Questions & Answers
Q1
Direct Answer
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The MP noted that rail fares have been increasing for years and referenced the upcoming freeze on rail fares.
For years and years, rail fares have gone up and up, but that is set to change next year. Can the Prime Minister confirm that commuters in my constituency will see a saving of around £400 on their annual season ticket as a result of this Government freezing rail fares? Can he confirm that it is only possible because we have a Labour Government?
I can confirm that next year we are freezing rail fares for the first time in 30 years, saving millions of commuters hundreds of pounds. That is only possible because we have a Labour Government investing in Great British Railways and putting more money in the pockets of passengers.
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Q2
Evasion / No Answer
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The MP expressed concern over the chaos surrounding the Budget, including resignations and hostile briefings. She cited the former chief economist of the Bank of England who described Labour’s fiscal policies as a 'shambles'.
May I first pay tribute to the many farmers who have come to Westminster today to protest about the shameful attack on them in last year’s Budget? I want them to know that the Conservatives stand with them. We have had resignations, hostile briefings and leaks galore. Even the former chief economist of the Bank of England has said that Labour’s “fiscal fandango” is the single biggest reason growth has flatlined. Does the Prime Minister agree with Andy Haldane, and does he have an explanation for this complete shambles?
We all know that the biggest shambles in living history was the Liz Truss Budget, and what did the Leader of the Opposition say at the time? Did she say, “I do not agree—this must be wrong”? No; she said, “I think Liz Truss is 100% right.” Not much room for flexibility there! Not one thing was wrong with it, in her view, so we will not be taking lectures from her. Matters for the OBR are for the OBR, and the Chancellor will set out the Budget in just a few minutes’ time.
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Did not directly address the question asked.
Redirecting To Liz Truss'S Budget
Suggesting Lack Of Flexibility From Opposition
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Q3
Evasion / No Answer
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The MP emphasized the negative impact of budget leaks on the UK economy and cited statements made by the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister regarding the unacceptability of leaks.
We are talking about the leaks. The Prime Minister does not seem to appreciate the impact of these Budget leaks on the UK economy. Even the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister has said this morning that the leaks were unacceptable, so will the Prime Minister launch an investigation into the Budget leaks and punish those responsible?
It is about 25 minutes before the Budget will be set out in full. In it we will take further decisions, and the Chancellor will set them out, but thanks to the decisions that she has already taken, we have 5 million extra NHS appointments, waiting lists are coming down, mortgages are cheaper, and we have expanded free school meals.
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Did not directly address the question asked.
Redirecting Focus To Economic Achievements
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Q4
Evasion / No Answer
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The MP criticized the chaos in No.10, citing reports of Cabinet Ministers briefing against each other.
The Prime Minister does not want to talk about leaks, but we can see that the chaos in No. 10 is having real-world consequences. Instead of focusing on the economy, they have been fighting like rats. Several journalists reported that No. 10 sources had briefed against the Health Secretary and other senior Cabinet Ministers; the Prime Minister then told us that these briefings did not come from No. 10. Will he repeat, on the Floor of the House, the claim that none of his advisers has briefed against members of the Cabinet?
I have been really clear about this. No one in No. 10 has briefed against Cabinet Ministers, and the Health Secretary is doing a fantastic job. At the last election he stood before the electorate and said that we would deliver 2 million extra NHS appointments in the first year of a Labour Government. There he is. What did he do? He delivered not 2 million, 3 million or 4 million but 5 million extra appointments.
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Did not directly address the question asked.
Redirecting To Achievements In Nhs
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Q5
Evasion / No Answer
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The MP criticized the PM's lack of a serious leak inquiry and questioned his judgment.
The Prime Minister expects us to believe him, but no one does. We all know that he did not have a serious leak inquiry. What he did was ask Morgan McSweeney to investigate Morgan McSweeney, and then Morgan McSweeney discovered that Morgan McSweeney was innocent. All this calls into question the Prime Minister’s judgment. When did the Prime Minister decide that lawbreakers can be lawmakers? The MP cited reports of the Deputy Prime Minister potentially returning to Cabinet.
While the right hon. Lady has been scrolling through Twitter, we have delivered rail fares—frozen; prescription charges—frozen; and the minimum wage—boosted. We are focusing on the cost of living, the single most important thing for this country, while she is focusing on tittle-tattle.
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Did not directly address the question asked.
Redirecting To Achievements And Dismissing As Gossip
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Q6
Evasion / No Answer
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The MP summarized the chaos surrounding PM's leadership, including Cabinet briefings and MPs planning for life after him.
