mr. hoyer: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to speak out of order for one minute for the purpose of inquiring of the majority leader the schedule for the week to come. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. hoyer: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield to my friend. i want to say as i yield to him, maybe i better say it at the end and see how pleasant we're. i yield to the majority leader. mr. mccarthy: i thank the gentleman for yielding. i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. hoyer: mr. speaker, the house is still not in order. members want to hear the information that the leader gives about the schedule. the speaker pro tempore: members will please carry their onversation off the floor. the gentleman may pr seed. mr. mccarthy: i first want to begin by thanking my friend. today could be our last schedule colloquy together. over the years we have had many spirited debates on this floor. we have celebrated moments of cooperation

mr speaker, as i conclude, i've been very generous mr speaker and giving way, particularly to that side. as i conclude, mr speaker, as i conclude, i want to pay tribute to my honourable friend the memberfor pay tribute to my honourable friend the member for holborn, but his shadow brexit secretary, and his tea m shadow brexit secretary, and his team of shadow ministers, he's now facing his third brexit secretary, he stayed the course, holding the government to account. and i thank him and his wonderful team and their supporters for what they've done and isa supporters for what they've done and is a test today and forcing the government to release the legal advice that they were trying to it —— withhold from us. this is not the deal the country was promised. i'm parliament cannot and i believe will not accept it. the false choice between this bad deal and no deal will also be rejected. people around the country... the opposition is not currently giving way, he's developing his points. he's developing his points. he's developing its point, members don't need to set themselves up as th

indeed, you very much mr. speaker. the prime minister challenged others to be out front about what they want. but she needs to be up front, too. it was her red lines that created the problem. that led to the backstop that has brought us to the house of commons today in such a weak position. in the answer she gave a moment ago, can she tell the house whether a single of the eu leader she spoke to over the weekend indicated they were prepared to renegotiate article 20 of the backstop protocol? because in the absence of any such commitment, isn't canceling tomorrow's vote merely postponing the inevitable? >> hear, hear. prime minister may: can i say to the right honorable gentleman, the issue that we were very clear on with the european union was there could not be a border down the irish y. persuaded themad to have a u.k.-why customs territory, rather than northern ireland-wide. that was the key issue in relation to the border. we negotiated that out of the proposal. >> thank you, mr. speaker. share my right honorable fr

thank you, mr. speaker, and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from new jersey reserves. the gentlewoman from new york is recognized. mrs. lowey: mr. speaker, i am pleased to yield two minutes to the gentleman from new york, the ranking member of the commerce, justice, science committee, mr. serrano. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york is recognized for two minutes. mr. serrano: i thank the gentlewoman. you know, for me, this is a very simple thought. it's the same thought i've had all along. this country, of all countries, should not be building a wall. this country, the land of opportunity, the land of freedom, the land where people come to build a new life, should not be building a wall. so what do we do? there isn't the support necessary for building the wall. for funding it. so at the last moment we sneak it into a so-called must-pass bill or otherwise you shut the overnment down. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant back live to the house floor now for votes. tes will be taken following order. , use resolution 10

mr. garrett: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, over thanksgiving i had the amazing opportunity to accompany some impressive individuals and thought leaders from the freedom research foundation, on my own dime, my own time, into iraq and northeastern syria. there was a debate that ran between myself and one of these individuals over what was more dangerous, ignorance or evil. ultimately i suggested that perhaps ignorance is dangerous and evil is dangerous but the most dangerous thing might be the ignorance of evil itself. in order to vanquish evil we must first vanquish ignorance and we must recognize the evil that exists in order to correct it. so tonight, to that end, i'll speak to the realities on the ground not only in the middle east but in so many parts of the world, but specifically in iraq and syria, right now, as i speak if we don't get this right not only will innumerable lives vanish, but entire cultures will vanish. to my left, your right, is an image of individuals restrained and then set on fire, one of many

will he, mr speaker, find some backbone and make that case in parliament? my constituency, one of the most successful companies in our country, is committed to having a fair deal for us to do brexit, not a no—deal, because they feel it's vital that it should be an orderly retreat, and not chaos. and does he agree with me that that's what the prime minister's deal will achieve? yes, mr speaker, and that is indeed the express view of a vast majority of businesses in this country. i met the traveller association this morning and they had two requests for the chancellor. one — that he will out no deal, because implementing no deal preparations for their smaller members potentially put them out of business. and secondly, he wanted to hear from the chancellor and from the government when the immigration paper was going to be available, because without it they can make no business plans. well, mr speaker, ithink i have been perfectly clear and consistent in expressing the view that no—deal would be a very bad outcome for this country, and i will do everythin

