David Cameron says the UK will consider
providing further security assistance at Calais
amid what he says are "unacceptable" scenes of migrants trying to board lorries heading across the channel
The prime minister clashes with Labour leader Harriet Harman
over cuts to tax credits and budgetary discipline
as he prepares to travel to Germany for talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel over his EU plans
After getting Paddy Ashdown's endorsement, Norman Lamb has also won the backing of Frank Bruno in his 12-round contest with Tim Farron for the Lib Dem leadership. In a tweet endorsing Mr Lamb, the former boxer has praised the Lib Dem MP's work during the last government to increase funding for mental health services and put them on the footing as physical health.
Lib Dem mayoral candidates
According to the
Lib Dem voice website
, six activists have applied to become the party's candidate in next year's London mayoral contest. They are: Duwayne Brooks, Brian Haley, Teena Lashmore, Caroline Pidgeon, Marisha Ray and Paul Reynolds. The website says a shortlist will be drawn up before party members in London get the chance to elect one of the candidates to represent them.
Paddy endorses Lamb
The former Liberal Democrat leader Lord Ashdown has endorsed Norman Lamb as the next leader of the party.
In a tweet, Lord Ashdown wrote:
European scrutiny committee
BBCCopyright: BBC
The BBC's Esther Webber understands there is no time frame for the work of the European Scrutiny Committee to resume.
Despite the opening weeks of this Parliament being dominated by all things European, the relevant committee must wait until its membership is agreed and the committee meets before a chairman is decided.
The European Scrutiny Committee – like many other Commons committees – is not elected by all MPs but by its members.
Conservative Sir Bill Cash, a prominent critic of the UK’s relationship with the EU, has been the chair since 2010.
He confirmed he will stand again for the chairmanship.
He told the BBC that after the last election in 2010, the committee did not meet until September, but he and other prospective members “are keen to meet and are trying to bring the process forward”.
The members are put forward by the different parties, but the Conservatives will have a majority on the committee as the party of government.The chairs of select committees elected by the whole House were announced last week.
Choice language
BBC's parliamentary correspondent tweets...
More on English Labour
Here are Iain Watson's thoughts on the prospects for a distinct English Labour Party, an initiative floated by Jon Cruddas in a speech earlier.
He writes:
Quote Message:
It would initially be set up as an informal group of MPs and councillors to ensure the voice of English representatives is heard but he hoped that it would become a formal part of the Labour Party at a later date. This could see Labour in Scotland, England and Wales campaigning on separate policies. Jon Cruddas told a meeting of the IPPR think tank that he favoured 'a more federated structure' for Labour. A meeting of MPs and council leaders discussed the idea at last year's Labour conference but put it on hold as the expectation was that an incoming Labour government would set up a constitutional convention. Amongst those at that meeting - which wasn't open to the press - were MPs Jamie Reed and Ben Bradshaw, and Manchester council leader Richard Leese."
It would initially be set up as an informal group of MPs and councillors to ensure the voice of English representatives is heard but he hoped that it would become a formal part of the Labour Party at a later date. This could see Labour in Scotland, England and Wales campaigning on separate policies. Jon Cruddas told a meeting of the IPPR think tank that he favoured 'a more federated structure' for Labour. A meeting of MPs and council leaders discussed the idea at last year's Labour conference but put it on hold as the expectation was that an incoming Labour government would set up a constitutional convention. Amongst those at that meeting - which wasn't open to the press - were MPs Jamie Reed and Ben Bradshaw, and Manchester council leader Richard Leese."
'In the bubble'
New Statesman editor tweets...
Discussion over dinner
AFP/Getty ImagesCopyright: AFP/Getty Images
A schedule for the two-day European Council summit released in Brussels has revealed that the UK's demands for reform will not be discussed at either of the two planned working sessions, which will focus on migration, jobs, growth, competitiveness and security. Instead, over dinner on Thursday, the EU's 28 national leaders will have, in its words, "the opportunity to listen to David Cameron in regard to the upcoming referendum in United Kingdom and the reforms he is seeking".
English Labour?
Jon Cruddas has reportedly said that a distinct English Labour party could be set up, similarly to Scottish Labour and Welsh Labour, in the wake of the party's disappointing electoral performance in England.
Labour List
reported the former shadow cabinet member as telling a meeting hosted by the IPPR thinktank that "we are going to do it and it will be imminent". Mr Cruddas apparently then added that it was "perhaps not something I should have said". Asked later about his apparent slip of the tongue, Mr Cruddas said: "It’ll be pushed along over the next month. It seems to me it will end up being put in the rule book like Scottish and Welsh Labour". But a party source has told the website that this is not "in any way official".
The language of Blair
Defeated Labour candidate tweets...
Following on from Alan Milburn, Jon Cruddas is the latest Labour figure to put the party's election defeat under the microscope at an event this lunchtime. Here is what Will Straw, one of the Labour candidates who failed to win a seat, thinks of what Mr Cruddas has been saying.
TUC 'open letter' to PM
PACopyright: PA
The TUC has written an "open letter" to the prime minister ahead of Thursday's European Council summit, where the UK's renegotiation and referendum plan for its EU membership will be formally discussed for the first time. TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady has written:
Quote Message: We respectfully request that you publicly confirm or deny that you are seeking to worsen existing rights and, at a time when casual employment such as zero-hours working is spreading across Europe, prevent the introduction of new ones that would protect workers against exploitation. Don't take working people for granted by demanding opt-outs from the workplace rights that Europe has delivered. British workers are already some of the least protected workers in Europe, well behind more successful economies like Austria, Germany and Sweden. But British workers do value the protections that they have. Our polling evidence shows that if you take rights away, working people are less likely to vote to stay in the EU." from Frances O'Grady
We respectfully request that you publicly confirm or deny that you are seeking to worsen existing rights and, at a time when casual employment such as zero-hours working is spreading across Europe, prevent the introduction of new ones that would protect workers against exploitation. Don't take working people for granted by demanding opt-outs from the workplace rights that Europe has delivered. British workers are already some of the least protected workers in Europe, well behind more successful economies like Austria, Germany and Sweden. But British workers do value the protections that they have. Our polling evidence shows that if you take rights away, working people are less likely to vote to stay in the EU."
PMQs sketch
PACopyright: PA
"Amal Clooney came to PMQs and stole the show". That's Andrew Gimson's verdict in his sketch for Conservative Home, suggesting David Cameron and Harriet Harman were both relegated to supporting roles.
Quote Message: She sat in the gallery opposite David Cameron, wearing a white suit and looking very cool and self-possessed, but not at all stand-offish. On several occasions she gazed towards the press gallery, which is not something a stand-offish person would do."
She sat in the gallery opposite David Cameron, wearing a white suit and looking very cool and self-possessed, but not at all stand-offish. On several occasions she gazed towards the press gallery, which is not something a stand-offish person would do."
Police try to move protesters
BBC NewsCopyright: BBC News
Traffic is backing up down Millbank in one direction and towards Parliament Square in the other as the Independent Living Fund protest continues at a crossing outside the House of Commons.
Police are trying to encourage them to move their protest off the road.
Jonathan Faull, one of the most senior British officials in the European Commission, has been given a new role as director-general of a task force "responsible for strategic issues related to the UK referendum".
Mr Faull, who will report directly to Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, has worked in the Commission for more than 30 years and was until recently the director-general in charge of the Internal Market.
He’s previously been director-general for justice and home affairs and in the early 1990s he was a member of the cabinet of then European Commissioner Leon Brittan
Protest outside Parliament
The protest inside Parliament may have ended but disability campaigners have now blocked the road outside. Approximately 10 wheelchairs have taken position in the middle of road, directly outside of the Parliament buildings
Commons protest over
BBCCopyright: BBC
This was the scene outside the Chamber as Prime Minister's Questions took placeImage caption: This was the scene outside the Chamber as Prime Minister's Questions took place
Scotland Yard says the protest in the House of Commons is over. One person and their carer were ejected from the Palace of Westminster for disorderly behaviour, but no arrests were made, we are told.
Grandstanding?
The World at One
BBC Radio 4
Labour's Emily Thornberry says there is uncertainty surrounding the EU referendum which is "a problem", particularly for businesses wanting to invest in the UK. Responding to Ms Soubry's praise of the PM, Ms Thornberry claims that before the election Mr Cameron "would storm out of meetings" and "grandstand". That brings the panel discussion to a close.
'Cameron's doing an astonishing job'
The World at One
BBC Radio 4
David Cameron's EU renegotiation aims are under discussion on the World . Conservative Anna Soubry says in 2010 she wasn't in favour of having an EU referendum but is now "very happy" for it to go ahead. When? Whenever is the right time, she replies.
The minister says she's in favour of the UK remaining in the EU, and praises the PM for doing "an astonishing job" with the negotiations. "It seems almost everything and anything is on the table," she says, adding that there is "a movement" taking place in Europe because many people know it has "got to change" if it is to survive.
Measurement 'doesn't make sense'
The World at One
BBC Radio 4
Conservative Anna Soubry says the best way to get people out of poverty is by growing the economy and getting more people into work. She also cites rises in the national minimum wage. She says the relative measurement of child poverty "doesn't make sense" as "it is not a genuine measure of poverty".