In summary, this just looks like a Government who are a slow-motion car crash. The Prime Minister’s Cabinet Ministers are briefing against each other, his MPs are planning for life after him, and the most chaotic run-up to a Budget in recent memory is happening on his watch. Even the Chief Whip is telling MPs that he wants out. The truth is simple: his MPs do not trust him, the markets do not trust him, and the public certainly do not trust him. When will he finally accept that the chaos starts and ends with him?
The most chaotic Budget was the Liz Truss Budget. It did huge damage to our country, and we are still suffering from that damage. What did the right hon. Lady say about Liz Truss? She obviously does still think it. When asked, “Was Liz Truss right?”, she said, “100% right”. It was the most chaotic, damaging Budget there has ever been, and she sticks by it.
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Did not directly address the question asked.
Redirecting To Previous Opposition'S Budget
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Q7
Direct Answer
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Concern over consumer spending during Black Friday and its broader economic and environmental impacts.
At the moment, everyone is being bombarded with adverts and emails for Black Friday encouraging them to spend money on so-called time-limited deals, leading to panic buying and increasing debt and buyer regret—not to mention the impact on the planet, with delivery and returns of goods responsible for millions of tonnes of CO2 emissions. Does the Prime Minister agree that instead of rushing to buy online, people should look to their high streets to support local businesses and keep money in the local economy this Christmas?
I want to see our high streets thriving, and I encourage everyone to support local businesses this Christmas. Through our small business strategy, we have delivered a £3 billion boost to help small businesses expand, and we have introduced the most significant reforms in 25 years to tackle late payments.
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Q8
Direct Answer
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Discussion about the leaked OBR documents indicating high taxes and Labour's plan to address the £90 billion Brexit black hole in public finances.
We have just seen in the leaked OBR documents that taxes are going up to a historic record high. Will the Prime Minister explain why Labour is hiking people’s taxes, instead of fixing the £90 billion Brexit black hole in the public finances by growing our economy with a new, detailed, brilliant trade deal with our European partners?
The right hon. Gentleman will only have to wait a few minutes for the full details of the Budget. Every week he comes here with the same problem: he always wants more spending, and he never wants to say how he is going to raise the money for it.
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Q9
Direct Answer
Let me take the Prime Minister on to another issue. I hope everyone in the House shares my alarm that a former leader of a political party in Wales has been found guilty of betraying our country, and has now been sentenced to over 10 years in prison for his treachery. The Prime Minister said that Reform should hold an independent investigation and he is right, but we both know that that is not going to happen. Given that Reform will not do so, he must. Will he now launch a national investigation into Russian infiltration into our politics?
The right hon. Gentleman is right to highlight this very serious case: a long sentence for pro-Russian bribery in the Reform party—at the highest level. You would think a leader of a political party would want to get to the bottom of that and ask the question, “How on earth did that happen in the Reform party, and what other links are there between Reform and Russia?” But no, the leader of Reform does not want to do it.
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Q10
Direct Answer
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Residents' frustration with prolonged road construction delays on the A513.
After eight years of traffic chaos and increasingly creative traffic diversions, residents of Parkside and Marston Grange in my constituency are beginning to wonder whether the A513 at Beaconside is a permanent monument to the traffic cone. In the time that Staffordshire county council and Taylor Wimpey have taken to complete one stretch of road, we have had six Prime Ministers—not to mention Notre Dame having burned down and been rebuilt using medieval building techniques. What can be done to hold developers and local authorities properly to account so that essential infrastructure is delivered on time, with minimum disruption?
It is staggering that an important upgrade for drivers to improve their journeys has been delayed for eight long years, and I understand that the scheme is currently being held up by the Reform-led council—quelle surprise! Reform is proving as hopeless in local government as everybody anticipated. We have invested £24 billion in our roads, and I call on Staffordshire county council to end the delay, get on with the job and get this scheme started for my hon. Friend’s constituents.
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Q11
Direct Answer
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A hospital trust's inability to discharge patients due to lack of social care support.
University Hospitals Sussex currently has 350 people well enough to go home, but occupying beds. That is the same number of beds as in Princess Royal hospital in Haywards Heath in my constituency. The reason they cannot go home is that there is no social care package for them to go on to. This is terrible for them, puts strain on the trust and is ruinous to the taxpayer. Given that there is no urgent plan to reform social care, what is the Prime Minister’s plan to bring them home for Christmas?
As the hon. Member knows, we are reforming social care. I have asked Baroness Casey to lead on that, and she has had the first of her cross-party meetings to build consensus, which is obviously what we need on this. As I have set out a number of times, the first phase will report in 2026; so that we can reform as we go on, there will obviously be a phase after that.
