Prime Minister's Questions: David Cameron v Ed Miliband

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  2.  
    1130:

    Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the last Prime Minister's Questions session before the summer recess.

     
  3.  
    1132:

    If you're wondering about the recess - Parliament breaks up next week and will not sit again until 3 September, although MPs say they will not be on holiday all that time, with constituency business to look after.

     
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    1134:

    There's only one subject being talked about in Westminster today, and that's the large rebellion by Conservative MPs during the vote on House of Lords reform last night. Senior Lib Dems have been warning of "consequences" for the coalition if the Conservative leadership cannot deliver this part of the coalition package.

     
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    1136:

    There might also be reference to the reports from MPs who were nearby that David Cameron angrily confronted one of his 2010 intake of MPs, Jesse Norman, in the Commons after he rebelled in the Lords vote.

     
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    1138:

    Another issue which might get raised is how to sort out the issue of social care in England - ahead of the publication of the latest in a long-running series of political attempts to find a better way of meeting the cost of care in old age.

     
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    1139:

    Health Secretary Andrew Lansley will be setting out his social care plans in a statement to MPs straight after PM's questions - you'll be able to watch the statement and all the exchanges with MPs which follow on the live stream from the Commons on this page.

     
  8.  
    1140:

    Giving their views to Daily Politics on the PM's questions clashes are due to be Labour's former Olympics champion Tessa Jowell and Constitutional Affairs minister Mark Harper. However Ms Jowell is stuck in traffic and hasn't yet made it to the studio. Could the Olympic Route Network be to blame....?

     
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    1141:

    Eleanor Laing, a Conservative MP who rebelled in last night's Lords reform vote, talking about threats from Lib Dems tells the Daily Politics fundamental constitutional reform shouldn't be used as a "bargaining chip".

     
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    1144:

    The minister responsible for House of Lords refom Mark Harper says he will work with colleagues over the summer on the bill, but won't say whether the government will work with Labour to get agreement on its timetabling.

     
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    1145:

    Andrew Neil accuses Lib Dem Don Foster of "filibustering" for refusing to say whether his party plans to now scupper coalition proposals to redraw constituency boundaries and cut the number of MPs before the next election.

     
  12.  
    1148:

    Despite the noise and fury, all the Daily Politics guests agree there will be some kind of House of Lords reform.

     
  13.  
    1158:

    Andrew Mitchell is just finishing International Development Questions in a packed House of Commons. The PM's in his place.

     
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    1159:

    BBC Political Editor Nick Robinson wonders, on Daily Politics, whether Ed Miliband will want to talk about Lords reform "as it is not the biggest issue down the Dog and Duck".

     
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    1200:

    The Labour leader is more likely to launch an attack on the "mess" the government is in on several fronts, adds Nick Robinson.

     
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    1202:

    We shall see in a few seconds, as MPs settle down for the final PM's questions of the session - Mr Cameron is now on his feet.

     
  17.  
    1202:

    Mr Cameron begins with a tribute to the police officer shot dead this week, hailing his bravery.

     
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    1203:

    Labour's Gerry Sutcliffe opens with a question on copyright law - asking if planned changes have anything to do with the "23 meetings" the PM has had with Google. Mr Cameron says he is acting on the recommendations of an independent committee.

     
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    1205:

    Ed Miliband begins by echoing the PM's tributes to PC Ian Dibell and then goes for the "omnishambles" line of attack on the prime minister, quoting Mr Cameron as saying before the last election that he wanted to be PM 'because he would be good at it'. "Where did it all go wrong," asks the Labour leader.

     
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    1207:

    Mr Miliband brings up the alleged confrontation between Mr Cameron and Tory backbencher Jesse Norman in the division lobby after Tuesday's Lords reform debate. "The posh boys have ordered him off the estate today," says Mr Miliband noticing the absence of Mr Norman.

     
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    1208:

    Mr Cameron reaches for the moral high ground - is this the best the Labour leader can do?, he asks, accusing him of being obsessed with "tittle tattle".

     
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    1209:

    Another banker - pardon the pun - for Miliband is "tax cuts for millionaires". Why are pensioners having to pay more, he asks. He seems to be enjoying this.

     
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    1211:

    Mr Cameron demands an apology for the "mess" Labour left the country in. Mr Miliband attacks the government's "whole economic plan". A broad brush approach perhaps, but Labour MPs seem happy with it. Mr Cameron lists the government's achievements and launches another attack on Labour's economic record, concluding that: "This country will never forgive them."

     
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    1212:

    "The redder he gets, the less he convinces people." says Mr Miliband - another reference to the Jesse Norman spat. This provokes uproar - the Speaker steps in to calm them down. "He is losing the confidence of the country," says the Labour leader.

     
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    1214:

    Possibly a mistake for Mr Miliband to use the word "red" as it gives Mr Cameron a chance to launch an attack on "Red Ed" and his backing for "Red Ken Livingstone".

     
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    1217:

    Tory MP Ann Marie Morris shouts herself hoarse as she asks an impassioned question about education. The feistiest contribution we've had for some time - she has her arm in a sling but that doesn't seem to hold her back and in the end the detail of her question is drowned out by cheers.

