PMQs

Question

With Sadiq Khan's Transport for London in tatters and the Welsh Labour-nationalist coalition in Cardiff Bay an unfunded devolved disaster, does the Prime Minister agree that the great British public do not need to look back at the last UK Labour Government to see what the Opposition's answer to all our problems is? It is to bang at the doors of the Treasury and demand that the taxpayer bail them out of their own ineptitude and incompetence.

Question

Over the Christmas break, the world lost a giant in the fight for equality and human rights: the great Desmond Tutu. I offer my condolences to his family and to the people of South Africa. In October, the Prime Minister said that fears about inflation were “unfounded”, but working people across the country are starting the new year facing rising bills and ballooning prices, so how did he get it so wrong?

Question

Inflation is about to hit 6%. That is the highest rate since the early '90s, when the Conservatives had been in power for more than a decade—when they were mired in sleaze, with a divided party and a Prime Minister losing the support of his Back Benchers and governing shambolically. The Prime Minister promised that wage rises would offset inflation. They have not and they will not. Millions of British workers now face a further pay cut and the Chancellor is handing them a tax hike. What will the Prime Minister do to get a grip of this?

Question

I have heard on the grapevine that there might be a vacancy for Prime Minister soon, so perhaps I should have aspirations. The Prime Minister pretends that it is not his fault. He blames the global forces. He blames the markets. We are an aspirational party. Perhaps the Prime Minister needs to be more aspirational for this country. His Government have failed to invest in long-term energy security. His Government decided to let gas storages collapse. 27 energy companies have gone bust in the past year, and now household bills are going through the roof.

Question

I will tell you what this Prime Minister is doing. He is increasing taxes for hard-working people. That is not what he promised in his manifesto but it is what he is doing now with energy bills set to rise again in April. Even Tory Back Benchers have accepted Labour's call for a VAT cut on energy bills, so will the PM finally stand up to his Chancellor and do the same?

Question

The Prime Minister presides over low growth, neglect of public services, and is now raising taxes further. The combination with soaring energy prices will hit the average family by £1,200. This is an iceberg ahead; will he stop and change course?

Question

The PM denies there are problems and blames others. He has presided over a country worse off with soaring prices hitting savings and wages. Inflation impacts real lives; we need serious solutions but get this incompetent leadership instead. Does he accept his incompetence is taking the country backwards?

Question

The biggest factor driving up fuel bills is high international gas prices due to global markets. Labour's proposals shift costs from bill payers to taxpayers without addressing underlying issues like structural reform of the price cap and energy self-sufficiency. Does PM agree this demands such structural reforms?

Question

I wish you, Mr Speaker, colleagues and all staff a guid new year. Over the last few weeks, serious warnings have grown over the Tory cost of living crisis, which will hit the majority of families over the coming months. For the vast majority of families, losing £1,200 a year will be catastrophic. So will the Prime Minister apologise for leaving millions of families worse off, and will he commit to an emergency financial package to reverse his Tory cost of living crisis?

Question

So much for a new year, a new start: it is the same nonsense from this failing Prime Minister. We have had the year of Tory sleaze, but now we have the year of Tory squeeze for family budgets. Economists have warned that UK living standards will worsen in 2022, with the poorest households hit hardest by Tory cuts, tax hikes and soaring inflation driven by his Government's policy. In Scotland, the SNP Government are mitigating this Tory poverty crisis by doubling the Scottish child payment to £20 per week. Will he match the Scottish Government and introduce a £20 child payment across the UK?

Question

The London Borough of Bromley has achieved the fastest and most significant improvement in children's services of any local authority in England. Much of the credit is due to its exceptional chief executive, Mr Ade Adetosoye. Will my right hon. Friend join me in congratulating Mr Adetosoye on his appointment as a Commander of the British Empire in the new year honours list?

Question

Happy new year, Mr Speaker! I am sure the Prime Minister will want to join me and my Liberal Democrat colleagues in welcoming my hon. Friend the new Member for North Shropshire (Helen Morgan). People's already high heating bills are about to jump by more than 50%, with average energy bills rising by nearly £700 a year. Does the Prime Minister accept that he could be doing much more than he is to prevent millions of people from going hungry and cold this year?

Question

Hospitalisations in London have peaked, so the Prime Minister was absolutely right to hold his nerve on new restrictions in the last few weeks, but does he agree that the NHS faces not just omicron staffing absences, but permanent and dangerous staffing shortfalls in nearly every specialty? Will he end the cycle whereby those shortfalls continually threaten not just patient care, but sometimes even our freedoms, by overhauling workforce planning?

