As the bill triggering the uks exit from the European Union clears parliament after peers back down in their battle with the commons. There is no reason whatsoever to think that if this house were to stand its ground, that the House Of Commons would change its view. But Nicola Sturgeon springs a surprise by announcing she intends to call a second independence referendum in scotland. A demand attacked by theresa may. Constitutional gameplay must not be allowed to break the deep bonds of our shared history and our future together. People in scotland will have a referendum and we will have our savi also on this programme, the Chancellor Backs down from a planned hike in National Insurance for the self employed. Set out in the budget. But first. Anyone expecting full scale parliamentary fisticuffs l5l lll llll ll lll llr l lli lll the bill giving theresa may the authority to begin the uks formal exit from the European Union passed through parliament on monday night with relatively little fuss, after the House Of Lords backed down in its row with the commons. The lords had inserted two amendments into what became known as the article 50 bill. The brexit secretary came to the Commons Chamber to make clear the government was not going to give in to those demands for a Meaningful Vote on the final brexit deal, or on guaranteeing the rights of eu citizens living in the uk. Discussions until the Prime Minister has given formal notification that the uk wishes to withdraw from the European Union. Without further delay, so the Prime Minister can get to work on the negotiations and we can secure a quick deal that secures the status of both European Union citizens in the uk and also uk nationals living in the eu. But the former deputy Prime Minister said his family situation, with a dutch mother and a spanish wife, was echoed by many other households. My mother has lived here for more than 50 years. She has raised her children, she has worked as a teacher, she has paid her taxes. My wife loves this most of the time loves this country. Not the weather, but loves this country. She is raising children here, pays taxes, works as a lawyer here. It simply beggars belief, ii elllsll eliili ifisi elleil placed over their status, their peace of mind, their well being in our great country because of the action, or rather the shameful inaction of this government. Even if we thought the International Trade secretary was right to say they were an important card that we must play, even if that were acceptable language, it is not a card, it is like a nuclear deterrent. If you are not going to press the button, it is not a deterrent. And if youre not prepared to follow through on Deportation Order to use people in that way, then it cannot be a Bargaining Chip or a card to play. I have a sister who has lived and worked in italy all her life, pretty much, and she remains there and has retired there. And i do not think it is beholden on this place to dismiss in the other place, and have been dismissed here today. Many of my constituents in their 40s who have never, ever voted before because they thought that until then, their voices and their votes did not count, they did so for the first time. And contrary to what commentators on both the left and the right may say, these people are not simpletons. They are not children. They are adults with as much right to vote as you and i. Mps then voted to overturn both those House Of Lords amendments on the rights of eu nationals and on that call for a so called Meaningful Vote, sending the bill back to the lords again, that. Lllililn lll lgevg ~ ~ and this bill, this very simple bill, delivers on that decision. It appears to me that very little attempt has been made, if any, to meet the points that were made in this chamber. It seems that the government has relied totally on its power to get a whipped vote through, and to steamroller this through. He asked, what if other countries did not agree the status of uk citizens first . What if they dont . Do we then kick out european citizens that are here . Is that the logic of the argument . And if it is, is that acceptable to this house . Earlier this evening, the government had a majority of 45 in the commons. There is no reason whatsoever to think that if this house that the House Of Commons would change its view later this evening. For the Liberal Democrats, i have to say to the noble lady, for the Liberal Democrats to press this matter consideration, but in parliamentary terms, it is a completely pointless gesture. And i, for my part, icannot support it. They have voted, contents, 118. Not contents, 274. So, the not contents have it. Lord fowler. And that vote meant the bill cleared parliament, receiving royal assent later in the week. But if you thought that meant sighs of relief all round in downing street, anothercloudhad goggedug, somewhat unexpectedly, on theresa mays horizon. While westminster was busy watching its own political manoeuvrings on monday, scotlands First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, announced that with the Brexit Button about to be pushed, she would be seeking a second independence referendum between the autumn of 2018 and spring 2019. The last referendum in 2014 . A question we put to polling expert Professorjohn Curtice from the university of strathclyde. The honest answer to that question is no, in that