House of Commons
Parliament

Angela Eagle - shadow leader of the house - is now speaking in the Commons and she raises the issue of the BBC's charter.

"There is just over a year and half until the BBC's charter runs out. But the government has not set out a timetable for it's renewal," she questions.

Leader of the House Chris Grayling replies: 

House of Commons
Parliament

Green Party MP Caroline Lucas stands up in the Commons and asks Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith a question:

Mr Duncan Smith replied:

There's been a ling running debate about the way child poverty is measured - it is calculated as a relative measure, so a boost to the economy can lead to an apparent rise in child poverty, while a recession can lead to the figures suggesting a fall in child poverty. Iain Duncan Smith tells the Commons that:

Here's a bit more from the clash between Labour's Chris Leslie and Conservative Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith.

Mr Leslie insisted the government was overseeing a "depressing slowdown" in the fight against child poverty.

But Mr Duncan Smith accused Labour of a "massive own goal" after figures showed an unexpected drop in child poverty, which he said demonstrated the government's policies had an "impact" on tackling the root causes of the problem. 

The pair rowed in the Commons after Mr Leslie was granted an urgent question, summoning Mr Duncan Smith to the Commons to answer questions.

Nick Robinson
Political editor

Image source, Getty Images

When you turn up for dinner it's polite to take a gift but when David Cameron shows up in Brussels tonight he won't be bearing flowers or chocolates.

What he'll hand over to his host to share with the 27 other guests is the "British problem". This is the important moment that it becomes the EU's shared problem.

Gone are the days when Europe's politicians and officials could kid themselves that if they waited long enough the British would change their mind or change their government.

They now know that, like it or not, there will be a renegotiation of the UK's membership of the EU followed by a referendum.

This will not, though, be the moment David Cameron spells out a detailed negotiating position, let alone begins haggling with his fellow leaders over what he will and will not accept.  

 - Click here for the rest of Nick's article.

Labour's shadow chancellor Chris Leslie also stood up in the Commons and said the figures actually showed that progress in child poverty had been very slow.

But Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith described his comments as "rank hypocrisy", and said the Conservatives had raised the minimum wage "faster and further than the previous government".

House of Commons
Parliament

The number of children classed as living in relative poverty is 2.3 million, the lowest level since the 1980s, according to figures published by the government.

The Department for Work and Pensions said the percentage of children in relative low-income households remained "flat" in 2013/14. 

There had been speculation that the figure, published annually, would increase to 2.5 million, while a row has been brewing over whether the Government is planning to change the way the figure is measured.

But speaking in the House of Commons just now Conservative Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith said that "if you deal with the root causes of poverty even under a measure of poverty which I have described as flawed you can still have an impact".

He said the Tories had helped to do this through its troubled-families programme, early years support, its back-to-work programmes and raising the tax threshold.

Tim Reid
BBC Scotland Westminster Correspondent

Scotland's first minister has said she will not tolerate members of the party engaging in serious online abuse or "trolling".

In a blog, posted on the SNP's website and comments in today's Daily Mail, external, Nicola Sturgeon says postings from SNP members which "cross the line"  and are brought to the party's attention will be "acted upon".

There have been a series of incidents of online trolling by so called "cybernats" - some targeting high profile politicians and journalists - and the Daily Mail reported that Ms Sturgeon was following some of those involved on Twitter.

She says she can't "police Twitter single handedly" and says she has also received abuse from other political quarters.

But she states that party members will be warned when their "behaviour falls short of the standards we expect" and "where appropriate we will take disciplinary action."

In other news figures from the Officer of National Statistics (ONS) show that the UK's population is at a record level, with it increasing by almost half a million to 64.6 million within a year.

The increase between mid-2013 and mid-2014 included net immigration of 259,700, the ONS said.

Over that period 582,600 migrants arrived in the UK, compared with 322,900 people leaving the country.

LBC

On the subject of polling Mr Clegg says he hopes there is now "some modesty and humility about the wonderful nature of democracy". 

He said people need to understand how someone actually votes is often different to how they say they might vote to a telephone pollster, "people don't make up their minds until late in the day". 

LBC

"I've got no plans to disappear in a puff of smoke," says Nick Clegg but adds that he will take his decision to remain as MP "one parliament at a time".

Then he is played an audio clip from UKIP leader Nigel Farage, who said he felt sorry for Mr Clegg and urged the LBC presenter to ask him if he wished he lost his seat in Sheffield, rather than having returned to the Commons as a defeated leader of a diminished party. 

Mr Clegg replies:

LBC

Mr Clegg says the electoral system in the UK is "completely dotty".

He said he believed it was an "unrepresentative parliament" and as a result is "truly kooky"

He also made reference to the fact that UKIP got four million votes and only one MP.

LBC

Nick Clegg said that he was in touch with the late Charles Kennedy shortly after the election result and had swapped a series of text messages with the former Lib Dem leader, although they didn't speak on the phone.

Mr Clegg said that he thought Mr Kennedy was "incredibly resilient" about the election result and he was "looking forward" to playing a part in the referendum on Europe.

Image source, Reuters

Mr Clegg says he will continue to speak out on subjects such as mental health, Europe and protecting our civil liberties.

When asked about Vince Cable, Clegg said: "Vince and I get on very well...

"I didn't laugh at all," says Clegg when asked if he laughed when Vince Cable lost his seat.

He notes that there was a whoop of joy from Labour activists at a Conservative beating Mr Cable.

Mr Clegg adds, after being asked about alleged plotting against him, that he and Lord Oakeshott are not close "to put it mildly".

LBC

When asked if he should have stood down as leader of the Lib Dems a year before the election, Mr Clegg said:

Speaking about his conversation with David Cameron at the Cenotaph in the aftermath of the election result, Mr Clegg said: 

LBC

Image source, LBC

Nick Clegg says he does "not regret at all" going in to coalition, although he admits his party is now at a "real low".

He says he misses being deputy PM because he can no longer make decisions "which I think make the country fairer".