the country will weigh in on issues in 2018. be sure to watch c-span's "washington journal" live at 7:00 eastern monday morning. join the discussion. reviewsr: next, the bbc the significant events in the british parliament. then a discussion on the impact of white house chiefs of staff. p.m., another chance to see donna brazil talking about her book "hacks." announcer: the british parliament is in recess for the holidays. prime minister's questions returns january 10. reviews theliament events that happened since the summer in the british house of commons, including brexit negotiations, budget issues, and relations with president theresa may has more excess.

correct this is good news. news for people who voted me, for people who voted for men who thought we were going to crush out of here. >> 18 months on from the referendum results, the prime minister scripts through phase one of the negotiations. they are claims that pushing people into poverty and destitution, ministers make changes to the welfare benefits. perfect, noment is benefit system is perfect, no debates, no motion is perfect but we work together to make

this plateau. >> in his budget, the chancellor announces a bid for house building and first-time buyers. but opposition mps recommend discomfort for sluggish economic times ahead. >> before the wind abrasive hit us, the position for millions of people as if we have been struggling with nine years of austerity. but with every passing day, the u.k. inches closer to raise their are scheduled to scheduled to leave the european union at the end of march 2019 and with the deadline theoaching, mps have spent time trying to pin down pretty big questions such as what role will parliament have in the present process area what will the final dilip like and what will the uk's relationship be with europe after we have left? the prime minister, theresa may has faced a complex task of trying to push present through the commons.

keep northern iowa's democratic unions. she relies on getting this through. this will move bridget forward and shows little success. theresa may traveled to funds in september to make a big speech, offering assurances on eu citizens rise and urging a new economic and security relationship of the future. and while that may have been seen as a step forward, there was is -- a distinct wobble when they hit the prime minister had struck down with this approach by a prankster and standing in front of a disintegrating background. so there was wanted to talk about when parliament returned and mrs. mccann to the commons to update mps. speaker, this is between the sovereign united kingdom and a strong and successful european union, it is our ambition and friends,rary european achieving the partnership will

require leadership and flexibility, not just from us but from our friends from 27 missions on the eu. demonstrated the scale of the mess the government is making of these negotiations. on from the referendum, bear no clearer about what the future of this country will look like dust when britain needs a strong negotiating team, we have a at each other's throats. partyn the conservative and whether foreign secretary sex, the other half once the chancellor's act. >> theresa may ridiculed what she said was a shifting approach to brexit. to lead tohey wanted cinemark and now they say they will stay in the single market, they said they are staying in this union and it would be a drive and now they want to stay in the customs union forever and the use to biggest this effort -- second referendum but now

they have refused to rule it out. position onconfused brazen, no longer they say it will be a run on the cloud if you get his or. returnsent theresa may to the comment it -- a few days later, the conflicting demands on the prime minister were clearly on show. this urged her to keep up with conversation with european union to stop the u.k. dropping out of the eu with no deal. a so-called hard brexit. and rely on well trade organization goals. >> kenneth prime minister sure is that the talks will continue and that she will not listen to those sometime want talks to stop after going onto these roles? >> she was there to her guns and fall to have confidence that the only people undermining her from the side are people who are threatening to get into the lobbyist with labour party. when is the prime minister going to face down the idea that is in from the safety

of this daily homes and their shadows and their inherited that note go that they know would diffuse damage to this, leave the u.k. weaker and leave our opposition in the was much smaller. this is the certainty and we need all the details of our future and present relationship and any transition to the for the end of the year. it is absolutely critical that we stay in the single market and the customs union. it is the foreign secretaries attempt to be helpful in the european council this morning by approaching shakespeare, including this in the affairs of men which will lead on to fortune from julius caesar which was uprooted by brutus who went on to stab his later. -- leader.