for much of the period since september 2014, including most of the period up tojune 2016, of last year, on average, the polls said yes 47, no 53. That, in truth, is still the average in the opinion polls, but that said, what we do need to bear in mind il fi ief fhl £1535 fi ief fhl ifll lifiei got in 2014 is much higher than we would have anticipated just two years in advance. It is now perfectly clear l. , social attitudes report this week, that the long term legacy of that first independence referendum was to result in a marked increase in support for independence. Back in 2012, on the long term measure that we have on that survey, only 23 of people could be classified as supporting independence. It is now 46, so any second referendum is going to be than the one that was foughtjust a couple of yeange. Professorjohn curtice. So, is another referendum theresa may control the timing of a ny vote . A question i put to akash paun from the institute for government. Im not sure it is yet absolutely inevitable. I mean, Nicola Sturgeon, in her speech this week, has gone a lot further, clearly, than she has over the past few months. 5~llll~ll~ll l l l the likelihood that we may in the end have to have another referendum. This week, she has said yes, this is now the plan, she is going to go to the Scottish Parliament and ask for their backing to start the process. But at the same time, there are still, there is still a chance that the uk government might seek some kind of Compromise Deal with scotland, that good in the end persuade the Scottish Government not to go ahead. And yes, the question of timing is still to be resolved as well. Because this would be absolutely crucial for theresa may, when the referendum is held would make a big difference, presumably . Yes, i think the Timing Question is enormous. Nicola sturgeon said that what she saw as the sensible window of 2019, so during the latter period of the brexit negotiations. So during the latter period of the brexit negotiations. And i think the British Government will be extremely reluctant to authorise a referendum in scotland while they are still finalising terms of the brexit deal with the rest of the eu. I mean, it would be enormously distracting and disruptive, so i do think it is likely that theresa may will seek to push back the timing beyond the end of the brexit negotiation period, and in the end, the Scottish Parliament does not have the legal power to go ahead and told another referendum. How far do you think this is a problem of theresa mays making . Is there anything more that she could have done to woo scotland, and indeed the other nations, to get them a little bit more on side . I do think the Prime Minister has made some mistakes since she came to power lastjuly. First of all, it is important to see that Nicola Sturgeon is a committed, passionate believer in Scottish Independence and she was always going to seize an opportunity if one came along to go for indy ref 2, as she has now done. But i think if you look back at last july, in the first few days of her premiership. Theresa may , w, l, was to seek and achieve a uk wide agreement on brexit for triggering article 50. That clearly did not happen, and when it was announced at the conservative Party Conference that brexit. That article 50 was going to be triggered by the end of march, that had not been agreed with any of the devolved governments, and nor had the terms of the uk governments white paper, in theresa mays speech earlier this year. G; luau; lli lll 5lllllllllll ll. Sort of inflated expectations that they would collaborate and seek consensus with the devolved governments, and have not lived up to that, and that has played into the snp narrative somewhat. All right, lets just come back to westminster for a minute. It seems like an awfully long time ago that on monday, the government got the bill allowing theresa may to trigger our exit from the eu through parliament. Now, although that did go backwards and forwards between the lord in the commons, it was not quite as brutal a battle as some people thought perhaps it might be. Can theresa may find any grounds for optimism from that going forward, do you think . Thafne through parliament At Westminster might not be quite as difficult as she thought. Yes, i do think it was surprising, how smooth that process was. I mean, if you look back at several decades of conservative party history, the party has been bitterly divided over europe, and it is surprising how united they now are behind what is, you know, a pretty hard Brexit Strategy as set out by the Prime Minister. So, in the end, there were just two rebels in the House Of Commons ,llll. L. L w so that has obviously meant she has got the majority in the house it was the decision by labour to back down after the commons overturned the amendments, and not to engage in ping pong or seek to delay the bill any further. That has meant that the government has got its way. Akash paun from the institute for government, thank you very much indeed for coming in to the programme. Thank you. Akash paun from the institute for government. Back in the commons, at Prime Ministers questions, the snps westminster leader, angus robertson, reminded theresa may she had promised to get uk wide agreement before triggering we have been one country for over 300 years. We have fought together, we have worked