Question

My mother was diagnosed with dementia before Christmas and had a stroke last year. Due to a covid staff shortage, I was called to sit with her but fear we may be separated indefinitely when she moves into an EMI nursing home. John's Campaign has successfully campaigned for person-centred care in every UK nation under the Equality Act 2010, yet many care homes and hospitals deny even minimal visits leading to isolation and damage to wellbeing. Do you agree that everyone with dementia wherever they live has a right to family life?

Question

My constituents worry about high utility and fuel costs. Rural areas like Sleaford and North Hykeham face unique challenges due to lower temperatures, lack of gas grid, reliance on cars for transport, and distant public services. What additional measures can be taken to ensure affordable energy and fuel sources in rural communities?

Question

Statutory sick pay is worth £3 less in real terms since the pandemic, forcing workers to choose between isolating and putting food on the table. Germany covers 100% of salaries with sick pay while UK only pays 19%. If the Prime Minister thinks earning £250k from a second job is “chicken feed”, how does he expect working people to survive on £96 per week when they get sick? Will he commit to raising it to the real living wage?

Question

I will present a Bill later today to extend auto-enrolment in pensions to all people aged over 18, including part-time workers, aiming to level up retirements especially for women. Will the Prime Minister support these changes as he seeks to rebuild better from the pandemic?

Question

Residents in Southwark face high energy bills, shopping costs, a new Tory tax, and massive fire safety work costs post-Grenfell required by the Government. Will the Prime Minister protect all leaseholders from these costs? Will he support exempting these works from VAT to add £1 billion to the building safety fund?

Question

The very best of British science has been on display over the past 18 months, being responsible for the design and manufacture of many of the vaccines that have kept us safe during this pandemic. Will my right hon. Friend back Ulverston as the pioneer place for the cluster strategy to be rolled out?

Question

A number of people in my constituency have contacted me about the lack of NHS dentists and the prohibitive cost of private dental treatment. The issue is not being addressed due to insufficient capacity in regular practices compared to emergency services. Does the Prime Minister agree that such stories amount to nothing less than a national scandal? What steps will he take to reduce the backlog of NHS dental appointments, and will he commit to increasing the number of NHS dentists across England?

Question

Can we remedy the current flawed budgetary process whereby it is possible to build 14,000 new homes in my constituency without any commensurate increase in general practice capacity? As we house the next generation, we must make sure that the infrastructure goes in at the same time.

Question

Millions across the United Kingdom are facing great difficulty with their energy bills. Some 30% of those bills is actually driven by Government, in the form of VAT and various green levies. Now that we have left the EU, can we use our Brexit freedom to at least review the VAT on those bills? Given that some of the green levies are spent on madcap ideas such as subsidising Drax B power station to the tune of £1 billion a year, can we have a review of the green levies as well so that people are not faced with the burden of unsustainable fuel bills?

Question

Last week my constituent Edna Constable turned 100 years old. She lived through the second world war, and now she is living through a pandemic. Will my right hon. Friend join me in wishing her a belated happy birthday, and will he pay tribute not just to the care workers taking care of her in Fountains care home but to care workers across my constituency and across the rest of the country, who go over and above to protect the most vulnerable in our society?

Question

Groundbreaking research published yesterday in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, from King's College London in partnership with Compass Pathways, has now established that psilocybin can be safely administered and may have significant therapeutic benefit in treatment-resistant depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. As someone who knows first-hand how debilitating PTSD is, as well as hearing from many constituents who have developed the condition as a result of sexual assault or their experience serving in our armed forces, I ask the Prime Minister to commit today to a review of the regulatory regime that would allow further and more rapid research in this vital area of mental health support.

Question

I am concerned that while a free trade deal is valuable in itself, we should not be held to ransom. Our new working-class voters who voted for Brexit did not vote to replace immigration from Europe with more immigration from the rest of the world. Does the Prime Minister agree that they would lose control of the channel if he allows this? Will he convince us that he is determined to connect to our supporters and control immigration?

Question

My constituent Luke Symons has been held captive by the Houthis in Yemen since five years ago. Other nations have managed to secure releases for their citizens, including the Americans. Will the Prime Minister pledge that his Government will do everything they can to get Luke released from captivity? I request a meeting with the Foreign Secretary to discuss how to achieve this.