leader to replace president jacob zuma. there have been allegations of widespread bribery, and warnings that the party could split over the election, as the country faces mounting economic challenges. eu leaders have agreed to move brexit talks on to the second phase but called for "further clarity" from the uk about the future relationship it wants. the first issue to be discussed, early next year, will be the details of an expected two—year transition period after the uk's exit in march 2019. austria's conservative party has agreed to form a coalition with the anti—immigration freedom party, which would make austria the only western european country with the far—right in government. now it's time for a look back at the week in parliament. hello and welcome to our look back

at the week in parliament. from triumph to defeat: theresa may's had a roller—coaster of a week with brexit. we are going to leave but we are going to do it in a smooth and orderly way. but smooth and orderly was not how it turned out in the commons. but i have to say, it is too late, i'm sorry, you cannot treat the house in this fashion. also on the programme, one mp pleads for better refuges for victims of domestic violence. i want to see caring, well—paid support workers sitting over there clients who are so traumatised they cannot eat. i want lives to be rebuilt. it started off so well. theresa may took her place in the commons on monday having secured agreement with the eu that talks could move on to the next stage.

she seemed to have pleased all factions of her party, no mean feat. at the despatch box she commended the settlement. this is good news for the people who voted leave who were worried that we were so bogged down in the negotiations, that tortuous negotiations, that it was ever going to happen. it is good news for people who voted remain who were worried we were going to crash out without a deal. we are going to leave but we are going to do so in a smooth and orderly way, securing a new, deep, and special partnership with our friends while taking back control of our borders, money, and laws once again. that is my mission, this is my government's mission, and on friday, we took a big step towards achieving it, and i commend this statement to the house. the labour leader was grudging. and ultimately, we saw a rather fudged agreement late last week. 50, has this experience given the prime minister a reason to consider dropping the unnecessary exit date deadline of the 29th of march 2019 from the eu withdrawal bill? because i am sure mr speaker, the whole house, and indeed probably

the whole country would rather get the best possible deal a little bit later if that meant a better feel for peoples jobs and the economy. last week, we had the humiliating scene of the prime minister league forced out of the original deal by the dup, rushing back to london, the government had to rewrite the agreement so as to reach the dup's approval. we really have to wonder who is running the uk. is it arlene foster the right honourable member for maidenhead? would she confirm that the text of this agreement now takes clear that in the event of a deal, northern ireland will not be separated legally, economically, or by any regulatory requirements for the rest of the uk. along with the aim of no hardboard and the island of ireland.

but in the event of no deal, no overall deal, nothing is agreed. can i suggest to the prime minister that in order to strengthen her leave originally next stage of negotiations, she might want to suspend tribal politics and invite the leader of the opposition and his front bench colleagues tojoin her negotiating team since whatever their tactical differences, they agree with her on the fundamentals of brexit and withdrawal from the single market and customs union, disastrous as though that might be. after all the prophecies of doom and gloom, the prime minister is showing that brexit can and will be done. and we congratulate her for that. when people like me, brexiteers, look at the alternative, namely that labour government staying in the single market

for ever and having no control over immigration, it is amazing how our minds are concentrated in support for the prime minister. so the government was in the ascendancy, what could possibly go wrong? well, parliament really. tuesday saw a slight wobble: mps once again took up their detailed scrutiny of the eu withdrawal bill. the day was dominated by henry viii powers. nothing to do with chopping off heads, but measures which allow ministers to repeal or amend legislation without the usual levels of parliamentary scrutiny. some mps didn't approve. it is not an exaggeration to say that this is a massive potential transfer of legislative competence from parliament to government. and it is a sweeping power that would certainly make henry viii blush if he were to see it today. my amendment proposes deleting the sweeping nature of that particular sub—clause because ministers have not ensured that there powers are as limited as possible, quite the contrary, they have assured that they are exceptionally wide as possible. the government agreed