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Q12
Direct Answer
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Impact of Reform's decision to scrap a Labour-introduced support system in Durham, resulting in working families losing £170.
Is the Prime Minister aware that, because of the decision by Reform’s Durham county council to scrap support introduced by Labour in 2013, a typical working family in Stanley will be £170 worse off? How would the Prime Minister contrast the values of this Labour Government with a Reform party dividing our country and hitting working people in their pockets?
The more we see of Reform, the more we see their true colours—in this case, making people £170 worse off. We see their true colours also in relation to the hon. Member for Clacton (Nigel Farage). His explanation in recent days, in relation to the stories about what he may have said in the past, is unconvincing to say the least.
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Q13
Direct Answer
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Case of a child with special educational needs who was traumatised after being restrained by his passenger assistant.
Lewis—not his real name—is an Eastbourne boy with special educational needs who was left traumatised after his passenger assistant relentlessly and brutally restrained him on his home-to-school transport. What happened on that day only became clear to Lewis’s mum, who is in the Gallery today, when he returned home visibly distressed and bruised, and that is because, shockingly, there is no statutory requirement to report incidents of physical restraint on school transport, nor national training standards. Will the Prime Minister address this loophole in his upcoming special educational needs and disabilities reforms to ensure that SEND children in Eastbourne and beyond can travel to school with the safety and dignity that they deserve?
Can I say to the hon. Member and to Lewis’s mum, who is with us today, that incidents like that should not be happening? I think he has met an Education Minister to discuss this matter. Every child should have tailored support, including on transport to school, and I can reassure him and Lewis’s mum that that principle will be central to our reforms.
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Q14
Direct Answer
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Roman Osborne, a 10-year-old from Trimley St Martin in Suffolk Coastal constituency, was involved in an accident outside his primary school that left him hospitalized and recovering for months. The issue highlights the need for safer crossings at schools.
Last week, Roman Osborne—a 10-year-old from my constituency—hand-delivered a letter to 10 Downing Street to tell the Prime Minister about an accident he had in February outside his primary school at Trimley St Martin, which left him spending three days in hospital and many more months recovering. Will the Prime Minister back my campaign #SaferAtTheGates, and will he call on Tory-led Suffolk county council to do the right thing by re-reviewing the road and putting the right safety measures in place outside Trimley St Martin and the other schools in my constituency?
I thank Roman for his letter, which I took time to read last night. What an incredible young boy, aged just 10. I totally agree with him, and I say this to him: Roman, this is what we’re going to do—I have asked Ministers to work with all the right people to look at your school and get a safe crossing in place. The Roads Minister will be happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss the road safety strategy.
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Q15
Direct Answer
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Farmers in Glastonbury and Somerton have expressed concerns over the family farm tax, which they believe will harm their businesses.
This morning, I met farmers on Whitehall and on Saturday I met farmers supplying milk to family-run Wyke Farms, which has been making traditional cheddar cheese near Bruton for 160 years. They all told me that the family farm tax, as it stands, will devastate their businesses. If the Prime Minister really wants growth, will he listen to farmers, industry, the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee and even his own MPs, and pause and rethink this damaging and regressive tax?
We have invested a record £11.8 billion in sustainable farming this Parliament, and we set out a 25-year farming road map focused on increasing year-on-year productivity and profitability in farms, and that is vitally important.
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Q16
Direct Answer
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The covid inquiry reported that thousands of deaths could have been prevented during the first wave due to the UK government's delayed and inadequate response.
Last week, the covid inquiry reported that 23,000 deaths occurred in England in the first wave of the pandemic that could have been prevented due to the UK response being too little, too late. Those were not just 23,000 deaths; they were 23,000 people who had family and friends who loved them, and valuable lives that were cut short due to an abysmal failure of leadership by Boris Johnson and his Government. Those people were categorically failed by a Prime Minister who prevaricated, delayed and prioritised political expediency over making the tough decisions that could have averted tragedy. If the Prime Minister were to lead us through the next pandemic, would he value saving lives above all else?
My hon. Friend is right; the report is a sombre moment. It is important to remember the scale of suffering and the scale of the loss of life, which is made clear in the testimonies of the families in the report, and to remember the incredible contribution of frontline workers and everyone who focused on protecting others. We are committed to learning the lessons we need to learn from the covid inquiry to protect and prepare us for the future.
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Q17
Direct Answer
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The future of the Proteus uncrewed helicopter project at Leonardo in Yeovil is dependent on the new medium helicopter contract, which would support thousands of jobs and local GDP.
