iain duncan smith, the existing... iain duncan smith, the creator, says it is a great reform.has been speaking out against the delay, actually? really? it is his delay. they have had seven yea rs it is his delay. they have had seven years to sort this out. we have heard these reports about these conversations going on, arguments, debates within the treasury, and it was meant to be iain duncan smith's baby, he was passionate about welfare reform, but what i heard was that the money was simply not forthcoming from the treasury, which ended up in something massively problematic in the way it was finally delivered, and i think that is one of the reasons iain duncan smith cited as the reason for him to leave that post, but it is unacceptable that you have this six—week wait, these are the most vulnerable people you are dealing with, and i cannot see how there cannot be a turnaround needed. with, and i cannot see how there cannot be a turnaround neededm with, and i cannot see how there cannot be a turnaround needed. it is a warning from the chief executive of virgin money on the fin

actually, this is a 20 year score with iain duncan smith.hat the score is over. this is all going back to the maastricht treaty, which is ancient history for most of us. but on the back of the black wednesday debacle when the uk was forced to drop out of the exchange—rate mechanism, there a huge push by the eurosceptic wing of the conservative party, and one of the leaders of that was a little—known backbencher from east london called iain duncan smith, who has subsequently become leader of the conservative party, albeit somewhat briefly. and in a series of rather candid but off the record briefings, comments which we re record briefings, comments which were captured by a broadcaster, by broadcasting cameras and microphones, john major referred to iain duncan smith and his colleagues as illegitimate, shall we say, to put it politely. so he is targeting the universal credit space. and he is saying it is unkind and unworkable. a lot of people would have sympathy with that view. but it also doesn't feel like the story of the day at the moment.

this happened in 2014 when david cameron tried to move iain duncan smith, then secretary of state forand pensions but iain duncan smith said no, i'm not moving, either put me on the backbenches or i'm and david cameron backed down and said leave me where lam. backed down and said leave me where iam.| backed down and said leave me where i am. i think theresa may won't do that given the caustic quotes we have here. the ft, debt and liquidity levels in danger global economy, a headline we could have read about nine years ago. it's amazing, ten years on from the crash and we are back where we started. wolfgang schoenberg, the german finance minister, leaving after a long run, off to be the speaker of the bundestag after the recent elections, he is warning debt, both public and private, is that very worrying levels here and it's a warning to other leaders saying don't be fiscally irresponsible, don't be fiscally irresponsible, don't let this debt pile up and run away but it is easy for him to say because he doesn't have to do it for one. germany is in a very healthy financial position, hug

he said that people like iain duncan smith, john redwood, the eurosceptics, were destroying the party party and destroying his leadership, so of course people do think he is quite bitter about that, and he is now saying, you know, it is time to get strong with these, and he is having a real pop at iain duncan smith. so is itjust old feuds coming back to the fore? he says the tory policies are too timid. what you want is a home secretary talking about the nasty... oh, no, she is prime minister now! it is interesting, this, emerging from certain people within the conservative party, saying, why are we seemingly aping labour's policy? if we can't shoot their fox totally, what is the point of taking potshots at it? the tories are always going to struggle to beat labour on their heartland issues. the tory brand is strong when it is the economically sensible... portraying itself as the steady hand at the tiller, but if thatis steady hand at the tiller, but if that is not possible, given the chaos of the last three months. we will go back to the times, i was listening to radio 4, any questio

let's go into this with iain duncan smith hoof supported —— let's big iain duncan smith supported brexithis. the office has a track record, the same paper as i recall had another one before the election, another briefing given to them from apparently the president's office about much the same topic, the views and the prime minister at the views and the prime minister at the time and the rest of it. this appears again in a german newspaper, the same one. maybejean—claude juncker had directly nothing to do with it but am absolutely certain that it appears from all that is being said from journalists that his chief of staff in brussels, this is very much his kind of work. it may well have backfired on him. he denies it? he's probably done it. there's a lot about him now that is not very edifying, i have to say. he is turning the president of the european union into kind of trump like figure which is not very helpful in the course of these talks. he has denied it today as have mrjean—claude juncker. let's talk about the issues in parliament today, theresa may was revising what went on in bru