to the creation of a committee to sift all legislation that won't be subject to the usual parliamentary scrutiny. but would that committee have teeth? the political cost to this front bench, to my front bench, of going against a recommendation of the sifting committee will be significant. it will have to give a reason why it is in disagreement. the minister will be summoned to explain his or her department's position. the brexit minister denied there was any power—grabbing going on. it is the case that the government wishes to take the minimum powers necessary, the minimum powers required to do the job before us, which is to deliver a working statute book by exit date. we do not intend to make any major changes of policy beyond those which are appropriate to deliver a working statute book where the law after exit day is the law before exit day. so the public, individuals and businesses can rely on it.

so no defeats on tuesday. but then came day seven of the debate, and the small matter of amendment seven and a vote at 7pm. inauspicious. the ayes to the right, 309, the noes to the left, 305. cheering. the government was defeated. so how had the day unfolded? well it all boiled down to the concept of the ‘meaningful vote‘, should parliament have a legal guarantee of a vote on the final brexit deal struck with brussels? the amendment was tabled by the former conservative attorney general dominic grieve. it was a stormy debate. we are recovering from a situation where as members of the european union we had handed over all these decisions lock stock and barrel to the european union. so this is a massive improvement and to dress this attempt to reverse brexit about an argument... in favour of parliamentary

sovereignty is nothing but cant. oh, my, what stalinism is this? somehow, any attempt to disagree with which the way in which this bill is drawn up is somehow a betrayal of brexit. what rubbish. it's not a question, i may say to my desperately paranoid eurosceptic friends, that somehow i am trying in some surreptitious remain away to put a spoke in the wheels of the vast progress of the united kingdom towards the declaration to which we are going. they won't know what leave means. the amendment seven, it is very well drafted, i don't think it is deficient, we will definitely supported and withdrawal new clause 66 if he pressed it to a vote.

i will conclude by saying... i am happy to give way. this amendment have to either be accepted by my honourable friends on the treasury bench or it will be put to the vote. i'm very pleased to hear that and we will support him and the amendment in that eventuality. critically, the power only endures until exit day. it is shorter than the operation of the clause seven and in practice, on the government's current expected timetable, it would in practice only be used for around six months so this is not the open—ended power that some have suggested. so the government was standing firm, no concessions. butjust as the eleventh hour was approaching. i can tell my honourable friend that we are willing to put an amendment on the face of the ill, making crystal clear that statutory instruments under clause nine will not enter

force until we have had a meaningful vote in parliament. but was it enough? i have to say, it is too late. i'm sorry. you cannot treat the house in this fashion. and she may agree with me that the best way of actually getting progress in this area is by moving amendment seven and there after we can cooperate with the other meant ——government to try and achieve it. the government lost by four votes. with parliament in febrile mood, the prime minister headed to brussels. she was applauded by other leaders after she stressed her desire for a ‘smooth' departure. and then on friday it was official: eu leaders agreed to move brexit talks on to the long—term relationship between the uk and eu, including trade and security. but there's one more parliamentary hurdle day eight of the brexit bill on wednesday.

it could be a long day! you're watching the week in parliament with me, mandy baker and my cold! well, this week prime minister's questions was a bit overshadowed by all the brexitry. but the main topic was homelessness. jeremy corbyn condemned the government's record. since this government came to power, homelessness is up by 50%, rough sleeping has doubled, homelessness and rough sleeping have risen every single year since 2010. will the prime minister pledge today that 2018 will be the year when homelessness starts to go down? across this house, we don't want to see anybody who is homeless or who is sleeping rough on our streets. that is why the government is putting £500 million into the question of homelessness, it is why we backed the bill that was brought forward by my honourable friend the member for brent. i'm sorry, for however. and it is why we have ensured that we are putting into place a number that will deal with this