>> i always welcome literary and , he and ireferences are both working to ensure that we get the right deal when we leave. -- she wasn't the only member of the government patient conflicting pressures. the brexit secretary was consistently pushed to release more information to parliament. at the start of november, mps backed the labor move to make the government show the commons by the committee a series of anti-studies on the effects of the eu. the reports related to 58 different sectors in the u.k. including the nhs. ministers had resisted publishing the studies saying that that could damage the u.k.'s negotiated position. use and of skewer parliamentary procedure to make the government released the papers. >> looking at this that i have here, two things are obvious,

the first is that in many ways, it is unremarkable and could and should have been published months ago. the second is that the wide range of sectors analyzed demonstrate why do so important for members of this house to see the impact assessment. of tillinggreat deal and throwing, the information was released but in an wasmplete form, david davis asked to appear before the committee, revealing that the impact assessment was not in fact impact assessments at all. let's answer to the question is no, the government has undertaken any practices this was never sectors of the british economy. one on then't reporting sector. aerospace?e on no? one on financial services question mark doesn't it strike services?ancial

does it strike you that the government takes on impact assessments from all sorts of you just told us that the government hasn't undertaken any impact assessments at all looking at the impact of the sectors. >> the first thing to say is that when the sectors were initiated, they were done to understand the effect of various options. what the outcome would be. you don't need to do an impact assessments, april impact assessment to understand that if there is a regulatory hurdle between our produces and a market that they will have an impact, they will have an effect. it is not as straightforward as people have made it out to be, i'm not a fan of economic models because they have all been proven wrong.

>> this is away from westminster, the brexit talks continued in mid-october, the eu to you negotiators said not enough progress had been made to move onto the second phase of the brexit talks. which among other things would look at our future trading relationship. progress had been made on the eu nationals and the brexit, a method of money the u.k. will pay on exiting the eu. but one sticking point remains, how to avoid the return of a hard-fought. this still had been done at the start of december but those hopes were targeted by the democratic union as party leader she made it fair to theresa may that she would not accept a deal. so after some frantic telephone diplomacy, a compromise was finally reached a few days later.

in the early hours of the morning, theresa may appeared in brussels alongside the european commission president jean-claude juncker to announce that his deal had been struck. aligning progressions for phase two. returning home, theresa may made a long-awaited statement, signed in britain's negotiators had argued robustly for the outcome that was achieved. >> a roof -- there and several deal that will guarantee the right of more than 3 million eu citizens sitting in the u.k. and a mailing u.k. nationals living in the eu so they can carry on living their lives as before. a fair assessment of the accounts, meaning all rights and the party member state in the spirit of our future partnership. and a community maintain the common travel area with island to uphold the belfast agreement info and to avoid a hard order to northern ireland and ireland while uploading the constitutional and economic question one then

nothing would be agreed until everything was agreed. this deal was good news all around. to worry sod news far down and tortures negotiations, it was never going to happen, it is good people who -- good news for people who voted remain. we will do so and a smooth and orderly way, securing a special partnership with our friends while taking back control of our borders, money and was once again. that is why is this government's mission, on friday which is a big step toward achieving it and i commence this statement. >> 18 months on from the referendum result, the prime minister has through phase one of the negotiation. straight through after 18 months, two months later than planned with many of the key

aspects of phase one still not clear. this weekend, cabinet members have managed to contradict each other and some have managed to go even farther and contradict themselves. last week, we have a humiliating scene of the prime minister being forced out of the original deal by the dep. the government had to rewrite the agreement so as to reach the gop's approval. we really have to wonder who is running the u.k. -- is it eileen foster or the right honorable member from here. agreement, of this in the event of a deal, the event of a deal, northern ireland will not be separated politically, economically or by theregulatory -- along with hardware on island but in the event of no overall deal, nothing is agreed.

can i suggest to the prime minister that in order to strengthen leverage on the next phase of negotiations, she may want to suspend tribal politics and invite the leader of the and his front bench colleagues to join her whateverng team since the difference, they agree with her on the fundamentals of brazen and withdraw from the single markets and customs union, this has captivated the and made major impact assessments i do not exist. the whole thing would be paid. this is the secretary contradicting him at the weekend saying that it would be conditional on a trade deal. here he is commenting on the alignment. he has dismissed this as a statement of intent. she can't even get her pregnant secretary to agree with her then

