tv The Week in Parliament BBC News July 1, 2018 2:30pm-3:01pm BST
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criminals — escaped from jail near paris this morning. it's believed that he was helped by a number of heavily armed men. it's faid's second jailbreak. in 2013 he blasted his way out of a prison using dynamite and was on the run for six weeks. now it's time for a look at the weather with alina. for much of the country, more of the same, dry, sunny and very warm is not hot but we have a yellow warning from the met office for by the storms across south—west england, parts of wales and a few of those may bilderberg eastwards through hampshire, sussex, surrey and up towards london. more cloud across northern ireland and north—west scotland, the odd spot of rain but aside from that, dry with plenty of sunshine across much of the country this afternoon, already up to 31 celsius in porthmadog and temperatures widely in the mid to high 20s. always a bit cooler for eastern coasts and a bit misty at times but the sea breeze keeping things cooler and a few thunderstorms rumbling around this evening and overnight for south—west
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england and southern england. otherwise dry with a bit more cloud across scotland, cooler here, 12—111, very muddy and humid across central and southern parts of england. tomorrow, we do it all again, foremost, dry with plenty of sunshine, a bit more cloud at times for scotland it will thin and break with spells of sunshine. the chance ofa with spells of sunshine. the chance of a show across south—west and southern england otherwise, dry, hot and very sunny. —— of a shower. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines: firefighters tackling a huge blaze which is ravaging moorland across lancashire have said they are launching a "large scale attack" on the flames. a major incident was declared when two fires merged into one as a result of increasing wind speed. 30 conservative mps have written a letter demanding theresa may gets tough with the eu over brexit negotiations, while the head of the nhs in england has revealed that the health service is preparing for the possibility of there being no deal. people who rent their homes could be given more security under government
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proposals to introduce a minimum tenancy term of three years in a move ministers will help renters put down more roots in their communities. now it's time for for our look back at what happened in parliament over the last seven days — it's this week in parliament. hello there and welcome to the week in parliament. coming up: is it finally take—off for heathrow‘s third runway? passions run high in the commons as mps argue over airport expansion and what it might mean for local people. i would support a fourth and fifth runway, actually, at heathrow and at gatwick. 8,000 to 10,000 people forcibly removed from their community. also on this programme,
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as the scottish parliament breaks for its summer recess, our scotland political editor gives us his end—of—term report. and at prime minister's questions, jeremy corbyn taunts theresa may over her cabinet brexit splits, which he reckons are giving big business the collywobbles. the real risk to jobs in our country is a prime minister who is having to negotiate round the clock with her own cabinet to stop it falling apart. he's got a decision to make. he can either back business or he can want to overthrow capitalism, he can't do both. and i'll be reporting from a new exhibition telling the story of women in parliament. but first, mps have backed the government's decision to press ahead with the expansion of heathrow airport. the move was approved by a big government majority of 296. since a third runway was first mooted more than 15 years ago, the plans have been mired in controversy, with campaigns from local residents over the loss of their homes and the impact on noise,
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disruption and air quality. but supporters insist the project is vital for the uk economy. the transport secretary chris grayling said it would unlock prosperity. all five of london's main airports will be full by the mid—2030s. heathrow is full today. what is actually happening, madam deputy speaker, is that we are seeing business leave the united kingdom and go to airports like frankfurt, amsterdam, paris, that have made additional capacity provision. this proposal for a third runway at heathrow was first published in 2002. hong kong published theirs in 2011, theirs will be built within five years. if we are to remain internationally competitive, does my right honourable friend not agree that we should get on and build it? i know it is not on the cards, but i would support a fourth and fifth runway, actually, at heathrow, and at gatwick. if you were asking me to come up with the most backward—looking, ill—thought—through, poorly bottomed out,