issue of rough sleeping. i asked the prime minister for a pledge to be reduce the amount of homelessness next year. the pledge was not forthcoming. 128,000 children will spend christmas without a home to call their own. 60% up on 2010. it is too late for this christmas, but will the prime minister promise that by christmas 2018, the way children will be without a home to call their own? we of course want every child to wake up in their own home. people need to know they can keep a roof over their heads even in the most desperate circumstances. that is why we are making sure they can place families, if they fall into these circumstances. theresa may. the home affairs committee has been examining what action the government could take to stop demonstrations taking place directly

outside abortion clinics. abortion providers complain that women are being harassed. but anti—abortion protesters insisted they're simply ‘pavement counsellors' helping women in desperate situations to make a ‘true choice‘. we have seen an escalation in the size and tactics used. we have seen across the uk now, protests and other harassment. not only outside dedicated centres, but also outside gp surgeries, and nhs properties. we have one service user recently say she was greeted outside the clinic by a protester, with "mummy, please don't kill me. "i love you, mummy." they are told that they will die of cancer. god will punish them. they have holy water thrown them. well, god help me.

ijust hope that the people on the panel will ask for very concrete evidence of this and that none of you ever have to sit and listen to somebody producing the evidence against you like this just because they say to be so. marie stopes in ealing have to cameras trained on the gate, they‘ve put a new one in in spring this year, just so they could have a better view of us all the time. yet we are blocking women entering, we are grabbing hold of women, we are shutting the gate on women, we are facebook live streaming women, according to a staff member from ealing. all these things are happening but there is no evidence of it. why is there no evidence of it? there is no evidence of it because it is not happening. where there have been cases, whoever it was, where there have been cases of somebody standing in front of a clinic entrance or following somebody who has left

the clinic was sending threatening messages to staff, do you agree that that is intimidation and that it should not happen? to the best of my knowledge, none of those incidents exist and i believe that they should not happen. the debate about abortion clinics. plans to change the way refuges for victims of domestic violence are funded have been strongly criticised by mps. in westminster hall, one labour mp related some of the experiences she had had when she worked for the organisation women‘s aid. i remember a woman coming into the refuge where i worked. she couldn‘t speak or eat because she had been starved as part of her control. i will never forget watching a refuge worker sit with her for hours gently feeding her some lukewarm baked beans, teaching her how to feed herself again. i remember another family with another had been so belittled, so dehumanised by her abuser that she could not help her kids any more. she had no power or influence over them at all. she criticised the proposal to fund refuges via local council.

the bare minimum is that someone should be no more than a phone call away. these people are at risk, they are in danger. how is the government going to check that councils are spending this money and what they are spending it on? what audit function will they put in place to make sure that quality refuge services commissioned actually help people? because local need, which has been outlined, means very different things. i want to see little girls given back their childhood. i want to see caring well—paid support workers sitting over their clients who are so traumatised they cannot eat. i want lives to be rebuilt. i don‘t want a bed for the night. within my own family, there have been several members that have been the direct victims of quite extreme domestic abuse. and i have seen through luck, through their own strength, energy, and determination have they been able to change that trajectory and make sure it wasn't something that was repeated in future generations. but i think it is down to their character and luck

that they have been able to do that and that is not something that is afforded to everyone, and that is where government must intervene. a new funding model will see all housing costs, core rent, and eligible service charges funded by a ring—fenced grant to be distributed by local authorities. and we intend that ring fence to remain in the long term. we also intend to use grant conditions to make sure the funding is spent where it is intended. and what i would like to do is invite the honourable lady for yardley to meet with myself and my honourable friend to discuss some of these issues in more depth, particularly in terms of appropriate accommodation and some of the examples that she mentioned in that sense, and the wider issues that she raised. as members have pointed out as well, there is a consultation on the funding model which closes on the 23rd ofjanuary so there is still time for organisations to have their say