'Tackle the causes'
The World at One
BBC Radio 4
Conservative minister Anna Soubry says that changing the way child poverty is measured was under discussion in the coalition government,although no progress was made.
Quote Message: There must be a better way of measuring what is genuinely a problem so we can tackle the causes of it, not just the problems."
There must be a better way of measuring what is genuinely a problem so we can tackle the causes of it, not just the problems."
Child poverty measurement
The World at One
BBC Radio 4
There has been some debate today about how child poverty should be measured. David Cameron spoke earlier this week of an "absurd situation" where "if we increase the state pension, child poverty actually goes up".
Former Shadow Attorney General Emily Thornberry says she doesn't understand the government's point, as if pensions are going up why aren't child benefits? She says she's "suspicious" about the timing, with statistics about to be published showing child poverty "Is getting worse".
Asked whether it is it time for the government to abandon the net migration target, minister Anna Soubry tells the World at One: "No, not at all," and goes on to endorse the government's approach.
Small Business Minister Anna Soubry criticises the French authorities for "doing nothing" to protect the people in Calais, citing a case of a 14-year-old living in "squalor" in the camps. "It's a hugely complicated problem", she says, "but it is a French problem to solve, and we are helping them".
Labour MP and former Shadow Attorney General Emily Thornberry says there needs to be better security around the ports and the entrance to the Tunnel. If people are genuine asylum seekers "that's a different issue", she says, whereas economic migrants have "no right" to be in either France or Britain - and should be dealt with.
New responsibilities for hauliers
House of Commons
Parliament
BBCCopyright: BBC
Theresa May is still on her feet in the Commons answering questions about the situation in Calais.
She tells MPs that in the forthcoming immigration bill, expected later this year, the government will be looking at the issue of responsibilities for hauliers and other parties "to make sure our border in as secure as possible".
'Juxtaposed border controls'
The World at One
BBC Radio 4
Commenting on the situation in Calais, Tony Smith, former UK Border Force director general, says he "can't emphasise enough" the strategic importance to the UK border of having "juxtaposed border controls" in Calais and working "constructively" with the French.
Commons officials "only just managed to stop" protesters storming into the Commons chamber in the middle of prime minister's question time, says the BBC's Norman Smith, in the most "chaotic scenes in all my years of covering Westminster".
A group of about 20 people, some of them in wheelchairs, were protesting against cuts to the Independent Living Fund, in a "calm and perfectly reasonable" way when a "huge cheer went up" and they charged towards the MPs' entrance to the Commons.
- Norman Smith was delivering his One o'clock TV report from College Green, opposite the House of Commons, instead of his usual camera position because broadcasters had been banned from central lobby in the wake of the protest.
'Preventing people setting sail'
House of Commons
Parliament
BBCCopyright: BBC
The chair of the Home Affairs Committee, Keith Vaz, tells MPs that the issue is the Mediterranean, saying that once migrants get to Calais "it is too late". The Labour MP says that is why he welcomes the establishment of the government's new taskforce as "they are the key to preventing people setting sail in the first place."
He says the home secretary has his support in trying to ensure other EU countries bear their responsibilities as well.
Protest latest
BBC News Channel
Protesters tell BBC News that the MPs John McDonnell and Chris Law are negotiating with police in Parliament's central lobby.
Conservative MP Ken Clarke asks Theresa May if she agrees it's not possible for European countries "simply to ship back" people where they face death and oppression. He asks if work is being done to create civilised camps where people can be held while they are processed.
The Home Secretary tells him it is wrong to assume the people arriving are all refugees or have valid asylum claims. She tells Mr Clarke that many of the people crossing from Libya are economic migrants who are coming illegally into Europe.
The politics of benefits
The Daily Politics
The BBC's political editor Nick Robinson says major changes during the last Parliament which raised huge sums of money, such as raising the retirement age and pegging benefit rises to a different measure of inflation, caused "very little political fuss" while the single most controversial change, the introduction of the so-called "bedroom tax", generated very little money indeed.
In PMQs, David Cameron said 650,000 more people were being investigated for cancer. A GP makes an urgent two week referral if they suspect a patient might have cancer. Data from NHS England shows that in 2009/10 just over 900,000 people had an urgent consultant appointment after being referred by their GP. By 2014-15, this number had risen to 1.55 million (which, as the PM said, is an increase of 650,000).
'Breaking the link'
House of Commons
Parliament
BBCCopyright: BBC
Home Secretary Theresa May tells the Commons that EU Member states need to cooperate closely to deal with the problem of illegal immigration.
She tells MPs the most important step towards dealing with the situation was "breaking the link between migrants making this dangerous journey and achieving settlement in Europe."
Tax credits
The Daily Politics
Labour's Caroline Flint tells Daily Politics it is fair to have a discussion about whether in-work benefits, including tax credits, were "doing the job we want them to do" and whether, instead, employers need to be incentivised to provide a living wage to their staff.
'Calm down'
House of Commons
Parliament
BBCCopyright: BBC
David Cameron asks an MP to "calm down a little bit", causing a few gasps in the chamber.Image caption: David Cameron asks an MP to "calm down a little bit", causing a few gasps in the chamber.
PMQs review
The Daily Politics
Reflecting on Daily Politics on PMQs, the BBC's Nick Robinson says the session highlighted pre-Budget arguments about cuts to tax credits. He says the PM has "not denied he is going to do it" and the move will be "controversial" because many of those who receive tax credits are in work and the changes could leave them worse off.
Calais Urgent Question
House of Commons
Parliament
Shadow immigration minister David Hanson has tabled an Urgent Question on border management in Calais.
Home Secretary Theresa May is telling the House the French and UK government were well prepared for the extra pressure caused by the strike at Calais.
She says all vehicles are being searched and UK Border Force have identified a "significant number of would-be migrants".
Farage on Calais
UKIP leader Nigel Farage said:
Quote Message:
As a regular traveller by car through Calais, I've seen first hand a marked deterioration in the situation around the port. This will only get worse as huge numbers of people continue to cross the Mediterranean to Europe in response to a clear EU message that nobody will be sent back. The UK has become the number one destination of choice due to the size of our employment black market and the failure to deport 75% of caught illegal immigrants. David Cameron's words at PMQ's today will not deter a single illegal immigrant from trying to break into a car or a lorry."
As a regular traveller by car through Calais, I've seen first hand a marked deterioration in the situation around the port. This will only get worse as huge numbers of people continue to cross the Mediterranean to Europe in response to a clear EU message that nobody will be sent back. The UK has become the number one destination of choice due to the size of our employment black market and the failure to deport 75% of caught illegal immigrants. David Cameron's words at PMQ's today will not deter a single illegal immigrant from trying to break into a car or a lorry."
The final questions
Tory MP Antoinette Sandbach asked about the incidences of stillbirths. The PM says the government has taken some steps forward but more needs to be done. A Labour MP then suggests the government has a "double standard" in its attitude to wind farms and fracking. The PM rejects this, saying wind farms are a mature technology and it was right to end the subsidies early With that, the session come to an end.
New taskforce
House of Commons
Parliament
In response to a question from Tory MP Sarah Churchill, the PM said he had asked education secretary Nicky Morgan to chair a taskforce to reduce the risk of child sexual exploitation in care, saying that he is "not satisfied" that everything possible is being done.
Meanwhile, back in the chamber...
House of Commons
Parliament
While the protest continued, PMQs went on as usual. A string of Tory MPs raised the issue of faster broadband and mobile phone "notspots" in rural areas. Among Labour questions was one from Jack Dromey raising poor cancer diagnoses. In response to another question, the PM also pledges to publish data about the deaths of disability claimants and those who have undergone fitness-to-work tests.
Central lobby 'occupation'
Paula Peters from a group, Disabled People Against cuts, tells the BBC about 30 protesters are occupying the central lobby of parliament and refusing to move. She says it's a protest against the end of the Independent Living Fund. The group went in to lobby their MPs about the ILF.
One protester tells Norman Smith, pictured above, that the Independent Living Fund is "vital for the lives of disabled people". The government announced in June that the fund will be closed.
Foreign policy
Tory MP Crispin Blunt, the chair of the foreign affairs committee, raises funding for foreign policy and accuses the last government of a "clever wheeze" of transferring funding for the BBC's World Service from the Foreign Office to the broadcaster. Mr Cameron disagrees with the MP on that point but says that it is vital that the UK continue to support its foreign policy aims for moral reasons but also to project its interests. He adds that the MP will continue to speak out "without fear or favour".
'Spontaneous protest'
BBC News Channel
Norman Smith says it was a "spontaneous protest" as members of different disability rights groups protesting at changes to the Independent Living Fund - tried to get into the chamber, "before doormen managed to close the huge doors".
BreakingProtesters outside PMQs
BBC News Channel
The BBC's Norman Smith is in central lobby, just outside the entrance to the Commons chamber, amid extraordinary scenes.
He says the police were "caught completely by surprise" as protesters in wheelchairs tried to storm Prime Minister's Questions. There is chanting go on in the lobby just yards from where PMQs continues undisturbed.
In Hague's footsteps
House of Commons
Parliament
BBCCopyright: BBC
New MP for Richmond (Yorks), Rishi Sunak, asks a question and the Prime Ministers jokes about following in the footsteps of William Hague, which he says, "a number of us have found very difficult."Image caption: New MP for Richmond (Yorks), Rishi Sunak, asks a question and the Prime Ministers jokes about following in the footsteps of William Hague, which he says, "a number of us have found very difficult."
