PMQs

Question

Families in Burton and Uttoxeter are watching their smart meters like hawks, and dreading the moment when their energy bill lands on the doormat. I therefore welcome Labour’s warm home discount, which will mean £150 off energy bills for millions of people across this country, providing meaningful support in these difficult times. Will the Prime Minister set out how that will help support families in my constituency and across the country?

Question

Yesterday, the head of the Office for Budget Responsibility warned the Government that higher and higher levels of taxes are bad for growth. Does the Prime Minister agree?

Question

The Prime Minister is talking about what he has achieved, but we have just heard that inflation is up again—the worst in the G7. We left him with 2% inflation. We have borrowing up, unemployment up and taxes up under his Government. The fact is that the Prime Minister does not get it, so let me tell him. His Budget last year had high taxes. That is why the economy is contracting. The Government have said that they will not put up taxes for people on modest incomes, but they also seem incapable of explaining who is in that category, so can the Prime Minister clear up the confusion and tell us what he thinks a modest income is?

Question

I asked him what a modest income was. He answered with what a working person is. He does not know what a modest income is, and they cannot even define who working people are. The Chief Secretary to the Treasury said that working people are people who get a payslip, but millions of self-employed people do not get a payslip, so are the self-employed next in line for a Labour tax raise?

Question

I do not know where these 3,000 jobs are coming from. Unemployment has gone up every month under his Government. Perhaps the Prime Minister should speak to farmers and small business people and find out what those working people think about his Government. But that is not all, because we know that the Chancellor is launching a review into pension contributions. It is as clear as day why this is. It is because the Government are considering taxing them. Does the Prime Minister agree with me that a tax on pension contributions is a tax on working people?

Question

The Prime Minister says that he is not going to write the Budget, but his Chancellor is on the front of the Daily Mirror talking about what she is going to do on taxes, so why can he not do the same in the Chamber? I asked him about pension contributions. The truth is that he does not want to talk about pension contributions.

Question

But it is the end of term, so why don’t we go through the Prime Minister’s end-of-term scorecard? The economy is contracting, inflation is the highest in the G7, unemployment is up every month under this Government, spending is out of control, borrowing costs are more expensive than in Greece—and this is just the first year. The Labour party should be ashamed of what it is doing to the country.

Question

The Prime Minister will never know exactly how much it meant to victims of the troubles in Northern Ireland, from right across society, when he came, looked them in their eyes and promised them that no murderer would be immune from prosecution. Can he tell us when he last spoke to the Taoiseach about the shared approach to this issue, and will he recommit today to those victims, to ensure that no murderer will be seen to be above the law?

Question

May I associate myself with the Prime Minister’s words about the shocking Afghan data breach under the previous Government, which was kept secret for three years? He will have our support if he decides to pursue a public inquiry. I know that the Prime Minister will agree that the shocking rise of antisemitism that we have seen since Hamas’s 7 October terror attacks has no place in our society. British Jews should not have to live in fear of hatred, racism and abuse on our streets or online. A new report from the Board of Deputies’ commission on antisemitism, chaired by Lord Mann and Dame Penny Mordaunt, has set out 10 recommendations to tackle this appalling scourge. Will the Prime Minister study this report, and will his Government respond to it in full?

Question

Q3. Last week, four-year-old Eli Testa was killed in Rawtenstall cemetery when a memorial stone fell on him. All of Rossendale was shocked by this tragedy, so I hope the Prime Minister will join me in offering his deepest condolences to Eli’s parents and family. Families in Rossendale are also deeply concerned about reports that Reform-led Lancashire county council is considering cuts to nursery funding, which would raise costs for working parents and might force some nurseries to close. If this is an example of the sort of efficiencies that Reform is considering, then all of Lancashire—indeed, all of us—should be worried. Will the Prime Minister join me in asking Lancashire county council to think again?