and mr. speaker, i expect that this is not-- this is not a simple choice that members have to make today. i accept that. publishing the legal advice has implications and i accept that and i think everyone on these benches accept that, but the ramifications of the government ignoring the express demand of parliament are of an even greater import and that's why i urge members to vote for the motion today. . >> mr. speaker, i think we need to start with why parliamentary privilege is so important, particularly those of us on the government side because this will come a time when we are not on the government's side, at which point the protections provided for us by parliame parliamentary privilege are all the more important and that government running rough shod, find when they're in that position the position is harder to defend and uphold. we dislike the streamlining of parliamentary procedures to make it easier for the government to get legislation through because they found a harder to have t

mr speaker. i must say i found the answers given by the attorney general yesterday extremely difficult to understand. interns in which they were expressed. relating to the national interest when of course that is a question which is contained in the results of the referendum and the withdrawal act of 2018. i also find it very difficult to an report that i have heard, it is most unsatisfactory for this to be, for this issue to be regarded as a parlourgame, and be, for this issue to be regarded as a parlour game, and we are told to stop messing around with process. i have to say that i do think that somewhat underestimated the significance of what we are here dealing with. but i will leave it at that because people in those circumstances do use language which sometimes perhaps underestimate the importance of the matters that are being dealt with. on the question of conventions, i would simply like to say to the leader of the house and indeed to the law officers, that the question of conventions doe

mr. williams: thank you, mr. speaker. i'm reminded of a time when in texas we were at a breakfast and we had two groups. we had a group that was very close to jeb bush, the governor of florida, and one that was close to george w. bush, and mrs. bush was our guest speaker. and she spoke and when she opened up for questions, one of the questions was, mrs. bush a lot of us know jeb better than george, or george better than jeb. how are they alike? how do they tiffer? and mrs. bush said she's been blessed to have a great family but she said these words. she said you could put all my boys together. and they would not equal their father. i thought that was powerful. so on november 30, 2018, america lost a great servant and i lost a great friend. president bush epitomized everything wonderful about america. and like his country, he was tough, strong, and kind. over the years, i was able to get to know the president and his family very well. my family and i had the opportunity to visit them in kennebunkport many summers. our days

mr speaker, as i've said already, this is the best deal. this is the best way for the united kingdom to leave the european union as i hold in an orderly way. but the prime minister has recognised the concern. she has listened to the concerns that the other right honourable gentleman and his colleagues and many others in this house have around the backstop. and she is looking to asuage those concerns. the secretary of state can't have it both ways. she's telling everybody that is the best deal, it's a wonderful deal and everybody should accept it. 0n the other hand, the prime minister is telling everybody that nobody likes it, the irish don't want it, europe don't want it, the british government don't want it. so how does he explain the other contradiction in her argument? mr speaker, i disagree with the right honourable gentleman. that there was a contradiction. i think what he is talking about is the backstop. we all agree that the backstop is a very uncomfortable thing. that none of us want to see introduced. as we never want to see any i

mr. speaker, it may not end there. the president of france has made clear what his priorities will forn negotiating britain future deal. he said, we will concentrate our efforts to obtain access to the waters before the end of the transition period. all of our fishermen will be protected. is it the case that under the prime minister's botched deal, we will have to agree to those demands on waters if we want to finalize a feature trade deal or extend the transition? breaking every promise the prime minister, the environment secretary made to the fishing industry and our coastal communities. case thattar, is it a spain now has a role over gibraltar benefiting from any future relationships? that is still to be negotiated, not something the prime minister submitted last week. mr. speaker, this house will begin voting on a legally binding withdrawal agreement and a wish list contained in the declaration. the prime minister would be negotiating that future agreement from a position of profound weakness, paying more to extend

mr. speaker, i'd now like to yield to my colleague from illinois, mr. davis. >> mr. speaker, thank you and thank you to my friend from florida. i know he's probably worried about what i might say in his final speech here on the floor tonight but i've got to tell you about a friend i met just shortly after going to a meeting across the street where i had the honor of becoming a mentor to a candidate who wanted to run for congress. and his name was carlos curbelo. i knew we were going to get along well when i called him the first time on the phone and he said, why are you my mentor? i said because you have key west in the district you are running in. i'd like to come visit you. he took my first jeck well and we hit it off and became very close friends. imagine my glee when on election night in 2014, my men tee became a new -- my mentee became a newly elected member of congress. to see him walk into this institution, to see him immediately become not just a friend to me and to many others, but a legislator and one of the best legislators i have ever had the opportunity