together, we have achieved together. And constitutional gameplaying must not be allowed to break the deep bonds of our shared history and our future together. Speaker angus robertson. Mr speaker, the Prime Minister can wag her finger as much as she like. Of the Scottish Government, and secure membership of the single european market, people in scotland will have a referendum and we will have our say. Scotland will be leaving the European Union. It will leave the European Union , the united kingdom, or were it independent , f l w it is very clear that it would not be a member of the European Union. What we need now is to unite, to come together as a country, and to ensure that we can get the best deal for the whole of the united kingdom. At holyrood the next day, the First Minister gave an equally robust defence of her position. A referendum cannot happen when the people of scotland have not been given the opportunity to see how our new relationship with the European Union is working. Or public consent for it to happen. Our country does not want to go back to the divisions and uncertainty of the last few years. Another Referendum Campaign will not solve the challenges that this country will face. We dont want it, we dont need it, why when she listen . Well, let me issue this direct challenge to Ruth Davidson and to the conservative party. If on wednesday next week this parliament votes for an independent referendum to give the people of scotland a choice over their own future, will the conservatives respect the will of this parliament . Or are the conservatives running scared . The First Minister said this week she didnt want a fact free debate. So, lets start with one fact she cannot deny. Isnt it the case that according to her own government statistics, leaving the uk would mean £15 billion worth of extra cuts . Tory and labour combining again to talk this country down. Here is the reality. Scotland has a deficit created on westminsters watch, and we have to do deal with that deficit whether we are independent or not. Isnt it much better to have the tools and the powers of independence to deal with that Deficit Concert with our own values and not tory values . Nicola sturgeon. And so, by the end of the week, the two sides were squaring up, with theresa may saying now was not the time for a second referendum, and scotlands First Minister insisting voters there should have their say. Back At Westminster, the chancellor, philip hammond, made an announcement that in other times would have dominated the headlines for days. He confirmed he was reversing the most controversial change for the self employed. Some of his own mps had accused him of breaking a conservative manifesto promise not to put up tax or vat. Theresa may announced the climb down at Prime Ministers questions and a short time later, mr hammond came to the commons himself to make a statement to mp5. Mr speaker, it is very important both to me and to my right with the letter but also the spirit of the amendment. Therefore, as i set out in my letter this morning to the chairman of the select committee, my right honourable friend the member for chichester, i have decided not to proceed with those measures set out in the budget. There will be no increases in National Insurance contributions rate in this parliament. This is chaos. It is shocking. It is shocking and humiliating that the chancellor has been forced to come here to reverse the key Budget Decision announced less than a week ago. If the chancellor has spent less time writing stale jokes for his speech, and the Prime Minister less time guffawing landed in this mess. Might the chancellor considered to make up the loss in revenue into Self Employment against their wish, destabilise their lives and thereby get out of paying National Insurance contributions, as all good employers do. The Change Of Heart was welcomed by a leading tory critic of the policy. I know that the conservative government really wants a tax system that will support risk ta ke rs and creators. So, will the chancellor committed to work with colleagues over the coming months . Who believe it is time to take a simple and holistic view which will support wholeheartedly those who build new businesses and take risks. The government will always be on the side of those who genuinely strive to take risks, to innovate, to grow businesses, and to contribute in that way to the economy. Philip hammond. Time now for some news in brief. Five year Old Apriljones was murdered by mark bridger in powys in 2012. Bridger, who kept images of Child Sex Abuse on his laptop, was sentenced to life imprisonment. Aprils family has been campaigning for all those guilty of sex offences to have their names on the Sex Offenders register for life. They also want to see the internet better policed and for harsher sentences to be imposed on people caught with indecent images of children. A Petition Calling for those changes, started by the family, hall. Aprils parents, paul and coral, and her sister, jazmin, the minister paid tribute to them. How you have managed to take such grief and the worst imaginable situation and to use those feelings so constructively to campaign for changes to make sure that no other family has to experience what you have experienced and no other community has to suffer what you have experienced. The social media giants google, facebeekl andl