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badly articulated, on a wing and a prayer, bad value for money, most polluting airport plan i could find, this would be it. 4,000 homes will go, 8,000 to 10,000 people forcibly removed from their community, the biggest forcible move of human beings since the scottish highland clearances. a church, a temple, community centres, open spaces, even our hospice is now threatened. that is what it means to my community. two schools. where will they go? john mcdonnell. well, labour mps were given a free vote on the issue, whilst greg hands, who was a trade minister, resigned from the government in order to oppose the third runway plans. there was, however, one notable absentee from the debate, the foreign secretary, borisjohnson, who once said
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he would lie down in front of the bulldozers to prevent heathrow expansion. he was out of the country on a visit to afghanistan. but the next day, he was back for his regular round of departmental questions and facing his labour opposite number. may i firstly sympathise with the foreign secretary that due to his emergency duties abroad, he was unable to join last night's fight against heathrow expansion. four years ago... four years ago, he was asked the biggest lesson that he had learnt. four years ago, he was asked the biggest lesson that he had learnt from his supposed hero winston churchill, and his answer was, i quote, "never give in." "never give in. never give in." for some reason, churchill didn't add, "unless you can catch a plane to kabul." the foreign secretary clearly has a new hero, and we know who he is, mr speaker. the clue is in the hair. so can i ask the foreign secretary when he said, as he did on 6june,
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that he is, i quote, "increasingly admiring of donald trump," he has begun to tell us some of the reasons why, but could he help those of us who are yet to be convinced, three things about this current president that he increasingly admires about him? mr speaker, i hesitate to say it, but i have anticipated the right honourable lady's question. i pointed out, number one, that i thought it was an admirable thing that after the chemical weapons attacks led by the assad regime, supported by the russians, that donald trump's administration actually responded. i think it's a good thing that the united states is trying to solve the problem of a nuclear armed north korea and trying very hard, and i admire at least the president's efforts in that respect. and i think it is a good thing too that the president is encouraging our european friends and partners to spend more on their own defence. well, the next day, it was jeremy corbyn‘s turn to pounce on borisjohnson‘s actions. at prime minister's questions,
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the labour leader highlighted splits in the cabinet over brexit. mrjohnson is reported to have given a very pithy response to the concerns of business about the progress of the talks. in contrast, the business secretary, greg clark, has reassured firms their worries are being listened to. the business secretary believes that business is entitled to be listened to with respect. i'm sorry to see the foreign secretary is not here today with us. where's boris? he...he takes a very different view, using an anglo—saxon term to make his point. which is the prime minister's view? prime minister. this party and this government has always been a party that will back business and will continue to back business. and can i say to the right honourable gentleman that if he wants to start standing up and talking in favourable
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terms about business, he's got a decision to make, he can either back business or he can want to overthrow capitalism, he can't do both. isn't the truth that the real risk to jobs in our country is a prime minister who is having to negotiate round the clock with her own cabinet to stop it falling apart, rather than negotiating to defend jobs of workers in this country? theresa may reeled off a list of what she said were her government's achievements, including a successor to trident, action on obesity, and better mental health services. record levels of employment — record levels of employment, falling borrowing, rising real wages, we've triggered article 50, we've agreed an implementation period, we've passed the eu withdrawal bill, a britain fit for the future and leaving the european union on 29 march 2019. the snp's westminster leader also accused the government of failing to listen to business. ..has insulted the business community and left companies in the dark.
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can the prime minister tell the house why 186,000 car manufacturing jobs are disposable to her? but theresa may argued her government had listened. business said they wanted an implementation period so there wasn't a cliff edge next march. we have negotiated an implementation period so that there will be a smooth and orderly brexit. business say that they want as frictionless trade as possible, so we are putting forward proposals to ensure that we provide that frictionless trade with the european union. but alongside that, we will be developing a global britain looking out around the world, signing trade deals around the world, and if he thinks trade and business is so important, why didn't he support heathrow expansion? theresa may. the scottish parliament has now broken for the summer amid continuing tension with westminster over brexit. msps go off for recess just days after the first minister nicola sturgeon reshuffled her team for the first time since the holyrood elections in may 2016.