and i would encourage them to come forward and do that. marcus jones. in the house of lords, there was a call for a change in the law to allow child refugees in the uk to be reunited with members of their family. a liberal democrat peer wanted child refugees who had arrived at the uk to have the right to bejoined by other members of their family. in 2016, the uk received 3% of asylum applications made in the eu. per head of population, the uk ranked 18th in the eu with 0.6 applications per 1000 people. in the same year, globally, 20 people became displaced every minute of every day. i believe on this issue, in the bill, public opinion is certainly on our side. all we have to do is explain to the public what the position is, how individuals are affected. they won't all come around, i've had a few abusive tweets

and things, but on the whole, public opinion is supportive. no one but no one could fail to be moved by the thought of close family living in conflict zones or dangerous situation, and that is why this government strongly supports the principle of family unity, and we already have a comprehensive framework for family members of refugees to be reunited here. this is set out in the immigration rules and our family reunion policy rather than primary legislation. lady williams. the foreign secretary borisjohnson has repeated his pledge to leave no stone unturned to secure the release of nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe. mrs zaghari—ratcliffe has been held in iran since april 2016, on charges of spying, which she denies. she was arrested as she attempted to return to the uk after a visit to relatives with a young daughter. borisjohnson was updating

mps following a series of meetings in iran. he said his first priority had been the plight of dual nationals being held there. these are complex cases involving individuals considered by iran to be their own citizens. and i do not wish to raise false hopes, but my meetings in tehran were worthwhile and while i do not believe it would be in the interests of the individuals concerned or their loved ones to provide a running commentary, the house can be assured that the government will leave no stone unturned in our efforts to secure their release. borisjohnson provoked a storm of criticism earlier this autumn when he told the commons committee that mrs zaghari—ratcliffe had been "training journalists," a comment he later withdrew. i have no wish to go over old ground concerning the foreign secretary‘s remarks to the foreign affairs select committee and it is right that he has finally apologised for those remarks, and finally admitted he was wrong and it is right that he has finally met richard ratcliffe.

and it is right that he has spent the weekend in the region attempting to attone for his mistake and get nazanin released. and we welcome the tentative progress that the foreign secretary has made in that regard, as richard ratcliffe himself put it, "it doesn‘t change the fundamentals but it makes a change in the fundamentals more likely." several labour mps pressed the foreign secretary over whether he tried to see mrs zaghari—ratcliffe himself. did he request to see nazanin zaghari— ratcliffe personally in order tojudge her mental and physical well— being? i mustjust remind the honourable gentleman opposite that the iranian government does not recognise the dual national system that we have, and therefore do not give consular access. what response did he get from the president of iran and other authorities when he pressed

for the release of my constituent nazanin zaghari— ratcliffe ? and does he have any indication of what the authorities think about the recent prison health assessments made of nazanin and her fitness to remain in prison in iran? yes, of course i‘ve raised these humanitarian concerns in a number of consular cases, and those concerns were taken on board but it would be wrong, i think, to give a running commentary of report about exactly what the iranian side said in each case. borisjohnson. now it was exactly six months ago on thursday since the horrific fire at grenfell tower in london. a memorial service was held in honour of the 71 people who died. members of the royal family, theresa may, survivors and families the victims attended the service at st paul‘s cathedral. in the lords, the government was asked about new housing for those left homeless and traumatised by the fire. six months is a very long time in these circumstances to be living in hotel accommodation and no way

to spend christmas. vulnerable, unsettled, and traumatised. can the noble lords tell the house what specific action that government are taking to get these families into accommodation in the new year? to bring the house up to date, 151 homes were lost in the fire. some of those homes were overcrowded, others had multi—generational households who now wish to divide. so, 210 households that formerly lived in grenfell power so, 210 households that formerly lived in gre nfell tower and grenfell walk need to be rehoused. 144 households have accepted an offer of either temporary or permanent accommodation. 99 have moved in, 54 into temporary, and 45 into permanent housing. so, 111 are in emergency accommodation, of whom 66 are yet to accept an offer of either permanent or temporary accommodation. the noble lord asks quite rightly what action is being taken. the royal borough of kensington

