House of Commons
Parliament

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Conservative backbencher Tom Tugendhat, called a "mutineer" on the front page of the Daily Telegraph this morning for his stance on Brexit, has the first question.

He lauds the prime minister and her predecessor for helping the economy grow and asks if she'll "take this opportunity to invest in our economy and even build more homes".

Next week sees the Chancellor deliver his annual Budget.

Theresa May says "we're doing exactly that" and lists a series of investments in infrastructure including "the biggest road building plan for a generation".

House of Commons
Parliament

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It's PMQs and the prime minister is answering questions from backbench MPs - and the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

House of Commons
Parliament

Sylvia Hermon, the independent MP for North Down, calls on the secretary of state to "set aside his diplomatic speak" and explain what would happen to the Irish border "in the event that the UK crashes out of the EU" with no deal.

James Brokenshire tells her it is "important that we concentrate on getting that deal".

House of Commons
Parliament

Questions begin as Liberal Democrat Wera Hobhouse asks about "the potential effect of a hard border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland on the Northern Ireland peace process".

Northern Ireland James Brokenshire says the government is committed to efforts "to avoid any physical infrastructure" on the border and it should remain "seamless".

Ms Hobhouse asks if the government will insert measures "to ensure compliance with the Good Friday Agreement" in the EU Withdrawal Bill.

Mr Brokenshire says ministers are committed to upholding the agreement.

Andrew Murrison, the Conservative MP who chairs the Northern Ireland Select Committee suggests that the onus is on the rest of the EU.

He argues that the Lisbon Treaty requires "the EU to preserve peace and prevent conflict" with its neighbours.

House of Commons
Parliament

It's day two of committee stage debate on the EU Withdrawal Bill in the Commons later, after the government avoided defeat on day one.

Before that, it's Northern Ireland questions at 11:30am and Prime Minister's Questions at noon.

After PMQs there will be an urgent question on Zimbabwe, where the military has taken control and the situation concerning President Robert Mugabe is unclear.

Select Committee
Parliament

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Responding to Vince Cable's talk about increasing the number of women in his parliamentary party, Conservative MP Philip Davies asks why Sir Vince stood in Twickenham in the 2017 election if increasing the number of women was "such a personal ambition".

Sir Vince says he's "conscious of impending age and mortality" and says that when he stands down there will be an all-women shortlist in his seat.

Mr Davies says that Sir Vince's answer makes his point, telling him that he "won't make any personal sacrifice to pursue this agenda".

Sir Vince says that he's "relaxed and very positive" about his seat being contested by a Lib Dem woman when he stands down.

Select Committee
Parliament

The SNP's Ian Blackford says that one of the big barriers to women in Parliament is the hours, and says that last night is a good example.

MPs had two votes at 7pm and then three more at 11pm, with the sitting having started at 11:30am.

His party advocate introducing some form of electronic voting, as used in the Scottish Parliament, to replace the current system.

Currently, MPs are counted manually as they walk through the two voting "lobbies", a process that takes around 15 minutes.

Labour's Dawn Butler says that there are advantages to the current way MPs vote.

Advocates say that the process allows backbench MPs a rare opportunity to talk informally with ministers or shadow ministers but Dawn Butler says that when "you've been through the lobbies once, that's enough".

She suggests more use of deferred divisions, where MPs vote on ballot papers.

Select Committee
Parliament

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"This may sound flippant," says Labour's Dawn Butler, but Parliament actually needs more "rubbish women".

"We'll know we've reached real equality when we have as many rubbish women in Parliament as we have rubbish men."

Select Committee
Parliament

In answer to a question on all women shortlists, Amanda Sater of the Conservative Party says her party are not planning on introducing all-women shortlists.

She says the party wants "cultural change and not a quick fix" and that quotas "ignore and mask underlying problems and attitudes".

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Select Committee
Parliament

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Labour's Jess Phillips kicks the committee off by asking if the increase in the number of female MPs at the last election, by six, was "good enough". The proportion of MPs in the Commons who are women now stands at 32%.

Conservative Party deputy chair Amanda Sater says "it's not good enough". But she says that the Tories managed to increase the number of women fighting seats where the incumbent had retired to 50%.

Lib Dem leader Vince Cable says that a "a third of the parliamentary party are women" following the election and adds that his deputy leader is a woman, Jo Swinson.

He says that in future in seats that the Lib Dems already hold, where an incumbent stands down, there will be an all-woman shortlist of candidates.

Labour's shadow women and equalities minister Dawn Butler says her party's "aim is to reach 50:50 by 2020" but the parliamentary party now has "119 women, which is more women than all the other political parties added together".

She says that 45% of 2017 candidates were women, even without any all-women shortlists because of the snap election.

SNP Westminster Leader Ian Blackford says there's "more to do" and that it is an "absolute priority" for the SNP. He points out that the SNP has a gender balanced cabinet at Holyrood and a gender balanced team of spokespeople at Westminster.

MPs back ministers on the first day of EU Withdrawal Bill scrutiny, as some Tories signal future rebellions.

Norman Smith
Assistant political editor

Far from cowing Tory rebels, the depiction of them in some Brexit supporting papers as mutineers and collaborators, appears only to have strengthened their resolve.

One, Heidi Allen, said if fighting for the future of the country was mutiny, then bring it on.

Others warned they would not be lobby fodder and accused Brexiteers of bullying and paranoia.

Ministers, too, sought to distance themselves from the coverage calling for the views of Theresa May's backbench critics to be treated with respect.

The critiism, though, reflects the tension in Tory ranks over the Brexit legislation.

Last night the government saw off a series of largely technical amendments - some though by just 20 votes - a majority which underlines how vulnerable the government is should a dozen or so Tory rebels defy Mrs May on key votes.

Meanwhle today MPs will continue to debate more technical issues around the impact of Brexit on environmental standards and workplace rights.

Select Committee
Parliament

From 10:15am the Women and Equalities Committee will hear evidence as part of its inquiry into women in the House of Commons.

The committee will hear from:

• Ian Blackford MP, SNP Westminster Leader
• Dawn Butler MP, Shadow women and equalities minister, Labour Party
• Sir Vince Cable MP, Liberal Democrat Leader
• Amanda Sater, Deputy Chairman, Conservative Party

The committee's investigation comes amid a series of allegations about inappropriate behaviour of MPs.

We're crossing over to the committee rooms first thing this morning for a session with the Women and Equalities Committee.

But there's plenty on today - including PMQs and the second day of consideration at committee stage of the EU Withdrawal Bill.

It was a late night last night when debate wrapped up - we could see the same long hours today.

We'll be bringing you full coverage of events as they unfold...

There were five votes today on amendments to the EU Withdrawal Bill - and the government won in each division.

But the government was criticised by MPs across the House, particularly on how retained EU law is to be interpreted after Brexit.

MPs will begin a second day of committee-stage scrutiny on Wednesday.

House of Commons
Parliament

Labour's Ian Murray is now leading an adjournment debate on a rare form of brain tumour affecting children - Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma.

He is seeking better access to new treatments which he says "are by their nature evolutionary".