David Cameron’s Commons statement on the G20 summit: Politics Live blog Rolling coverage of all the day’s political developments as they happen, including this morning’s Rochester byelection hustings on BBC Radio Kent 5.15pm GMTPeter Bone, a Conservative, asks if President Putin really left early because he was tired. Or was it because, like most bullies, he didn’t like someone standing up to him.Cameron says he does not know why Putin left early. He says his view is that you should always stay to the end at summits like this, unless something gets agreed that you disagree with. 5.13pm GMTPhilip Hollobone, a Conservative, says Britons who fight with Islamist State should be prosecuted for treason.Cameron says he agrees. These people should face the full force of the law, he says. 5.07pm GMTThe most interesting aspect of the exchanges between Cameron and Miliband was what they both had to say about the global economy.Miliband accused Cameron of getting his excuses in early.Today you tell us there are red lights flashing in the global economy. I think that is what is known as getting your excuses in early. I’m very happy to defend and take some credit for what is happening in the British economy - growing at 3%, the biggest fall in unemployment on record, 400,000 new businesses. Because of the difficult decisions that we took, the British economy is doing well.Can I say what a pleasure it always is to get back to Britain and find some things haven’t changed - our language, the beauties of our climate and that crucially you are still in your place? 5.00pm GMTLabour’s Andy Sawford asks which prime minister turned up to the discussion on climate change: the one who said he wanted to hug a husky, or the one who said he wanted to cut the crap.Cameron says it was the one who set up the green investment bank, and the one who commissioned a new nuclear power station when Labour did nothing to restart the nuclear programme. 4.58pm GMTHere is the quote that David Cameron cited earlier, from Karel de Gucht, the EU trade commissioner, saying the NHS would not be covered by the free trade provisions in TTIP (which allegedly could open it up to services being taken over by a US firm). It’s in this BBC story. De Gucht said:Public services are always exempted - there is no problem about exemption. The argument is abused in your country for political reasons but it has no grounds. 4.52pm GMTLabour’s Sheila Gilmore asks why the NHS cannot be formally exempted from TTIP.Cameron says these ideas can be discussed. But there is not point raising unnecessary fears amongst the public. 4.48pm GMTMargaret Ritchie, the SDLP MP, asks if a devolve administration could be forced to pay money to a private company under an investor state dispute settlement (ISDS) under TTIP.Cameron says these ISDS arrangements have been part of every trade deal Britain has signed. And Britain has never lost a case, he says. 4.47pm GMTJohn Barron, a Conservative, says the problem with talking loudly and carrying a small stick is that you get found out by the bullies.Camerons says he does not accept that. Britain has one of the top five defence budgets in the word. Two new aircraft carriers are being built, and destroyers. Britain has a full set of capabilities. We should not talk it down. 4.45pm GMTCameron says a former EU trade commissioner said there was “no problem” about public services being exempted form TTIP and that these arguments were being abused “for political reasons”. 4.44pm GMTLabour’s Gisela Stuart asks why Cameron is so sure that the NHS will not be covered by TTIP.Cameron says what makes him confident is a statement from the European Commission about states having the right to keep their health service in the public sector. 4.43pm GMTHere’s Labour’s John Woodcock summarising an exchange he had earlier.Asked PM if G20 signalled the UKs budget deficit would take even longer to clear. He just said figures would be set out in the normal way 4.42pm GMTLabour’s Alison McGovern asks if Cameron will campaign for an international right to health coverage.Cameron says she’s right. This should be considered when the Millennium Development Goals are updated, he says. 4.40pm GMTJulian Lewis, a Conservative, asks Cameron for a commitment to keep defence spending above the Nato target (2% of national income) while he is in office.Cameron says he has set out his plans for this parliament, and that he will set out his plans for the next one at the election. 4.39pm GMTLabour’s Derek Twigg asks how having so many people on low-paid jobs addresses the productivity problem.Cameron says a large number of jobs are being created and that it is a myth to say they are all low-paid ones. 4.38pm GMTHugh Robertson, a Conservative, asks if Cameron discussed cutting funds to Islamic State from Arab countries.Cameron says he discussed this issue with Barack Obama and Tony Abbott, the Australian prime minister. 4.37pm GMTLabour’s Rushanara Ali asks about an initiative to cut remittance costs for people sending money back to developing countries.Cameron says remittances are a critical source of income in these countries. 