how on addition going to get a good deal that protects jobs and growth in this country? >> phase one of the talks concluded that but can teresa talk them up as a triumph? let's talk to prisoners in who we join any threat the program. >> how will theresa may be when she comes out of this. >> i think if you tell your idea in the direction of dentistry, wherever you were watching or listening around the u.k., you could hear the size of relief because there is a huge sense that they're going to the point where they can move on to phase two -- this was the key thing that they said they wanted to do by christmas so they managed to do it. yes, there was a huge amount of noise about brussels and that phone call from the dep leader eileen foster and mrs. mae having to trudge back to the u.k. without having a deal and then there being weak telephone diplomacy before going out and getting a deal. embarrassments, they

were in the house of commons but the trimester set in that newspaper articles wrote that she got to where she set out to get to at the outset. to that extent, i think she will be believed. it did take actually ages to get there and what did that tell us? >> it took ages, it took longer than originally thought because this was broken and crucial to remember, not everything in the basal discussions is resolved, the barrier was sufficient progress. it doesn't mean that it is all done, there are still huge questions around the irish border, there is the agreement at the border should be soft but there isn't much of an agreement yet about his fbi go about achieving that. you, it is atells mighty complicated business trying to a not a relationship

that has gone back a generation. that is before we get to what many people would think there would be an even more complicated discussion. it wants its push to look like this, this is the negotiation so they can get what they want to achieve. >> are the any closer to knowing what theresa may wants to know out of all of this in the end? are, some ofhey them are not sure what they want. she's been the ultimate pragmatist, she is listening and observing the views that are expressed with in her government , when in parliament and the country to try to come up with a pragmatic solution that the country can accept, the tricky thing and this is the essence of the whole challenge politically, referendums are divided, they are binary, they are forced -- it is a black-and-white moment. the policies after a referendum is sort of great and the prime

minister's task is to try to find some source of solution around brings it that is acceptable for those who voted for brazen. not a watering down of what they would want and insensible to the 48% who are on the losing side of the referendum and that is mighty hard. because copper misers guarantee that some people will be disappointed. >> we will come back to later in the program but for now, thank you very much indeed. >> is take a look at some other stories from around westminster in brief. as a has been described tragedy unprecedented in modern times, the fire that swept through great belltower left 71 people dead. blaze was thought to have began accidentally on a flat on brought 250r and it firefighters from across london. aftermath, youe can see them rally rent to provide shelter for those affected and relief centers were set up his -- to accept

donations was flooded in across the capital. six month on, a memorial service is held in london. it was attended by the prime minister and members of the royal family. the before christmas, community secretary came to the funds to update mps. >> the council has been tasked with finding places to live for 207 households from grenfell counter and breadth of law, today, 144 households, almost 70% have accepted an offer of temporary or permanent accommodation. we have all been very clear that we should move at pace of the families involved and that nobody should be rushed were pushed into making a decision that went to live. but to have someone families, including some children still living in hotels and other emergency accommodations six month after the tragedy is not good enough. >> the exotic overseas taxpayers had the headlines with the government accused of cracking

down on the biggest tax scandal of a generation. it followed revelations by the millions ofm as late financial specimens known as the paradise papers showing how many were being selfish and taxes legally avoided overseas. >> does the government not recognize that the ordinary taxpayer hearing this news is utterly outraged -- if you are rich or if you are a business, you can avoid tax for schemes of an industrial scale. they are protected by lack of transparency. commission said it was conceivable that the bombing of a pop concert at manchester urban inmate could have been avoided. men hadd mps that the been a former subject of interest. nine other attacks had been averted since march. the government has rejected for meche in plans that

offer to treat a number of conditions such as internal organ prolapse and incontinence. high numbers of women have become to come forward claiming the procedure has degraded and lessons -- left and debilitating pain. >> this will explain the it won'tas she stated, stop, the mesh is never fully removed and it means that the mesh will stick and adhere to all of the blood vessels, creating lifelong injuries. >> mesh still is the best product for treating stress incontinence. i can give advice to members today but we will wait to the end. doubt mr. was back in the commerce to tell mps that the cap on social care -- it is coming to a head in four years time.