mr speaker, if there is anyone on the front bench opposite who genuinely believes that there is a magic deal available, which would see us retain all the benefits of eu membership but with no free movement, no payment into the eu budget, no state aid rules, they are sadly deluded. if he sincerely believes the situation that he's just described to us, if he cannot convince this house of that situation on tuesday, will he resign? because he's clearly lost the confidence of this house. mr speaker, i regard myjob is to go on making the case for a sensible, middle way out of this situation. i do not believe that we can afford the economic cost of a no deal exit, but i equally do not believe we can afford the political and societal cost of trying to undo the decision of the british people in the referendum. we have to find a negotiated way forward, and the prime minister has presented us with the route forward. we have to take it. the shadow chancellor began with a concilliatory tone. it is that we must seek to prevent a no deal, a no deal situation occurring, either by imposition or by defau

mr. speaker, the pros of washington d.c. but i want to thank all of you for making time as we get what we call, i think, cnl, fair winds and following seas, in the service to our speaker of the house. he's a tried-and-true public servant. we all know that. coming in, about lunch before we got it, here at the pentagon for 9/11, powerful of parlor see art detect. i would say to the members of congress, where here, we look at the people on capitol hill as our board of directors, our overseers, obviously our funders and we look at it as a collaboration and probably, when you look at the house and service committees, then you look at the leadership of the house and the senate, there rights are good fortunes. we know our troops will move against the enemy. if we don't do the right thing here in this time, we don't set them up for success. i come from the other washington, the one that's far, even further west than wisconsin. so i want to borrow an image, mr. speaker. it captures the trust. it's an image from the west and it shows

there is no majority in this house for no deal, mr speaker. isn't this just a deeply cynical manoeuvre from a failing and utterly reckless prime minister? hear, hear! i have to say to the right honourable gentleman, it's a bit rich him standing here and talking about dithering. laughter let's see what the labour party did this week. they say they will call a vote of no—confidence. then they said they would. then he said he wouldn't. then it was ineffective. i know it's christmas... order! members must not shout at the prime minister! order! calm yourselves. try to get into the christmas spirit. if you can't do that, at least listen to the prime minister. thank you, thank you, mr speaker. they said they'd put on a vote of no—confidence. then they said they wouldn't, then they said they would, then they did it but it wasn't effective. i know it's the christmas season and the pantomime season, but what do we see from the labour front bench and the right honourable gentleman? 'he's going to want a confidence vote? 'oh, yes he is. 'oh, no he is

thank you, mr speaker. they said they would put down a vote of no—confidence, then they said they wouldn‘t, then they said they would, then they did it it wasn‘t affected. i know it is the pantomime season, but what do we see from the labour front bench and the right honourable gentleman? he‘s going to pull a confidence vote. oh, yes he is. oh, no, he isn‘t! i‘ve got some news for him. i‘ve got some advice for the right honourable gentleman. look behind you! they‘re not impressed, and neither is the country. shouting. calm. mr speaker, we i wish the prime minister a well—deserved chequers chillax over this season, but given that there may be money going spare in the new season, i give her my priority list. justice for the 1950s women. genuinely fair funding for schools in west sussex. addressing the 2 million shortfall in children‘s social care, and for good measure, a vote of absolutely no confidence whatsoever in her majesty‘s opposition! i thank my honourable friend for his good wis

speaker: mr kenneth clarke. firstly, mr speaker... speaker: order, it is rather unseemly for people to yell out "is that it?" the attorney general has given a full response, the members can make of it what they will. somebody —— everybody should cheer up because we are about to hear from the father of the house. whether that should cheer people up i have no idea! i sincerely congratulate my right honourable friend on his masterly exposition of the facts and the law which put paid to quite a lot of the paranoia and conspiracy theories that had been running around all too often in our european debates. and secondly, does he accept that it was central to the good friday agreement, the belfast agreement, that both sides committed themselves timelessly to an open border? that is all wrapped up if we ever move to the northern ireland protocol. it would be quite shameful if either the european union or the republic of ireland, or the the european union or the republic of ireland, orthe united kingdom was of ireland, orthe united kingdom