but tainted because of the botched introduction, a feeling that there were big rows between iain duncan smithith the introduction of it. and there is also a great fear, as you saw today, thatjeremy corbyn can make great hay of this, lots of videos going out from momentum. so the government was listening to the torah balls, we had that announcement from the prime minister saying the hotline would be free, and they are listening to the point being made by the tory rebels, can you reduce the waiting period from six weeks? they are listening very carefully, that the prime minister said that they would not be there for the labour vote and pausing universal credit. under other circumstances, you might think the prime minister would be happy to escape to europe! yes, big day, she will address 27 other leaders around the dining table, and she will take a letter to the 3 million eu citizens living in the uk, she will say, we want to make it much easier for you to stay in the uk, and you can be consulted. she wants to send a big signal so that we can move the trade talks. but as you are saying, theresa

universal credit was david cameron's flagship under iain duncan smith, this thing has crashed and computerst billions. and, now, here we are with this. people are depending on it. a bit of what donald trump is doing in america. if she doesn't get this out in time for people, she has been awarded this could be her poll tax, and we know what that means. she is facing a backbench rebellion over this just she is facing a backbench rebellion over thisjust at the she is facing a backbench rebellion over this just at the time she she is facing a backbench rebellion over thisjust at the time she is perceived to be weak and i think it will be an interesting budget coming up will be an interesting budget coming up on novemberthe will be an interesting budget coming up on november the 22nd because there will have to be an announcement on universal credit because even people who physically would sometimes use the words scroungers, people who don't disagree with the benefit system, fundamentally, think it is operating in an unfairway. fundamentally, think it is operating in an unfair way. the conservati

and edward boyd, managing director of centre for socialjustice, and a former advisor to iain duncan smithor coming in. can we get a bit detailed, because it is quite interesting. let's start with this seven—day period. you apply and nothing happens for seven days. it should go. we have been clear that at least a week should be removed. the government said they wanted to have a system that replicated real life in terms of work and waiting for a month before you got your first support, but this is more than that in six weeks. this... this is the sum of the six weeks and seven days. what was the thinking? when we originally designed this, there was no seven—day weight. there was no seven—day wait. i will agree on this. i don't think any government of any cover is thankful reforming welfare. labour trying to bring in tax credits in 2003, or this government with universal credit, one thing everyone is missing is, when this is fully rolled out, the estimate is 300,000 more people will be in work. that was based on 2014 — 15 data. that is disingenuous to say that, ed. 300,000 before, and that da

in a moment we will speak to the former conservative leader iain duncan smith.e. what can you tell us. another fault line but vicki young is here. what can you tell us. anotherfault line in the conservative party of the brexit. the cabinet meeting yesterday, we were not told officially but we understand from different cabinet sources that there was what was called a robust exchange was dubbed that is obviously a diplomatic wording for a pretty big row about this issue of contingency planning. the row was really all about how much preparation we do for a no deal scenario. and how much money you put behind that and crucially when you do it. philip hammond the chance are very much seen do it. philip hammond the chance are very much seen as do it. philip hammond the chance are very much seen as the standard—bearer for the remaining side of the argument when it comes to eu, to in an article in the times newspaper he said it's not willing to ta ke newspaper he said it's not willing to take money away from things like education and the nhs to put it into something at t

opposition, a prime minister, that they have to go and they got rid of margaret thatcher and iain duncan smithesa may be confident because the rebellion so—called of grant shapps and others has petered out, that she is safe? for now. that is the key. she is safe for the meantime that those mps, some of them, we do not know how many, with grant shapps in the last few days, remain frustrated and will do is time goes on. it will not take much for the frustration to bubble up and blow the lid of the simmering discontent among mps who cannot forgive theresa may for calling a snap election and losing the parliamentary majority as a result. and keeping a lid on it is the brexit negotiations and a fear they could be disrupted seriously if there is a change of leadership. also the fear of a general election that might happen as a result. also, the lack of consensus around who should take on the leadership, if theresa may goes. we are talking about two names, ruth davidson and borisjohnson. we will leave that as it is. going back to your point, they are names people talk about is possible contenders. da

