Questions & Answers
Q1
Direct Answer
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Context
The MP references the ongoing challenges faced by constituents in Clacton regarding the cost of living.
I am concerned about my constituents facing a tough time with the cost of living. Does my right hon. Friend agree that cutting inflation is the best way to address this issue, and can he assure them that he will continue working hard to bring down inflation as low as possible?
Today's figures show that our plan is working. Inflation has fallen to 3.4% from its peak of over 11%, down by almost 70%—the steepest fall since the 1980s, and now at the lowest level since September 2021—and people's pay packets are going further, with real wages growing for eight months in a row and taxes being cut by £900 for the average worker. That is why we need to stick to the plan to deliver a brighter future for our country.
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Assessment & feedback
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Q2
Partial Answer
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Context
The MP mentions the recent appointment of Vaughan Gething as First Minister of Wales and criticizes various policies of the government.
I thank the Prime Minister for welcoming Vaughan Gething to his post but question why he is scared to call an election given high inflation, early release of violent prisoners, small boat arrivals, NHS struggles, mortgage payments, pensioner impact, and a budget deficit?
As I said in January, my working assumption is that the election will be in the second half of the year. The Leader of the Opposition has time to come up with a plan for Britain and we are looking forward to seeing it.
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Assessment & feedback
calling an election
Out Of Everybody, He Would Be Grateful
Response accuracy
Q3
Direct Answer
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Context
The MP questions the effectiveness of the government's Rwanda deportation plan.
Can the Prime Minister see any flaw in his plan to deport less than 1% of illegal immigrants when they have already spent £600 million and only managed to deport 300 people?
Since I became Prime Minister, the number of small boat crossings is actually down by over a third. We have doubled National Crime Agency funding and increased illegal immigration enforcement raids by 70%, closing 7,500 bank accounts, deporting 24,000 illegal migrants and processing over 112,000 cases.
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Assessment & feedback
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Q4
Partial Answer
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Context
The MP criticizes the government's approach to immigration and deportation.
How has the Prime Minister spent £600 million on a Rwanda gimmick for deporting less than 1% of illegal immigrants when his own Immigration Minister admitted it would not provide a credible deterrent?
Thanks to our new laws, 900 criminals have been arrested and 450 have been convicted, serving over 370 years behind bars. The right hon. and learned Gentleman campaigned against giving the police new powers to crack down on people-smuggling gangs.
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Assessment & feedback
spending £600 million on ineffective policies
Campaigning Against
Response accuracy
Q5
Partial Answer
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Context
The MP questions the government's spending on the Rwanda deportation policy.
Why is the Prime Minister spending £2 million per person to deport 300 individuals when his Immigration Minister admitted the flights would not provide a credible deterrent?
The right hon. and learned Gentleman campaigned to stop the deportation of foreign dangerous criminals, defending terrorists and campaigning for criminals who were jailed for drugs dealing and carrying knives after he fought to keep them here.
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Assessment & feedback
spending £2 million per person on ineffective policies
Campaigned Against Deportation
Response accuracy
Q6
Partial Answer
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Context
The MP criticizes the government's crime policies.
I have prosecuted more people smugglers than the Prime Minister has had helicopter rides. This Rwanda gimmick is costing £2 million per person to deport 300 individuals. Why are they spending so much?
Thanks to our record and plan, violent crime has fallen by 50%. We have recruited more police officers, given them more powers and kept serious offenders in prison for longer. The right hon. and learned Gentleman voted against greater protection for emergency workers, opposed tougher sentences for violent criminals and failed to give police the powers they need.
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Assessment & feedback
high costs of crime policies
Voted Against
Response accuracy
Q7
Partial Answer
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Context
Criticism regarding issues like mortgage challenges, NHS waiting lists, crime rates, and political instability within the Conservative party.
The Prime Minister has never had the courage to stand up to his party, so let me help him out and say to them what he wishes he could say: the mortgage mayhem, the waiting lists, the criminals walking free—they are the cost of Tory chaos. And if they cannot bring themselves to stop the endless games and gimmicks, and stop putting themselves before country, they should pack up, go home, and waste somebody else's time.
The shadow Chancellor found time to make a one-hour speech last night, and we still do not know how Labour is going to pay for its £28 billion black hole. But while he tries to talk down Britain and the progress we are making, today's news shows that the plan is working—inflation down, energy bills down, wages up, pensions up, and taxes cut by £900.
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Assessment & feedback
None specific asked for
Response accuracy
Q8
Direct Answer
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Context
Discussion about rising fertility treatments and lack of employment rights or paid time off for those undergoing treatment.