4.35pm GMTSir Edward Leigh, a Conservative, suggests spending £650m from the aid budget on a climate change fund is not the best use of public money.Cameron say breaking promises to the poorest in the world would not be the right thing to do. 4.34pm GMTThe SNP’s Angus Roberston invites Cameron to congratulate Nicola Sturgeon on becoming leader of the SNP. Cameron says he is happy to congratulate her. At the G20 almost all leaders came up to say how pleased they were the UK was staying together. 4.33pm GMTLiam Fox, the Conservative former defence secretary, says it is the eurozone itself that poses a threat to the EU’s recovery.Cameron says the eurozone needs structural recovery. And Britain and America have shown an active monetary policy can make a difference. The European Central Bank should follow that course. 4.32pm GMTLabour’s Keith Vaz asks if Cameron discussed trade in his meeting with the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi. And did he invite him to the UK?Cameron says more can be done to promote trade with India. They discussed the need for the free trade talks with the EU to get going again. 4.30pm GMTCameron says changes in the US Congress make an agreement on TTIP (the transatlantic trade and investment partnership) more likely. But supporters of TTIP must attack the myths about its impact on the NHS, he says. 4.28pm GMTLabour’s Dennis Skinner accuses Cameron of “hypocrisy” because he is imposing sanctions on Russia, while helping Russians donate to the Conservative party.Cameron says he does not know where to start. Skinner used to support the Communists, he says, but they don’t run Russia any more. 4.27pm GMTSir Malcolm Rifkind, the Conservative former foreign secretary, says further sanctions on Putin and his “cronies” will not have any effect.Cameron says he disagrees. The value of the rouble has fallen, he says. Economic sanctions are having an effect. 4.26pm GMTLabour’s Pat McFadden asks if Cameron regrets watering down Labour’s anti-terror laws.Cameron says the government took advice and took the right decisions. 4.24pm GMTJack Straw, the Labour foreign secretary, asks about Luxembourg’s “scandalous” record on tax avoidance when Jean-Claude Juncker was prime minister.Cameron says Luxembourg has now signed up to action on tax avoidance. 4.23pm GMTSir Peter Tapsell, a Conservative, asks if Russia would take more notice if Britain were re-arming.Cameron says Britain is investing in arms. But what Putin really notices is a united opposition. 4.21pm GMTCameron is responding to Miliband.He says all EU leaders who met Putin gave him a clear message. 4.18pm GMTEd Miliband is responding to Cameron.He endorses Cameron’s comments about the murder of Peter Kassig. 4.13pm GMTCameron says the G20 plan is plan for jobs and growth. It is intended to boost the global economy by $2 trillion.The warning signs in the global economy show it is more important than ever to stick to the government’s long-term economic plan, he says. 4.07pm GMTDavid Cameron starts by condemning the murder of the US aid worker, Peter Kassig.He says tackling the threat posed by terror formed part of his conversations with the Australian prime minister. He has announced powers to stop extremists returning to the UK. A full statement about the counter-terrorism bill will be made soon. 4.03pm GMTApparently David Cameron only got back from the G20 summit at lunchtime. And his body clock will be telling him it’s the middle of the night. He might not be in a very good mood ... 4.00pm GMTLord Ashcroft’s weekly poll is out. Here are the figures.Ashcroft National Poll, 14-16 November: CON 29%, LAB 30%, LDEM 9%, UKIP 16%, GRN 7%. Full details on @ConHome, 4pm.Voting intention with changes in this weeks ANP: pic.twitter/3Ceh9aCbmy 3.54pm GMTLabour’s Michael McCann isn’t impressed by Cameron’s latest argument about the state of the global economy. Extraordinary that the 2008 global crash was Labours fault while this isnt the Tories responsibility. t.co/FErFSLjWVf 3.52pm GMTMy statement on #G20 and why warning signs in the global economy mean we must stick to the long term economic plan at 4pm in the Commons. 3.28pm GMTDavid Cameron will be making his Commons statement on the G20 summit in about half an hour. It would normally start at 3.30pm, but there is an urgent question about the army reserves first.For some background, here’s a piece from Guardian Australia’s Van Badham on 10 things we learnt from the G20. 2.31pm GMTHere’s a short afternoon reading list.The idea that voting Conservative is a blow against career politicians without local connections is openly risible. To put it on your leaflets is an act of desperate prattishness. 1.14pm GMTThis web of lies, deceit and indiscipline, and by police officers, led to Mr Mitchell and his family being subjected to an extremely unpleasant, indeed vitriolic, press campaign and a good deal of hostility from the public who believed what they had read in the press. It also placed him in a position where he required considerable determination and, above all, confidence in the rightness of his position, to stand by his account of events.I admit to sometimes using bad language in conversation. I also admit that I can sometimes be impatient and short-tempered when I consider I am being prevented from going about my legitimate business. I even admit that I can be - or at least that I can appear to be - rude on these occasions. To the best of my recollection, I have never called anybody a ‘pleb’, however, let alone a policeman. Since the incident I have thought long and hard about this and cannot recall a single instance when I have called anybody a ‘pleb’. It just isn’t a word I use. 1.00pm GMTThe Institute for Fiscal Studies has published a short note today saying that the amount the government is saving from changes to benefits and tax credits is much lower than expected. Amongst other reasons, this is partly because of higher spending on pensioners, and partly because anticipated savings from cuts to tax credits, housing benefit and disability living allowance have not materialised. 