End of term: Brown faces MPs
Thursday, 16 July 2009 2:15 PM
By politics.co.uk staff
Gordon Brown faced MPs today at his bi-annual appearance in front of the liaison committee, his last major parliamentary appearance before the summer recess.
The prime minister faced questions about issues across the range of policy areas, including the economic downturn, parliamentary reform and the war in Afghanistan.
The prime minister said that regulatory change was needed to stop the banking crisis and clawing back bonuses did have a part to play.
He also said there would be an announcement on major rail infrastructure projects, including Crossrail, next week.
On defence, Mr Brown ruled out that negotiations about nuclear proliferations would result in an absolute scrappage of Trident.
And when questioned on Afghanistan, the prime minister conceded that the government needed to do more to show "why we are there and still there".
The committee meeting was Mr Brown's last parliamentary meeting before the summer recess.
But it is not quite the end of Gordon Brown's troubles. Next week sees a by-election in Norwich North, where the Conservatives are widely expected to overturn Labour's 5,000-plus majority.
A defeat to the Tories would leave a nasty taste in the mouth of Labour strategists as they prepare to wind down for the summer months.
But MPs and Labour activists are enraged the by-election is occurring at all.
It was triggered by the decision of Dr Ian Gibson, the constituency's Labour MP who receives substantial local personal support from voters, to stand down with immediate effect after being told by the party's disciplinary committee he was barred from standing at the next election because of his expenses.
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