Labour U-turns over support for bill to force future governments to keep a budget surplus
Shadow chancellor John McDonnell says he's changed his mind on the parliamentary tactics
The move prompts anger among some Labour MPs
The UK withdraws from a prospective £5.9m contract to provide prison services to Saudi Arabia
Plans to clamp down on illegal immigration pass their first Commons hurdle
Back in the Commons, Stuart McDonald says the SNP opposes the Immigration Bill on the grounds that it believes its provisions are unhelpful and unrealistic.
Quote MessageThis bill will fail to be effective because it relies upon civilians such as landlords and landladies. We are setting off down the road of amateur immigration control as if we are to become a nation of immigration officers."
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Alison McGovern, a former shadow Treasury minister, says George Osborne's budget surplus rule is about "politics not economics". Labour is right to criticise what the government is proposing, she argues.
"We can all wax lyrical about parliamentary procedure" but the focus needs to be on families who will struggle to cope with forthcoming cuts to tax credits, the Labour MP adds.
The Daily Politics
The former deputy Speaker Nigel Evans on Tom Watson's sex claims about Lord Brittan.
Conservative MP Nigel Evans, who stood trial accused of rape but who was acquitted of all charges last year, spoke to Jo Coburn about the claims by Tom Watson MP over Lord Brittan.
The former deputy Speaker said:
Quote MessageHe is a crusader on behalf of those who have not had their cases properly investigated. But he has not had the proportionality, or indeed, the decency to recognise, in Leon Brittan’s case, it went beyond what he should have done.”
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Shadow home secretary Andy Burnham sets out Labour's position on the Immigration Bill.
Quote MessageWe won't support legislation in haste that is not backed by clear evidence, and that is the problem with this bill. It is legislation driven by a desire to be seen to be doing something and a desire to get headlines."
Mr Burnham goes on to criticise Theresa May's speech to the Conservative Party conference in which she warned that uncontrolled migration can make a cohesive society impossible.
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Labour has tabled an amendment declining to give a second reading to the bill (which would stop it progressing), claiming it will not decrease illegal immigration and will reduce social cohesion.
It has been selected by deputy Commons speaker Natascha Engel, meaning it will be voted on by MPs later. If it fails, Labour will vote against the bill.
House of Commons
Parliament
Opening the debate, Home Secretary Theresa May tells MPs: "If we are to continue building a fair immigration system we must ensure that it is balanced, sustainable and that net migration can be properly managed."
She repeats the assertion she made in her conference speech last week that "when net migration is too high and the pace of change is too fast it puts pressure on schools hospitals, transport and social services."
The Daily Politics
Conservative MP Peter Bone and Labour's shadow home office minister Jack Dromey debated what they thought were the good and bad points in the government's Immigration Bill when they spoke to Jo Coburn on Tuesday's Daily Politics.
Conservative MP Peter Bone and Labour's Jack Dromey on the government's Immigration Bill.
The Immigration Bill is at its first hurdle in the Commons: second reading. This is the point at which the general aims and principles of a piece of legislation are debated. Here are some of the measures being proposed:
House of Commons
Parliament
MPs have begun today's debate on the Immigration Bill, which includes a package of measures designed to tackle illegal immigration in the UK.
Home Secretary Theresa May is kicking off proceedings for the government, while Labour's new shadow home secretary - Andy Burnham - responding for the government.
The Bishop of Gloucester is to become the first female bishop to take up a seat in the House of Lords, it has been confirmed.
The Right Reverend Rachel Treweek, who is the most senior woman bishop in the Church of England, will enter the upper chamber on 26 October.
She said she would be seeking to bring a voice of transformation to the House.
Bishop Rachel was officially installed at a Gloucester Cathedral service on 19 September.
The Liberal Democrats have dismissed the budget surplus rule as "more about political point scoring and Labour's implosion than about sound economics".
In a statement, leader Tim Farron said it was an "economically irresponsible" move that would undermine the government's ability to respond to economic crises and to invest in infrastructure.
John McDonnell claims here is "deep discontent" across the House of Commons "about what this charter will mean if we sign up to it".
Labour, he says, will set "a new paradigm" in economic debate when it sets out its own charter tomorrow. He says it won't be based on "tax cuts for the rich" or cutting tax credits for working families - and cites plans to tackle tax avoidance and evasion and to invest in growth and skills.
Quote MessageWe want people to pay their way but not in terms of income tax, we think people are taxed enough - ordinary low and middle earners. It will be the corporations who should pay their way."
Put to him that he didn't understand the fiscal charter, the shadow chancellor insists he "fully understood" it, saying he had previously raised concerns about the control of investment in infrastructure. He adds:
Quote MessageI was hoping that we might be able to amend the charter in some way. But the procedure that George Osborne has introduced... prevents us from even amending it."
John McDonnell says the government's charter is "a political stunt" that is "virtually meaningless" and says he'll use tomorrow's debate to kickstart a "proper and serious debate" about the future of the UK economy.
Quote MessageThe tactics in terms of parliamentary vote might have changed but the underlying principles of where we're going with our economy from the Labour Party isn't. It's about investment and growth."
John McDonnell has been giving an interview following the backlash from some Labour MPs after he decided to ditch the party's support for the government's fiscal charter.
Asked to explain the U-turn, he says "I've changed my mind on the parliamentary tactics" but not on the principle of tackling the deficit, insisting the party are "not deficit deniers".
He says that after meeting those workers and families hit by the Redcar steelworks closure that he decided he did not want his party to be associated in any way with the cuts and lack of investment by the government.
Responding to the news the UK has pulled out of the Saudi jail deal, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said David Cameron had been "shamed into a U-turn" but questioned why the deal was set up in the first place.
Quote MessageWe should be sending a strong message to repressive regimes that the UK is a beacon for human rights and that this contract bid is unacceptable in the 21st century, and would damage Britain's standing in the world.”
As we reported earlier the UK government has withdrawn from a controversial £5.9m prisons deal with Saudi Arabia, Downing Street has said.
The PM's official spokeswoman said it reflected the government's decision to focus on domestic priorities.
The Ministry of Justice had established it could withdraw from the bid process with no financial penalties, she said.
It comes as Britain seeks the release of UK pensioner Karl Andree, who is facing 360 lashes after being caught with homemade wine in Saudi Arabia.
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BBC Radio 4
Chuka Umunna, a former shadow business secretary, says last night's PLP meeting - at which the policy U-turn was announced - was "lively and interesting". He launches an attack on Chancellor George Osborne saying he has made a bigger U-turn, accusing him of failing to meet his fiscal targets.
Asked how he will vote tomorrow, when MPs debate the charter for budget responsibility, Umunna says he won't be supporting it, because it's a "gross political stunt". He'll decide whether to abstain or oppose it based on what he hears in the debate.