Renewable energy
An SNP MP accuses the government of neglecting the renewable energy sector in Scotland after it ended subsidies for onshore wind farms. The PM, unsurprisingly, disagrees.
Cycle safety
A change of subject here. Ben Bradshaw raises the issue of cycle safety in London after the death of another cyclist after a collision with a tipper truck. The Labour MP says a ban on such vehicles should be considered. Mr Cameron says much has been done to improve safety but that the number of fatalities is "very high" and the sight of "young lives being snuffed out" was a tragedy.
A series of economic questions follow on rail electrification in south wales and broadband and other infrastructure in North Yorkshire. Labour's Teresa Pierce then raises the case of families how have been affected by an epilepsy drug proscribed incorrectly in the 1960s. The PM says he is not aware of the case but as the father of a child which had epilepsy, he is aware of the concerns raised.
We are onto backbenchers' questions now. The PM says he will look into claims, raises by Tory MP Andrea Jenkyns, that a Labour council in her constituency is raising fees for schools that want to change to become academies. The PM urges councils not to "stand in the way" of schools wanting to make the change.
David Cameron says that since he became prime minister there are 390,000 fewer children living in households where nobody works. He’s correct. According to the Office for National Statistics, there were 1.91 million children living in workless households in 2010. By 2014 (the latest figures) that had fallen to 1.52 million – a fall of just under 390,000.
FFS
Mr Robertson presses the PM, urging the government to commit to deliver the Smith Commission proposals in full. But the PM says the SNP only wants to take about "process not powers" and, uses a bit of text speak, FFS. Although in this case he suggests it stands for a "full fiscal shambles".
Questions on the 'vow'
House of Commons
Parliament
BBCCopyright: BBC
BBCCopyright: BBC
Scottish powers
The SNP's Angus Roberson is now on his feet. He talks about last year's "vow" during the Scottish referendum to offer greater powers. He says the government's Scotland Bill is limited and does not include the full proposals from last year's Smith Commission. But the PM rejects that suggestion, saying the bill delivers it in full and uses the exchange to attack the SNP's plan for full fiscal autonomy.
Party of the workers
The PM says the party of working people - a slogan he adopted during the election - has helped two million people into work. He says Labour has not learnt the lesson of the financial crisis in Greece and that only by dealing with a country's debts, can a country move forward. That is the end of the leaders' exchanges.
Harriet Harman refers to cuts in tax credits making families with children £1,400 a year worse off. This is a figure from the Institute for Fiscal Studies. It said: "Returning the per-child element of child tax credit to its real (CPI-adjusted) 2003–04 level would reduce entitlements for about 3.7 million low-income families with children by an average of £1,400 per year."
Harman v Cameron
The argument is being developed here with Mr Cameron saying that unless you cut welfare, there will be deep cuts to the NHS or taxes will rise. If Labour wants to make the same argument for the next five years, "let them". But Ms Harman says the Conservatives are attacking the low-paid and asks "so much for the party of the working people".
Regional development
BBC Look North political editor tweets...
The last government?
ITV News reporter tweets...
Call to order
House of Commons
Parliament
BBCCopyright: BBC
As he calls them to order, Speaker John Bercow tells MPs: "A period of calm must descend upon the House."Image caption: As he calls them to order, Speaker John Bercow tells MPs: "A period of calm must descend upon the House."
National budget
David Cameron responds by saying the last government did "not budget for the country", so many communities were plunged into poverty. He calls for an economy with higher pay, lower taxes and lower welfare, suggesting that Labour wants the opposite. But Ms Harman argues that you don't increase pay by cutting tax credits.
Family budgets
Harriet Harman switches subject, accusing the government of taking money from working families by cutting tax credits. To jeers from Conservative MPs, she tells Mr Cameron: "I know he does not have to budget but many families do."
Efforts stepped up
Harriet Harman says "efforts will need to be stepped up", saying the situation was a danger to UK border controls. The PM says the UK has a strong partnership with France and the two countries should not be "pointing the finger" at the other side.
Clooney spotted
Independent on Sunday reporter tweets...
Cameron: Scenes 'unacceptable'
David Cameron says the scenes in Calais were "totally unacceptable" and that he would like to see better documentation, adding this must start in Italy. He says the UK is willing to offer more support to policing at Calais, with more personnel, sniffer dogs and fencing as well as tougher UK immigration controls
Pic: Harman in action
House of Commons
Parliament
BBCCopyright: BBC
Pic: Cameron in action
BBCCopyright: BBC
Harman questions
Harriet Harman also starts with a tribute to the UK's armed forces. She opens up with a question about Calais, saying British truck drivers are facing intimidation and harrassment. She asks the PM what he is doing to put pressure on the French government to check the status of migrants.
Under way
David Cameron starts by paying tribute to the UK's military at the start of armed forces week. The first question from Martin Vickers is about job losses at Young's Seafoods in his Grimsby constituency. He seeks assurances about additional financial support for the area. The PM says the government stands ready to help but the broader economic picture is more encouraging.
'Gruesome symbol'
The Daily Politics
The Commons is full, as ever, for PMQs. The BBC's political editor Nick Robinson says that he would "amazed" if Calais did not come up, and No 10 would have "despaired" at the TV pictures that we saw yesterday. It was a "gruesome political symbol" of the difficulty of controlling immigration from within the EU.
France to 'do the job'
Ross Hawkins
Political correspondent
French interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve reassured the home secretary that the French authorities would "do the job" in a phone call about the situation in Calais last night, according to the prime minister's spokeswoman.
She said the French had sent police reinforcements to Calais and the UK Border Force has increased its presence too with more personnel and dog search teams.
David Cameron met Theresa May and Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin this morning to discuss the government response.
It also emerged in this morning's briefing that as many as 80 of a new 90-strong enforcement team to stop migrant trafficking could - initially at least - be on standby in the UK.
Secretary of State appeals to SDLP
House of Commons
Parliament
BBCCopyright: BBC
SDLP MP Alasdair McDonnell tells the House that he can assure them that his party will live up to their side of the Stormont House deal. He goes on to ask the Secretary of State for clarity on the government's position asking "are they active participants for peace and progress or are they neutral observers?"
Theresa Villiers tells Mr McDonnell the government are an active part of the process and says that a crucial part of the agreement is dealing with the past. On the importance of that point she appeals to Mr McDonnell and his party colleagues to "unblock the question about welfare."
Tory MPs 'queuing up'
There are a lot of Tory MPs wanting to ask the PM questions today. The first four backbenchers on the order paper appear to be Conservatives, headed by Martin Vickers, the MP for Cleethorpes. Remember that the SNP leader in Westminster, Angus Robertson will get 2 questions.
Mrs Clooney in town?
Daily Mirror reporter tweets
'Honest debate' on EU needed
BBCCopyright: BBC
Caroline Flint says there needs to be an "open and honest" debate on Europe, with more attention given to the benefits of being in the European Union rather than a sole focus on David Cameron's renegotiation and whether he can sell it to eurosceptics in his party. "Reform in Europe does not start and finish with David Cameron," she says.
NI front line services hit
House of Commons
Parliament
BBCCopyright: BBC
The DUP's Nigel Dodds tells MPs that, "everyone in Northern Ireland and further afield agrees that the reason the Stormont House agreement isn't being implemented is the failure of Sinn Fein and the SDLP to live up to what they agreed to". He says the situation is imposing greater cuts that the parties claim to be against. He asks the Northern Ireland Secretary to live up to her responsibilities and take action.
Theresa Villiers agrees that every day that welfare reform is delayed costs the executive money. She says if the situation isn't resolved soon there will be a "significant negative impact on Northern Ireland's front line services."
Hurry up, Labour
Novelist tweets..
PM question seats in demand
Lib Dem MP tweets...
EU summit
The Daily Politics
BBCCopyright: BBC
George Eustice acknowledges that tomorrow's European Council summit will be dominated by the Greek bailout talks and problems in the mediterranean but that the UK's aspiration to overhaul its membership of the EU is on the agenda and will be discussed. The renegotiation will be a "long process" and it is right to "get going" on it. He adds that the UK has many allies in Europe and suggestions that it is "isolated" is incorrect - other countries should be willing to discuss it in a "grown-up" fashion.
Schengen 'rethink'
The Daily Politics
For Labour, Caroline Flint says the UK could "do more" to help those who have been displaced by conflicts in Syria, Libya and elsewhere in the region, suggesting only 140 refugees have been accepted from Syria since a scheme was set up last year. She also suggests EU nations need to reconsider how the Schengen agreement - which the UK is not a part of - is working. This abolished internal borders, enabling passport-free movement between a large number of European countries.
'A huge setback'
House of Commons
Parliament
BBCCopyright: BBC
Northern Ireland Secretary, Theresa Villiers tells MPs that the UK government is making progress on implementing the Stormont House Agreement and that it has legislated for corporation tax devolution.
She urges the Northern Ireland political parties to deliver on their side of the agreement and adds that to lose the deal would be "a huge setback".