     
  27.  
    1218:

    MPs are clearly a bit demob happy, but they have settled down somewhat as the PM fields questions about the Territorial Army and Libyan democracy.

     
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    1219:

    Labour's Karen Buck asks about NHS cuts - Mr Cameron says the money going into the health service is increasing, but it will be up to "local people" to decide how it's spent.

     
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    1220:

    Tory MP Alan Haslehsurst calls for a better Stansted Express train service for his constituents.

     
  30.  
    1221:

    Mr Cameron says DfID does not support asbestos exports/imports in any way. He says he will investigate any allegations to the contrary urgently.

     
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    1222:

    David Davis raises the case of a BAA employee sacked for wearing a crucifix, saying it is an outrageous case of "political correctness". Mr Cameron says he agrees with his former Tory leadership rival "for once".

     
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    1224:

    "People have to respect the democratic will of the Egyptian people," says Mr Cameron in response to a question about the situation there.

     
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    1225:

    Mr Cameron vows to keep his promise to keep winter fuel payments and free bus passes for pensioners - there have been calls from some for the policy to change after the next election.

     
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    1226:

    With a big conference taking place, Mr Cameron backs family planning in developing countries.

     
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    1226:

    The SDLP's Margaret Ritchie invites Mr Cameron to visit Northern Ireland during the Olympics. "She makes an intriguing invitation and if I can take it up I will," says the PM.

     
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    1228:

    Dairy farmers now - will the PM join their fight for a fairer deal? Mr Cameron announces £5m extra to help dairy farms become "more competititve".

     
  37.  
    1230:

    Tory MP Adam Afriye calls for a review of the coalition agreement. Mr Cameron stops short of doing that and opts to list its achievements to date instead, adding he will continue to look carefully at what it will do next.

     
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    1230:

    Lib Dem MP Sir Bob Russell - who represents garrison town Colchester - asks about cuts to the army. Mr Cameron says the army will be a similar size when the current changes have happened.

     
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    1231:

    Labour's Emily Thornberry calls for an apology from George Osborne for saying Ed Balls was linked to the Libor scandal. Mr Cameron is having none of it. He says Mr Balls "has questions to answer" about Labour's record and gets a call and response going with his backbenchers, as he lists Labour's alleged failures.

     
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    1233:

    Labour's Helen Goodman asks about cuts to benefits for cancer patients. Mr Cameron says he is trying to ensure more people with cancer get support.

     
  41.  
    1234:

    And that's the end of the session. We won't see another Prime Minister's Questions until September.

     
  42.  
    1235:

    Health Secretary Andrew Lansley is now making a statement to MPs about social care plans.

     
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    1238:

    On Daily Politics, Nick Robinson says it was "interesting" that a Tory backbencher - Adam Afriye - tried to embarrass the PM by calling for the coalition agreement to be renogotiated. The BBC's political editor says there will come a point before the next election when the Lib Dems and the Tories will break apart.

     
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    1239:

    The BBC's Nick Robinson says Ed Miliband is now "commanding" prime minister's questions - a total "transformation" from the turn of the year. He will go into the summer break knowing the coalition is "in crisis" and not him, he adds.

     
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    1241:

    Constitutional reform minister Mark Harper says the coalition is not about "passing more and more bills through Parliament" - it wants to concentrate on getting its existing programme right.

     
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    1242:

    In the Commons, health secretary Andrew Lansley says the government wants to adopt most of the ideas from Andrew Dilnot's proposals for social care funding, including "deferred payment" so people do not have to sell their homes to pay for care. Wider decisions, he says, will come at the time of the next spending review (not due for a year or two).

     
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    1244:

    If Labour did become the largest party after the next election - as the polls currently suggest - should they do a deal with the Lib Dems or try to govern as a minority government, Tessa Jowell is asked on the Daily Politics. She says it would be "crazy" to rule out a coalition with another party.

     
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    1245:

    Nick Robinson says the Lib Dems would be unlikely to do a deal with Labour if Ed Miliband's party wrecked Lords reform.

     
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    1246:

    Tessa Jowell says that presupposes Lords reform holds the degree of importance across the Lib Dems that it does for Nick Clegg, who, she appears to suggest, will not be leading the party after the next election.

     
  50.  
    1251:

    One of the highlights of the session has to have been the question from Anne Marie Morris, who despite having her arm in a sling, put in what the PM called a "feisty" performance. You can watch the video here now.

     
  51.  
    1252:

    Back to the Commons, where they are debating social care - and plans to give state loans to pensioners moving into residential care so they do not have to sell their property immediately. Labour shadow health secretary Andy Burnham says he wants more detail before deciding whether to back it.

     
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    1252:

    He says older people may be "frightened" to take on debt and accuses the government of taking a "pick and mix approach" to health policy.

     
  53.  
    1256:

    Andrew Lansley welcomes Mr Burnham's offer of continued cross-party talks on social care and denies a "pick and mix" approach to the Dilnot report's proposals.

     
  54.  
    1300:

    That wraps up our text updates from the Commons for now - if you want to continue following the social care debate, the video will continue to run on thei page and our main news this story will be regularly updated as the debate unfolds. If you want another fix of Prime Minister's Questions, however, you will have to wait until September, when MPs get back from their long summer recess. Thanks for joining us.