decide it is indeed in opposition, the prime minister, they got rid of margaret thatcher and iain duncan smithy be confident that because the so—called rebellion of craft shops —— of grant shapps and others has heated out, she is safe with now. she is safe for the meantime. but those mps, we do not know how many, who were with grant shapps in the last few days, remain frustrated and will do as time goes on and it will not take much for the frustration to bob up and blow the lid of this discontent from mps who cannot forgive theresa may for calling a snap election losing the parliamentary majority. also keeping a lid on it is brexit negotiations and afear a lid on it is brexit negotiations and a fear they can be disrupted seriously if there is a change of leadership and the fear of a general election that might happen as a result, not necessarily, but who knows? and the lack of consensus about who should take on the leadership if theresa may goes. we are talking about two names, ruth davidson and boris johnson. are talking about two names, ruth davidson and borisjohnson. we will leave that as i

bad—tempered debate on universal credit, a labour mp compared the benefit to an amazon review of iain duncan smith'sbish, utter drivel, hilariously awful, and an outstanding compendium of bottom gravy. scottish conservative leader ruth davidson is swapping holyrood for paul hollywood. she will be appearing on the charity special of channel 4's great british bake 0ff later in the year. and the mp tim lawton has revealed he spends up to one hour in the bath each morning to compose his thoughts for the day ahead. talk about the westminster bubble. gary connor. now to some other westminster news in brief. inflation is at its highest level for five years, reaching 3% in august. but the bank of england governor mark carney told the treasury committee it would carry on rising, for now at least. we expect that inflation will peak around 0ctober, november figures and so peaking potentially above 3% level. you talked about inflation peaking in october. and others have said the same thing. voxel is owned by a french company and a factory in cheshire makes the astra model. icebergs model for the company said th

place next to theresa may on the government front bench when the conservatives‘ former leader, iain duncan smithions. on monday, my right honourable friend was very clear about her negotiation, that it remains the government's priority to get a very good free trade arrangement before we leave with our european friends and partners. she also made it clear that alongside that, we would make plans and arrangements, or necessary arrangements, to depart under world trade organization terms should no such agreement be available. could she confirm, then, that all monies necessary will be allocated as and when required to this project? i'm very to give my right honourable friend that confirmation. we are pairing for every eventuality, we are committing money to prepare for brexit, including a no—deal scenario. the public have witnessed the most extraordinary spectacle of the prime minister ramping up the no—deal rhetoric on brexit and backtracking on her commitment to stay in the single market and customs union for transition all because she is afraid of the most right—wing rabid elements in her own par

suggesting in this piece in the mail on sunday is dropping universal credit, the brainchild of iain duncan smithis is the legacy from the election, i suppose, really. theresa may, as one of her critics said, rolled the dice and kind of lost. she won the election but didn‘t get what she wanted, in terms of strengthening her position. she has been weakened ever since. this is going back to what we said before about boris. theresa may can be ruthless when necessary. she sacked george osborne when she came in as leader in a move that impressed everybody. apart from george osborne. yes, obviously. but she‘s not that strong position any more and nothing shows that more than the continued career boris johnson. peter, let's talk about something other than the conservatives. spain the constitutional crisis. a week ago we we re constitutional crisis. a week ago we were watching the referendum and police crackdown in catalonia, extraordinary scenes. the front of the observer has a picture of a protester in madrid with a sticker saying we talk? . a lot of demonstrations today in catalonia, in barthelemy, an

iain duncan smith, who knows about bruising conferences, believes theresa may faces high stakes this i believe she does have the wherewithal to be able to make this speech, to also give that leadership. theresa's speech will arguably be the most important leader's speech, prime minister's speech, to a conservative party probably since i can remember. so she needs to bring all of this together and show that we are focused, we are clear, we know where we're going on brexit, and we relish the challenge of the ideological debate with a marxist labour party. those are the two challenges facing us. we need to hit them both hard after this conference. so, the conference will liven up tomorrow when boris johnson delivers his no doubt loyal speech. i understand that the foreign secretary has spent most of today holed up in his hotel room here, because he fears that every time he walks along here to the main conference centre, he upstages the prime minister. the foreign secretary knew that his recent interventions on brexit would stir the pot. but he's told friends that things have got slightl

