women's rights. sunday, august 12th will look at the media role. on sunday, august 13th, a discussion about the vietnam war at home. and on tuesday, august 14th, we'll close out the series focusing on the cold war. watch 1968, america in turmoil august 6 through august 14th at 8:00 p.m. eastern on american history tv on c-span3. >> there are lots of people that feel like i don't want my kids to read stories that are sad, disturbing, down beat, whatever. right? and so that's like not a totally illegitimate thing to say. i want to choose as a parent when my kid understands stuff that might bring them grief. but there's also certain point beyond which it's like, well, they're 14 now. when are you going to introduce them to the idea that not everything is not perfect outside of your all white

suburb. so all of those factors i think swirl together to create the perfect dumpster file. >> science fiction author corey doctoro will be our guest discussing his latest book walk away. his other books are down and out in the magic kingdom, little brother, plus 14 other novels. interact with cory doctorow with science fiction author sunday august 5th live from noon to 3:00 p.m. eastern book tv on c-span2. >> the british house of commons is in summer recess until september. up next, bbc parliament hosted a program that reviewed the major events that happened in the british parliament within the last few months. topics include brexit negotiations, president trump's visit to the u.k., the royal

wedding of megahn marckel and prince harry. this is about 30 minutes. ♪ music . >> hello and welcome to a hot and sultry westminster where the temperature has been rising inside the chamber and out. coming up on this program, government and opposition mps ministers as the government grafls with the u.s. exit from the union. >> open to the world. not the limbo of checkers. >> they have a plan for a principaled and practical brexit. faces a series of votes.

the ayes to the right. the nos to the left 307. [ cheers and applause ] >> also on this program, promise an end to what has been called the hos still environment to immigrants in the wake of the scandal. and as the government promises more money, the opposition asks who is paying. >> the figures are so dodgy, they belong on the side of a bus. >> we have consistently put extra money into the national health service. >> but first, the u.k. is set to lead the european union in march 2019. so the government has some crucial legislation to get through before then. first and foremost, they put the eu law into legislation to stop a legal black hole and giving ministers the option to change those laws once we left. the same simple aim is the eu

led to a parliamently battle that went on for nine months. the bill had passed with just one de seat reflected on it. a vote on the final brexit deal struck with brussels. but when it got to the laws, they took the bill inflicting defeat after deceit after the legislation. in total, there were 15 votes with huge majorities against the government's plans on everything from a future customs union to environmental protections and the date of brexit. coming back to the commons, concessions were reached. but there was still one big sticking point. having secured a vote on the final deal, there was a call for parliament to have an even bigger say with the power to direct the government on what to do if we left the eu without any deal at all. they explained why it was needed. >> we cannot allow a situation

in which there is no mechanism to dealing with no deal. >> the minister interviewed several times to try to offer a compromise until the speaker had enough. >> this isn't a private conversation with another member. what the whole house did preferably briefly. >> disappeared from the chamber for yet another meeting with ministers. the rebels thought they had an acceptable compromise. but when they saw the small print after the vote, they weren't happy. so when the bill went back to the house of laws, a conservative peer took out demanding parliament have a greater say. but a conservative brexit here thought that wasn't all they wanted to do. >> could you say whether it remains the position that he wishes at all cost to destroy brexit. could you say a point of clarification whether he wishes to destroy brexit.

and that this amendment is, in fact, about sabotaging brexit. >> but they argued this issue was bigger than party politics. >> this is the high court of parliament. and we are not party hacked. >> here, here. >> and when it came to the vote, peers in vised on parliament -- insisted on parliament having a say. a few more frantic negotiations and a last government compromise that mps would have a meaningful vote if the speaker rules in favor of one. the concession was put to a final tight vote. mps were summoned and one mp who had been receiving hospital treatment was wheeled through the commons, covered in a blanket and carrying a sick bowl. at the end of it all, the government won the day. >> the eyes to the right 303. the nos to the left 319.

