Saying some senior ministers were briefing against him because they didnt like his views on brexit. That had followed Press Stories featuring comments hed reportedly made during a cabinet meeting. Remarksjeremy corbyn seized on. Mr speaker, the chancellor said this week that some Public Services servants are overpaid. Given the Prime Minister has had to administer a slap down to her squabbling cabinet, does she think the chancellor was actually talking about her own ministers . I recognise, as i said when i stood on the steps of Downing Street A year ago, that there are some people our country who are just about managing. They find life a struggle. That actually covers people who are working in the Public Sector and some people who are working in the private sector. And thats why its important that the government is taking steps for example, to help those on lowest incomes through the National Living wage. Its why we have taken millions of people out of paying income tax altogether. Its why basic Rate Tax Payers under this government have seen a tax cut of the equivalent of £1,000. Can i invite the Prime Minister to take a check with reality on this . Mr speaker, one in eight workers in the United Kingdom, that is 3. 8 million people, in work are now living in poverty. Why doesnt the Prime Minister understand that low pay is a threat to an already weakening economy . The best route out of poverty is to work. Thats why it is so important that over the last seven years we have seen 3 million more jobs being created in our economy. Whats important for government as well is to ensure that we do provide support for people. Thats why we created the National Living wage. That was the biggest pay increase for people on lowest incomes ever. When did the labour party ever introduce the National Living wage . Never. That was a conservative government and a conservative record. I look along that front bench opposite, mr speaker, and i see a Cabinet Bickering and backbiting while the economy gets weaker and people are pushed further into debt. Ill tell the right honourable gentleman the reality. The reality is that he is always talking britain down and we are leading britain forward. The snps leader At Westminster turned to the pensions of the so called waspy women. The Prime Minister has found up to £35 billion for Hinkley Point c Nuclear Power station, up to 200 billion to replace the trident missile system, and one billion for a deal with dup just so she can keep her own job. She seems to be able to shake the magic money tree when she wants to. Can the Prime Minister now end the injustice for those women who are missing out on their pension before she herself thinks about retiring . We have put £1 billion extra into this question of the change of the State Pension age to ensure that nobody sees their State Pension age increased by more than 18 months from that which was previously expected. And i have to also say to the honourable gentleman that the Scottish Government, of course, does now have extra powers in the area of welfare. And perhaps. Perhaps its about time the Scottish Government got on with the dayjob and stopped talking about independence. Theresa may. Parliament has been back forjust over a month sincejunes surprise General Election. Theresa may was returned without a majority and was forced to strike a £1 billion deal with the dup. The change in her electoral fortunes has left mrs may at the mercy of her own backbenchers and tightened Jeremy Corbyns grip on his party. It promises to be a parliament with plenty of fight and of course theres one big subject on the agenda. Roslyn ball reports. A two year parliament, but a pared down queens speech with one big agenda item. Presentation of bill. Mr secretary davis. Mr minister baker. European Union Withdrawal bill. With brexit talks under way in brussels, Opposition Parties claimed the Uk Parliament has been left with little to do. Isnt the european parliament, however much mocked in this country, showing the mother of parliaments just what parliamentary control looks like in the modern era . Its ability to veto the brexit deal means that the other institutions need to front load information to the parliament, so there have been seven Position Papers against one from our government and unfortunately parliamentary scrutiny in the Westminster Parliament is still rather unstructured. We have just completed an election where we have asked people to vote for us. As a parliamentary democracy, they expect us to debate and vote on motions that were relevant to their lives 31 days ago. 0ur Constituents expected us to come back straightaway to work. Instead after the gracious speech, there have only been seven votes. This parliament is already being dubbed the Zombie Parliament. I actually think that that comparison would actually give the flesh eating undead a bad name. This is turbo charged political zombie ism. Pete wishart. So those are just some of the issues which are going to shape this parliament over the months to come. And to discuss all of this, i am joined in the studio Byjill Rutter of the institute for government, professor ian begg of the London School of economics, and by the constitutional expert professor vernon bogdanor. Vernon bogdanor, is pete wishart right . Is it a Zombie Parliament . From one point of view, it is a Zombie Parliament in that it is