we had to have a bit of an operation by number ten and there was a planted question by iain duncan smithative party. he said the prime minister, will you give me an assurance all monies will be spent if necessary. the prime minister, i think she knew the question was coming, she had prepared a reply, i will give you that confirmation. this suggests there might be wider tensions, it's notjust necessarily philip hammond not getting the tone quite right. yes, there was what you might describe as a pretty tense discussion at cabinet on tuesday about brexit. as i understand, michael gove asked for regular updates on brexit preparedness. the reason for this is... he's working very hard. in a macro varies immense suspicion at the six strong cabinet subcommittee overseeing brexit negotiations. of those six, only two, david davis and borisjohnson are brexiteers, and the meeting that took place before the florence speech, boris johnson wasn't there. he was in the caribbean. he wasn't there, one of the things that inflamed boris johnson. standing for the national anthem has been part of the pre—gam

they talk about iain duncan smith, gordon brian lived on for three years.e survive, are you more gamy? she wasn't going -- aware that she is going -- >> she wasn't aware that she was going to survive anyway. was, exactlyalways when will she go? will it be before christmas? yesterday, christmas had gone up. no one had really anticipated she would be there for the next no one had really anticipated she would be there for the next election that was always in the price. . a political manusmanus: 55%, no. anna: >> in that could direction. there's a lot of negativity -- in that good direction. there's a lot of negativity surrounding it. anna: what is your base case of the politics, and how it intersects with the brexit timetable, jane? you throw in the question about how long she last and what would happen after she goes, whether we would end up in another election. you sort of try and map that onto the brexit timetable. it'll looks messy. >> that's right>>. there's a lot you have to do. that weakened position, if there is another election, the participators we w

say enough is enough, we will move to a transition, saw that happen, going from william hague, iain duncan smithby the time they get to the bottom of the slope. that point about the legislative burden, that‘s a very very relevant one. there is also the budget coming up, there is no money, the amount of money is minimal, the tories have tough and challenging fiscal rules. the bills accumulated since the last budget are enormous andl since the last budget are enormous and i was surprised to see them spending billions this week on announcements which did not get much positive publicity and some conservative mps and cabinet ministers were suggesting might have to be reformed. i don't know how they get through this, that's the problem. it probably unbridgeable gap on brexit. theresa may is a vassal prime minister with little authority around the top table. the question being asked is can she hang on or is she doing the kind of damage to the conservative party that you saw in the run—up to the 1997 election that put the tories out of power for 13 years? the more they look like it's the latter the quic

former cabinet minister iain duncan smith said businesses should stop worrying about the transitional to have another arrangement. there is no vacuum. have another arrangement. there is no vacuum. people talked about there being no free—trade arrangement, no deal rather than a deal. the fact is, it is a deal rather than a different deal. the eu have been resistant to talking about a free—trade arrangement which is locked in the wto as we lead. that would become a wee thing, the best soccer stars, providing it is a good one. the alternative is to leave under wto terms, which the rest of the world operates with the eu quite successfully, and that may or may not entail tariffs. the wto allows a derogation between parting countries like this, and they can arrange to have zero tariffs if they wish and access to services which don't have to be opened up to the rest of the world for ten years. it is feasible to leave under wto terms but still have a zero tariff regime agreed by both parties for a period while you both parties for a period while you both hopefully go on and negotiate a free—t

would say, that someone even before today had said to me this conference feels like it was when iain duncan smith giving him endless standing ovation, but they knew he was finish. we are not at that stage yet, but it is interesting that one tory mp has tweeted to say there are a small number of mps texting others asking what we thought of the prime minister's speech or circling above. one message, there is no vacancy at number ten. so, discussions one message, there is no vacancy at numberten. so, discussions will one message, there is no vacancy at number ten. so, discussions will be going on after today about whether she should be allowed to carry on and whether there is anyone willing to make a move against her. that's been the problem for them this week and today, of course, hasn't made it any easier. vicki young there. what would you say to the critics who say this is a met far for for the problems in her leadership?|j the problems in her leadership?” would be one of the critics. to quote another columnist from the guardian earlier, remembered that famous napoleon line, "bring me generals wh