12.49pm GMTGeorge Osborne, the chancellor, has used an interview with BBC News to back David Cameron’s comments, in a Guardian article, about the “red warning lights” flashing on the dashboard of the global economy. Osborne said:You have to make a realistic assesment of the global economy today. We’ve discovered that Japan has gone into recession, Europe remains vey weak, and although the British economy is perfoming well we’re not immune to these things happening in the world. It’s all the more reason why we’ve got to go on working through our long term economic plan and why it would be a complete disaster to divert from that plan, to borrow and spend more. That would put Britain in a place where many other countries find themselves today.It is helpful that Mr Cameron has finally noticed the extreme fragility of the global economy, if only belatedly, but what’s clear from his remarks is that he’s trying to lay the blame for the failures of his own government in any place but the right one. Voters will no doubt recall that this government came into office promising to ‘rebalance’ our economy, away from the financial sector and back towards manufacturing - a move that would have required substantial investment in the real economy, rather than cash flowing into financial and property speculation. 12.29pm GMTHere’s the Press Association on the security scare at Westminster this morning. (See 10.28am.)A security alert which closed a key Parliamentary building was sparked by suspicions over a tablet computer belonging to a minister’s aide. Portcullis House - which contains MPs’ offices and committee rooms - was evacuated and sealed off while police examined the device. An exciting start to my apprentices first day at Parliament: the whole of Portcullis House evacuated cos of security scare over his iPad! 12.06pm GMTHere is a Rochester byelection round-up.It started in Clacton. That by-election was significant not only because it launched Ukip into Westminster, but also because it taught the party how to campaign. Clacton was the first electoral battle in which Ukip waged a modern, professional and intensive effort. It was the first time that Ukip experimented with a “voter identification system” – a database of information on each voter – and therefore the first time that the party approached different areas with different messages. Thus Labour voters heard about opposition to the “bedroom tax” and the need to punish bankers; Tory voters heard about the need for more GPs. It was also the first time that younger Ukippers became seriously involved, learning the importance of more targeted, subtle and nuanced messages before their own campaigns next May along the East Coast. I do believe that I am a normal person. The only candidate who is a true person of Rochester and Strood is me ... I’ve not wanted to be an MP since I was nine. I’m not a career politician, I never set out to do this. But I really want to represent this area because I come from here, I know the people and I think I can do a good job.Cameron to announce £600 million foreign aid to fight climate change. How many votes will that be worth in Rochester?Final consensus in the PB Rochester by-election prediction competition is that UKIP will win with margin of 8.88% pic.twitter/tshw0uCzEE 11.37am GMTDavid Cameron is going to host a Cobra meeting on the latest Islamic State beheading, Downing Street announced at the Number 10 lobby briefing.Prime Minister to chair Cobra meeting on the latest Isis beheading video when he returns from the G20 t.co/61BgDR2ZGR 11.13am GMTThe plebgate libel trial has got underway.I won’t be providing minute-by-minute coverage here, but the BBC’s Danny Shaw seems to be providing good rolling coverage here on Twitter. Here are his opening posts.Main issue for libel case is whether Andrew Mitchell did swear at police & describe them as plebs. Mr Justice Mitting presiding. #plebgate#plebgate James Price QC tells court Andrew Mitchell is innocent man as he outlines his case at start of libel action#plebgate Price says police responsible for a web of lies, deceit & indiscipline which led to vitriolic press campaign against Mitchell#plebgate Price: Andrew Mitchell is not a snob, he is a good man. The word pleb is not in his vocabulary..its the very opposite of ...