mr. speaker, i'd now like to yield to my colleague from illinois, mr. davis. mr. davis: mr. speaker, thank you and thank you to my friend from florida. i know he's probably worried about what i might say in his final speech here on the floor tonight but i've got to tell you about a friend i met just shortly after going to a meeting across the street where i had the honor of becoming a mentor to a candidate who wanted to run for congress. and his name was carlos curbelo. i knew we were going to get along well when i called him the first time on the phone and he said, why are you my mentor? i said because you have key west in the district you are running in. i'd like to come visit you. he took my first jeck well and we hit it off and became very close friends. imagine my glee when on election night in 2014, my men tee became a new -- my mentee became a newly elected member of congress. to see him walk into this institution, to see him immediately become not just a friend to me and to many others, but a legislator and one of the best legislators i have ever had the opportunity

but, mr speaker,... mr ellis, you area but, mr speaker,... mr ellis, you are a distinct ornament of a government department, an executive of the branch... be good, man, you can do so much better when you try! mrjeremy corbyn... can do so much better when you try! mrjeremy corbyn. .. but, can do so much better when you try! mrjeremy corbyn... but, mr can do so much better when you try! mrjeremy corbyn. .. but, mr speaker, it is disgraceful that a month has been wasted since we were due to vote on the 11th of december. there can be no further attempts to dodge the accountability of government to this parliament, mr speaker. thank you. mr speaker, the right honourable gentleman asked me three questions during that response. does the deal still have the confidence of the cabinet? yes. does cabinet collective responsibility still apply? yes. does the cabinet wants to avoid no deal? yes, the cabinet wants to ensure we leave the european union with a good deal, and that is this deal. the real indecision is the indecision at the heart of a labour par

mr. scott: thank you, mr. speaker. we find ourselves in the oval office. this christmas season, [inaudible] faith, hope, and love. the greatest of these is love. and where i find that focus of love today is on the community. this is -- this is called the community justice reform bill because if you cut the crimes committed, you are making the communities safer. i look over at these law enforcement officers, thank you. thank you. [applause] thank you for coming to the table. there's one thing that's crystal clear to all americans, president trump, who believes n law and order. [inaudible] law enforcement organizations brought many republicans to the table to take a look and see what this legislation could do. it was your support. the support of president trump that brought this coalition together. without your support, this would not be possible. mr. president, thank you, again. [applause] president trump: congratulations. [inaudible] [laughter] mr. mccarthy: this bill involves [inaudible] yes, we believe in law. we all believe in second chances. we also be

thank you, mr. speaker. about fees and democracy, but i think a lot of leave, whether they voted a remain, we'll look at this and see a public found in contempt. she has tried to postpone a vote on her own deal and postpone a vote on whether she should have a vote on that deal or not. people will be looking at this aghast. i have spoken to many leave votes in my constituency. i deeply respect why they voted leave, but many have changed their minds and they are looking at this and saying to me, they want to have a chance to vote on , not thet reality brexit fantasy and that is why we need a vote. prime minister may: he is wrong, of course because we did provide legal advice to this house. that has been available to members of this house. he talks about this vote as if there is no vote in the future. of course we are deferring the vote what we have further discussions with the eu. has the prime minister not noticed that there are plenty of legal challenges around brexit, whether it is the fact that the referen

comer: mr. speaker, i rise today to congratulate mr. and mrs. drew and liz white of union county, kentucky for recently being named kentucky farm bureau's 2018 outstanding young family. this recognizes young farmers between the ages of 18 and 35 that have strong farm leadership skills and achieved success in their farming operations. drew and liz come from families with rich histories in farming. drew is the fourth generation to work on his family farm established by his great-grandfather. the farm has grown and experienced success with raising cattle. liz grew up on a family farm and showed horses during her youth and worked at a local weinery before becoming an occupational therapy assistant. they are involved in the agricultural community through the future farmers of america and the 4-h. their efforts have not only benefited union county but are a model for farmers throughout the commonwealth. on behalf of the 1st district of kentucky, i congratulate drew and liz white and wish them the best as they continue to grow their farming operation a

mr speaker, the basis of this deal? mr speaker, the referendum took place. we fought the referendum took place. we fought the election respecting the result of the referendum. we are opposed to this deal. we think there is the possibility of getting an agreement which would be dead for this country and give us the control that is not given by this government's proposals to us. throughout the entire negotiating period, scotland has been treated with contempt. we voted overwhelmingly to remain yet the will of the scottish people means nothing. absolutely nothing. to this by minister. instead of engaging meaningfully with scotland during this critical time, the prime minister chose last—minute photocalls and stage—managed events. all smoke and mirrors to dress up the fact that her government could not care less about scotland and that we can see that denied. entering into this arrangement means we enter a twilight period where the eu is given unprecedented powers over the uk, certainly in the transition period, and a lot of leveraging the negotiations of th