I hope the Prime Minister will agree with me that the defence industry in Somerset is a key engine for growth, jobs and innovation. Leonardo in Yeovil is making fantastic progress with the Proteus uncrewed helicopter, but the future of that project, thousands of jobs at the site in Yeovil and the £320 million that Leonardo contributes to local GDP are dependent on the new medium helicopter contract. Will the Prime Minister reassure my constituents that he supports the industry in Yeovil, and will his Government finally get around to awarding this long overdue contract?
I pay tribute to those in Somerset and the hon. Gentleman’s constituency in the defence sector, which is hugely important to our country and our security. I can confirm that we are continuing with the established procurement process for the new medium helicopter programme to deliver modern equipment for our armed forces.
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Q18
Direct Answer
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Men Walking and Talking is a group that brings men together to support one another through good company, especially in an age of pressure and polarization.
On International Men’s Day, I joined Wednesfield Men Walking and Talking—a fantastic group who are strengthening our community through good company and what Stephen calls a growing band of brothers. In an age of pressure, polarisation and endless phone scrolling, they bring men together to support one another. Will the Prime Minister join me in congratulating all involved and explain how the first ever men’s health strategy will back similar grassroots initiatives?
It is so important that men have the space and support from their peers to discuss their mental health. I thank Men Walking and Talking for the work they do, which makes such a difference. We were proud to launch our men’s health strategy last week to get more men the support they need.
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Q19
Direct Answer
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Concerns over Russia's strategic intent for both Ukraine and Europe, particularly in light of the known hypersonic and ballistic missile threat.
Consequential to President Trump’s misunderstanding of Putin’s strategic intent for both Ukraine and Europe is the Prime Minister’s solemn responsibility to keep this country safe. Given the known hypersonic and ballistic missile threat from Russia, and the fact that the United Kingdom has no current counter to that, what is the Prime Minister going to do to keep this country safe from those that have already threatened us?
It is the first duty of the Prime Minister to keep this country safe; that duty is paramount and above all else, and I take it extremely seriously and treat it as my No. 1 priority. We review our security and defence arrangements all the time, and we are, particularly, a leading member of NATO, which is the single most effective military alliance the world has ever seen.
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Q20
Direct Answer
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UK businesses, especially small and medium-sized ones, have faced new red tape and trade barriers since the UK's exit from the European Union.
My constituents tell me that our top national priority must remain as it is: economic growth. Does the Prime Minister agree that the swiftest way to achieve growth is for the Government to be even more ambitious in negotiating with the European Union to remove the new red tape and trade barriers that have been holding back UK businesses, especially small and medium-sized ones, since the Conservatives’ poorly managed exit from the European Union?
This is an issue that I will not shirk away from. We need to work closely with our European partners, as we have done in recent months, to find practical solutions that help businesses and consumers on both sides of the Channel.
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Q21
Partial Answer
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Roadworks and traffic jams cost the UK economy £8 billion last year, affecting constituents daily.
Mr Cocking asked what the Government are doing about economic losses due to roadworks and traffic jams which affect his constituents every day. He inquired when the Government will support working people and improve transportation in Britain.
Under this Government, growth was the highest in the G7 for the first half of this year. The last Government crashed the economy.
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Assessment & feedback
Specific actions to address roadworks and traffic jams were not addressed
The Last Government Crashed The Economy
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Q22
Direct Answer
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Yesterday was the UN International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, known as White Ribbon Day.
Ms Darlington congratulated Mr Speaker on his commitment to make this House the first national White Ribbon Parliament in the world. She asked if the Prime Minister would join her and others in making the White Ribbon promise to never use, excuse or remain silent about men’s violence against women.
Mr Speaker, I am really proud of what you have done with this Parliament on the White Ribbon campaign. We must turn that from a ribbon into action. This Government are fully committed to tackling violence against women and girls; it is a political commitment, and a personal commitment from me.
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Q23
Partial Answer
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A previous answer from the Prime Minister led to a conclusion that he has faith in Nigel Farage to police his own party on Russian interference, but Reform's leader said that is beyond his capabilities.
Ms Roberts questioned why the Prime Minister was unwilling to take responsibility and launch a full investigation into foreign interference in our democracies given the limitations of the Reform party's leader.
We do need to bear down on foreign interference in our democracy, but the responsibility for investigating what happened within Reform lies with the leader of the Reform party. The hon. Member for Clacton usually has plenty to say, but now he is totally silent on one of the most important issues.
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Assessment & feedback
Initiating a full investigation into foreign interference in democracies was not addressed.
Responsibility For Investigating What Happened Within Reform Lies With The Leader Of The Reform Party
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