so the nos have it. the nos have it. unlock. >> and all that meant the bill finally received turning into law at the end of june. so how is anyone supposed to keep up with the ins and outs of brexit? questions i put to bbc political correspondent jonathan blake. >> it's battling enough for those of us to cover brexit on a daily basis. so i think people watching and listening and reading and trying to understand what's going on to be forgiven for being confused. we have seen the government's position change. we go back to the speeches that the prime minister made at various points and then the agreement that was made and the subsequent white paper. still we hear that members disagree on whether that's the right way forward. >> so how damaging is the story passing them? >> well, i think there's no question that it has been a

damaging process for the conservative party. we've seen different factions of the parl irment -- parlmentary. it's never going to be good. >> what about the style of government. does that have an impact on all of this? >> well, i think theresa may's leadership means it can be difficult to get a handle on where the brexit process may end up. she's not someone who sets out a big vision and sticks to it no matter what. she's much more of a day by day leader whose position evolves over time and we've seen that throughout the process of brexit. and, of course, the white paper that's been forward, the deal the government wants to get is efficiently a wish list. and that position is going to have to evolve through the negotiations as both the u.k.

government and the eu make concessions. >> jonathan blake. we'll be hearing a little more from him later in the program. now, it might be hard to believe that the last three months haven't been all about brexit. the government found itself on a back foot over a scandal for years. it affected thousands of people who were invited to come to the u.k. between the 1940s and 70s on ships like the hm windrush to help rebuild post-war britain. then landing cars were later destroyed. and when immigration rules were tightened earlier this decade, they found they didn't have the paperwork to prove their legal right to be in the u.k. and access benefits and health care. as the rile rumbled on, they told mps there were no targets for removing illegal immigrants. >> when were they set? >> we don't have targets. >> but it later turned out such targets did exist. they came to the commons. >> the immigration at the home

office has been using local targets for internal performance management. these were not published targets against which performance was assessed. but if they were used inappropriately, then i am clear that this will have to change. >> it will be surprised that they come the past few years. >> here, here. >> presiding over a department out of control marked. will she do the honorable thing? >> we now understand that people have been removed because of targets that she said she didn't know. i say with all conscience, is she really the right person to leave this office? >> and it turned out she wasn't. miss rod resigned over the issue and replaced a few days later

who promised a change in immigration policy. >> thank you very much indeed. >> a few weeks later, members of the wind rush generation told the nightmare of being detained. >> this is my name. i said my name and i said what. and they said who are you guys at immigration? not going back. you're not staying here. they're going to take me to detention. i say can i make a phone call. they said no. >> the mps asked what would have happened if he hadn't had family outside of detention. >> if it wasn't for that, i would have given up. i would have given up these. it was still hard. it's too hard. >> yes. and what would have happened, do you think, if you wouldn't have had them there at the home office and telling them what was going on? >> i would be in jamaica all

along. i did not know anybody else. it was like are they sending me to die or i give thanks for having a daughter. if it weren't for her, i wouldn't be here. >> theresa may announced that england's nhs was to get an extra 20 billion pounds a year by 2023. as to where the money was going to come from, she said some of it could be from the so-called brexit dividend. brexit campaigners had said money coming back to brussels for the health service. they pressed theresa may for more details. >> there can be no brexit dividend between 2022. economic growth is the slowest since 2009. so which taxes are going up. >> the prime minister quoted an unnamed labor mp. >> we will use the funds returned from brussels after brexit to invest in our public

services. >> her figures are so dodgy they belong on the side of a bus. [ cheers and applause ] >> until this government can be straight with people where the money is coming from, why should anyone, anyone, anywhere, trust them on the nhs? >> for 70 years of the national health service for 43 of those years it has been under the stewardship of a conservative government. [ cheers and applause ] >> we have -- despite taking difficult and necessary decisions on public spending in 2010 as a result of the deficit left by the last government, we have consistently put extra money into the national health service. >> theresa may, saying the prime minister's question high drama in mid june.