72.5 thousand pounds on an individual's character was brought because of the recommendations in 2011. it had already been put in as a parliament. now they will be a first consultation on the future system of social care. >> we will not be taking over the previous to implement this meant a cap in 2020. >> is no good for the minister to say that the government is consulting on these caps, they consulted on this during the general election and their proposals were rejected by the electorate. >> will my children be suffering the same level of mr. about my care costs. and yet, my heirs to inherit this --

>> minister. it summarizesll, neatly one of the debates that we have to have which is how we ensure that people can achieve care when they needed and that it will be paid for while at the same time achieving intergenerational fairness. initiate that as mps and peers hope that the government makes changes universal credit. this is the aim of civil find the system and making it easier for people to get into work. supported the idea, it was a growing chorus of concerns about the six week wake their claimants received first payment. opponents say this was pushing people into debt. jeremy corbyn took up the charge at prime minister. >> the roll out of universal credit is already causing debt,

poverty and homelessness. the prime minister except that he would be irresponsible to press on, regardless question my quest theresa may explained why the change had been introduced. >> what we want is a welfare system that provides a safety net to those who need it that helps people to get into the workplace, helps people to earn more and to provide for themselves and their families. >> the discontent growing caused a debate demanding a cord and the benefits rollout. thenservative rejected suggestion that his party didn't understand the problem people face. >> my father died at an early doors, have this on the that wasn't any support, we do understand the importance of right -- providing opportunities, that is politics. that is why has afford universal credit and i don't want to see it being paused because it does offer a transformation of opportunity for people. >> i want to say to the benches

opposite, nobody is lying about her experiences. we are coming to you with genuine problems that the government is failing to face. >> people were worried about the impact of the change. >> one man visits from men's church with a disabled son, she was moved onto universal credit and waited seven weeks for her money. that sheone of my 30 took paper neck and from it comes because she was unable to afford toilet paper. her son's condition means that he wears nappies which she was also unable to afford. can any of us imagine the stress and the indignity of such a situation? >> mps voted for the government to cut away from payment although mps from the government did not take part in that boat. later, they announced in the fish that money can be paid directly to landlords and largest us can be

replayed more slowly. >> we are now offering a balanced package of inclusions ensuring after support for those who need it fast. demand thaton to this was about the benefits being released to the committee that deny the work of the department. a meeting campaigner reminded mps why he fought for the policy to be changed. >> on friday, this was the most brilliant and thought to be unnecessary organization, reports of the family coming in, is hot -- of husband, wife and young child, the child was crying with hunger, the family was fed. the father said it had been a lucky we for him because neighbors had taken pity and invited him to a funeral so that they could finish off the food after the other funeral guests had been said.

>> i don't know what to start after that. >> no government is perfect, no benefit system is perfect, note -- no debate no motion but we were together to make this better. allen, with prizes dominating the agenda at westminster, are issues like universal credit so that under the radar as politicians and pundits -- chris mason is back with me. is there a long list of policies that are not getting the scrutiny you would expect? frustrates, it is what we would be talking about a present wasn't happening, if the results of the referendum had been equal and opposite, it was still have been a row that our place in the european union which is the referendum we had been equal but have been a would substantial chunk of the population arguing that our relationship hasn't changed but it wouldn't have been as big a

moment obviously as the referendum results were. what is really striking is the extent to which in this postcode of westminster, but a most civil service or politicians or advices or journalists, collectively, the vast majority of their headspace is taken up by brings it day in and day out. that means all sorts of other issues that we are not this -- used to. one topic is dominating everything, then we get coverage and universal credit is a huge and radical and controversial reform of the welfare system and that is one of those issues that we saw briefly at the tail end of the en making some headlines. but nowhere near the night of headlines that it would have made simply because brings it is the default topic that westminster talked about for the moment, is the bigger challenge journalistically for those recovering and on the one hand, for some thing like bridget, and

the macro sense, is a vastly important moment but on a day to -- often be aso little but urgent, it can be dull. ofen, from the perspective the viewer with a listener, it doesn't seem to move very far in the course of the day so that is a really big challenge and i speak to mps as somewhere frustrated, this frustration is shared by their party of topics that matter to people every day, whether the universal credit for this bundle of the hospitals, they aren't getting the amount of the attention i the journal of -- joseph lieberman terms of legislation. >> we will return to a little bit later in the program. >> you are watching westminster interview with me also mccarthy. an't forget, you can find daily roundup of all the goings-on in the comments and on the committee corridor every weeknight on bbc parliament at 11:00. or you can catch up by the bbc.

now to one of parliament set pieces, the budget. this is a fire just him and they can against the backdrop of brings it and murmurings about decisions in the cabinet, the suggestion is that the chancellor's own was under threat. day began'sy the taking the traditional photo court out and 11. he was find by his junior administers but he lost the budget contained that all-important speech. photos, this is the short journey to the comments to unveil the plans. >> the chancellor spoke for an hour with an announcement on health spending, universal credit and stuff. investede already almost 700 million pounds in brings of preparations.

