with european allies, and to forge new Trading Relationships across the globe. Theresa may sets out what action the governments taking following the Grenfell Tower fire. But reveals other high rise blocks could be at risk. Mr speaker, shortly before i came to the chamber, i was informed that a number of these tests have come back as combustible. And all mps start their life in parliament by taking an oath of allegiance to the monarch, but is it Time For A Change . I think the queen is a wonderful woman and does great work, but im here to represent the people and that wasnt an option. But first, its been a dramatic couple of weeks since we were last here, with an election result that few predicted and theresa may returned to power just with her party now the largest in a hung parliament. Cue recriminations among the conservatives and jubilation in labours ranks, after a better than expected performance byJeremy Corbyn. With a deal between theresa may and the democratic unionists still up in the air, and with the Clock Ticking on brexit, it was time for the state opening of parliament. Because no one was expecting a general election at the start ofjune, there was no time to prepare for the traditional pomp and ceremony with coaches, horses and mass ranks of guardsmen. So, it was a very scaled Back Procession that set off from Buckingham Palace with the queen travelling by Car To Westminster accompanied by the prince of wales. There was no duke of einburgh either he was recovering from an infection. When the queen, without her ceremonial robes, and Prince Charles arrived, they processed through the lords Gallery Walking behind the Imperial State Crown and took their seats on the thrones in the house of lords. And then it was time to despatch black rod to the House Of Commons to summons mps to hear the speech. And with that mps left the commons, processing out of their chamber, through Central Lobby and on into the house of lords. Normally, the Prime Minister and the leader of the opposition exchange pleasa ntries, but there was little chit chat between theresa may and Jeremy Corbyn. And when mps had arrived at the bar at the back of the lords, the queen read out the contents of the speech the 64th time shed performed the role. Beginning with the governments plans for brexit. My governments priority is to secure the best possible deal as the country leaves the european union. Establishing new National Policies on immigration, international sanctions, nuclear safeguards, agriculture, and fisheries. There was no word on grammar schools, but instead. My government will continue to work to ensure that every child has the opportunity to attend a good school, and that all schools are fairly funded. And as to the conservatives controversial Manifesto Policy on social care. My ministers will work to improve the social care and will bring forward proposals for consultation. Thered be a Public Inquiry into the Grenfell Tower block fire. There will be a full Public Inquiry into the tragic events at the Grenfell Tower, to ascertain the causes and ensure that the appropriate lessons are learned. To support victims, my government will take forward measures to introduce an independent public advocate, who will act for bereaved families after a public disaster. In the light of the Terrorist Attacks in manchester and london, my governments Counterterrorism Strategy will be reviewed, to ensure that the police and Security Services have all the powers they need. And that the length of custodial sentences for terrorism related offences are sufficient to keep the population safe. So, a nine minute speech, stripped of many of the controversial ideas in the conservative manifesto. With the days ceremony over, it was the turn of mps to discuss what had been proposed. After a minutes silence to remember those who had been killed and injured in the recent Terror Attacks and in the Grenfell Tower fire, it was over toJeremy Corbyn to give labours response to the speech. He began by reflecting on the grenfell disaster. The fire at Grenfell Tower in west london has killed at least 79 people. What makes it both a tragedy and an outrage is that every single one of those deaths could have been avoided. Turning to the speech itself, he argued there was very little in it. A Threadbare Legislative Programme from a government that has lost its majority and apparently run out of ideas altogether. This would be a thin legislative programme, even if it was for one year, but for two years . Two yea rs 7 there is not enough in it to fill a year. He turned to what was not in the speech, including means testing the winter fuel payment. And older people and their families might also be keen for some clarity around the governments policy on social care. Whether it is still what was originally set out in the conservative manifesto, or whether it is what was later amended to, or whether it is now Something Else entirely. And then, it was on to brexit. We need full access to the Single Market and the Customs Arrangements that provide britain as the Brexit Secretary has pledged, and i quote, with the exact same benefits as now, neither must our Victory Targets for immigration be prioritised over the jobs and Living Standards of the people of this country. Arbitrary targets. Theresa may also began her