deadlocked. There is really no majority for any controversial legislation at all. And both of the major parties are internally deeply divided on the major piece of legislation, which is, of course, the european Union Withdrawal bill. But from another point of view, you might call it the backbenchers parliament, because any backbenchers with proposals which achieve consensus can get their measures through. We have already seen an example of that in the proposal by Stella Creasey that women who come from Northern Ireland to secure abortions on this side of the irish sea can have them paid for by the taxpayer. And that was accepted by the government for fear of losing the vote. There may be other similar measures. The great danger with that, of course, is that both of these proposals are for increases in expenditure, which is difficult for the government to resist. So the chancellor of the exchequer in this backbenchers Parliament May be even more beleaguered than he would be normally. All right. Ian begg, lets talk a bit about brexit, then. How, as far as we can tell, are the political shenanigans and the parliamentary shenanigans At Westminster being viewed from europe . I think i could sum it up in one word. They are perplexed. They cannot fathom what were up to. I am regularly in other European Countries and the question i am constantly asked is, why are you so insistent oii shooting yourself in the foot in this manner . And what comes over is a sense of not understanding what britain wants, which is very clear in the stance that has been put forward in the negotiations, and not knowing what kind of finalite, the outcome britain wants to achieve from it. All right, noinll rutter, were going to see the great repeal bill as it used to be called, the eu withdrawal bill, being discussed properly for the first time in september, when mps return from their summer break. So how far is the Civil Service over the summer presumably going to be working flat out to try to make some sense of what this bill is going to do and where parliament can go with it . Well, the Civil Service has been trying to work out what to do with the bill since the referendum, basically. Theres been a long task to try and identify both what legislation needs to be brought over, but also how to put that into law, and we have seen that with the repeal bill, which was actually ready for Introduction A Month or two earlier because it was ready for before the General Election, so what the Civil Service really has to be getting on with is notjust the legislation. There are seven other brexit bills that need to be drafted on agriculture, fisheries, customs, trade, all those issues, so we need seven more, and i think those are in a less state of readiness than the repeal bill was. Then there are all the Statutory Instruments that need to go under scrutiny. We have seen an estimate from the department for exiting the eu that there will be. These are the changes that ministers can make. These are the things that actually give effect to the changes because the repeal bill is reallyjust more of a shell to give ministers power to make those changes in law when they decide what they need to do. And some of those depend on the outcomes of the negotiations, so the real meat of the repeal bill isnt in the clauses that people are going to start debating in september. It is in all of the Statutory Instruments that the ministers are going to be bringing forward. And vernon bogdanof, the fear that has been expressed already by some of the nations but also by some backbenchers is that these ministerial powers are a great, Fat Power Grab by the government. Absolutely. Statutory instruments dont get the sort of scrutiny that primary legislation, that is bills, get from mps. And the great danger is that this is a transfer of power not from the European Union to parliament but from the European Union to the executive. Now, the governments view is that the repeal bill is dealing with essentially mechanical matters. It is just transposing european law into our own legal system. But perhaps it is not quite so simple in some cases, because what after all is the analogous British Institution to, say, the European Commission . Where do you find the analogy in britain . So there are political choices to be made and where there are those political choices to be made, mps will understandably want to scrutinise precisely what choices are being made and not hand ministers too much power. Meanwhile, ian begg, lets talk money. Over in europe, one of the first things on the agenda is the divorce bill and what it is going to cost us. Where are we going to get to with that . Well, if i start with where i think it will finish, i believe that we will get a settlement of the order of 30 or 40 billion euros, not the hundred billion euros that is being canvassed in the press. The reason it is complicated is that if britain withdraws on day one of brexit from paying into the European Union, it receives a hole in the eu budget. And that would oblige other net contributors, particularly germany, to pay more. So what they would like to do is to seek out the do is to see out the current medium term framework for the budget, which would last until 2020, and a bit beyond because of the overhanging bills. If that can be negotiated, it is going to make britain look far more amenable for deals on other