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with his end—of—term report from holyrood, here's our scotland political editor ryan taylor. big changes in the scottish cabinet and junior ministerial ranks, nine new faces in, some big names leaving the cabinet and from the lower ranks as well. nicola sturgeon, first minister, says she's refreshing the team entirely. a big change, a big development. also this week, we've had a big move at holyrood, the education bill has been shelved, that was a bill, a flagship measure designed to bring substantial changes to the way scotland's schools are run. it has been shelved, as i say. education secretary john swinney says he can get around that, he can follow a short—cut method of bringing further powers to scotland's head teachers in a deal with local authorities. but his opponents say it's a boorach, which is scots gaelic for a muddle. now, alongside these and many other things happening in holyrood, there's a permanent presence — it is of course brexit. discussed everywhere, breaking out into big
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disputes from time to time, and underlying it all, you have here a fundamental dispute between the scottish parliament and the westminster parliament. the scottish government and the uk government. it concerns the issue of powers in devolved areas like farming due to return to these islands after brexit. it's a reminder, if you like, that ultimately, even with devolution, westminster remains sovereign. uk ministers tend not to stress that, scottish government ministers don't like it at all, but then, they don't have to like it. right now, they are having to tolerate it but they are promising protest. you know what? i suspect we may all have to return to this topic in the autumn. our scotland political editor brian taylor there. well, tuesday was the first anniversary of the conservatives' deal with the democratic unionist party, designed to keep theresa may's minority government afloat. our northern ireland political reporterjayne mccormack looks back over the last 12 months. well, this was an agreement that received a mixed reaction lastjune. some praised the dup
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for delivering extra money for northern ireland to go towards health, infrastructure, and even broadband, but it was criticised by others, including some within theresa may's own party, who didn't want to be aligned with the dup because of its deep religious roots and staunch opposition to abortion and same—sex marriage. there was also criticism that the british government would no longer be a neutral broker in talks to restore power—sharing and that's because northern ireland has been without a government for 18 months now after the institutions collapsed around a row over a flawed green energy scheme. that being said, generally, the deal has been good for both the dup and the conservatives. theresa may has received crucial support in the commons for votes on brexit and the budget, while the dup has had great influence at westminster than ever before. there was, however, a brexit blip last december when the dup threatened mutiny over a uk—eu proposal to solve the irish border issue, and they forced the government to retreat from that idea.
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there's also been no restoration of stormont, with several talks collapsing. the dup do insist that their deal with the conservatives isn't temporary, but theresa may might not be just as confident. jayne mccormack in belfast. staying with the devolved nations, the leader of the conservative group in the welsh assembly, andrew rt davies, quit after seven years in charge. he'd been criticised within the party for suggesting firms like airbus were undermining brexit by warning they could close uk plants. theresa may said the welsh tories had been a strong voice for the people of wales under his leadership. meanwhile, back at westminster, the government pulled the plug on a proposed tidal lagoon in swansea bay. a private company, tidal lagoon power, wanted the government to offer subsidies for the energy produced at swansea bay and five other lagoons. but the business secretary said the government's analysis showed the scheme was too expensive. there were cries of "shame" from opposition mps as he announced his decision. it would be cheaper to write a cheque for £15,000
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for every single household in wales rather than subsidise this particular proposal. secretary of state for energy, when the tidal lagoon story began, can i tell the current secretary of state for energy that his statement is wrong, wrong, wrong. this announcement will be met with widespread anger in the communities i represent. it is the second broken promise from the 2015 tory manifesto on top of the cancellation of electrification. you will never understand the frustration and anger felt in my city today. and it begs the question, madam deputy speaker, just who is speaking up for wales around the cabinet table? because it certainly isn't the secretary of state. now, let's take a look at some other news in brief. there were cries of "nonsense" in the house of lords when a ukip peer described islam as "the world's most violent ideology." lord pearson asked the government if they would require preaching in mosques and teaching in madrasas
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in england and wales "to be monitored for hate speech." will the government stop using the word islamophobia, because it is surely reasonable and not at all phobic to fear the world's most violent ideology from which indeed most... shame! ..from which, indeed, most hate speech now comes. attempts to stigmatise muslims, as the original question does, is unworthy of any member of your lordship's house. and such language aids those who oppose cohesive communities and encourages hate crimes, attacks on both mosques and individual muslims. a bill to make it harder for young people to buy knives and acid online, as well as banning the possession of weapons such as so—called zombie knives — with blades of up to two feet long — has moved a step closer to becoming law.