speech by talking about the grenfell fire. One lady i had met ran from the fire wearing no more than a t shirt and a pair of knickers. She had lost absolutely everything. Let me be absolutely clear, the support on the ground for families in the initial hours was not good enough. People were left without belongings, without roots over their heads, without even basic information about what had happened, what they should do, and where they could seek help. That was a failure of the state, local and national, to help people when they needed it most. As Prime Minister, i apologise for that failure. She reflected on the election. Our country is divided, red versus blue, young versus old, leave versus remain. As i said here last week, the test for all of us is whether we choose to reflect divisions or help the country overcome them. With humility and resolve, this government will seek to do the latter. She concluded that recent weeks, and the Terror Attacks, had been an unsettling time. The queens speech on its own will not solve every challenge our country faces. They speak over each other not every problem can be solved by an act of parliament. But it is. But it is a step forward. It is a step forward to building a more compassionate, a more united and more confident nation. That is what this government will aim to achieve, it is what this queens speech will deliver and i commend the queens speech to the house. Cheering theresa may. After that, it was over to other Party Leaders and backbenchers to have their say on the contents of the speech, with many focusing on brexit. The Prime Ministers gamble backfired, and she has desperately clung to power, at least for now, and stumbled into the brexit negotiations on monday morning. Regardless with an almost all male team, equipped with no credible plan, no mandate, and seemingly no functional government. Well, i can see the Prime Minister floundering, but where is the stable government that the Prime Minister promised us . Its not here. We dont really know quite what the basis is upon which we are negotiating this brexit at the moment. I think its going to have to be carried by what i think is an extremely sensible cross Party Majority that this house could easily command if we were able to put in place some processes with which to achieve it. The Prime Minister has pursued and continued to pursue, its very clear from recent statements and from the gracious speech, that she seeks to precede an extreme version of brexit, having failed to gain any mandate to do so. There is no plan to keep britain in the Single Market, has the right honourable member for rushcliffe mentioned earlier, or indeed for the Customs Union. We will therefore seeks to amend the queens speech to add in membership of the Single Market and of the Customs Union. Both the remain and leave campaigns agreed we did not stay in the Single Market and Customs Union for a variety of good reasons. One, we want to do Free Trade Agreements with other countries around the world. And you cant do it if youre in the Single Market and Customs Union. Two, they made it very clear youd have to pay Budget Contributions and accept freedom of movement, which we have no intention of doing. So, its one of the few things the two campaigns agreed about. We all told the British Public we would be leaving the Single Market and the Customs Union. We again will work with government in the course of the next period in this parliament to ensure that we do deliver prosperity, we do deliver greater spending on health, and education, and that we do see an end to the tunnel, the dark tunnel, of austerity. This queens speech does not herald any hope for my constituents. This government and the preceding government have knocked out those rungs of the ladder of opportunity for so many of my constituents. That reach for the first rung is now very high. A new mp used the first day of the debate to make her maiden speech. Many of my constituents work in financial services. Other key 21st century sectors, like medical innovation, The Tech Centre and advanced manufacturing also prioritise access to the Single Market, and such access must be underpinned by the principles of mutual recognition, based on trust and cooperation. Vicky ford, making her maiden speech. And im delighted to save vicky ford and chris williamson, who was an mp until 2015 and has just been re elected, join me now. Vicky ford, let me start with you. Youve already been keen, youre first out of the blocks, youve made your maiden speech. Your background is as a member of the european parliament. Do you think that gave you an advantage . Well, i see, as a former member of the european parliament, that weve got a huge amount of work to do over the next two years. Actually, the negotiations for brexit, we dont control the timescale, weve got 27 other countries we need to get agreement with and weve got to get on with that process, so i was quite keen to, um, get started myself. Its a bit like standing on top of a diving board and looking down and thinking, at some point ive got to make my first speech, so why not try and do it straightaway . Chris williamson, a very different experience for you, because you were in parliament before, until 2015. What do you think that two years away from westminster taught you . What did