areas. And jill rutter, presumably the government this end trying to negotiate that figure down to as close to zero as they can get. It will be trying to negotiate it down as close to zero but its not actually put a red line on that one which is quite interesting, given the other areas where we have seen the Government Draw red lines. Because i think they realised, precisely for the reasons ian says. That this is one of the cards in our hand to actually secure other things we want. At the end of the day, if we can have some flexibility on money, we can use that to improve other parts of the exit offer. So i think ministers will try as hard as they can to avoid being bogged down, while talking quite tough and trying to anchor to a lower figure. Lets look at one issue where we have had a lot of chatter already and that is the status of the eu nationals living in the uk. Now, the House Of Lords so far, we havent had a lot of noise from them but this is a subject they care passionately about. Is this going to be one of the first battles for the lords versus the government in brexit . Well, it might well be, but it seems to me the government has put forward a reasonable position on which there can be negotiation. There are problems about families and so on but those matters can be discussed and dealt with. And i think, there, the eu will have to back down. I think they have been, frankly, a Little Ungenerous towards theresa mays offer which i think was a reasonable and generous first step. And no doubt it can be improved with negotiation. So, if you think that the eu nationals issue will be settled, if you were a government minister, what would you be looking out for as the flash points particularly in the House Of Lords . Well, the House Of Lords, i suspect, will want us to remain in the internal market and in the Customs Union which theresa may at least has said we shouldnt do. She was very clear in her Lancaster House speech that brexit means brexit and she means by that we should be out of the internal market and out of the Customs Union because in her view that would make us the satellite or colony of the eu, that is we would have to accept much eu law but without any role in formulating it. Now, the House Of Lords may take a different view, and the labour party in the commons may take a different view. And the Business Community may take a different view. There will, i think, be serious clashes with the House Of Lords because they are dealing with a minority government. The House Of Lords is even more strongly remain than the commons. It is worth pointing out that the House Of Commons not only has a majority of people who voted remain but an even larger majority, given the increase in the number of labour mps, and even larger majority than in the 2015 parliament. So it is being required to do something that it doesnt want to do which is a constitutionalfirst in british history. Lets get a brief final thought from all of you. Imagine that you are sitting in these chairs 12 months from now, where are we . Is theresa may still Prime Minister . Have we had another election . Jill rutter. Who knows, who knows . I think it is absolutely impossible to say. Ithink, hopefully, well, where do we hope to be . We hope to be much clearer about the uk governments negotiating objectives. Ideally, there would be far more consensus about what we are trying to object, we want to make progress in getting some of the necessary legislation through onto the statute book. We would be clear what sort of outcome we are starting to implement. That is what we need to be doing if we are going to minimise the risks on exit in march 2019. Ian begg, are you this optimistic . I think we will have moved to a position where we recognise that what is being talked about now, the dichotomy between hard brexit and soft brexit, is actually a false dichotomy, and the real dialogue will be between hard brexit and rethinking whether we leave at all. Interesting. I agree with that comment very much but i think the government is much more stable than many imagine. It has an effective majority with the support of the dup of 13. And it will be able to avoid a vote of No Confidence which is the only way you can get it out. And i think theresa may will last longer than people imagine. The backbenchers say they want to keep her there for the moment, that any Leadership Election will be divisive and would lead to calls for another General Election which they dont want. And the key unifying factor for the government which keeps them there is jeremy corbyn. The fear ofjeremy corbyn. And that will keep them there possibly for five years. All right, thank you all very much indeed for coming into the programme. Now, lets take a look at some other news from Around Westminster in brief. The State Pension age is to rise from 67 to 68 seven years earlier than initially planned. The change will affect those born between april 1970 and april 1978. The increase will now come into effect from 2037. The work and pensions secretary david gauke told mps people were living longer. There is a balance to be struck between funding of the State Pension in years to come whilst also ensuring fairness for future generations of taxpayers. The approach i am setting out today is the responsible and fair course of action. Most pensioners will now spend their retirement battling a