the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. bishop: with that, i wish to yield as much time as he may wish to consume to the sponsor of this piece of legislation, congressman from california, mr. cook, to explain why we should actually deal with this particular piece. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. cook: thank you, mr. speaker, and thank you, mr. bishop, for yielding time. i would like to take a few

she knows she's lost but she's still wasting precious time, mr speaker we need a prime minister to be clear about when the house will vote on this deal. this government under prime minister have failed, it's time they got out of the way. prime minister, members across this house don't want your deal. the eu don't want to negotiate. isn't the only way to break this deadlock to put it to the people? mr speaker, the prime minister has changed her mind about the vote and she has changed her mind about whether or not the backstop can be amended. so, if she can change her mind, why won't she just check whether the british people have changed their minds since they voted two years ago? she knows that when the politics of this place is broken, you either resign, you go back to the people in a general election or a referendum. no one gets to play for extra time before the game is over! which he now commit to going back to them to say they need to reopen the withdrawal agreement and a commitment to open borders and take out those restrictions that would take away the power and control from this

no, mr speaker, of course not, because that hasn't happened. let me just say again to the right honourable gentleman, what he is positing here is a hypothetical situation — it hasn't happened. and it's important that the bbc get the chance to consider the right way forward here. all that he says about the importance of television, to those who are elderly and particularly as he says to those who are lonely, is quite right. but there has been no decision made here yet. and i think it's right to give the bbc the space in which to make it. and that i think is the right way forward. the culture secretary, jeremy wright. the head of the civil service has told mps that some government departments have "paused" domestic policy work to focus on preparing for brexit. sir mark sedwill was appearing before the public administration and constitutional affairs committee for the first time since he took over as cabinet secretary in october. some departments, for example, have paused some of their other domestic policy agenda in order to focus their attenti

mr speaker on a personal note on the morning after the referendum two and a half years ago i knew that we had witnessed a defining moment for our democracy places that didn't get a lot of attention that elections and which did not get much coverage on the news were making their voices heard and saying that they wanted things to change i knew in that moment that parliament had to deliver for them but of course that doesn't just mean delivering bricks it it means working across all areas building a stronger economy improving public services. tackling tackling tackling social injustices to make this a country that truly works for everyone. and the prime minister must be heard the prime minister. tackling social injustices to make this a country that truly works for everyone a country where no where and nobody is left behind and these matters are too important to be after thoughts in our politics they deserve to be at the center of our thinking but that can only happen if we get bricks it done and get it done right and even though i voted for may and from the moment i took up the responsib

thank you, mr speaker. i living in the eu as well. thank you, mrspeaker. iam living in the eu as well. thank you, mr speaker. i am sure the whole house willjoin me injoining the prime minister in condemning the shootings in strasbourg and extending our sympathy to the families of those killed or injured there. mr speaker, i‘m delighted to see the prime minister back in her place after her little journeys. having told the media this morning that she‘s made progress, can she now update the house on what changes she has secured to her deal? can i say to the right honourable gentleman, i did travel to europe yesterday and meet a number of heads of government and the commission and the european union council, that‘s precisely because i‘ve listened to concerns raised in this house and have taken those concerns to europe. and no one that i met is in any doubt about the strength of concern in this house on the issue of the duration of the backstop. but i‘m interested that the right honourable gentleman wa

thank you, mr speaker. i have not taken the decision likely because i entered stand the constitutional and political significance of this motion. on the contrary, we have raised points of order on a number of occasions about this order. we have asked urgent questions and i have asked urgent questions and i have repeatedly urged the government to reconsider its position, both publicly and privately. making it clear of the consequence of not doing so. but the government has chosen not to do so. i urge the government now, even at this 11th hour to think government now, even at this 11th hourto think again, government now, even at this 11th hour to think again, to stop, to pull back from the brink of being found in contempt of parliament. this motion is a last resort. the issue before us is simple. this house passed a binding order, the government is wilfully refusing to comply with that order. that is co nte m pt of comply with that order. that is contempt of parliament. order. yes, the right honourable gentle

mr. fortenberry: thank you, mr. speaker. when i learned of the death of my very close friend of drr mes billington, the 13th librarian of congress. that was about three weeks ago. dr. billington's passion for the passion he led for 28 years, his nature and his gentlemanly demeanor were a tremendous inspiration to me and so many members of this body. i so admired him. and i want to extend my heartfelt condolences to the entire family. may god grant him peace. during his 28 years at the library congress, he led the institution in a remarkable period of accomplishment. he once referred to the library of congress, and i like to call it america's library, he said it is the largest of world-recorded knowledge ever assembled on our planet and he preserved the nation's and opened the collections to the american people and to people around the world. dr. billington doubled the size of the library holdings to 160 music, tems to books, film recordings, prints and photographs. at the same time, he created a massive online library so tha