the scottish and westminster governments were at odds and what it might mean for desolution. despite national parliament they were launching a paragraph to try to hold on to powers coming back to the u.k. from brussels. it spilled over into westminster. a series of votes on brexit meant debate on crucial issues about returning back to the parliament cut short to just 18 minutes. the prime minister's questions the next day westminster leader wheeled out an arcane parliament re procedure. >> the people will not be disrespected by this parliament. mr. speaker, given the --. [ yelling ] >> i have got no option at this house. [ yelling ] >> the house in private is a way to disrupt business. it means that the public and the

press galleries have to be completely cleared. it requires a vote and after some confusion the speaker thinks that vote could be taken at the end of the session. not immediately in the middle of pmqs as black wanted. mr. black objected noisily and john wasn't having that. >> and then you'll see mr. black --. [ yelling ] >> mr. black continued to object. >> in light of the persistent and repeated refusal of the gentleman to resume his seat when so instructed, i order the right honorable gentleman to withdraw immediately from the house for order for the remainder of this day's sitting. >> he stiffened his shoulders, turned and marched towards the exit. a moment later, all of the other smps followed him.

they cheered as they walked past. later it appeared to be a prearranged press conference. he said his party would use parliame parliamentry procedures. so if the smp were angry, things were not exactly sweetness and light within the cabinet. theresa may was under pressure to come up with a plan for future relationship with the eu. an eu summit at the end of june agreed the pace of the brexit talks needed to be accelerated and intensified. after that came familiar weekend reports fighting over brexit among conservative cabinet members and the news that the prime minister will repose a new option on the subject of a future u.k. customs arrangement with the eu. a plan that was unveiled to head cabinet at a crunch meeting at a country retreat. it proposed a rule to propose a

hard border in northern ireland and taxes on imports. after a day's debate, the cabinet agreed the blueprint and they agreed the collective responsibility within the cabinet had returned. but two days later, the brexit secretary david davis resigned and the foreign secretary quits the following day. both unable to sign up for the prime minister's compromise. >> personal statement. in the resignation statement, they said theresa may's plan amounted to brexit in name only. >> it is not too late to save brexit. we have time in these negotiations. we have changed paths once and we can change again. a strong, independent, self governing britain that is open to the world.

not the democratic disaster of ongoing harm nization with no way out and no say for the u.k. >> boris johnson thought despite the resignation and disagreements, part of the agreement would turn into the customs bill on uk eu cross border trade. but brexit mps didn't like that and put down amendments to the bill which the government later accepted. but that upset the remainders who thought there were personal exchanges later. >> it was margaret thatcher that championed free trade as a proud conservati conservative. and i believe in business. i believe in capitalism. i believe in exercise. >> if i knew margaret thatcher, i worked for margaret thatcher,

this is not no margaret thatcher. [ arguing ] >> i don't pretend to be able to walk in margaret thatcher's shoes. if we do not deliver frictionless trade either by a customs union or indeed by some magical third way that the prime minister can deliver them, if we do not do that, thousands of folks will go. >> they made the first speech since his resignation. >> the risk and cost of having a customs border are less that is being claimed and what we're giving up to join the customs unit is much more than we imagined. the european union is a slow and not very effective negotiator of free trade. we keep hearing about the negotiating power. actually the fact that they

represent 28 different countries mean they come up with the outcomes all of the time. >> they keep arguing because companies do trade across borders that have customs checks, therefore we should report customs-free border. so because the trade takes place, therefore it will take at cost 52 trading places. why on earth would we do that? >> this idea everyone that comes into the au via northern ireland is going to have to be stopped. it doesn't even match with common day practice. and, of course, when it comes to taxes, 13,000 a year cross the border carrying drinks to other parts of the united kingdom. there's too many collected on it. not one of them stopped because the duty is collected. >> we are two years on and no real progress has been made to

rivalry, leadership ambition is making this country a laughing stock and they should be ashamed. >> the european government will not support any of this. they argue for anything. they will support whatever the u.k. government tells them to. this is a complete sham bell. >> and that was just the start. the next day mps debated the trade bill where pro eu co conservatives put down if the brexit talks fail to come up with an alternative by january of next year. the move was defeated by a whisker. >> the eayes to the right 301. the nos to the left 307.