you learn from being away and what did you learn from being defeated . It was a very bitter pill to swallow, i have to say. Im a local lad and it was a great privilege to represent my home city. I suppose it taught me that, you know, you can never take anything for granted, even though you are a sort of local individual in that sense, and you always are subject to the vagaries of the democratic process. But i think having gone through that experience, it does make you stronger. They say what doesnt kill you does make you stronger. So hopefully i will be a better representative this time. All right. Vicky, you have already mentioned brexit, obviously it was the big item in the queens speech. It seems that the position on brexit is being played out very publicly in the conservative party. What do you think your former colleagues in europe make of what is going on . Well, if you look back at the white paper which came out before the election, we were very clear about wanting to have a long term strategic partnership. But do they look at britain at the moment and think, this is just chaos . Actually, no, because i had meetings with a lot of them before the election, and have continued to talk since. They want to find an orderly process. This has never been done before. But they know it is in the interests of their economy as well as our economy to find that partnership. It is incredibly important that we get together, we get focused, if the labour party is serious about wanting to keep the access to the market as well, then we need to Work Together. All right, chris williamson, lets bring you in here, then. What is labours tactic going to be . Are you going to disrupt or try to defeat the government at every single turn in the next two years . Well, we have said that we want to make sure that the Brexit Process works for ordinary people. We dont want to see britain turn into a deregulated offshore tax haven. The government have not got a majority in the House Of Commons. They need to recognise theirjob is to represent the british people, not just the faceless corporations. We are determined that brexit works for ordinary people. No good having a situation where we end up with a brexit which is going to enrich millionaires still further. We need to make sure we are collaborating to create decent jobs. That is completely unreasonable. The conservative party and the government want to make sure this process works for ordinary people, for everybody and that is why we need to get working together and stop this rhetoric that somehow you are saying we are not focused on making it work. Why cant you sign up to that, just say, weve got to get this done, lets Work Together and get this done and notjust vote down everything that comes our way . If only life were that simple. I hope vickys view prevails in the conservative party because they are clearly riven on the issue of europe. But one just has to look at the conservative record where they have sought to deregulate the labour market, they have brought in the trade union act, we have seen rights of workers being diminished, Living Standards deteriorating for lots of ordinary people. It is really important we use the Brexit Process. It gives us and opportunity. It will give the opportunity. It will give the opportunity for government to be more interventionist post brexit, which would be more tricky to do. But how does holding up the parliamentary process achieve that . Surely just achieves nothing, everything stops. But the ball is very firmly in the governments court. We want to make sure this Brexit Process works for ordinary people and if the government signs up to that, there will not be a problem. Stop scaremongering. The conservative party have published a plan for brexit, that does work for all the issues that you have mentioned, but does keep workers rights, keeps consumers rights, that will keep parts of our fire safety that are governed by european law. That has been published and set out by the conservative party and in the meantime, i have seen no detailfrom labour. Just reply to that. It is unfair to say we are scaremongering. We have seen the tories record, we know where they are coming from in terms of workers rights, they have sought to support corporations and wealthy and powerful individuals at the expense of ordinary people. It is no good saying it is not true. That is your record. If they have had a damascene conversion, and delighted by that, we are more than happy to cooperate to ensure the Brexit Process works for ordinary people in this country. Lets see how it plays out. Thank you both very much indeed. As we saw earlier in the programme, both theresa may and Jeremy Corbyn used the opportunity of the queens speech to reflect on the Grenfell Tower fire. At least 79 people are believed to have died, with hundreds more made homeless, having lost everything in the blaze. Attention has focused on the cladding on the outside of the recently refurbished building. On thursday, theresa may returned to the commons to update mps. The house should of course be careful on speculating what caused this fire. But as a precaution, the government has arranged to test cladding in all relevant tower blocks. Mr speaker, shortly before i came to the chamber, i was informed that a number of these tests have