>> they found time as he drank a glass of water and made reference to two theresa may's troubled conference page when he handed her a offering to help. >> i did take the precaution of asking my right honorable friend. >> conservative mps roared but the next section of the speech was less lighthearted. as the chance the revealed the budget responsibility predicting slower growth in the coming years. >> regrettably, our productivity performance continued to disappointed. a few at each of the last 16 fiscal events. the productivity growth would return to its free practice trend of about 2% a year.

it has remained stubbornly flat. so, today, the revised that look for productivity growth, business investment and gdp growth across the forecast. >> the want to present up and came when philip hammond said tore would be 44 billion meet the target of building 300,000 new homes each year by the middle of the next decade. >> with today, for all of us tried to buy our purchases up to 300,000 pounds, i am abolishing that. when the din had died down, he said that would be a cut to 95% of all first-time buyers who pay that duty. so it doesn't apply in scotland. but it is down to the leader of the opposition, not the shadow chancellor to reply for the budget. the little time to absorb the announcement seems to be one of the toughest parliament three occasions. jeremy corbyn said the test of

any budget was how it affected people's lives. now lower than it was in 2010 and wages are now falling again. in the firstth three quarters of this year is the lowest since 2009. and the slowest of the major economies in the g7. >> german corpsman said over a million photo people were not getting the care they needed and he reacted angrily to a heck of a conservative mp. >> over 6 billion would have been cut from social care budget by next march. i hope the honorable members begin to understand what it is like to wait or social care stuck in the middle of the bed and people having to give up their work to care for them. >> and on housing, jeremy corbyn reckons he had heard it all before. >> the government promised 200,000 starter house three years ago, not a single one has

yet and built. not in those three years. we need a large-scale public program, thatg this government accounting tricks and empty promises. wrecks the snp reckons people in scotland would be worse off. >> before the was abrasive hit us, the starting position for millions of people is if we have already been struggling with nine years of austerity, the cuts being put in public services, the service is the public service workers in particular are feeling this squeeze. this is a budget to show the chancellor that is blind to what is going on and is behaving like a frightened rabbit caught in the headlights. , while manyord recent budget has unraveled in the days after the chancellor speech, and while this one contained if you dramatic headlines, it did not stick together, this was to the relief

of theresa may and her party managers. so where does that leave philip hammond's? many reckon was in danger of being reshuffled. >> this is an extreme near here, he is one of the few conservatives who can point have a general election is actually good news for him because the widespread expectations tramped during the campaign when 20 people thought that theresa may was going to come back with the majority. he thought philip hammond would be quietly shut out and would disappear and be fired. thearely featured at all on campaign trail, much to his public frustration as it bounced afterwards, he felt the conservatives should have really pushed what was a strong and of the economy during the campaign, that didn't happen and he was parceled up and barely saw the light of day but he survived as chancellor and what was really striking with the buildup to the budget was that it was pretty easy to fight conservative mps and not just disagree with them on brexit where he is

extensively came for a pretty close alignment with the european opinion after brazing. there is quite a few conservative mps who felt that -- to borrow a phrase that was used by david cameron, this was an ally chancellor in a digital age, but along came the budget and unlike the other samples budget by the previous four coming budget from early this year where he ended up inadvertently breaching a conservative manifesto commitment that they had to roll back on, this one seemed to hold water politically, even though the overall message which weren't even his numbers but the overall message around the numbers across the economy is concerned, we are pretty grim as a cell for a chancellor. >> it is one of the great offices of state but in the current climate, who would want the job? >> quite, here you are having a political discussion about the economy that is shaped by something that happened in political terms eons ago going over that to 2008 in the