and chelsea plan to have acquired by christmas 300 homes, set against the 210 that were needed, they are requiring two homes a day. i quite agree that christmas is no time to be spending in emergency accommodation. the government is acutely aware of that. and in the four hotels where most of the families are, specific arrangements are made for the families to have space of their own to meet each other, to entertain their wider families if they want to. a lot of services are being put on by voluntary groups and faith groups over the christmas period to help them support those families. we very much hope that byjune next year, everyone will have moved into permanent accommodation. but families need to move in their own time. some are in emergency accommodation not wanting to move into temporary accommodation because they might have to move twice. the royal borough of kensington and chelsea is doing intensive work alongside the families, finding out what accommodation they need, where they need it, and seeking to match that

with the 300 houses they are acquiring. could i remind the minister that in the government statement on the grenfell fire on the 19th of october it was said they were expected to be 300 suitable local permanent properties by christmas, and yet, only 45 households have actually moved in. could i ask the minister whether he has confidence in the local council to deliver or whether it may be time for the other meant to intervene more directly? the government has no plans to put commissions into the royal borough of kensington and chelsea. they have a new leader, they have a new chief executive, and the government has established a task force to make sure the royal borough of kensington and chelsea live up to the expectations that everyone has because of what they plan to do. that is it for this eu dominated week. important though the brexit bill is, it can be a bit, well, dry. references to the european parliament, references to future eu

obligations including new eu obligations implemented under the eca, references to eu law as a generic term, and harmonisation members. thirdly, references to specific eu directives which are set out in the paper, and finally, references to the uk as part of the eea. welcome to my world. the minister steve baker there taking dryness to a whole new dimension. and that is it from me, mandy baker, no relation. we will be back on monday, but for now, from me, goodbye. it is still pretty it is still pretty cold it is still pretty cold out it is still pretty cold out there it is still pretty cold out there but the weather is going to be turning a little bit more miles over

the next few days. we are still dealing with quite a bit of frost around first thing on saturday morning, and then as we had through sunday and into monday the weather is going to turn a little bit more mild as thejet is going to turn a little bit more mild as the jet stream starts to push in, milderairof mild as the jet stream starts to push in, milder air of the atlantic here and weather fronts which will bring some cloud and rain as well. for the time being we still have some cold air around, this is mostly during the course of saturday, and then come sunday that milder air arrives. two bridges could go to double figures across some parts of the uk. but the cold snap is still not quite over, look at this, recent weather watch pictures still showing a bit of snow lying around across the country. these are the temperatures first thing in the morning on saturday, around 5am in city centres, and rural spot it could be as low as minus six degrees. lets look at the picture around. nine o‘clock in the morning on saturday it really starts off on a beautiful note, right across the south coast, central and southern england, the midlands, east anglia, all along the season counties as

well but for many of us is going to bea well but for many of us is going to be a nippy start, two bridges around freezing or below in some areas. we are starting to see a hint of that slightly more mild air getting into western parts of the uk. that saturday morning there is going to be an increased amount of cloud through the course of saturday morning into the afternoon, through northern ireland, wales and parts of the midlands. a really great —— gradation everybody, there could be some rain around wales in cardiff, south—western parts of england and the midlands as well, but many eastern areas should stay cold and bright through saturday. into sunday thatis bright through saturday. into sunday that is when the change occurs, that is why we will start to develop a south—westerly wind, the weather fronts arrived and it is looking cloudy and damp right across the country, in fact the first half of the day on sunday is looking pretty overcast, and damp is not wet in many areas. temperatures will be rising we are talking about 11 degrees across the south, even 10 degrees across the south, even 10

degrees expected in glasgow. the weather front be out of the way, so it will be wet all the way through. into next week it looks like the weather is going to dry out eventually, it is going to be that little bit milder across the uk but often cloudy.