how long has the eu got before the british government has to seriously consider that because iain duncan smithng brexiteers were saying unless there is progress and we have trade talks soon, we must be prepared to walk away. one of the most important sectors, right behind us, the city of london, the financial centre of europe. it was called the investment bank for the europe. it was called the investment bank forthe eu. 40% europe. it was called the investment bank for the eu. 40% of you wrote lending happens in london. a very important sector for the british economy and the treasury. they tell me that if we do not have at least a framework of a deal, including the implementation, you refer to it as a transition period but i would prefer to call it the implementation period. we will be implementing things, whether it is home office or treasury, but if we don't have that framework soon, in the neck sucks —— in the next six months, that is the timeline we're working towards.“ ita timeline we're working towards.“ it a matter of arguing tactics to increase pressure on the eu or are a growing numbe

. —— pay tribute to iain duncan smith.ntry it is already operating. the evidence is already clear. it is helping more people into work and it is helping more people in work to progress to better jobs. is helping more people in work to progress to betterjobs. delivering a simpler system that encourages work and supports aspiration. i understand concerns that have been raised when people first claim they have to wait six weeks or more before they receive a penny. it is the case that what you get in universal credit depends on what you learned in the previous month. payments are made in arrears. but i am determined to make sure that those who need support early in life will get it. it is already the case if people need help for the first full benefit payments they can quickly get an advance to help tide them over. increasing numbers of people claim this and sincejune of the majority of new claimants have done so. but i can announce today we are fresh in the guidance to make sure that anybody that needs an advance payment will

it came from iain duncan smith. it is an experiment that has gone badly wrong.ople are struggling with universal credit and this must be brought to a halt. struggling with universal credit and this must be brought to a haltm is worth pointing out what the housing associations for both kelly and brian say. one says that they are working with tenants to identify the pitfalls of this system and that includes advice such as encouraging te na nts to includes advice such as encouraging tenants to pay a bit extra into their rent account to build up funds to cover the shortfall. the other says that they advise customers wherever possible to pay a little extra into rent accounts, it is a financial safety buffer, should they need it. do you think, kelly, that the housing associations should be taking the hit on this, rather than people like you? ijust don't think i just don't think it should be enforced at all. i don't think anybody should have to suffer for this. what do you think, brian? i think the same. i am lucky because i have got christians against poverty helping

iain duncan smith is a prominent tory backbencher and former cabinet member and he says if no progressalk away from the negotiating table... where are you on the notion that in some ways it plays the great britain‘s hands do not redoing deals yet? inasmuch as as they talk more and more about walking away, the brinkmanship element of this is that the eu‘s negotiators will not want that either and at some point they will start to concede. true, but britain has more to lose from that than the eu and the prospect is that we could end up as a country with a no deal situation on subject to the world trade organization rules and a big economic shock to the economy. it wouldn't be ideal for the eu, but the damage that would cause would be far greater for britain. if you talk to eu diplomats, you've got to realise that all these governments have their own electorates and they already felt written had special treatment before brexit happened —— britain. and a lot of their voters don't feel very sympathetic towards britain's situation. so regardless of their road situation, the government is feel

iain duncan smith.ndly, could she explain that, during the course of her discussions, the private once she had, the ones which the acting president of the european union hasn't actually put into the papers, but her private discussions, could she say whether she reminded her collea g u es she say whether she reminded her colleagues in the eu that, to reach a properfree—trade colleagues in the eu that, to reach a proper free—trade arrangement, they will need to have concluded those discussions before the summer of next year, otherwise it will be difficult to get those through in time both in the eu or hair, and did she get an answer about when they might like to start? i think my right honourable friend, because he is right. as we have said, the point of the implementation period is to put in place the practical changes necessary to move to the future partnership and, in order to have that, you need to know what that partnership is going to be. i have in my discussions with other eu leaders raised the iss