thank you, mr speaker. i want to ask the prime minister if she thinks that going back and changing minutia about the backstop is actually going to make any difference to the kind of people on her side who would like to go around calling themselves aslan and circling around her head, kevin nothing about this country but only about their own position? this backstop rejig is going to make absolutely no difference to those people. —— caring nothing. and they know it. so what is the plan then?” would say to the honourable lady, theissue would say to the honourable lady, the issue of the potential, what people are concerned about is a potential indefinite nature of the backstop, there is no intention for that to be indefinite, there is no intention for it to be used in the first place. that is a genuine concern that is held by people across this house and i think entirely right that the government addresses it. thank you, mr speaker pulse of the prime minister rightly talks about listening to young people a

history and duncan smith mr speaker i would like to focus my right honorable friend the prime minister on the issue of the backstop as this is critical to whatever my right old friend conducts with the european union does she not agree with me that now that she has essentially suspended the remaining part of this debate that is incumbent on her and the government to go forward boldly to the e.u. and remind them that they have already said that no matter what no matter what arrangements would be in place there would be no hard border on the border of our land and so have the irish so given that would she now commit to going back to them to say they need to reopen the withdrawal agreement and insert into with gold agreement a commitment to open borders and take out those restrictions that would take away the power and control from this parliament to decide its future here and i say to my right and befriend i think two things he's right that the european union has been clear as we have about how to ensure. there's no hard border between north and actually the european union have also been

thank you, mr speaker. i will be dependent on you to keep order in the chamber so that ican be to keep order in the chamber so that i can be heard. i have no difficulty whatsoever doing that and i will continue to do that. what i am asking the leader of the house to do is to furnish the house with the information that was requested. thank you, mr speaker. the honourable lady asked whether the house will rise from christmas recess as planned and what i said is that the house has already decided that the house has already decided that the house will rise for the christmas recess on the 20th of december and return on the 7th of january. the honourable lady asks about time to debate brexit. i can assure her, as she will know, that the government has a very good record in making sure the house has plenty of time to debate brexit during passage of the withdrawal act both houses played a central role in improving the legislation with 37 days of debate spanning 11 months with over moo amendments debated and almost

speaker. thank you, mr. speaker, i am sure the whole house will join me in condemning the shootings in strasburg and extend our sympathies to those families there. having told the meeting this morning that she made progress, can she now update the house on what changes she has secured to her deal? >> i did travel to europe yesterday and meet a number of heads of government in the commission and the european union council because i listened to concerns raised in this house and have taken those concerns to europe and nobody is in any doubt about the strength of concern there is in the house on the issue of the duration of the stop, and i know the gentleman wants to know what progress we made, because the fine gentleman could not care less what i have brought back from brussels, because all he wants to do is create chaos in our economy. [ jeering ] >> damage, division in our society, and damage to our economy. that's labor. >> it's clear, mr. speaker, nothing has changed. if she needed any clarification, mr. sp

mr speaker. ijoin yourself jeremy corbyn. rank you, mr speaker. i join yourself and the jeremy corbyn. rank you, mr speaker. ijoin yourself and the prime minister in welcoming sammy woodhouse to parliament today and it isa woodhouse to parliament today and it is a typical act of your generosity to refer to her in the gallery today so that others can be emboldened to face the rate crisis that we all face. i would like to extend the condolences to luke griffiths, who was killed in capital last week, along with five afghan nationals. he had previously served in the 15th red giant of the royal artillery. while we debate the critical issue of brexit, we must not neglect the crisis facing millions of people throughout our country. last week i wrote to the prime minister about the scathing report of the un special report on this government's brutal policies towards the brewer in britain. as of now, i have received no reply from the prime minister. when the prime minister read the report, what doctor moo

i do not believe, mr speaker, that we are likely to be entrapped in it permanently. he has just said that he doesn't... it is not his belief that we will be trapped in the backstop permanently, but this house who has to take the final decision, not the cabinet, is not interested in his believe, it is interested in his legal opinion. it seems to me, a situation where we are now reliant on our learned friends to take kisses and international quartile this sovereign parliament being able to decide when we can get out of these arrangements. can the attorney general confirm what he said, that this is an indefinite arrangement, that it can be permanent despite what some of his cabinet colleagues are saying in law? in law? the right honourable gentleman throws down a gauntlet to me to re—examine my support for the agreement, and i don't mind confessing to him that i have wrestled with this question, because i am a unionist, and any divergence between northern ireland and the rest of the united kingdom, i dislike. but i have had also to take into account that this is an ar