'Serious problem'
The Daily Politics
Environment minister George Eustice rejects claims by the deputy mayor of Calais that the UK has helped inflame the migrant problems at the French port. Mr Eustice tells the Daily Politics that "it is a serious problem but we are doing our bit", pointing out that 40,000 people have been stopped from crossing the channel in the past year. The fact Calais is the scene of such flashpoints is no surprise, he adds, since it is the first time that many of those milling around the port have been subject to a "border check" since arriving in Europe.
Pay men more than women?
The Daily Politics
The arguments for paying women less than men are "intriguing" says Milo Yiannopoulos.
In a personal film, the blogger looks at equality for men and women in - and out of - the work place, and he calls for the balance to be redressed in favour of men.
He will debate the ideas in this film with Labour MP Caroline Flint and Conservative MP George Eustice around 12:40 BST on Wednesday’s Daily Politics.
The House of Commons is now open for business. MPs are starting their day with Northern Ireland Questions and the first one of the day is on the progress of the Stormont House Agreement.
Northern Ireland's power-sharing government has been facing severe financial pressures in recent months, and rows over the implementation of welfare reform.
Last December's Stormont House Agreement dealt, in part, with some of the outstanding issues of the peace process, and crucially, appeared to find consensus over changes to the welfare system. However there is now a dispute between the DUP and Sinn Féin over what was agreed.
Daily Politics
The Daily Politics
The Daily Politics is getting under way on BBC Two. Guests include Caroline Flint, a contender for the Labour party deputy leadership. Will she agree with Alan Milburn's diagnosis of where the party went wrong?.
The French 'must act'
BBC News Channel
AFP/GettyCopyright: AFP/Getty
The BBC's Norman Smith says David Cameron met Home Secretary Theresa May and Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin to discuss the situation in Calais and he is almost certain that the issue will come up at PMQs at some point. Labour's David Hanson, who has tabled an urgent question on the subject, says the French government needs to "step up to the plate" and assess the status of all the 3,000 people living in camps at the French port to determine if they are genuine refugees who should be considered for asylum or illegal economic migrants. "They need to take action to stop the pressure on our ports," he tells the BBC News Channel.
How Cameron won
PACopyright: PA
There has been plenty of analysis of how the Conservatives managed to pull off their election victory. Here's a slightly different take on the subject from journalist Andrew Gimson, who used to work at the Research Department at Conservative Central Office. He says David Cameron - another alumnus of the department - owes much to the time he spent there in the late 1980s. Writing in Conservative Home, he says the prime minister "learned the method of doing politics which contributed directly to the victory of 2015" and suggests his time in No 10 has been shaped much more by his stint there than anything he did at Eton or Oxford.
'Blind eye'
The BBC's assistant political editor Norman Smith tweets...
Urgent question
We've just heard there will be an urgent question on the situation at Calais later in Parliament. It is expected to be after Prime Minister's Questions at about 12:30 BST.
New times please
Daily Politics tweets...
Farage urging asylum 'rethink'
BBCCopyright: BBC
UKIP leader Nigel Farage has said the European Union needs to "completely rethink" its policy towards asylum and immigration in light of the migrant crisis in the mediterranean. He told LBC Radio:
Quote Message: It just can't offer asylum to people on this scale. And secondly, the United Kingdom needs to send a clearer message about illegal immigrants because they know they can come to Britain and work in the black market. They are unlikely to get caught and if they are caught, they're very unlikely to get sent back. The British actually could stop, or at least ameliorate, the situation in Calais by sending out clearer messages. Unfortunately, we never seem to do that."
It just can't offer asylum to people on this scale. And secondly, the United Kingdom needs to send a clearer message about illegal immigrants because they know they can come to Britain and work in the black market. They are unlikely to get caught and if they are caught, they're very unlikely to get sent back. The British actually could stop, or at least ameliorate, the situation in Calais by sending out clearer messages. Unfortunately, we never seem to do that."
Someone, somewhere
BBCCopyright: BBC
Alan Milburn concludes his blunt analysis of where Labour finds itself by saying the party needs a "profound change of approach" and a new leader who can "sit comfortably on, own and dominate" political territory currently occupied by the Conservatives.
Quote Message: That is my message to the Labour Party and I hope someone, somewhere is listening."
That is my message to the Labour Party and I hope someone, somewhere is listening."
Labour faces 'daunting' task
Labour faces a "daunting" prospect if it is to win a majority at the next election, Alan Milburn said, pointing out that, to do so, it would need to win the constituency of Chingford and Woodford Green - which it has never done in its history. Ironically, this is the constituency of work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith, who established the Centre for Social Justice that Mr Miliburn was addressing. Voters no longer have a sense that Labour has a "compelling, clear purpose", he asserts. To get back into power, the party needs to reach out beyond its traditional heartlands, citing Tony Blair and Margaret Thatcher as leaders who were able to do this.
Alan Milburn says Labour seems "determined to forget how it won elections" between 1997 and 2005, with its leaders since 2007 "deliberately and destructively turning their back on the formula" which carried the party into power. Labour, he suggests needs to "come to terms" with Tony Blair's legacy if it is ever to make progress. But he insists that he is not urging a return to New Labour and the party must, instead, build a "new proposition" in response to the rise of identity politics.
Miliburn's 'brutal honesty'
More from Alan Milburn's post-mortem on Labour's election performance. He argues Labour needs to be "brutally honest" about what he said was the party's worse defeat for three decades. Under Ed Miliband, he says Labour tried to "defy the laws of political gravity", suggesting the former leader "bet the house on the country moving to the left" while, on issues like welfare and immigration, the dlectorate arguably went the other way. He says "we have no-one but ourselves to blame" since Labour "drove voters into Conservative arms".
I'm running for mayor
Former Lib Dem MP tweets...
You can hardly move in Westminster these days for politicians vying to become Mayor of London. Yesterday, Conservative MP Zac Goldsmith declared he is entering the race while two Lib Dems contenders - Caroline Pidgeon and Duwayne Brooks - formally said they would run. And now Lembit Opik, the former Lib Dem MP, has said he wants to throw his hat into the ring.
There has been a bit of speculation this morning about the Sovereign Grant, the money paid to the Queen to enable her to fulfill her public duties, and how it might be affected by the further devolution of powers to Scotland. Responsibilities for overseeing the Crown Estate in Scotland may be transferred to the Scottish government in 2016, leading some to suggest an SNP government could seek to reduce the contributions to the royal purse from the Estate's profits. But the UK government has said that Scottish taxpayers will make the same financial contribution whatever the outcome of the devolution settlement currently being considered by Parliament. A Treasury spokeswoman has said:
Quote Message: Scottish taxpayers will continue to fund a full and fair share of the Sovereign Grant, paid via the Consolidated Fund. The Grant will not be adversely affected by devolution – under the Sovereign Grant Act it cannot be reduced and the statutory review of the Grant will ensure that it continues to provide the resources needed to support the Queen's official duties."
Scottish taxpayers will continue to fund a full and fair share of the Sovereign Grant, paid via the Consolidated Fund. The Grant will not be adversely affected by devolution – under the Sovereign Grant Act it cannot be reduced and the statutory review of the Grant will ensure that it continues to provide the resources needed to support the Queen's official duties."
Last week it was all change at PMQs with George Osborne making his debut and sparring with shadow foreign secretary Hilary Benn. Today it will have a more familiar feel with David Cameron going up against Harriet Harman in their third clash since the general election. In the past two, she has focused her questions on housing and Europe. What will she pick today?
Race against time for EU vote
Conservative MP tweets....
New UK force
AFPCopyright: AFP
More about this new UK law enforcement force set up to combat people smuggling referred to by James Brokenshire earlier. It will draw on resources from the National Crime Agency, Border Force, Immigration Enforcement and the Crown Prosecution Service.
Some of the officers will be based with Europol in Sicily and The Hague, with the rest on standby in the UK ready to deploy to the region when required, Downing Street said. "We have got to do more to break the link between getting on a boat in the Med and getting settlement in Europe," No 10 said. "Otherwise these vast numbers will just keep on coming."
The 'wrong leader'
Sun chief political correspondent tweets...
Alan Milburn is giving a briefing at the moment about why Labour lost the election and where it goes from here. According to The Sun's Kevin Schofield, the former Labour minister is not pulling his punches.
Migrants from North Africa are not just heading to the UK via the southern Mediterranean Mr Brokenshire argues, but are trying to make their way to Germany, Sweden and other countries. The problem of mass migration needs to be tackled "upstream", he says, in the countries of origin. A 90-strong team of British officials is looking at ways of tackling people smuggling by "tracking the flow of money" used to fund such criminal enterprises and potentially putting vessels used to transport migrants "out of use". The National Crime Agency is working with Europol and other international agencies to improve intelligence gathering, he adds.
Welfare messages
Mr Brokenshire says the UK offered £12m in September to improve security and policing at the port but, equally as importantly, to make it clear to migrants what the "real picture" is in the UK in terms of their ability to claim benefits. This followed claims by the mayor of Calais that the UK's more generous welfare system was acting as a "pull factor" and encouraging migrants to chance their arms at coming to the UK.
Calais 'resentment'
Today Programme
BBC Radio 4
Security minister James Brokenshire has been talking to the BBC about the situation at Calais. He says he understands the "resentment" felt by residents of the French at the number of migrants trying to cross the channel and the chaos it is causing. While "policing on French soil is a matter for the French" but says the UK and France are working closely together and his boss, Home Secretary Theresa May, spoke to her French counterpart last night.