come back as combustible. The relevant local authorities and local Fire Services have been informed and as i speak, they are taking all possible steps to ensure buildings are safe and to inform affected residents. Mrs may repeated that the government response to the disaster had not been adequate. Now, though, help was available, from health care to Replacement Driving Licences and emergency funds. It is absolutely essential, mr speaker, that people understand they can keep the money they receive. These grants are not loans and they will not be expected to repay a single penny. I would like to reassure people that we will not use this tragic incident as a reason to carry out Immigration Checks on those involved or on those providing Vital Information to identify victims or those assisting with the criminal investigation. At least 79 people are dead. It is both a tragedy and an outrage, because every single one of those deaths could and should have been avoided. The Grenfell Tower residents themselves have raised concerns about the lack of fire safety in the block. The Grenfell Action Group have warned, and i quote, it is a truly terrifying thought, but the Grenfell Action Group firmly believes that only a catastrophic event will expose the ineptitude and incompetence of our landlord, the Kensington And Chelsea tenant management organisation. The local mp said she spoke on behalf of a traumatised and frightened community with little trust in authority. She called for cuts in Fire Services to be reversed. These people have quite literally our lives in their hands. In short, where is the funding . When brand new properties are empty for many years, does the Prime Minister think it is right to discuss changing the taxation regime, so these people face punitive taxation . Crewe my wife principally and meet men toured, encouraged and employed a young a young woman called khadija saye. She lost her life in Grenfell Tower. She has talked about the public enquiry. But she understands that most people see this as a crime, and they know that rich and powerful organisations get away with crime. The response to the string of recent Terror Attacks is to be examined by the former independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, david anderson. The recent attacks in london and manchester have claimed more than 30 lives. There was outrage after an attack on an Ariana Grande concert in manchester at the end of may, which happened as thousands of youngsters were streaming out of the venue. The Suicide Bomber blew himself up by detonating a device in the foyer of the manchester arena. The Home Secretary, amber rudd, told mps mr anderson would be reviewing the governments Counterterrorism Strategy, to make sure the police and the Security Services had the tools to keep people safe. We must do more to defeat ideologies of hatred, by turning peoples minds away from violence and towards pluralistic british values. We must make sure that these ideologies are not able to flourish in the first place. In light of the Terrorist Attacks in london and manchester, britains Counterterrorism Strategy will be reviewed, to make sure that the police and the Security Services have what they need to keep us safe. In addition to this, there will be a review of the handling of recent Terror Attacks, to look at whether lessons can be learned about our approach. Im pleased to announce that david anderson, former independent reviewer of counterterrorism legislation, will be overseeing it. I noted the actions the government has taken in the Home Secretarys statement, and largely on this side of the house, we support them. But we would warn against an emphasis on more legislation, rather than looking at the issue of resources. We will look at all the legislative proposals that the government brings forward on their merits, but we believe that resources is at the heart of this, not just new legislation. Will the Home Secretary confirm that there is absolutely nothing in the human rights act, or the European Convention on human rights, that would prevent us taking a robust approach to terrorism, and therefore will she confirm that there are no plans to tear up human rights, and that we can tackle terrorism and uphold the standards of this Society Without ripping up human rights . A point ms rudd did not answer directly, saying simply that the government would provide the resources necessary to keep the country safe. Now, back to the queens speech, which was also being debated in the lords. The first speaker was a seasoned conservative and former cabinet minister. It looked like a good election for labour. Indeed, they are behaving as if they had won it, despite being 56 seats behind the tories. And the new rapturous enthusiasm on the benches opposite forJeremy Corbyn is only matched by their relief that he is not running the country. Laughter. Peers, too, turned to brexit. I suspect there are a number of issues on which a conservative dup government might not find all the mps of their respective parties in total agreement. Should have the House Of Commons send this ayes legislation that has been amended from the original legislation . What makes this such an exceptional time is that for perhaps only the second or third time in a couple of centuries, we find ourselves needing, as we