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Order! Order.

Hello there, I'm Alicia McCarthy,

and this is today in Parliament from BBC Radio 4 for Friday the 27th of June,

where there's a history lesson for ministers on making concessions to backbench rebels.

If you begin that process too early, what tends to happen historically is that the

backbench rebels pocket the early concessions and then just keep coming back for more.

Also on this programme, why are black women more likely to die during pregnancy and birth?

We'll definitely be focusing on data. We will absolutely be looking on training and development.

We'll also be looking at the culture of the organisation. And it's been used to secure documents

for a thousand years. One historian explains why the Great Seal of the Realm is still being

used to give the official stamp of approval.

Anyone could do a signature, but you can't fake the seal. And that's why it's still in existence

today. But first.

Order, order. My minister.

Cuts to loan parent benefit which the government, with the support of the Tories, will no doubt push through tonight, but not without a fight.

Now we have the news that a minister from the Scottish office, who's just joining me now, Mr Malcolm Chisholm, has indeed resigned his position as a Scottish office minister.

Mr. Chisholm, what has made you take this drastic step?

Clearly, I feel very strongly about this particular policy on loan parents and I cannot

bring myself to vote for it in the lobbies tonight.

Now that may sound like the Westminster news of the last few days, but in fact it's a youthful

Nick Robinson outside the Commons way back in December 1997, when Tony Blair's first government was taking a knock from its MPs over a proposed cut to loan parent benefits.

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