Moving closer to a new cold war?
By Jonathan Beale, BBC defence correspondent
NatoCopyright: Nato
Nato defence ministers are meeting in Brussels to agree their next steps in dealing with the renewed threat from Russia.
The US Defence Secretary, Ash Carter, arrived in Europe saying he was not looking to start a new Cold War.
But, in reality, both Nato and Russia are stepping up their rhetoric and strengthening their military posture.
Last week President Vladimir Putin announced he was adding another 40 long-range ballistic missiles to his nuclear arsenal.
Border security is being stepped up in northern France and Dover after migrants desperate to reach the UK tried to exploit ferry strike action.
Hundreds of migrants at the French port of Calais tried to board delayed vehicles heading to the UK on Tuesday.
Immigration minister James Brokenshire told the BBC the situation was "hugely regrettable".
The government is to announce a new taskforce to tackle organised immigration crime in the Mediterranean.
The 90-strong law enforcement team will include staff from the Border Force, the National Crime Agency, Immigration Enforcement and the Crown Prosecution Service.
A handful will be based with Europol in Sicily and the Hague, in the Netherlands, with most on deployment standby in the UK.
Hello and welcome to our rolling political coverage. It's a Wednesday so the big event is at noon when David Cameron takes questions in the House of Commons. We'll bring you all the action live with reaction and analysis. But before then, a quick round up of the main stories so far todayt and - with the continuing fallout from events in Calais, Home Office minister James Brokenshire is on Today.
Live Reporting
Gavin Stamp and Alex Hunt
All times stated are UK
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Latest PostThe best of the day in Parliament
Sean Curran
Parliamentary correspondent
You can hear the arguments about tax credits at Prime Minister's Questions on Today in Parliament later tonight with Sean Curran.
There's also a report on what action Home Secretary Theresa May is taking to stop migrants at Calais trying to enter the UK.
A debate on A&E departments - initiated by Labour - turns into a "psychodrama" about the Labour leadership contest.
And there's another batch of maiden speeches - an SNP MP reveals he only joined the party nine months ago, after the independence referendum.
That's Today in Parliament at 23:00 on Radio 4.
Afternoon recap
As ever on a Wednesday, it's been a frenetic day at Westminster. Here's a round-up of what's been happening.
Protesters tried to storm the Commons during Prime Minister's Questions in protest at cuts to disability benefit cuts - but were stopped by officials
David Cameron says the UK will consider providing further security assistance at Calais amid what he says are "unacceptable" scenes of migrants trying to board lorries heading across the channel
The prime minister clashes with Labour leader Harriet Harman over cuts to tax credits and budgetary discipline as he prepares to travel to Germany for talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel over his EU plans
The way child poverty is measured is set to change , and a new system could be unveiled before the summer recess
Alan Milburn says Labour faces a "daunting" task if they are to win in 2020 and says the party can't "wonk" its way back into power .
Bruno: I'm backing Lamb
Frank Bruno tweets...
After getting Paddy Ashdown's endorsement, Norman Lamb has also won the backing of Frank Bruno in his 12-round contest with Tim Farron for the Lib Dem leadership. In a tweet endorsing Mr Lamb, the former boxer has praised the Lib Dem MP's work during the last government to increase funding for mental health services and put them on the footing as physical health.
Lib Dem mayoral candidates
According to the Lib Dem voice website , six activists have applied to become the party's candidate in next year's London mayoral contest. They are: Duwayne Brooks, Brian Haley, Teena Lashmore, Caroline Pidgeon, Marisha Ray and Paul Reynolds. The website says a shortlist will be drawn up before party members in London get the chance to elect one of the candidates to represent them.
Paddy endorses Lamb
The former Liberal Democrat leader Lord Ashdown has endorsed Norman Lamb as the next leader of the party.
In a tweet, Lord Ashdown wrote:
European scrutiny committee
The BBC's Esther Webber understands there is no time frame for the work of the European Scrutiny Committee to resume.
Despite the opening weeks of this Parliament being dominated by all things European, the relevant committee must wait until its membership is agreed and the committee meets before a chairman is decided.
The European Scrutiny Committee – like many other Commons committees – is not elected by all MPs but by its members.
Conservative Sir Bill Cash, a prominent critic of the UK’s relationship with the EU, has been the chair since 2010.
He confirmed he will stand again for the chairmanship.
He told the BBC that after the last election in 2010, the committee did not meet until September, but he and other prospective members “are keen to meet and are trying to bring the process forward”.
The members are put forward by the different parties, but the Conservatives will have a majority on the committee as the party of government.The chairs of select committees elected by the whole House were announced last week.
Choice language
BBC's parliamentary correspondent tweets...
More on English Labour
Here are Iain Watson's thoughts on the prospects for a distinct English Labour Party, an initiative floated by Jon Cruddas in a speech earlier.
He writes:
'In the bubble'
New Statesman editor tweets...
Discussion over dinner
A schedule for the two-day European Council summit released in Brussels has revealed that the UK's demands for reform will not be discussed at either of the two planned working sessions, which will focus on migration, jobs, growth, competitiveness and security. Instead, over dinner on Thursday, the EU's 28 national leaders will have, in its words, "the opportunity to listen to David Cameron in regard to the upcoming referendum in United Kingdom and the reforms he is seeking".
English Labour?
Jon Cruddas has reportedly said that a distinct English Labour party could be set up, similarly to Scottish Labour and Welsh Labour, in the wake of the party's disappointing electoral performance in England. Labour List reported the former shadow cabinet member as telling a meeting hosted by the IPPR thinktank that "we are going to do it and it will be imminent". Mr Cruddas apparently then added that it was "perhaps not something I should have said". Asked later about his apparent slip of the tongue, Mr Cruddas said: "It’ll be pushed along over the next month. It seems to me it will end up being put in the rule book like Scottish and Welsh Labour". But a party source has told the website that this is not "in any way official".
The language of Blair
Defeated Labour candidate tweets...
Following on from Alan Milburn, Jon Cruddas is the latest Labour figure to put the party's election defeat under the microscope at an event this lunchtime. Here is what Will Straw, one of the Labour candidates who failed to win a seat, thinks of what Mr Cruddas has been saying.
TUC 'open letter' to PM
The TUC has written an "open letter" to the prime minister ahead of Thursday's European Council summit, where the UK's renegotiation and referendum plan for its EU membership will be formally discussed for the first time. TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady has written:
PMQs sketch
"Amal Clooney came to PMQs and stole the show". That's Andrew Gimson's verdict in his sketch for Conservative Home, suggesting David Cameron and Harriet Harman were both relegated to supporting roles.
Police try to move protesters
Traffic is backing up down Millbank in one direction and towards Parliament Square in the other as the Independent Living Fund protest continues at a crossing outside the House of Commons.
Police are trying to encourage them to move their protest off the road.
Road protest
BBC political correspondent tweets...
Road protest
BBC political producer tweets...
Faull given Commission UK referendum role
Jonathan Faull, one of the most senior British officials in the European Commission, has been given a new role as director-general of a task force "responsible for strategic issues related to the UK referendum".
Mr Faull, who will report directly to Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, has worked in the Commission for more than 30 years and was until recently the director-general in charge of the Internal Market.
He’s previously been director-general for justice and home affairs and in the early 1990s he was a member of the cabinet of then European Commissioner Leon Brittan
Protest outside Parliament
The protest inside Parliament may have ended but disability campaigners have now blocked the road outside. Approximately 10 wheelchairs have taken position in the middle of road, directly outside of the Parliament buildings
Commons protest over
Scotland Yard says the protest in the House of Commons is over. One person and their carer were ejected from the Palace of Westminster for disorderly behaviour, but no arrests were made, we are told.
Grandstanding?
The World at One
BBC Radio 4
Labour's Emily Thornberry says there is uncertainty surrounding the EU referendum which is "a problem", particularly for businesses wanting to invest in the UK. Responding to Ms Soubry's praise of the PM, Ms Thornberry claims that before the election Mr Cameron "would storm out of meetings" and "grandstand". That brings the panel discussion to a close.
'Cameron's doing an astonishing job'
The World at One
BBC Radio 4
David Cameron's EU renegotiation aims are under discussion on the World . Conservative Anna Soubry says in 2010 she wasn't in favour of having an EU referendum but is now "very happy" for it to go ahead. When? Whenever is the right time, she replies.
The minister says she's in favour of the UK remaining in the EU, and praises the PM for doing "an astonishing job" with the negotiations. "It seems almost everything and anything is on the table," she says, adding that there is "a movement" taking place in Europe because many people know it has "got to change" if it is to survive.
Measurement 'doesn't make sense'
The World at One
BBC Radio 4
Conservative Anna Soubry says the best way to get people out of poverty is by growing the economy and getting more people into work. She also cites rises in the national minimum wage. She says the relative measurement of child poverty "doesn't make sense" as "it is not a genuine measure of poverty".
'Tackle the causes'
The World at One
BBC Radio 4
Conservative minister Anna Soubry says that changing the way child poverty is measured was under discussion in the coalition government,although no progress was made.
Child poverty measurement
The World at One
BBC Radio 4
There has been some debate today about how child poverty should be measured. David Cameron spoke earlier this week of an "absurd situation" where "if we increase the state pension, child poverty actually goes up".