that will be tabled immediately, mr speaker. thank you. the labour leader is putting down a no—confidence motion in the prime minister. to be crystal clear, that is something that would embarrass her if she lost that vote, if enough of her own mps and the dup, who have been supporting the tories up until a couple of weeks ago, if they went on board with the labour party. but it is not the same as a traditional vote of no—confidence, the kind of move that could collapse government and crash them into a general election. but nonetheless labour tonight seems determined to make to reason may‘s christmas difficult. a man has been sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 32 years for murdering his estranged wife and her mother in a knife attack in august. raneem oudeh was on the phone to the police when she and her mother khaola saleem were stabbed to death outside the family home in solihull. the daughter's husband, janbaz tarin, was arrested three days later, following an extensive search. sima kotecha has the story. he had been on

mr speaker, when we have the vote... ..when we have the vote, members will need to reflect carefully on what is in the best interests of our country. i know that there are a range of very strongly held personal views on this issue across the house, and i respect all of them. but expressing our personal views is not what we are here to do. we asked the british people to take this decision. now of course theresa may says she needs a bit more time to try and get some tweaks to the withdrawal agreement or accompanying political declaration to reassure mps on the backstop question, on which there is great concern across the house of commons. but it is clear many mps don't expect anything back from that attempt to persuade eu leaders to look again at this renegotiation, so they are left asking what the pointers of waiting. they fear she is just trying to run down the clock then present mps with the deal on then present mps with the deal on the table riske no deal at all —— what the point is of waiting. however, she is discussing some of the possibilities that could flow from a rejectio

mr speaker, we are in uncharted territory. a government found in contempt of parliament. a prime ministerfacing weekly resignations, barely surviving a vote of confidence from her own party. still in office but not in control. perhaps more troubling, we are three months away from leaving the european union. we are sleepwalking to disaster. there is no majority for the prime minister's deal. the snp leader had a direct message forjeremy corbyn. i have to say to him that the leader of the opposition has become the midwife for brexit. the leader of the opposition is letting the government off the hook. he has it within his gift to bring forward the no confidence motion that will test the will of the house. but crucially will allow his party to move on to the issue of a people's vote. yesterday's stunt was an embarrassment. the brexit secretary insisted the meaningful vote would not be held this week. as the prime minister set out yesterday, we intend to return to the meaningful vote debate in the week commencing january seventh and to hold the vote the following week. that i

mr speaker, i have spent nearly two years in negotiating this deal. i have lost valued colleagues along the way, i have faced... no, i am concluding. valued colleagues along the way, i have faced... no, iam concluding. i have faced... no, iam concluding. i have faced... no, iam concluding. i have faced fierce criticism, if i had banged the table, walked out of the room and at the end of the process delivered the very same deal thatis process delivered the very same deal that is the forum is to take some might say that i had done a better job. i didn't play to the gallery, i focus on getting a deal that honours the referendum, sets us on course and a bright future and i did so through painstaking hard work. i have never thought that politics was simply about broadcasting alone opinions on the matter at hand. it is as much about listening to people from all sides... order, order. mr mcneil, i am concerned. you work noisy. i heard you. your apprenticeship to become a statesman has a distance to travel. politics is as much about listening to people from a

that will be tabled immediately, mr speaker. thank you. that was in the last hour 01’ so. let's talk to our political correspondent ben wright at westminster. we can all be forgiven for watching that, thinking what is going on? is this possible? how does it work? i'm sure you have the answers. it sounds like a dramatic piece of political theatre jeremy corbyn was like a dramatic piece of political theatrejeremy corbyn was producing. in fact, it is a fairly meaningless motion in many ways. calling for a vote of confidence in the prime minister is a symbolic act byjeremy corbyn. it may be the government decides to allot time for this vote to ta ke decides to allot time for this vote to take pace but even if it passes, which, of course, would require the support of the dup and a handful of tories as well to get it over the line, even if labour passes this motion, it doesn't actually amount to anything. it is only symbolic, it isn't a vote of confidence in the government. that is legislated for a different way, and that could potentially go on and trigger a general election, w