[ cheers and applause ] >> but there was no sign of relief from the minister. the government was defeated over moves to keep the free flow of medicine between the eu and the u.k. much of the brexit argument has been about how far they'll be to do trade deals once they've left the european union. the u.k. government is keen to capitalize on our relationship with the united states so the prime minister invited the president to the u.k. after the nato talks in july. on the eve of being greeted by mrs. may, the son printed an interview with donald trump where he said staying close to the eu would make such a u.k.-u.s. deal very likely. he said he would like to meet up with the former secretary boris johnson and said he would make a good prime minister. those comments caused outrage as did the very fact that the president was coming to the u.k. at all. >> just go home. just go home. >> with tens of thousands of protestors taking to the streets to object to the president's

policies on immigration and his attitude towards women. while the visit had much of the formality of a state visit, it was described as a working trip. there was a group before a trip to westminster for a meeting with the queen and tee inside windsor castle. >> trump looks not comfortable straddling the world stage than he did beside the prime minister. how can she justify sabotaging our secure relationship with our friends in the eu and create favors of a man who prides himself in shredding the rules-based order. >> that is not a question that can be answered for the precise reasons that the basis of the question is entirely wrong. >> so a frantic few months for the government that has weaved

its way. i asked johnson blake if it was possible to predict where we would be in march next year. >> trying to predict the future is a very risky business. a lot has happened in the last couple of years that just wasn't expected. and although that date is in everyone's diary for when the u.k. is scheduled to leave, under the rules which is very slim, that could be extended. the date could be put back. the transition agreement which we're expecting to last just under two years could also be extended. so it's very difficult to pre ticket who will be in power even there may will be a general prediction between now when they're scheduled to leave the european election. so a lot may happen. >> trump made a rather pointed intervention not just about how brexit should be done but also

who should be doing it. but a story a bit more serious. >> there's no doubt that president trump's comments that the prospect of a trade deal between the u.k. and u.s. were an absolute bombshell and they caught a lot of people at westminster off guard. people were horrified he would be coming here and saying that in such clear terms. the prime minister was quick to dismiss it, we're told, from what the president said in the news conference. oh, don't worry, mr. president, it's only the press. but those words caused real concern and there was much relief, i think, when the president walked back his position considerably when the complexities of brexit had been made to him. >> he also said boris johnson would make a good prime minister. >> to be standing next to the prime minister and saying in his opinion boris johnson who recently resigned after making life pretty tricky for theresa may as prime minister and he was

a challenger alongside her. there's no doubt that the president standing there saying boris johnson would be a good prime minister was an uncomfortable moment. >> donald trump went off to leave the uk and met putin and invited him to visit the white house. but the u.k.'s relations with russia remained frosty after two people were poisoned. they picked up a small bottle that was discarded by those behind the attack. the u.k. government continued to point the finger at russia for the poisonings. >> it is completely unacceptable for our people to be either deliberate or accidental targets all for our streets, our parks, to be dumping grounds for poisoning. >> he later died and said this

was now a murder investigation. >> this incident we must be lead by the evidence frankly it's hard to see that there is no other explanation. >> and they finally gave the plan to expand london's airport. the new run rate will increase the amount of passengers. hundreds of homes would have to be demolished and environmentalist have consistently opposed the plan. a third runway is vital for the economy. construction is unlikely to be finished before 2026. >> all five of london's main airports will be full by the mid 2030s. if it were full today. what's actually happening, madam speaker, is we are seeing business leave the united kingdom and go to airports like frankfort, amsterdam, paris, that have made additional capacity provisions. >> the runway was first published in 2002.

hong kong published there's in 2011. that will be in five years if we are to remain internationally competitive. >> if you were asking me to come up with the most looking badly articula articulated, bad value for money, most polluting airport plan, this would be it. >> 4,000 homes would go. 8 to 10,000 people forced out. the biggest forceful movement here since the hiring. community spaces, open spaces. even our hospice is now threatened. . . . .