Former Shadow Attorney General Emily Thornberry says she doesn't understand the government's point, as if pensions are going up why aren't child benefits? She says she's "suspicious" about the timing, with statistics about to be published showing child poverty "Is getting worse".
Game raiser?
BBC political correspondent tweets...
Back on the agenda
PA parliamentary editor tweets...
Immigration target
The World at One
BBC Radio 4
Asked whether it is it time for the government to abandon the net migration target, minister Anna Soubry tells the World at One: "No, not at all," and goes on to endorse the government's approach.
Private members' bills
Parliamentary reporters tweet...
'Hugely complicated'
The World at One
BBC Radio 4
Small Business Minister Anna Soubry criticises the French authorities for "doing nothing" to protect the people in Calais, citing a case of a 14-year-old living in "squalor" in the camps. "It's a hugely complicated problem", she says, "but it is a French problem to solve, and we are helping them".
Labour MP and former Shadow Attorney General Emily Thornberry says there needs to be better security around the ports and the entrance to the Tunnel. If people are genuine asylum seekers "that's a different issue", she says, whereas economic migrants have "no right" to be in either France or Britain - and should be dealt with.
New responsibilities for hauliers
House of Commons
Parliament
Theresa May is still on her feet in the Commons answering questions about the situation in Calais.
She tells MPs that in the forthcoming immigration bill, expected later this year, the government will be looking at the issue of responsibilities for hauliers and other parties "to make sure our border in as secure as possible".
'Juxtaposed border controls'
The World at One
BBC Radio 4
Commenting on the situation in Calais, Tony Smith, former UK Border Force director general, says he "can't emphasise enough" the strategic importance to the UK border of having "juxtaposed border controls" in Calais and working "constructively" with the French.
British El Dorado?
Political website tweets...
'Chaotic scenes'
BBC News Channel
Commons officials "only just managed to stop" protesters storming into the Commons chamber in the middle of prime minister's question time, says the BBC's Norman Smith, in the most "chaotic scenes in all my years of covering Westminster".
A group of about 20 people, some of them in wheelchairs, were protesting against cuts to the Independent Living Fund, in a "calm and perfectly reasonable" way when a "huge cheer went up" and they charged towards the MPs' entrance to the Commons.
- Norman Smith was delivering his One o'clock TV report from College Green, opposite the House of Commons, instead of his usual camera position because broadcasters had been banned from central lobby in the wake of the protest.
'Preventing people setting sail'
House of Commons
Parliament
The chair of the Home Affairs Committee, Keith Vaz, tells MPs that the issue is the Mediterranean, saying that once migrants get to Calais "it is too late". The Labour MP says that is why he welcomes the establishment of the government's new taskforce as "they are the key to preventing people setting sail in the first place."
He says the home secretary has his support in trying to ensure other EU countries bear their responsibilities as well.
Protest latest
BBC News Channel
Protesters tell BBC News that the MPs John McDonnell and Chris Law are negotiating with police in Parliament's central lobby.
The PM and Mrs Clooney
Sun political editor tweets...
Protest continues
The BBC's Ross Hawkins tweets...
Radio also banned
BBC political reporter tweets...
Civilised camps?
House of Commons
Parliament
Conservative MP Ken Clarke asks Theresa May if she agrees it's not possible for European countries "simply to ship back" people where they face death and oppression. He asks if work is being done to create civilised camps where people can be held while they are processed.
The Home Secretary tells him it is wrong to assume the people arriving are all refugees or have valid asylum claims. She tells Mr Clarke that many of the people crossing from Libya are economic migrants who are coming illegally into Europe.
The politics of benefits
The Daily Politics
The BBC's political editor Nick Robinson says major changes during the last Parliament which raised huge sums of money, such as raising the retirement age and pegging benefit rises to a different measure of inflation, caused "very little political fuss" while the single most controversial change, the introduction of the so-called "bedroom tax", generated very little money indeed.
Filming banned
BBC Political Reporter tweets...
Lobby protest
Activist tweets...
Reality Check: Cancer referrals
Emily Craig
Political analyst
In PMQs, David Cameron said 650,000 more people were being investigated for cancer. A GP makes an urgent two week referral if they suspect a patient might have cancer. Data from NHS England shows that in 2009/10 just over 900,000 people had an urgent consultant appointment after being referred by their GP. By 2014-15, this number had risen to 1.55 million (which, as the PM said, is an increase of 650,000).
'Breaking the link'
House of Commons
Parliament
Home Secretary Theresa May tells the Commons that EU Member states need to cooperate closely to deal with the problem of illegal immigration.
She tells MPs the most important step towards dealing with the situation was "breaking the link between migrants making this dangerous journey and achieving settlement in Europe."
Tax credits
The Daily Politics
Labour's Caroline Flint tells Daily Politics it is fair to have a discussion about whether in-work benefits, including tax credits, were "doing the job we want them to do" and whether, instead, employers need to be incentivised to provide a living wage to their staff.
'Calm down'
House of Commons
Parliament
PMQs review
The Daily Politics
Reflecting on Daily Politics on PMQs, the BBC's Nick Robinson says the session highlighted pre-Budget arguments about cuts to tax credits. He says the PM has "not denied he is going to do it" and the move will be "controversial" because many of those who receive tax credits are in work and the changes could leave them worse off.
Calais Urgent Question
House of Commons
Parliament
Shadow immigration minister David Hanson has tabled an Urgent Question on border management in Calais.
Home Secretary Theresa May is telling the House the French and UK government were well prepared for the extra pressure caused by the strike at Calais.
She says all vehicles are being searched and UK Border Force have identified a "significant number of would-be migrants".
Farage on Calais
UKIP leader Nigel Farage said:
The final questions
Tory MP Antoinette Sandbach asked about the incidences of stillbirths. The PM says the government has taken some steps forward but more needs to be done. A Labour MP then suggests the government has a "double standard" in its attitude to wind farms and fracking. The PM rejects this, saying wind farms are a mature technology and it was right to end the subsidies early With that, the session come to an end.
New taskforce
House of Commons
Parliament
In response to a question from Tory MP Sarah Churchill, the PM said he had asked education secretary Nicky Morgan to chair a taskforce to reduce the risk of child sexual exploitation in care, saying that he is "not satisfied" that everything possible is being done.
Meanwhile, back in the chamber...
House of Commons
Parliament
While the protest continued, PMQs went on as usual. A string of Tory MPs raised the issue of faster broadband and mobile phone "notspots" in rural areas. Among Labour questions was one from Jack Dromey raising poor cancer diagnoses. In response to another question, the PM also pledges to publish data about the deaths of disability claimants and those who have undergone fitness-to-work tests.
Central lobby 'occupation'
Paula Peters from a group, Disabled People Against cuts, tells the BBC about 30 protesters are occupying the central lobby of parliament and refusing to move. She says it's a protest against the end of the Independent Living Fund. The group went in to lobby their MPs about the ILF.
Campaigners attempt to storm chamber
Activist tweets...
PMQs protest
BBC News Channel
One protester tells Norman Smith, pictured above, that the Independent Living Fund is "vital for the lives of disabled people". The government announced in June that the fund will be closed.
Foreign policy
Tory MP Crispin Blunt, the chair of the foreign affairs committee, raises funding for foreign policy and accuses the last government of a "clever wheeze" of transferring funding for the BBC's World Service from the Foreign Office to the broadcaster. Mr Cameron disagrees with the MP on that point but says that it is vital that the UK continue to support its foreign policy aims for moral reasons but also to project its interests. He adds that the MP will continue to speak out "without fear or favour".
'Spontaneous protest'
BBC News Channel
Norman Smith says it was a "spontaneous protest" as members of different disability rights groups protesting at changes to the Independent Living Fund - tried to get into the chamber, "before doormen managed to close the huge doors".
BreakingProtesters outside PMQs
BBC News Channel
The BBC's Norman Smith is in central lobby, just outside the entrance to the Commons chamber, amid extraordinary scenes.
He says the police were "caught completely by surprise" as protesters in wheelchairs tried to storm Prime Minister's Questions. There is chanting go on in the lobby just yards from where PMQs continues undisturbed.
In Hague's footsteps
House of Commons
Parliament
Renewable energy
An SNP MP accuses the government of neglecting the renewable energy sector in Scotland after it ended subsidies for onshore wind farms. The PM, unsurprisingly, disagrees.
Cycle safety
A change of subject here. Ben Bradshaw raises the issue of cycle safety in London after the death of another cyclist after a collision with a tipper truck. The Labour MP says a ban on such vehicles should be considered. Mr Cameron says much has been done to improve safety but that the number of fatalities is "very high" and the sight of "young lives being snuffed out" was a tragedy.
More on protest
Rail electrification
A series of economic questions follow on rail electrification in south wales and broadband and other infrastructure in North Yorkshire. Labour's Teresa Pierce then raises the case of families how have been affected by an epilepsy drug proscribed incorrectly in the 1960s. The PM says he is not aware of the case but as the father of a child which had epilepsy, he is aware of the concerns raised.
Schools claim
Newsnight policy editor tweets...
Schools
We are onto backbenchers' questions now. The PM says he will look into claims, raises by Tory MP Andrea Jenkyns, that a Labour council in her constituency is raising fees for schools that want to change to become academies. The PM urges councils not to "stand in the way" of schools wanting to make the change.