toxic cocktail of ill health. In our manifesto, we committed to leaving the State Pension age at 66 while we undertake a review into healthy life expectancy, arduous work, and the potential of a flexible State Pension age. The snp continue to call for the establishment of an independent savings and pension commission. We believe that the government is not doing enough to recognise the demographic differences across the United Kingdom and an independent review of this would look at those. When her majesty the queen came to the throne in 1952, there were 300 people that year who reached the age of 100. Last year, it was over 13,000. Youth custody centres in england and wales are now so unsafe that a tragedy is inevitable that is the finding of the annual report of the Chief Inspector of prisons. Peter clark said he hadnt inspected a single establishment where it was safe to hold young people. The jump in violence in our prisons is the crisis of the governments own making. The Warning Signs have been there. They have been warned by mps, they have been warned by staff in our prisons, and theyve been warned by charities. Now, they are being condemned by this damning report. The budget for prisons has been cut by more than a fifth over the last six years, cuts that have now been proved to be a false economy. Prison staff have been cut by a quarter, and those who remain are being put at risk. I would argue that the Unforeseen Exacerbant in prisons has been spice, and drug use. It was not anticipated by any previous government, and this is undeniably causing difficulties, both in terms of the behaviour of the prisoners and indeed the corruption of the prisoners and some staff in regards to the trade of these substances. Labour has accused the government of reneging promise to allow mps vote on increasing tuition fees in england. They are due to rise this autumn to a maximum of £9,250. But labour face accusations from the conservatives of misleading students during the election when it homes to write off existing student debt. This weak and wobbly government doesnt even trust its own backbenchers with a vote on its own policies. Can she confirm, is it still labour policy to pay off all 400 billion of the outstanding student debt . Is it still her policy . Yes or no . I have said once, and i will say it again, we have no plans to write off existing student debt, and we never promised to do so. The Party Opposite wants to talk about process because its Policy Platform is disintegrating before our eyes. This debate which Cannot Change Arrangements for 2017 18 is therefore a sham exercise. The government has confirmed the routes for the second stage of the High Speed Rail Network hs2. There will be two links on from birmingham, one to the north west, and the other to the East Midlands and yorkshire. The transport secretary Chris Grayling initially made the announcement in a Written Statement, prompting protests in the commons. All the indications are now that the news will be sneaked out in a Written Statement any time now. Shocking mr speaker, this is a gross discourtesy and adds insult to injury for my constituents. Itoo, sadly, think that it is outrageous that this major item of Public Expenditure which is affecting my constituents and those of many others is not being reflected by a statement here today. The transport secretary did eventually come to the commons a little after ten oclock at night. As you know, mr speaker, sometimes these things can happen as a result of cock up rather than conspiracy. We need hs2. Since privatisation, the number of Passenger Journeys in our railways has doubled, it has nearly tripled on the Key West Coast intercity corridor. We cannot continue to rely on the legacy of our victorian forbearers, far sighted though they were. What assurances and guarantees can he give that the total cost will not exceed the stated £55. 7 billion and not spiral as has been alleged in certain quarters . There have been some wild rumours, i have to say, mr speaker, in the last 2a hours about the project, based on frankly a finger in the air by people who are not involved in the project. The government has been urged to use the depth of the uks relationship with saudi arabia to do more than just condemn its use of the death penalty. Ministers say they seek clarity over reports that over 14 men could be facing execution for attending protests in 2012. The week the Foreign Secretary visited saudi arabia, eight people were executed in one day, beheaded. Now, when will this government actually decide that it is time to publicly condemn these abuses of human rights . Our silence is deafening. Surely that depth of our relationship with saudi arabia in trade, in finance, in the presence of many saudi arabians in this country, the long standing way in which we have been together through warand peace, it would indicate we have the options for significantly more leverage than mere condemnation. At the end of the day, saudi arabia is a sovereign state and it is not possible for us to either interfere with its judicial system or its constitutional approach to these matters. But we can make clear, as we do, our profound disapproval and our profound opposition to abuses of human rights and to deployment of the death penalty. The lib dem former business secretary vince cable has been announced as the new liberal democrat