financial crisis and the sense that that is still a huge driver in terms of how people perceive politics and people standard of living and the money in their pockets, the government is still living beyond its means, spending more every year than it is bringing in in taxes so that issue around the deficit is still there and all of the targets, first the coalition and then the conservatives sent down to try to eradicate and keep pushing further and further and further back and yet, that fall, the chancellor still has an issue when he comes out, there isn't that much. having to put beside a set load of money for rising. >> millions of pounds were said to be set aside for brides it, it will be potentially quite an offensive business, the argument for government is that it will necessarily have to be spent, that has to be put up and parceled up for basic expenditure, the overall one is

that in the long run, they could be economic benefits, this is something that is highly controversial to be argued forth. but basic, yet again, even though we are in a conversation about the budget, brazing is the topic that creeps into every single discussion about politics. >> we will be back with the one less time in the program but for now, thank you. philip hammond wasn't the only one making a budget statement this autumn. the scottish parliament has increasing power over how money is spent and for the last year are so has had the ability to bury those of income tax. draft budget,s the finest secretary outlined is on plans to help first-time buyers. for the most eye-catching announcement, this proposal increases taxes for higher earners. raise over 160 million pounds to help fund public sectors at the pay rises and health spending. >> these have enabled me to reverse the real thought that

westminster has afforded until next year while ensuring that for the is not just text part of the cable for the majority of taxpayers. >> the message of this budget is simple, don't be ambitious, don't be hard-working, dumpy youessful, we will penalize for our failure to grow this economy. the truth is, scotland needs real and radical change, not tinkering around the edges. and it should be based on the principle and it should be based on the principle from each according to their means, to each according to their needs, a penny on the top just doesn't do it. >> by adding new rates and vans, we showed that we can raise

additional revenue for our public services while reducing tax at the bottom and of the income scale, not at the top end as the conservatives of the up a government steam to continue to want. this budget does not do enough to meet the long-term needs of the economy, it does not include the transformation of investment in education that we argued for. look at take another the news in brief. the international development secretary resigned over on authorizing israeli officials, she was ordered back from an unofficial trip to africa by the pm and driven straight from the airport to explain herself. she had already apologized for holding unauthorized meetings in august with israeli politicians including benjamin netanyahu but later emerged that she had to further meetings without government official presence. she resigned saying that it has been a privilege to work as international developer and

secretary. britain is proud of it special relations with the united states but the election of president trump has caused a few bumps along the road. the president's decision to recognize jerusalem as the capital of israel, reversing decades of u.s. policy outraged many mps who want it could set the peace process act by decades. and his reach winning of an anti-is on nvidia led many to demand that a future visit to the u.k. by the president be called off. watch president donald trump was wrong to retrieve videos posted by far right groups. >> when we look at the wider picture, the relationship within the u.k. and america, then i know how valuable the french of is between our two nations. >> one of the key dangers is that we have actually no idea what the president was a were tweet next and before he visits

so what does the ashley nee to say or tweet before the idea of a state visit is dished want and for all? invitationker, an has been extended and accepted but the dates and the precise arrangement have yet to be agreed. >> trumps role in the road came up when north korea -- that it would fire a missile over japan and has tested a nuclear weapon that could be loaded onto a long-range missile. >> i disagree with the government closing up to donald trump. but if there is to be any value in those actions, surely the foreign secretary should do's -- use his influence to make donald trump use his talking instead of sending tweets into what is a fragile and precarious situation. disagreely must powerfully with the honorable eddie say that this crisis has

been whipped up by the americans or by thepresident white house, when you look at their history, not just in last year but over the last 10 years and 30 years, this has been a movement toward the acquisition of further nuclear weapons by a rogue state. talks to end the deadlock failed again in november. forcing the northern ireland secretary jasper can charge to intervene although he stopped short of re-imposing direct rule. wascottish labour leader taken by surprise when she announced that she was stepping down after two years on the job. she later got into hot water with her party after dropping edinburgh for australia. she was replaced by richard who

was a former labour mp and he took the top job. labor is now the lot -- the third largest party in hollywood behind smp and the conservative. westminster once again found itself at the center of the scandal as allegations of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior emerged. several mps found themselves under investigation by the parties or in some cases, the police. and early casualties with the defense secretary michael fallon, he quit in november saying that his behavior may have fallen short of the standards expected by the u.k. military. he told the bbc that what had been a sensible 10 years ago is clearly not acceptable now. the prime minister later announced that parliament is to have an independence grievance procedure to deal with some complete about harassment and abuse. the leader of the commons explained the next step. >> this is a new system that