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the home secretary set out the plan. it shocks me that flickknives are still available despite being banned as long ago as 1959 and that zombie knives and knuckle dusters and other dreadful weapons are also still in wide circulation. the bill will therefore make it an offence to possess such weapons, whether in private or on the streets. tougher action must be taken to tackle dogs, according to representatives of postal workers. mps are looking into the effectiveness of the 1991 dangerous dogs act amid figures suggesting an increase in attacks. a committee of mps was told the law was applied inconsistently. 20—30 postal workers have their fingers bitten off every year simply through pushing mail through the letterbox. we had one conviction in romford which ended with a fine and costs of £9,000. a similar, very similar, case in another part of the country ended up with a fine of £200. mps have been investigating
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the explosion in the number of unregulated hand car—wash services around the country. it's thought there could be anything up to 20,000 of them and the environmental audit committee has been looking into concerns that they're damaging the environment and abusing workers. we've seen evidence that... we have got a connection with the queen's medical centre in the university of nottingham. we've talked to people there in relation to car wash operators coming in developing things like trenchfoot because their feet are soaking wet all the time. hydrochloric acid burns, not necessarily from the actual sprays and get more water on it and gradually get more burns. so, i think the working conditions are pretty bad. ministers have served up the second part of their plan to tackle childhood obesity. two years ago, they unveiled proposals for a sugar tax on soft drinks. this time, the focus is on cutting the promotion of unhealthy foods with a consultation on banning junk
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food adverts on tv and online. the measures we outline today will look to address that heavy promotion and advertising of food and drink products in high fat, salt and sugar on tv, online and in shops. alongside this, mr speaker, we want to equip parents with the information they need to make healthy, informed decisions about the food they and their children are eating when they are out and about. not even an intention to ban the advertising ofjunk food, just a consultation, surely this former culture secretary hasn't given in yet again to big vested interests, mr speaker. a cross—party group of mps has set out a blueprint to fund social care in england and challenged the government to get on and implement it. two commons committees suggested raising money locally through changes to council and business taxes in the short to medium term and raising money nationally through a ring—fenced tax on the over—40s in england.
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we strongly believe that a funding solution must fall fairly between generations. and therefore recommend that those aged under a0 should be exempt from the social care premium and that it should also be paid by those who are still working after the age of 65. we also recommend that a specified additional amount of inheritance tax should be levied on all the states above a certain threshold and capped at a percentage of the total value. this is intended to avoid the catastrophic costs for some individuals who currently have to lose the vast majority of their assets, including their homes, to pay for care costs. if we, on a cross—party, cross—committee basis, can unanimously reach difficult decisions and clear recommendations, can't you do the same? what other stories have been making the political news this week? here's jack fenwick with our countdown. at five, banking on a good performance.
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channel 4's upcoming political drama casts former corrie villain, lee boardman as self—titled bad of brexit, arron banks. at four, baron lee will not be silenced. i am speaking at the moment. or maybe he will. david, sit down. at three, from en marche to forward march. french president emmanuel macron is restoring national service for 16—year—olds. at two, after suggestions that collective responsibility has collapsed, michael gove reminds us all his word is not gospel. i'm not an apostle or a disciple. and so therefore... i am just michael. and at one, world cup fever hits the commons as tory mp scott mann says what the whole nation is thinking.