Greek parallels
Labour peer tweets...
All Greek?
Northern Echo political editor tweets...
Wheelchair protest
BBC assistant political editor tweets...
Reality check: Workless households
Emily Craig
Political analyst
David Cameron says that since he became prime minister there are 390,000 fewer children living in households where nobody works. He’s correct. According to the Office for National Statistics, there were 1.91 million children living in workless households in 2010. By 2014 (the latest figures) that had fallen to 1.52 million – a fall of just under 390,000.
FFS
Mr Robertson presses the PM, urging the government to commit to deliver the Smith Commission proposals in full. But the PM says the SNP only wants to take about "process not powers" and, uses a bit of text speak, FFS. Although in this case he suggests it stands for a "full fiscal shambles".
Questions on the 'vow'
House of Commons
Parliament
Scottish powers
The SNP's Angus Roberson is now on his feet. He talks about last year's "vow" during the Scottish referendum to offer greater powers. He says the government's Scotland Bill is limited and does not include the full proposals from last year's Smith Commission. But the PM rejects that suggestion, saying the bill delivers it in full and uses the exchange to attack the SNP's plan for full fiscal autonomy.
Party of the workers
The PM says the party of working people - a slogan he adopted during the election - has helped two million people into work. He says Labour has not learnt the lesson of the financial crisis in Greece and that only by dealing with a country's debts, can a country move forward. That is the end of the leaders' exchanges.
Shouty session
BBC political correspondent tweets...
Tax credit cuts?
BBC political producer tweets...
Reality Check: "£1,400 worse off"
Emily Craig
Political analyst
Harriet Harman refers to cuts in tax credits making families with children £1,400 a year worse off. This is a figure from the Institute for Fiscal Studies. It said: "Returning the per-child element of child tax credit to its real (CPI-adjusted) 2003–04 level would reduce entitlements for about 3.7 million low-income families with children by an average of £1,400 per year."
Harman v Cameron
The argument is being developed here with Mr Cameron saying that unless you cut welfare, there will be deep cuts to the NHS or taxes will rise. If Labour wants to make the same argument for the next five years, "let them". But Ms Harman says the Conservatives are attacking the low-paid and asks "so much for the party of the working people".
Regional development
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The last government?
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Call to order
House of Commons
Parliament
National budget
David Cameron responds by saying the last government did "not budget for the country", so many communities were plunged into poverty. He calls for an economy with higher pay, lower taxes and lower welfare, suggesting that Labour wants the opposite. But Ms Harman argues that you don't increase pay by cutting tax credits.
Family budgets
Harriet Harman switches subject, accusing the government of taking money from working families by cutting tax credits. To jeers from Conservative MPs, she tells Mr Cameron: "I know he does not have to budget but many families do."
Efforts stepped up
Harriet Harman says "efforts will need to be stepped up", saying the situation was a danger to UK border controls. The PM says the UK has a strong partnership with France and the two countries should not be "pointing the finger" at the other side.
Clooney spotted
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Cameron: Scenes 'unacceptable'
David Cameron says the scenes in Calais were "totally unacceptable" and that he would like to see better documentation, adding this must start in Italy. He says the UK is willing to offer more support to policing at Calais, with more personnel, sniffer dogs and fencing as well as tougher UK immigration controls
Pic: Harman in action
House of Commons
Parliament
Pic: Cameron in action
Harman questions
Harriet Harman also starts with a tribute to the UK's armed forces. She opens up with a question about Calais, saying British truck drivers are facing intimidation and harrassment. She asks the PM what he is doing to put pressure on the French government to check the status of migrants.
Under way
David Cameron starts by paying tribute to the UK's military at the start of armed forces week. The first question from Martin Vickers is about job losses at Young's Seafoods in his Grimsby constituency. He seeks assurances about additional financial support for the area. The PM says the government stands ready to help but the broader economic picture is more encouraging.
'Gruesome symbol'
The Daily Politics
The Commons is full, as ever, for PMQs. The BBC's political editor Nick Robinson says that he would "amazed" if Calais did not come up, and No 10 would have "despaired" at the TV pictures that we saw yesterday. It was a "gruesome political symbol" of the difficulty of controlling immigration from within the EU.
France to 'do the job'
Ross Hawkins
Political correspondent
French interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve reassured the home secretary that the French authorities would "do the job" in a phone call about the situation in Calais last night, according to the prime minister's spokeswoman.
She said the French had sent police reinforcements to Calais and the UK Border Force has increased its presence too with more personnel and dog search teams.
David Cameron met Theresa May and Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin this morning to discuss the government response.
It also emerged in this morning's briefing that as many as 80 of a new 90-strong enforcement team to stop migrant trafficking could - initially at least - be on standby in the UK.
Secretary of State appeals to SDLP
House of Commons
Parliament
SDLP MP Alasdair McDonnell tells the House that he can assure them that his party will live up to their side of the Stormont House deal. He goes on to ask the Secretary of State for clarity on the government's position asking "are they active participants for peace and progress or are they neutral observers?"
Theresa Villiers tells Mr McDonnell the government are an active part of the process and says that a crucial part of the agreement is dealing with the past. On the importance of that point she appeals to Mr McDonnell and his party colleagues to "unblock the question about welfare."
Tory MPs 'queuing up'
There are a lot of Tory MPs wanting to ask the PM questions today. The first four backbenchers on the order paper appear to be Conservatives, headed by Martin Vickers, the MP for Cleethorpes. Remember that the SNP leader in Westminster, Angus Robertson will get 2 questions.
Mrs Clooney in town?
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'Honest debate' on EU needed
Caroline Flint says there needs to be an "open and honest" debate on Europe, with more attention given to the benefits of being in the European Union rather than a sole focus on David Cameron's renegotiation and whether he can sell it to eurosceptics in his party. "Reform in Europe does not start and finish with David Cameron," she says.
NI front line services hit
House of Commons
Parliament
The DUP's Nigel Dodds tells MPs that, "everyone in Northern Ireland and further afield agrees that the reason the Stormont House agreement isn't being implemented is the failure of Sinn Fein and the SDLP to live up to what they agreed to". He says the situation is imposing greater cuts that the parties claim to be against. He asks the Northern Ireland Secretary to live up to her responsibilities and take action.
Theresa Villiers agrees that every day that welfare reform is delayed costs the executive money. She says if the situation isn't resolved soon there will be a "significant negative impact on Northern Ireland's front line services."
Hurry up, Labour
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PM question seats in demand
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EU summit
The Daily Politics
George Eustice acknowledges that tomorrow's European Council summit will be dominated by the Greek bailout talks and problems in the mediterranean but that the UK's aspiration to overhaul its membership of the EU is on the agenda and will be discussed. The renegotiation will be a "long process" and it is right to "get going" on it. He adds that the UK has many allies in Europe and suggestions that it is "isolated" is incorrect - other countries should be willing to discuss it in a "grown-up" fashion.
Schengen 'rethink'
The Daily Politics
For Labour, Caroline Flint says the UK could "do more" to help those who have been displaced by conflicts in Syria, Libya and elsewhere in the region, suggesting only 140 refugees have been accepted from Syria since a scheme was set up last year. She also suggests EU nations need to reconsider how the Schengen agreement - which the UK is not a part of - is working. This abolished internal borders, enabling passport-free movement between a large number of European countries.
'A huge setback'
House of Commons
Parliament
Northern Ireland Secretary, Theresa Villiers tells MPs that the UK government is making progress on implementing the Stormont House Agreement and that it has legislated for corporation tax devolution.
She urges the Northern Ireland political parties to deliver on their side of the agreement and adds that to lose the deal would be "a huge setback".
'Serious problem'
The Daily Politics
Environment minister George Eustice rejects claims by the deputy mayor of Calais that the UK has helped inflame the migrant problems at the French port. Mr Eustice tells the Daily Politics that "it is a serious problem but we are doing our bit", pointing out that 40,000 people have been stopped from crossing the channel in the past year. The fact Calais is the scene of such flashpoints is no surprise, he adds, since it is the first time that many of those milling around the port have been subject to a "border check" since arriving in Europe.
Pay men more than women?
The Daily Politics
The arguments for paying women less than men are "intriguing" says Milo Yiannopoulos.
In a personal film, the blogger looks at equality for men and women in - and out of - the work place, and he calls for the balance to be redressed in favour of men.
He will debate the ideas in this film with Labour MP Caroline Flint and Conservative MP George Eustice around 12:40 BST on Wednesday’s Daily Politics.
MPs in the chamber
House of Commons
Parliament
The House of Commons is now open for business. MPs are starting their day with Northern Ireland Questions and the first one of the day is on the progress of the Stormont House Agreement.
Northern Ireland's power-sharing government has been facing severe financial pressures in recent months, and rows over the implementation of welfare reform.
Last December's Stormont House Agreement dealt, in part, with some of the outstanding issues of the peace process, and crucially, appeared to find consensus over changes to the welfare system. However there is now a dispute between the DUP and Sinn Féin over what was agreed.
Daily Politics
The Daily Politics
The Daily Politics is getting under way on BBC Two. Guests include Caroline Flint, a contender for the Labour party deputy leadership. Will she agree with Alan Milburn's diagnosis of where the party went wrong?.