should provide support, advice and action on a wide special of complaints around bullying and harassment. we will do everything in our power to ensure the solution is transparent, fair and effective. >> just before christmas, theresa may suffered another blow when she lost her third cap administer within two months. she sacked her closest political ally and the men who was effectively a deputy after a government inquiry found he twice made inaccurate and misleading statements about the discovery of pornography on his parliamentary office commuter -- computer. he has denied down autobiography but admitted he should have been clear that police had spoken to him and his lawyers about the material. it,let's go back to raise we saw earlier in the programs the delicate balancing act the prime minister was trying to strike to keep her party together and make progress in talks with the rest of the eu. but there was an equally tricky

highway act to navigate westminster is up as ministers tried to push through what had originally been called the great repeal bill and now went by the rather more modest title of the eu withdrawal bill. it reveals the european community act of 1972 which took us into the european community. tostepped up the process transfer the current eu laws into u.k. lot so that the -- legal system doesn't collapse after brexit. firsthe bill had his debate in the comments, the minister explained why it was needed. >> cordially, this bill is an essential step and what it does not take us out of the european union, that is the article 50 process, it does ensure that on the day we leave, businesses know where they stand, workers rights are upheld and consumers remained protected. as weill is ensuring that leave, we do so in an orderly left -- orderly manner.

this bill is a technical exercise converting eu law into our low without raising any serious educational issues about the role of parliament. nothing could be further from the truth. is parliament summoned her. this bill tends to destroy. the truth is this bill was not going to be here because the government started the negotiations without clear objective or outcomes and advocates no bill deal. this input isn't enough, they ignore only as a site -- in the absence of mechanisms to replace admonishing and

enforcing those in the commission and easyjet, they would be left with zombie legislation, it might be the statute but it is not unenforceable. >> the argument against this all say that this is heartthrob, it is quite clear from what ministers have said, what the legislation has said, the restrictions of their best, that is not the kids. first of all, it enables the eu to be dropped into this apartment where it eventually -- if it is not appropriate, -- after line by line scrutiny, there were two other issues that bubbled to the surface. program, -- one of the key sticking point was how to do with the border's -- between mother island and the republic. as they got down to the detail of the eu withdrawal bill, one arrived in mp and midi plate for

the present was of the friday agreement to be preserved in the bill. speech, she reports out of the trouble had affected her family and community. it put forward an amendment which she said was designed to protect the principle of mutual respect for all. up on a 50 acre farm west. this is a number of people who were murdered both catholic and bytestant by the ira and loyal parliamentary's as well. this is still the open door and the booby trap. deal, weezerof no in the face a hard order and

dissident republicans will and u.k.ficers officials out of here. >> they weren't able to persuade mps including some of their own on another. department,s his notparliamentary vote by come until after march of 2019, the uk's intended exit date. the ensuing outrage funded a compromise for david davis in the comments saying that he would report a separate bill. this gives mps a chance to fend for in detail. this is during detailed scrutiny of the eu withdrawal bill, 74

minutes that put down an amendment demanding that a meaningful vote the written into law. parliament he argued should have a say on how he left the eu. >> the most worrying aspects of the debate is how we have become polarized that we felt completely, we look at the top of the mountain, we don't look where we are going to put our foot next. has got to take place before the british government has committed itself to the terms of the treaty like agreement that is entered into with the other members. >> the valley of this bill is that it would allow ministers to start implementing it withdrawal agreement through secondary legislation and wouldn't it allow ministers to do so even notre parliament has endorsed the withdrawal agreement. >> we are recovering from a situation whereas mirrors of the european union, we had happy

decisions, lock stock and barrel so this is a massive improvement and to address this attempt to it is rubbish.it this was nothing but can't. somehow, any attempt to disagree with the way in which this bill is brought up is somehow a betrayal of brings it, what rubbish. conservative fear that parliament are both on the details would just try to process out. >> that the treaty is not right in the eyes of this parliament, a couple of months could turn into a couple of years and indeed, in some cases people would like it to be a couple of decades. and when she talks, about a meaningful vote, what about the meaningful vote of the people of this country who last june voted

