The Daily Politics

Jo Coburn and Andrew Neil present live coverage of Prime Minister’s Questions. 

They are joined by Schools Minister Nick Gibb and shadow transport secretary Andy McDonald to discuss the Brexit bill debate and Speaker John Bercow’s comments about Donald Trump. 

And to close the programme, they will look at MPs debating seagulls, after a motion was tabled by Plymouth MP Oliver Colvile whose eyes were opened to the issue when a colleague was mugged by a greedy gull.

Select Committee
Parliament

"Norway pays a contribution to be in the EEA," says Conservative MP Michael Gove. "How much would Scotland pay?"

That would be a matter for negotiation, Scottish Brexit minister Michael Russell says, but adds that "I stand by" the Scotland’s Place in Europe, external policy paper.

That means "Scots would have to pay £3.3bn to stay in the single market", Mr Gove says.

"That would strike me as a small price to pay for the lack of dislocation which you and your colleagues are forcing upon this country," Mr Russell replies.

The money would come out of the Scottish government's budget, he says, joking pointedly at Mr Gove, a prominent Leave campaigner: "All that money for the NHS will no doubt pay for it."

Mr Gove retorts: "It would be money that would go to the NHS in England, not in Scotland, because you'd be giving all that money to the EU."

Mr Russell adds that "we're still waiting" for the extra money for the NHS promised by the Leave campaign.

"Well, we'll get it when we leave," says Mr Gove.

Image source, Getty Images

Select Committee
Parliament

Labour MP Stephen Timms asks if the Scottish government envisages EU workers in Scotland having "no documentation beyond a passport"; but is proposing "simply in Scotland that the law would be different".

If people are allowed to live and work in Scotland but not over the border in England, does Scottish government minister Michael Russell have any concerns about how this might work? he asks.

Mr Russell says the Scottish government is open to ways to implement such a plan. "We don't have a monopoly on wisdom," he adds. 

Mr Timms calls for details and claims the current proposals are "terribly vague".

Mr Russell insists they are "considerably more detailed than anything which the UK government has published".

Select Committee
Parliament

Lord Freud, the architect of Universal Credit, says it could take decades to get the system working at its optimal level.

Appearing before the Work and Pensions Select Committee, he admitted that the original time scale introducing the all-encompassing benefit was very tight.

Government targets had predicted 1.8 million people should be on the system by 2014, but this still had not been achieved.

It was right that the Department for Work and Pensions took more time to get the system right, he told the committee.

“It’s more important to get it right than working to a strict timetable”.

A full roll-out of the system is expected to take place by September 2018, with all claimants transferred onto the system during 2019.

Norman Smith
Assistant political editor

Image source, PA

A shadow cabinet member has dismissed speculation that Jeremy Corbyn could stand down as leader.

Ian Lavery, the shadow cabinet office minister, told the BBC there was "not a grain of truth" to rumours on social media that Mr Corbyn could quit.

"Lots of gossip happens around this place but we know from previous rumours that it is not always reliable," he said. 

Mr Corbyn is facing another backbench revolt over Brexit later on Wednesday, with speculation that further shadow cabinet members could resign. 

The Labour leader has ordered all his MPs to vote for a bill which will pave the way for official talks over the UK's departure from the EU. 

The Daily Politics

Select Committee
Parliament

Image source, House of Commons

The Republic of Ireland hopes to attract firms moving out of the UK to avoid the impact of Brexit, the country's ambassador has told MPs. 

Daniel Mulhall said Brexit poses "very real challenges" for Ireland but the country is adopting a pragmatic approach and wants to benefit from "any upsides" from business moving away from the UK. 

He told the Commons Northern Ireland Affairs Committee that Dublin has concerns about the impact of Brexit on trade, the border and the common travel area but is confident a deal could be struck to address those issues and preserve the close links between the two countries.

It is likely that some firms will want to relocate out of the UK, he told MPs, and trying to persuade them to come to Ireland was merely a "pragmatic response to managing the downsides of Brexit".

Select Committee
Parliament

Scottish Brexit minister Michael Russell envisions Scotland's status in Europe being ensured through EFTA or EEA arrangements.

He says that Scottish ministers want "a solution that squares the circle".

That "circle" is the conundrum thrown up by a majority of voters in Scotland backing remaining in the EU, while a majority in the UK as a whole backed leaving.

"We are not saying that the rest of the UK should not leave," Mr Russell tells the committee.

"This is compromise proposal from the Scottish government. I really want to stress that."

House of Commons
Parliament

Another busy day for MPs as the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill approaches its last stage in the House of Commons.

MPs will debate amendments on the UK's negotiation priorities with votes expected at approximately 6pm and 8pm.

Amendments to be voted on include one from Labour's Harriet Harman designed to protect the residence rights of those EU citizens living in the UK. 

At noon, Theresa May will face MPs for Prime Minister's Questions followed by the introduction of a bill which seeks to change how sexual offences are dealt with. 

First, however, we have questions to Cabinet Office ministers.

Select Committee
Parliament

Michael Russell argues that free movement of workers to Scotland is possible if the UK leaves the EU.

People from other EU member states could be given access to the UK with "a rider added" that their place of work and residence should be Scotland.

"It is commonplace to do that," the Scottish government's Brexit minister insists.

Mr Russell says free movement is important to Scotland "given the ageing population, given the nature of the economy".

In addition, he argues that "depopulation" in some parts of Scotland can only be resolved through migration.

Select Committee
Parliament

Image source, House of Commons

Former welfare reform minister Lord Freud has blamed delays and problems in the introduction of Universal Credit on the government’s reliance on external IT contractors.

Appearing before the work and pensions select committee, he said civil servants no longer had the ability to build the kind of complex computer systems needed to make Universal Credit work.

Universal Credit aims to bring all social security benefits into one single benefit.

Select Committee
Parliament

Image source, Getty Images

The committee now questions Michael Russell, who is the Scottish government's Minister for UK Negotiations on Scotland’s Place in Europe.

Mr Russell says that, "while there are presently no sub-states" in the EU, "it is likely that the Faroe islands will accede to membership".

The Faroes, an archipelago of 18 islands in the North Atlantic, constitute an autonomous region of Denmark.

Mr Russell argues that EU membership will happen either through the "sponsorship" of Denmark or recogition of the Faroes as a separate legal entity.

"Both of those routes are possible for Scotland in its current situation," he says: UK sponsorship or separate legal status for the Scottish Parliament.

Select Committee
Parliament

Professor Nicola McEwen predicts that "the question of England, and how England is governed, will re-emerge" when powers from the EU are redistributed around the UK.

Image source, House of Commons

Seven Conservative MPs voted against the government last night over the issue of Parliament having a decisive say over the final Brexit deal.

Four of them - Anna Soubry (Broxtowe), Antoinette Sandbach (Eddisbury in Cheshire), Claire Perry (Devizes in Wiltshire) and Andrew Tyrie (Chichester) - represent constituencies which voted to leave the EU in last year's referendum.

Ms Perry and Ms Soubry are former ministers who left the government when David Cameron stepped down. Mr Tyrie is the chair of the powerful Treasury Select Committee, while Ms Sandbach became an MP in 2015, having previously served in the Welsh Assembly. 

The other three - Bob Neil (Bromley), Ken Clarke (Rushcliffe) and Heidi Allen (South Cambridgeshire) - are MPs in Remain-supporting constituencies.

This is what several of them said about their decision to defy the government.