The UK birth rate is falling, the while numbers of those requiring fertility treatment to conceive are rising. There are no employment rights attached to those undertaking fertility treatment, and no paid time off work. Will the Prime Minister join me in encouraging employers, large and small and across the United Kingdom, to sign up to the fertility workplace pledge that I have launched with Fertility Matters at Work, LGBT Mummies, Fertility Network UK and many others, to support those undertaking fertility treatment when they are in work?
May I start by thanking my hon. Friend for her excellent work campaigning on this issue? She is right: employers should offer their staff understanding, support, and flexibility while they are undergoing fertility treatment. The best way to improve the experience of those undergoing treatment, both women and their partners, is through voluntary approaches. That is why I join my hon. Friend in encouraging all companies to sign up to the fertility workplace pledge.
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Assessment & feedback
None
Response accuracy
Q9
Partial Answer
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Context
Discussion about the Conservative party's leadership issues and potential replacements.
With his Back Benchers looking for a unity candidate to replace him, which of the now numerous born-again Thatcherites on the Labour Front Bench does the Prime Minister believe best fits the bill?
It was surprising, Mr Speaker, to hear all this talk about the 1970s from the shadow Chancellor in particular, but if you see what is happening in places like Birmingham, where taxes are going up by 21% and services are being cut—whether that is social care, children's services, or in some streets the lights literally being turned off—it is unsurprising why they are talking about the '70s. I just say that what they have done to Birmingham, the Conservatives will never let them do to Britain.
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Assessment & feedback
Identification of suitable replacement among Labour Front Bench
Response accuracy
Q10
Partial Answer
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Context
Warning from the IFS about upcoming £18 billion of public sector cuts.
Of course there is a serious point to be made here, because the Institute for Fiscal Studies has warned of the conspiracy of silence that exists between the Labour party and the Conservative party when it comes to £18 billion of looming public sector cuts. Indeed, just last night it outlined that the fiscal rules of the Labour party and the Conservative party are, in effect, identical. With such continuity on offer, the public are right to be anti-Westminster, aren't they?
I am surprised to hear the hon. Gentleman quoting the IFS, because it also described the recent SNP Budget as, in its words, “misleading”, and said that pain is almost certainly coming. It is a savage tax and axe budget, because here is the reality: while NHS spending in England is going up in real terms, in Scotland it is going down; while taxes are being cut by the UK Government, the SNP Government are putting them up.
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Assessment & feedback
Confirmation or denial regarding public support for Westminster
Response accuracy
Q11
Partial Answer
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Context
Discussion about an extra tax called the Tamar toll and its impact on competitiveness.
The Prime Minister rightly often criticises the Scottish Government for the extra tax they put on residents. In my part of Cornwall, we have an extra tax called the Tamar toll. I have been working on a petition with my constituency neighbour, my right hon. Friend the Member for Plymouth, Moor View (Johnny Mercer). Will the Prime Minister make our part of the country more competitive by losing this extra tax and helping our community to level up?
I thank my hon. Friend for raising this important local issue. Any application for a toll revision will be considered by the Transport Secretary at the right opportunity when it has been received, but I am told that there are plans in place to create a new locally led focal group of key stakeholders to ensure that there is a real opportunity for them to make their views about crossings heard.
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Assessment & feedback
Reducing or eliminating the Tamar toll
Response accuracy
Q12
Direct Answer
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Context
First time the Northern Ireland Assembly exercised its new veto powers to prevent application of new EU law.
Yesterday saw the Northern Ireland Assembly for the first time in its history exercise its new veto powers to prevent the application of new EU law that would harm our ability to trade with the rest of the United Kingdom. To his credit, the Prime Minister was able to work with us to deliver the real changes to the protocol that will help to restore Northern Ireland's place within the Union and its internal market. Will the Prime Minister now assure me that the Government will continue to faithfully implement the measures outlined in the Command Paper, “Safeguarding the Union”, including fully restoring our place within the United Kingdom and its internal market and ending the unnecessary checks on goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland?
I want to congratulate my right hon. Friend again on his leadership of Unionism. I agree that it has been an encouraging few weeks, and I salute the work of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister in representing the future of Northern Ireland. I assure him that we will implement our commitments at pace, including further regulations to be laid before this House in the coming days to take power to deliver those commitments on UK internal trade.
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Assessment & feedback
None
Response accuracy
Q13
Partial Answer
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Context
RAF Scampton, a former military base, is being used for asylum seekers leading to concerns over its impact on local regeneration efforts.