come to brexit, to redefine our whole approach to foreign policy, and what our place should be in the world. Trade deals, Customs Unions, people markets, financial passports, all are without use unless they are seen as a means to serve individuals, communities and our society. Single markets. Finally, is it time to rewrite the traditional oaths and affirmations made by mps at the start of a new parliament . Every member has to pledge their allegiance to the queen, but this year, some have proved keen to customise their contributions. As a republican by conviction, and under protest, i swear by almighty god that i will be faithful and bear true allegiance to her majesty queen elizabeth, her heirs and successors, according to law, so help me god. I, richard burgon, was elected by the people of leeds east to represent the interests of the people of leeds east, and therefore i make the following affirmation in order to enable me to do that. I, laura pidcock, was elected by the people of North West Durham to represent their interests. I therefore take this affirmation in order to do that. Layla moran is the new lib dem mp for oxford west and abingdon. I was surprised that i didnt have the option of pledging loyalty to the people, given that ive spent the last eight years, you know, campaigning to try and be an mp, to help raise the concerns of the people, then when you get to the point when you are swearing allegiance, you have the choice of either god or the queen. Now, i dont have an issue with either, in fact im a Greek Orthodox in my background, i think the queen is a wonderful woman and does great work, but im here to represent the people, and that wasnt an option. I do solemnly, sincerely and truly declare and affirm. As a new mp, its quite hard to know which rules you can bend and which you cant. So, i think perhaps in future years, i will be able to ad lib a little more. Youre quite concerned about getting it right or wrong at this point, so ijust did as i was told. And nonetheless, i mean, while it is broadly ceremonial, what youre doing, the proof of the pudding is in the eating, its what i do while im here that matters, not who ive pledged allegiance to at the beginning. The new mp for oxford west and abingdon, layla moran, bringing us to the end of this edition of the programme. Dojoinjoanna shin on monday night at 11 for another full round up of the day at westminster. But for now, from me, alicia mccarthy, goodbye. Hello. The past week in weather was a hot one. The week ahead though looking a little bit more typically summerlike. A pleasant on sunday. Mostly sunny spells. Some have scenes like this one in leicestershire. A bit on the downside. We have zones of thicker cloud across parts of wales, the midlands, east anglia. A few showers in scotland. In between those, the vast majority stake dry, sunny spells. Temperatures may be above the 20 degrees mark in the South West Corner south east corner. For most, in the mid teens. Tonight, the showers will largely fade. Skies will clear across england and wales. Showers in northern scotland. With light winds and clear skies, fresher than some have been used to. Away from the towns and cities, temperatures into single figures. It will be a fresher morning commute. It will be a dry one. Sunny spells. Over my shoulder, signs of a change. That will affect us signs of a change. That will affect us for the rest of the week. Enjoy sunshine on monday where you have it. Isolated showers in the north east of scotland. Cloud gradually increasing. Pleasant in the afternoon. Temperatures may peak at 24, 20 5 degrees in the south east corner. Temperatures will halt in their rise across Northern Ireland in the afternoon because the cloud will be increasing, bringing outbreaks of rain. Into the evening, heavy bursts across fermanagh, armagh and down. That was spreading across central and southern scotland, the north of england. This is tuesday. Low pressure dominating the north and west. For the south and east, we are dragging in something more humid from the near continent. We could see some storms develop across northern france. After a dry and reasonably bright start, maybe some storms to end the day. Outbreaks of rain in scotland. Dampen the west, too. We will all See A Spell Of Heavy Rain at least once a week ahead. Cooler and cloudy as well. The police are out and about in the community today. This is bbc news. Im shaun ley. The headlines at 3 00 cladding on 34 tower blocks in 17 Council Areas in england fails safety fire tests, as some residents in north london whose blocks have been evacuated insist on staying put. The Brexit Secretary, david davis, says hes not sure at the uk will get a Withdrawal Deal with the eu, and we have to be prepared to walk away. You can be sure there will be a deal, of which the deal i want, the free trade agreement, the Customs Agreement and so on, its. Im pretty sure, but im not certain. More than 140 people are feared to have been killed when a lorry transporting oil burst into flames in pakistan. A vehicle has collided with pedestrians outside of a Sports Centre in newcastle. Police say theyre not treating it as a terror incident. Performances get underway at glastonbury for the third and final day, with ed sheeran providing the grand finale on the main stage this evening