leader. He takes over from tim farron who stepped down from the job after the june General Election. Dr cable lost his commons seat in the 2015 General Election, regaining it in the election injune. No other candidate stood for thejob. Time now for a look at what has been happening in the wider world of politics this week. Here is claire gould with our countdown. Pmqs might get heated but that is nothing compared to the passion unleashed in the Taiwanese Parliament where a debate over Infrastructure Spending got a bit out of hand. Settling their differences on the sport field rather than the battlefield, Mps Versus Journalists in the westminster end of term sportsday. With cross Party Working in the tug of war and a Dispatch Box Relay decided in a photo finish. A note from the clerks can be invaluable to the speaker. But this week, mr bercow got rather than less than he bargained for. Well, that is very helpful. And i mean very helpful. From one of our senior clerks dont have the details, believe you are correct, we can check. And there was just time for one more election before the end of term, this time in the House Of Lords where a new Hereditary Peer was elected. The successful candidate was lord volkes of harridon. Someone in parliament was very keen to get home for the holidays on wednesday evening. The situation, lighting wise, has slightly thrown me off. Thats right, minister, keep calm and carry on. Claire gould. And that is it from us this week and indeed for the summer. Mps and peers are now taking a break from westminster. And we will be back when they return on september 5th. But for now, from me, alicia mccarthy, goodbye. The weather is very unpredictable from one out of the next day. Some of us have got downpours with thunder and lightning, others are enjoying some sunshine so its not all bad everywhere across the uk. Here is a nice picture sent in from a Weather Watcher earlier from worcestershire. Some nice morning blue skies, a bit of cloud. The Satellite Picture with the radar showing the rainfall shows how mixed the weather is, you can see that Spinning Clown with the rain, that low Pressure System sitting over us. It is in the process of drifting away into the continent but it is a very slow process meaning the weather will continue to be pretty unpredictable over the next 18 hours the further east you are today the greater the chance of catching some showers. Cornwall, devon, Western Wales Getting Better through because of the afternoon. Lots of showers here across the midlands. We have a speu here across the midlands. We have a spell of heavier and more persistent rain across northern england, and lovely weather for Northern Ireland and western parts of scotland, a bit like yesterday, scotland enjoying some sunshine. Tomorrow the weather will be great across western scotland. Tonight, though, thicker cloud and some spots of rain across eastern areas as this area of low pressure very slowly pulls away towards the east, the weather clears up towards the east, the weather clears up and opens up across the west so we will have some clear spells around. That sets the scene for monday. Wildest low pressure pulls away we have a little bit of ridge ofa high away we have a little bit of ridge of a high pushing into western areas, big contrast between the west and east, in the west we will have sunny skies and a bit of fair weather cloud here and there and very warm, weather cloud here and there and very warm , whereas weather cloud here and there and very warm, whereas in the east it will be cool and breezy with cloud and some spots of rain, temperatures in the teens. Look at that, glasgow, 24, 20 5 degrees, Beautiful Day on the way for belfast and glasgow. Overall, tuesday will be the best day, most of us will enjoy some sunshine and it will be relatively warm, low 20s for many of us. By the time we get a wednesday, the increasing jet stream will push a Weather Front in our direction looking as though all of the capitals get some rain, although into thursday the rain will pull away and we are in force in dry weather on thursday. There is a lot going on in that Weather Front but you may not have got everything. Suffice to say it is changeable this week and the wettest day will be wednesday. Wettest on wednesday and all other day is not looking too bad. Take an umbrella just in case. This is bbc news. Im shaun ley. The headlines at 3pm. More than 40 of the bbcs best known Women Broadcasters have written to the corporations Director General demanding he act now to deal with the gender pay gap. Theres been legislation about all this since 1970. Its got to stop and weve got to do something about it really really quickly. A 20 year old man has died after being confronted by a Police Officer in a london shop. Regrets about a final phone call 20 years after the death of Diana William and harry open up about the relationship with their mother, in a documentary marking the anniversary of her death. Eight people have been found dead in a lorry at a Supermarket Car Park in the city of san antonio, in an Incident Police believe is linked to people trafficking. A new Bollywood Film tackles the issue of sanitation in india where around half a billion people dont have access to adequate facilities. And at 3 30pm click will be looking at Virtual Reality technology,
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