Noting the National Audit Office report today on the spiralling costs of using ex-military bases for migrants, and noting that the Home Office has announced this week that it is to reduce the projected numbers at RAF Scampton down to 800, will the Prime Minister ensure that an immigration Minister meets West Lindsey District Council and me urgently, so that we can release most of this iconic RAF base—the home of the Red Arrows and the Dambusters—for regeneration?
I pay tribute to the way that my right hon. Friend has engaged with the Government on this important issue for his local community. As he acknowledged, our plan is working to cut the use of asylum hotels, and we will have closed 100 hotels next week, on top of cutting small boat arrivals. I know that he is talking to the Minister for Legal Migration and the Border, my hon. Friend the Member for Corby (Tom Pursglove), about how best to accommodate a smaller number of asylum seekers safely at RAF Scampton, while recognising the council's ambitious plans for regeneration. I fully support those discussions, and the Government are committed to the site being used for accommodation for the shortest possible time and then released for the benefit of the local community.
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Assessment & feedback
Specifically asked for an urgent meeting but only confirmed ongoing talks without committing to urgency or timing.
Under Review
Response accuracy
Q14
Partial Answer
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Context
A constituent faced a long wait for medical treatment, highlighting concerns about NHS performance and capacity.
Our NHS is at breaking point. My constituent was told that he needed a gall bladder operation after a visit to accident and emergency. He waited all day in hospital, nil by mouth, and had no operation. He was then told to stay overnight or risk his place on the list, so he sat in a hot, smelly, windowless waiting room for eight hours on a plastic chair. Then a gurney came with no pillow, and that is where he slept. The next day, the nurses said, “No operation. There just aren't any beds.” His wife told me that the Conservatives are running the NHS into the ground. Given his experience, which so many others across the country share, how can he say otherwise?
I am very sorry to hear about the experience of the hon. Lady's constituent, and I am sure she will be raising it with the local NHS trust as well. The NHS is, of course, recovering from a difficult two years, but it has received considerable backing from this Government, including record investment, as was acknowledged by the NHS chief executive officer just the other week, and a plan to improve productivity in the future. We have invested in 5,000 new beds over the last year and more ambulances. All of that is contributing to lower waiting times, waiting lists coming down and an improved A&E performance over the last year.
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Assessment & feedback
The MP asked for a direct response to claims about running the NHS into the ground but provided general support without addressing the specific claim.
Under Review
Response accuracy
Q15
Partial Answer
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Context
Local residents are concerned about unwanted development in eastern villages of Guildford, calling for a review of the local plan.
The people of the eastern villages of Guildford—the Clandons, the Horsleys, Effingham, Ripley, Send and Ockham—have had enough. Unwanted development and villages taken out of the green belt without promised infrastructure is why I have been calling for an immediate review of the local plan for the last three years. Does my right hon. Friend agree that Labour's promise of concreting over the green belt, even against the wishes of local MPs, would simply add insult to injury?
Unlike both the Liberal Democrats and the Labour party, who believe in top-down targets that decimate the green belt, we believe in local people having a say over their local communities. That is why we are committed to protecting and enhancing the green belt. The national planning policy includes strong protections to safeguard this important land. I note that my hon. Friend's local plan is currently under review by the council, which has indicated that it will be updating it, and I hope my hon. Friend and her constituents engage with that process to help shape Guildford for future generations.
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Assessment & feedback
The MP asked for agreement on Labour's promise of concreting over the green belt but instead provided general support for protecting the green belt.
Under Review
Response accuracy
Q16
Partial Answer
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Context
Israel's actions in Gaza are leading to a potential famine, with concerns about the safety of residents.
The EU High Representative for foreign policy, Josep Borrell, said on Monday that Israel is provoking famine in Gaza and using starvation as a weapon of war. President Biden has said that there should be no attack on Rafah without a plan to ensure the safety of the more than 1 million people living there. Does the Prime Minister agree with High Representative Borrell and President Biden? Because I do, and we need a ceasefire. If he does agree, will he say so here in the Chamber today?
As the hon. Gentleman knows, I have explained to the Opposition repeatedly that the findings from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification initiative are gravely concerning. It is clear that the status quo is unsustainable, and we need urgent action now to avoid a famine. The UK is doing all it can to get more aid in and prevent a worsening crisis. Two thousand tonnes of UK-funded food aid, including flour and hot meals, is being distributed by the World Food Programme in Gaza today, as we speak, and it is enough to feed more than 275,000 people. We will continue to do everything we can to alleviate the suffering that people are experiencing.
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Assessment & feedback
The MP asked for agreement on Borrell and Biden's statements but only provided context about UK aid efforts without addressing the specific question of agreement.
Under Review
Response accuracy