Question

Severe pregnancy sickness—hyperemesis gravidarum, or HG—can mean vomiting more than 20 times a day. It causes physical discomfort, acute malnutrition and severe dehydration, which often leads to hospitalisation. It has profound and long-lasting mental health consequences. It was recently reported that a woman took her own life after being denied access to the only licensed treatment, Xonvea—tragically, her unborn child died too. The drug is licensed and available, yet women face a cruel postcode lottery to access it. Will the Prime Minister work urgently with the Department of Health and Social Care to end this scandal, so that every woman who needs Xonvea can get it, wherever she lives? Will he meet with me and campaigners to look at this as a matter of urgency?

Question

In Stockport, approximately 20% of families live in social housing. After Stockport Liberal Democrat and Conservative councillors blocked the Greater Manchester spatial framework proposal in 2020, the need for social housing is even more critical. Far too many families are living in insecure, overcrowded accommodation and waiting years for a suitable family home. I welcome Labour’s record-breaking £39 billion investment in social and affordable housing, and I want to ensure that communities such as mine in Stockport are prioritised. Can the Prime Minister confirm that these homes will be built and will be affordable? Will he look again at suspending the right to buy?

Question

A much better understanding of the particular needs of autistic and neurodiverse children is vital to expanding capacity in mainstream education for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities. As the Prime Minister looks at the SEND Bill over the summer, can I urge him to introduce mandatory training for all teachers and staff on autism and neurodiversity?

Question

I commend the Prime Minister on his work to tackle the arbitrary detention of British citizens abroad and warmly welcome the creation of a special envoy. He will know of the anguish of the families of Jimmy Lai, Ryan Cornelius, Alaa Abd el-Fattah, Jagtar Singh Johal and others. Can the Prime Minister tell us when he anticipates the appointment of the envoy will happen? Will they have real powers, like their counterparts in Canada and the United States, to help bring our people home?

Question

Government plans for English devolution and NHS reform suggest that integrated care boards should align with new strategic authorities. The Government’s plan for Bedfordshire will not currently achieve that, so what assurances can the Prime Minister provide that local NHS reorganisation will be good value for money, improve local accountability and deliver the healthcare services that are needed to serve my constituents in rural Mid Bedfordshire, including the much-needed GP surgery in Wixams?

Question

On 11 June, Alexander Dennis announced that it was planning to stop bus manufacturing in Scotland. My hon. Friend the Member for Falkirk (Euan Stainbank) and I have met the workers, the trade unions, the company and both UK and Scottish Government Ministers to see how closure can be averted. Alexander Dennis needs commitments to orders for 2025 and 2026, and elected mayors are ideally placed to do this. Our industrial strategy is right when it says that where things are made, and by whom, matters. As such, can the Prime Minister assure Alexander Dennis and the workers that he believes bus manufacturing should have a future in Larbert and Falkirk?

Question

Let us be clear in this House: Israel is starving Palestinian children. That is a war crime. Israel is killing Palestinian children as they queue for food. That is a war crime. Our Government have quite rightly imposed thousands of sanctions on Russia for its war crimes in Ukraine. How many more horrors must we witness before the Prime Minister acts with the same scale of sanctions against Israel to stop this genocide? Do Palestinian lives not matter?

Question

Successive Conservative Governments failed to invest in the transport infrastructure of the north-east, but the Labour Government are already changing that with the £1.8 billion that was recently secured for the region. Upgrading Moor Farm and Seaton Burn roundabouts can build on that, unlocking growth, and is supported by local people and businesses. Does the Prime Minister share my disappointment that rather than supporting my campaign for upgrades, the Conservative leadership in Northumberland county council is actively undermining my lobbying efforts to deliver this game changer for the north-east?

Question

During my meetings with guests who are in my constituency under the Homes for Ukraine scheme, they have told me that they are worried about their visas running out, even with the 18-month extension. They see reports of Ukrainians being refused asylum in the United Kingdom because it is said to be safe to return to Ukraine, even while Putin’s missiles explode in record numbers in Ukrainian cities. Some of their children are working through two or three-year education courses, and are frightened of having to leave. Will the Prime Minister meet them, and me, to hear about their plight and offer them some hope in this uncertain and dangerous world?