to leave the european union? >> surely made to give it does quickly as possible to deliver what they voted for. >> the government did offer a last-minute concession to come back to the issue at the next date of the bill's consideration. but it was too little to it for the rebels until the government suffered its first defeat on the bill by just four votes. >> the eye to the right, 309 -- 305. >> so, the government headed into the christmas recess with a legislative hangover which it will try to cure in the new year. but what does all this tell us about the face of westminster's biggest party? much of the focus has been on the internal divisions of the conservative party, meaning labor parties have not come in

for a detailed scrutiny. one, labor hast struggled to come to a position on brexit. were speaks to what we saying much earlier, when you have a referendum which is binary in black and white, it was like little parties which are inevitably broad churches, we have seen that in labor as well, spending much of the, senior figures contradicting one another and contradicting themselves about the outlook on brexit and what was quite striking was during the general election campaign, broadly speaking, they seem to be able to profit from sounding a little ander toward european union the conservatives were, even though there are internal contradictions that come within the conservatives, that was possibly a factor i think in helping them along in some states in the general election and it report, they managed to benefit from one of the few joys of opposition which is that you get as much

scrutiny as the government, particularly as it is tried to as acute that is your defining and when the government is ripped with its own divisions. >> that is what i want going to ask, does ashley matter if labor is constantly shifting given that they are not in power and the government is struggling to come to a point that it has. >> it doesn't matter as much, that is the blunt reality, it doesn't matter as much is what the government's position is but as labor spokeswoman and men and women will causally point out, given the power of the states and the government in terms of the numbers, given that theresa may is light on the dp to get stuck through the comments as we have seen, that means that you lose in the house of commons sometimes. it is not impossible to imagine a scenario where in 2018 there was a general election and it is also not impossible you look at the opinion polls and not as ahead which was because an apple point ahead, it is entirely possible that jeremy corbyn

could be prime minister and in that instance, it would matter. >> just a moment about german corvus positions, the amazing transformation that there has been over the last 12 months and you say it is possible he could be prime minister. his position as labour leader is actually unavailable for this future. toyes, and i have been able answer that question definitively with one word, it is extraordinary given where we were a year ago. it was really striking comparing this conservatives of 2017 with one of 2016. in 2016, jeremy corbyn featured a conservative status as the but of a joke, in 2017, he was in there for them, a genuine threat and if you're that he was going to be the next prime minister which is the ultimate cop meant for him from them. he has been politically transformed and you can see it in his demeanor, he appears more confident, lest he and his team thought they would do better than many people thought they would but this is that what they

thought they were going to achieve at the general election, he is going nowhere until he decides he doesn't want to do the job. >> theresa may at the end of the, theresa may looking anything apart from strong and stable. >> it has been a horrible year for her, the biggest single political gamble she has ever taken backfired with the election results and going backwards as opposed to a big leap forward. is thatuseful for her she has got to the point in a brazen negotiations that she promised she would buy the state and crucially, there is no obvious successor. so, that puts conservatives up at thea leadership, moment they will be doing so in the middle of the brazen negotiations and in be very easy for critics to say that they were navelgazing about their own futures as opposed to be concerned about the future of the country, both of those factors could be remarkably important in keeping through this theresa may as prime minister for quite a while yet. >> think you for joining us to

run the program. finally, there was one piece of news with politicians on all sides were able to unite this unite and offer their very best wishes, prince harry had become engaged to american actor meghan markle. the couple made the announcement at the end of november, congratulations poured in from around the world. the couple are set to wed on may the 19th in the round of wins -- >> and that happiness brings us to the end of this edition of the program. join us on the eighth of january when parliament returns and we will be back with our daily roundup of westminster. for now, best wishes from all of us through the new year and from me, goodbye.

vice prime minister's questions returns live, january 10 at 7:00 a.m. eastern on c-span two. and you can also go to c-span.org and find video of past prime minister's questions and the british public appearance programs. have a discussion on the impact of white house chief of staff host: good morning, mr. whipple. start off with the term gatekeepers. put it into context as we talk about white house chiefs of staff, both present and form.