The French 'must act'
BBC News Channel
The BBC's Norman Smith says David Cameron met Home Secretary Theresa May and Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin to discuss the situation in Calais and he is almost certain that the issue will come up at PMQs at some point. Labour's David Hanson, who has tabled an urgent question on the subject, says the French government needs to "step up to the plate" and assess the status of all the 3,000 people living in camps at the French port to determine if they are genuine refugees who should be considered for asylum or illegal economic migrants. "They need to take action to stop the pressure on our ports," he tells the BBC News Channel.
How Cameron won
There has been plenty of analysis of how the Conservatives managed to pull off their election victory. Here's a slightly different take on the subject from journalist Andrew Gimson, who used to work at the Research Department at Conservative Central Office. He says David Cameron - another alumnus of the department - owes much to the time he spent there in the late 1980s. Writing in Conservative Home, he says the prime minister "learned the method of doing politics which contributed directly to the victory of 2015" and suggests his time in No 10 has been shaped much more by his stint there than anything he did at Eton or Oxford.
'Blind eye'
The BBC's assistant political editor Norman Smith tweets...
Urgent question
We've just heard there will be an urgent question on the situation at Calais later in Parliament. It is expected to be after Prime Minister's Questions at about 12:30 BST.
New times please
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Farage urging asylum 'rethink'
UKIP leader Nigel Farage has said the European Union needs to "completely rethink" its policy towards asylum and immigration in light of the migrant crisis in the mediterranean. He told LBC Radio:
Someone, somewhere
Alan Milburn concludes his blunt analysis of where Labour finds itself by saying the party needs a "profound change of approach" and a new leader who can "sit comfortably on, own and dominate" political territory currently occupied by the Conservatives.
Labour faces 'daunting' task
Labour faces a "daunting" prospect if it is to win a majority at the next election, Alan Milburn said, pointing out that, to do so, it would need to win the constituency of Chingford and Woodford Green - which it has never done in its history. Ironically, this is the constituency of work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith, who established the Centre for Social Justice that Mr Miliburn was addressing. Voters no longer have a sense that Labour has a "compelling, clear purpose", he asserts. To get back into power, the party needs to reach out beyond its traditional heartlands, citing Tony Blair and Margaret Thatcher as leaders who were able to do this.
Watch: Norman on Calais row
Milburn: We forgot 'winning formula'
Alan Milburn says Labour seems "determined to forget how it won elections" between 1997 and 2005, with its leaders since 2007 "deliberately and destructively turning their back on the formula" which carried the party into power. Labour, he suggests needs to "come to terms" with Tony Blair's legacy if it is ever to make progress. But he insists that he is not urging a return to New Labour and the party must, instead, build a "new proposition" in response to the rise of identity politics.
Miliburn's 'brutal honesty'
More from Alan Milburn's post-mortem on Labour's election performance. He argues Labour needs to be "brutally honest" about what he said was the party's worse defeat for three decades. Under Ed Miliband, he says Labour tried to "defy the laws of political gravity", suggesting the former leader "bet the house on the country moving to the left" while, on issues like welfare and immigration, the dlectorate arguably went the other way. He says "we have no-one but ourselves to blame" since Labour "drove voters into Conservative arms".
I'm running for mayor
Former Lib Dem MP tweets...
You can hardly move in Westminster these days for politicians vying to become Mayor of London. Yesterday, Conservative MP Zac Goldsmith declared he is entering the race while two Lib Dems contenders - Caroline Pidgeon and Duwayne Brooks - formally said they would run. And now Lembit Opik, the former Lib Dem MP, has said he wants to throw his hat into the ring.
Paying for the Crown
There has been a bit of speculation this morning about the Sovereign Grant, the money paid to the Queen to enable her to fulfill her public duties, and how it might be affected by the further devolution of powers to Scotland. Responsibilities for overseeing the Crown Estate in Scotland may be transferred to the Scottish government in 2016, leading some to suggest an SNP government could seek to reduce the contributions to the royal purse from the Estate's profits. But the UK government has said that Scottish taxpayers will make the same financial contribution whatever the outcome of the devolution settlement currently being considered by Parliament. A Treasury spokeswoman has said:
Milburn backs Kendall
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A more familiar PMQs
Last week it was all change at PMQs with George Osborne making his debut and sparring with shadow foreign secretary Hilary Benn. Today it will have a more familiar feel with David Cameron going up against Harriet Harman in their third clash since the general election. In the past two, she has focused her questions on housing and Europe. What will she pick today?
Race against time for EU vote
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New UK force
More about this new UK law enforcement force set up to combat people smuggling referred to by James Brokenshire earlier. It will draw on resources from the National Crime Agency, Border Force, Immigration Enforcement and the Crown Prosecution Service.
Some of the officers will be based with Europol in Sicily and The Hague, with the rest on standby in the UK ready to deploy to the region when required, Downing Street said. "We have got to do more to break the link between getting on a boat in the Med and getting settlement in Europe," No 10 said. "Otherwise these vast numbers will just keep on coming."
The 'wrong leader'
Sun chief political correspondent tweets...
Alan Milburn is giving a briefing at the moment about why Labour lost the election and where it goes from here. According to The Sun's Kevin Schofield, the former Labour minister is not pulling his punches.
Putting boats 'out of use'
Migrants from North Africa are not just heading to the UK via the southern Mediterranean Mr Brokenshire argues, but are trying to make their way to Germany, Sweden and other countries. The problem of mass migration needs to be tackled "upstream", he says, in the countries of origin. A 90-strong team of British officials is looking at ways of tackling people smuggling by "tracking the flow of money" used to fund such criminal enterprises and potentially putting vessels used to transport migrants "out of use". The National Crime Agency is working with Europol and other international agencies to improve intelligence gathering, he adds.
Welfare messages
Mr Brokenshire says the UK offered £12m in September to improve security and policing at the port but, equally as importantly, to make it clear to migrants what the "real picture" is in the UK in terms of their ability to claim benefits. This followed claims by the mayor of Calais that the UK's more generous welfare system was acting as a "pull factor" and encouraging migrants to chance their arms at coming to the UK.
Calais 'resentment'
Today Programme
BBC Radio 4
Security minister James Brokenshire has been talking to the BBC about the situation at Calais. He says he understands the "resentment" felt by residents of the French at the number of migrants trying to cross the channel and the chaos it is causing. While "policing on French soil is a matter for the French" but says the UK and France are working closely together and his boss, Home Secretary Theresa May, spoke to her French counterpart last night.
Moving closer to a new cold war?
By Jonathan Beale, BBC defence correspondent
Nato defence ministers are meeting in Brussels to agree their next steps in dealing with the renewed threat from Russia.
The US Defence Secretary, Ash Carter, arrived in Europe saying he was not looking to start a new Cold War.
But, in reality, both Nato and Russia are stepping up their rhetoric and strengthening their military posture.
Last week President Vladimir Putin announced he was adding another 40 long-range ballistic missiles to his nuclear arsenal.
In return, Nato accused Moscow of "sabre rattling".
The 28-member alliance is doing a bit of that too.
On a barren plain in northern Poland, Nato has been testing its new rapid-reaction, or spearhead, force for the very first time.
Its proper title is the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VHRJTF) - it is meant to be more nimble than its name.
It is a direct response to the crises in Ukraine, with the aim to have boots on the ground within 48 hours....
Read Jonathan Beale's blog in full
Queen's finances
The Queen may have to move out of Buckingham Palace to allow maintenance work costing £150m to be carried out.
It is one option being considered by the royal household, which says the upkeep of the London palace is now a "significant financial challenge".
It needs new plumbing and wiring and has not been decorated since 1952, the year the Queen ascended the throne.
The news comes as royal accounts show that the monarchy cost the taxpayer £35.7m for the second year running.
The figure, for the 2014/15 financial year, is the equivalent of 56p for each person in the country.
Read more
Border security
Border security is being stepped up in northern France and Dover after migrants desperate to reach the UK tried to exploit ferry strike action.
Hundreds of migrants at the French port of Calais tried to board delayed vehicles heading to the UK on Tuesday.
Immigration minister James Brokenshire told the BBC the situation was "hugely regrettable".
The government is to announce a new taskforce to tackle organised immigration crime in the Mediterranean.
The 90-strong law enforcement team will include staff from the Border Force, the National Crime Agency, Immigration Enforcement and the Crown Prosecution Service.
A handful will be based with Europol in Sicily and the Hague, in the Netherlands, with most on deployment standby in the UK.
Read more
Cameron meeting Merkel
David Cameron is to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel for talks in Berlin later, ahead of an EU summit in Brussels on Thursday.
The pair will discuss EU reform, with the UK's aims to be considered by European leaders at Thursday's meeting.
Mr Cameron has said he wants to reform the UK's membership of the EU, before holding an in/out referendum in 2017.
But French minister Emmanuel Macron told the BBC that the UK should not be able to cherry pick aspects of the EU.
The economy minister said he understood Mr Cameron's push for reform but the UK could not be allowed a "Europe a la carte".
Read more
Good morning
Hello and welcome to our rolling political coverage. It's a Wednesday so the big event is at noon when David Cameron takes questions in the House of Commons. We'll bring you all the action live with reaction and analysis. But before then, a quick round up of the main stories so far todayt and - with the continuing fallout from events in Calais, Home Office minister James Brokenshire is on Today.