thank you, mr speaker. i would just like to ask, after your finding there that individuals who are found to have made unwelcome remarks should apologise, why it is that when an opposition member found that you had called me a stupid woman, you did not apologise in this chamber? no, no. no. i'll deal with the point. hear, hear, hear! i dealt with that matter months ago, in remarks that i made to the house of commons, to which the right honourable lady — in our various meetings since — has made no reference, and which requires from the chair today no elaboration whatsoever. mr speaker, with great respect to the chair, i have to say this — if it was one of my male colleagues on this side of the house that had used that expression against a woman on the front bench on the opposition, you, sir, would take action immediately. this is not acceptable. please would you deal with it, as you often do, mr speaker, in a fair way, but also from the point of view of women in this house who are fed up over decades of

it's very clear mr speaker nothing has changed. if she needed. it she needed any care for cation mr speaker if you needed any time if occasion about the temporary nature of the backstop she need to gone to europe she could have just asked her attorney general who said it in june as indefinitely. as the prime minister may recall when she left when she left on her journey we were about to start day full of a five day debate on the deal since the prime minister has not achieved any changes are either to withdraw all agreement all the future partnership can she now confirm that we will have the concluding days of debates and votes within the next seven days before the house rises for the christmas recess was a right honorable gentleman i had discussions with a number of people yesterday and i have made some progress but there is. but of course there is an e.u. council meeting there are further discussions to be round he asks about the meaningful very meaningful that has been deferred in the day should be announced in the normal way the business motio

today, mr deputy speaker, i can report to the british people that their hard work is paying off and the era of austerity is finally coming to an end. what we've heard today are half measures and quick fixes while austerity grinds on. and far from people's hard work and sacrifices having paid off, as the chancellor claims, this government has frittered it away in ideological tax cuts to the richest in our society. the budget statement shows a chronic lack of understanding of the threats that we face and the storm clouds ahead. we got more for potholes than for schools, nothing for women born in the 19505 and facing pension inequality, and a pathetic and inadequate sticking plaster for universal credit. barely two weeks ago, the world scientists issued their most stark warning yet that we have just 12 years in which to tackle climate change and to avoid climate catastrophe, yet not one single word from this chancellor about climate change, nothing about clean energy, nothing about green energy. members of the royal family, politicians, veterans and the public came together as always on re

so, mr speaker, as the only way i can think of ensuring a vote takes place this week, i'm about to table a motion which says the following. that this house has no confidence in the prime minister, due to her a new report exposes the scale of russian efforts in the 2016 us elections, saying moscow used every major social media platform to help elect donald trump. we've got a new development in one of the biggest financial scandals in history — malaysia has filed criminal charges against goldman sachs. and as of today tumblr is banning porn — we'll hear why so many users don't agree. well, two important developments on brexit tonight. first, theresa may says mps will finally get to vote on her brexit deal — that will take place in the week starting january 14th. the second important development came when the leader of the opposition responded. the prime minister has obdurately refused to ensure that a vote took place on the day she agreed. she refuses to allow a vote to take place this week, and is now, i assume, thinking the vote will be on the 14th of january, almost a month away.

mr. speaker, having spent the pest part of two years poring over the detail of brexit, listening to the public's ambitions and, yes, their fears, too, and testing the limits of what the other side is prepared to accept, i'm in absolutely no doubt this deal is the right one. it honors the result of the referendum -- >> the remainder of the statement must be heard and i invite the house to hear it with courtesy and for avoidance of doubt and also the benefit of those attending to our proceeds who are not members of the house i emphasize that as per usual, i will call everyone who wants to question the prime minister. but meanwhile, please hear her the prime minister. >> it honors the result of the referendum, it protects job security and our union but it represents the best deal that is negotiable with the eu i believe in it, as do many members of the house and i still believe there is a majority to be won in this house in support of it if i can secure additional reassurance on the question

mr speaker, the prime minister must explain... the prime minister must explain why she continues to deny scotland the rights and opportunities that her deal offers to other parts of the united kingdom. theresa may said, she and the government had been clear, the uk couldn't pull out of the northern ireland backstop unilaterally. the backstop is the insurance policy to stop any physical border being built between northern ireland and the republic if no trade agreement is reached by the end of 2020. as to scotland... we are leaving the european union as the whole united kingdom. we will negotiate as the whole united kingdom. for the interests of scotland... for the interests of scotland, remaining in the internal market of united kingdom is the most important economic interest. and for the interests of scotland, coming out of the common fisheries policy, which is in our deal and our policy and not his. but the northern ireland border was taken up by a dup mp. this morning's legal advice refers to the backstop as permanent arrangemen