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mr speaker, clearly, football's coming home and england are making excellent progress. jack fenwick with our countdown. you may never have heard of them, but changing places toilets are specialist loos for people with severe disabilities. what is special about them is that they are equipped with adult size changing tables and hoists and are big enough for wheelchairs and carers. campaigners say they are needed by quarter of the million people in the uk. now a labour mp wants change. they told me about the indignity they feel when they're out and about. it could be they're shopping. or they are out with the family. they don't have the facilities
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that are fit for purpose for their needs so it may be that they are disabled, potentially ina wheelchair or it often applies to adults and two children who have got things like multiple sclerosis. she said to me "how would you feel if you had to go to the toilet and you had to change and lie on the floor of a public toilet"? not the cleanest places in the world. and i thought about it and i thought "yeah. and i figure that we deal with some taboo issues and it is important that we deal with issues that we consider to be either taboo or stigmatize. and i thought yes, that is something we need to change. paula sherriff. her bill is due to be considered in more detail in november, in the meantime she's hoping to win round mps from all sides to support it. this year marks the centenary of some women in the uk gaining the vote — but a new exhibition in westminster hall shows how the battle for equal suffrage began generations earlier. it's billed as the hidden "her—story" of the uk parliament. we sent along our reporter. here in the heart of parliament, they are marking the long campaign
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to win women the vote. it tells a tale which spans two centuries. people don't realise that well before suffragists, women were here watching debates, they were lobbying mps. some lost spaces of westminster are recreated. such as the attic of the old house of commons destroyed by fire in 183a. women were banned from the public area in this period. but there were women who wanted to see what was going on down below. and they found their ways onto the attic space above the commons and they they could see through the ventilator by sticking to the holes of the ventilator and looking down into the commons chamber below. we have tried to recreate the ventilator here. how much could they hear? the university of york have acoustically modelled the ventilator space for us and have
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recreated acoustically the chamber below and put this at the ventilator above. the honourable member... the recordings have run through their acoustic model so it is the closest we can get to what it would have been like for the women. you can hear reasonably well with a slight echo. no bill of this kind would be complete without... when women were let back in to watch debates, they were fenced in behind a grille. the grilles became a metaphor. it is not a story that is told enough. we always hear about the
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matter environment, but the histories of the women who came into this building are important. among the pioneers featured was the first woman mp to take a seat. nancy astor is something we should be incredibly proud of. if i were with her today, we would probably disagree on a whole lot of policy. but parliament should be 50—50 between men and women. i think it is an absolutely outstanding exhibit. we see features of new suffragettes. it is also emotional because there isa war it is also emotional because there is a war with all the names of all the women who have been elected to parliament on it. and when you see your name there, you feel privileged and also sad for the women who didn't make it here who would have been fantastic and peace. but because of the weather system works, they didn't there. jessica morden, ending that report. and voice and vote runs till october 6th. tickets are free but must be booked via the parliament.uk website. finally, back to prime
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minister's questions, where a conservative was getting into the world cup spirit. nick boles thought it was time for a show of support for the england team. would my right honourable friend signal her government's support for the campaign during the play—offs by asking public buildings across england to fly st george's cross alongside the unionjack if they want? i can assure him that number ten will be flying the england flag on the day of each of england's matches from now on. and we will be encouraging other government departments to do the same. but can i also say to my honourable friend that i am going to go further than my predecessors. next year, we will do the same for the women's world cup. theresa may. and that's it from me for now, but dojoin keith macdougall on monday night at 11:00 for a full round up of the day at westminster. but for now, from me, alicia mccarthy — goodbye.
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foremost, the heat and the sunshine continues, but there are some who are some welcome rainfall, particularly across south—west england, but that comes with a met office warning for thunderstorms. that extends towards parts of wales and the home counties this afternoon and the home counties this afternoon and the home counties this afternoon and the evening. it is cooler along eastern coasts and a bit misty, but otherwise very warm indeed. we have more clout across northern ireland and north—west scotland. a bit of rain this evening, tending to fizzle out as it pushes eastwards. further south, still a few thunderstorms. otherwise, a dry, quite muggy and
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humid night, particularly for central and southern england. tomorrow looks to be a very similar day for most, dry with plenty of sunshine. maybe a couple of scattered thunderstorms for southern and south—west england. otherwise, it's dry, sunny and once again very warm indeed. this is bbc news. i'm shaun ley. the headlines at three. dozens of fire crews continue to tackle an aggressive moorland fire near bolton. lancashire fire brigade say they expect the blaze to continue for days. a major incident has been declared. it is a dangerous area at the moment. in terms of public safety, the advice would be to simply stay off anywhere around the moorland of winter hill. the head of nhs england says extensive planning is under way to prepare the health service for a no—deal brexit. at the start of a crunch week for brexit, 30 conservative mps demand the prime minister takes a tough line with eu negotiators. the communities secretary,
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