#plebgate Desmond Browne QC for Toby Rowland says Mitchell was a Jekyll & Hyde character - a mix of charm & menace#plebgate Browne says Mitchell has foul temper & uses foul language#plebgate Browne says Mitchell told security officer in another encounter he was a little s***#plebgate Browne says Mitchell put another officer down saying thats a bit above your pay grade Mr Plod 11.03am GMTWho’s winning in Rochester and Strood? Having listening to this morning’s hustings, I’m tempted to conclude that the answer is - Sir John Major. I spent a day in the constituency three and half weeks ago - you can read about it here - and I was told explicitly by Ukip that they were putting immigration at the heart of their campaign. They showed me this, which they described as their main campaign leaflet.Ukip election leaflet in Rochester pic.twitter/EeHeXUqwLWFirst and foremost, because I’m putting backing Medway’s NHS at the centre of my campaign. My father’s a doctor, my mother was a nurse and I’m extremely concerned that under both of the parties we’ve seen problems at Medway hospital being allowed to fester for at least a decade now. Kelly Tolhurst, the Conservative candidate and Reckless’s main rival, also highlighted the state of the local hospital as her main issue. 10.30am GMTThat didn’t last long.Security Alert is over at Portcullis House. Roads and building reopened. 10.28am GMTThere is a security alert at Parliament. Portcullis House, the building opposite the main Houses of Parliament where many MPs have offices, has been partly evacuated because of a suspect package.Westminster cleared of people and traffic after major security scare around Parliament pic.twitter/Ym5pNIHiSWsuspect package at portcullis house - Waterloo bridge shut - though policeman tells me it should be sorted soon pic.twitter/sxbxFesBFd 10.00am GMTQ: Why is there not central fund to help countries accept migrants?Gregory says that would be a good idea. 9.56am GMTTolhurst says Reckless claims he secured the funding for Stood academy. But that happened before he became MP.And she says Reckless talked about two primaries closing. That was Labour policy, she says. 9.54am GMTJuby says Labour created the academies.Khan says people do not understand that there is a difference between Labour and coalition academies. Under Labour, academy status was used to improve failing schools. Under the coalition, the best schools have been encouraged to become academies. 9.52am GMTGregory say the whole system is a problem. There is too much focus on league tables. Teachers should be allowed to teach.Q: That’s Michael Gove’s fault, isn’t it? 9.49am GMTQ: [To Khan] What would you do about local schools?Khan says she went to local schools, and she is a school governor. 9.45am GMTQ: [To Tolhurst] You have been the cabinet member for schools on Medway council. For 18 months, says Tolhurst. 9.39am GMTJuby says there is one school in the Medway were pupils speak more than 100 languages. Immigration puts pressure on services. But he concedes he does not have all the answers. 9.38am GMTReckless says Tolhurst wants to limit the number of immigrants coming from the EU. But you cannot do this if you are in the EU. So, Kelly, will you join me in campaigning to leave the EU.Tolhurst says Cameron wants to limit the numbers coming in. 9.35am GMTQ: [To Gregory] You would let anyone in?No, says Gregory. But what goes around comes around. There are Britons working abroad as a result of the EU. 9.34am GMTKhan says immigrants are contributing a great deal to the economy.And the EU is bringing inward investment to the area. 9.33am GMTQ: [To Tolhurst] Has someone told you not to mention it?Tolhurst says immigration has benefits. But it is having a big impact locally. We need to take measures to reduce it. 9.30am GMTQ: In other debates immigration has come up a lot. Has anyone told you not to mention it?Reckless says people know Ukip has a fair policy on immigration, with an Australian-style points system. 9.28am GMTQ: What would you do to improve health?Tolhurst says Medway hospital being in special measures in unacceptable. She has a personal interest; the hospital save her life last year. 9.26am GMTJulia Smith says there used to be two mental health wards in the local hospital. Now there is just two thirds of one.Q: Does that concern you? 9.19am GMTQ: What would the Green party do on mental health?Gregory says Reckless is right to say there is no proper management. You need a full-time CEO in charge. 9.17am GMTJulia George says it is interesting how much emphasis they are putting on health. At the start of the campaign immigration was more of an issue.Q: What could you do to improve the hospital? 9.11am GMTGeorge is asking each candidate to give a one minute reason why they should be the MP.Labour’s Naushabah Khan says, as someone born in the constituency, she knows they can get things right. But there are issues to address, like the local hospital. 9.06am GMTJulia George is presenting the show. It will last for an hour.She will be asking questions, but also taking questions. 9.00am GMTYou can follow the hustings live on BBC Radio Kent here. 8.59am GMTThere are 13 candidates in the Rochester and Strood byelection. The full list is here.The five main ones are taking part in the hustings. They are: 8.55am GMTThere are three more days of campaigning befoe the Rochester and Strood byelection and this morning the five main candidates are taking part in a hustings being broadcast on BBC Radio Kent. Mark Reckless, the Ukip candidate who triggered the byelection by leaving the Conservatives and resigning as the constitutency’s MP, has been criticised for missing some of the other hustings, but he is taking part today.Just off to Chatham studio to go on @BBCRADIOKENT for my third debate with other candidates from 9-10am Continue reading... worldfeednews/ukraine/2014/11/17/david-camerons-commons-statement-on-the-g20-summit-politics-live-blog/
Posted on: Mon, 17 Nov 2014 18:05:40 +0000