It does my heart good to hear my hon. Friend talk about [5D [K about rising hope in Kilmarnock and the masterplan for the town, backed by [K the Government with the Pride in Place funding—and yes, I can assure her th [2D [K that No. 10 North is as much at the service of her constituency as it is at [2D [K at the service of any constituency in the House. We will turn what is happe [5D [K happening in Kilmarnock into real momentum for the town.

As I said last week, I appointed this Chancellor becaus [6D [K because of his strong commitment to the defence of this nation—that was the [3D [K the reason—and we will honour our NATO commitments: 3.5% by 2035, and a tar [3D [K target date for 3%. That will all be set out in the spending review. I do n [1D [K not feel, though, that the right hon. Lady gets the right to come to this H [1D [K House and claim the moral high ground and point fingers wherever possible, [K when defence spending was 2.3% of GDP and fell during 14 years of a Conserv [7D [K Conservative Government. On this issue, I think we should do more problem s [1D [K solving than point scoring, and I say to the right hon. Lady that we would [K do our armed forces well if we could agree more on this crucial issue acros [5D [K across the House.

This Chancellor, of all Chancellors, will be willin [6D [K willing to provide that funding to our armed forces and back our defence in [2D [K investment plan. We have taken the strongest possible stance in supporting [K President Zelensky and Ukraine. We are playing our role around the world, a [1D [K and we will continue to do so. The right hon. Lady mentions the plan that s [1D [K she has set out, and this is why I say that we should have an honest conver [6D [K conversation across the Dispatch Box; I looked at it, and I do not think th [2D [K that taking £4 billion out of housing benefit is going to get the right con [3D [K consensus around this issue. That would create levels of homelessness in th [2D [K this country that we would not have seen before, with hundreds of thousands [9D [K thousands of children in temporary accommodation. I say to the right hon. L [1D [K Lady that, yes, we do everything to support our national security, but it c [1D [K cannot come at the expense of social security. Having strong national secur [5D [K security also depends on resilience in our communities. We on the Labour Be [2D [K Benches will not be forced to choose between the two, and we will set out a [1D [K a plan to get to 3.5% by 2035 at the spending review.

I cannot comment today on quasi-judicial decisions, [10D [K decisions, but we will take a pragmatic approach to oil and gas, as I have [K said before at the Dispatch Box. Let us get to the heart of this question, [K as the right hon. Lady invites me to do. What is the right way to fund defe [4D [K defence and, yes, bring the welfare budget down? She would make crude cuts [K to housing benefit. As I have said, if £4 billion is taken out in the next [K few years, families will be made homeless and rough sleeping on our streets [7D [K streets will increase. So here is the Labour way—the way that we do it on t [1D [K this side of the House. We have set out plans for the biggest council house [5D [K house building programme this country has seen in a generation. If the righ [4D [K right hon. Lady looks at research from the National Housing Federation, she [3D [K she will see that that is the route to save billions from housing benefit. [K We will shortly respond to the final report of Alan Milburn, who is looking [7D [K looking at the issue of young people not in education, employment or traini [6D [K training—again, something left behind by the last Government. We will take [K the Labour way: change education, support our young people, and provide mor [3D [K more mental health support. That is the Labour way to get the welfare bill [K down, and I say to the right hon. Lady that that is the right way to fund d [1D [K defence.

The right hon. Lady has to do better than that. They are the worst kind of points to be scoring when the country is watching. We will not surrender our base at Diego Garcia—we are in discussions with the United States about that—and we will always respect the rights of the Falkland Islanders to choose to be British. That will never change under this Government, and we will be relentless in defending that.

Defence spending was 2.5% of GDP when the last Labour G [1D [K Government left office and 2.3% under the current government, now set to be [2D [K be 2.7% in the next year. The government aims for fully funded defence inve [4D [K investment, proposing a path to reach 3.5% of GDP by 2035. The answerer inv [3D [K invites collaboration to set a clear path for secure and fully funded defen [5D [K defence spending.

The right hon. Lady mentions leadership. Let me tell he [2D [K her and the whole House where Britain is showing leadership. There have bee [3D [K been Conservative politicians at this Dispatch Box—Labour politicians, too— [4D [K too—for decades who have talked about the importance of the two-state solut [5D [K solution between Israel and Palestine. Words from any politician about a tw [2D [K two-state solution will be only words if they are not backed with action. L [1D [K Leadership is about taking action where there is injustice, where we need t [1D [K to correct unfairness: people being driven out of their homes, losing their [5D [K their homes, being intimidated in their daily lives. I credit the Father of [2D [K of the House, the right hon. Member for Gainsborough (Sir Edward Leigh), wh [2D [K who yesterday applauded the action that this Government are taking. In this [4D [K this difficult and dangerous world, Britain has to stand for something. Bri [3D [K Britain has to show leadership. Britain has to stand for fairness against i [1D [K injustice. Where people are being bullied out of their homes and intimidate [10D [K intimidated, we will always stand with the underdog and take what action we [2D [K we can to support them. That is leadership on the world stage; Britain bein [4D [K being true to what it has always been about. That is what the British peopl [5D [K people expect of us and that is what this Government will do.

I am a more regular visitor to my hon. Friend's constit [7D [K constituency than she might realise, constantly nipping in and out for vari [4D [K various reasons, so I know Warrington well. I believe it is a success story [5D [K story, actually; something of a jewel in the north-west crown. It is a grow [4D [K growing town—almost a city, given how successful it has been in recent time [4D [K times—but it does need new infrastructure. I would like to see a remodelled [10D [K remodelled Warrington Bank Quay, with high-quality east-west, north-south c [1D [K connectivity running through it. When it comes to leisure—Mr Speaker, you k [1D [K know this as much as anyone in the House and perhaps more than anyone—this [K is a Prime Minister who will back grassroots sport to the hilt. I assure my [2D [K my hon. Friend that I am happy to talk to her about the leisure centre she [K mentioned.

That is a fair question. Let me first thank the right hon. Gentleman for his support for the statement made yesterday by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs. It is important that there is support across the House for what was announced. We have all stood together for the two-state solution. The reason my right hon. Friend decided to announce what he did when he did is obviously that the E1 settlement tender concludes before the Israeli general election. It was important to make a clear statement on where Britain stands, for Britain to show leadership. That is what we have done, but we appreciate the cross-party support.
On British farming, I hear what the right hon. Gentleman says and I will set out more measures later.
I looked into the issues with North Devon’s maternity unit, and the right hon. Gentleman will soon receive an update from me. He mentions Musgrove Park hospital in Taunton—a hospital I know. It points to a systemic challenge facing maternity services across the country, as various reviews have said. That is why my right hon. Friend the Health Secretary will next week chair a meeting of the maternity taskforce in the Department of Health and Social Care. We will ensure that all the issues raised, including at the hospitals mentioned, are looked at in detail.

On the specific issue, the institute that the right hon. Gentleman mentioned is indeed a world leader, and is in daily conversation with industry partners, including Anthropic. Those conversations will continue. On the broader issue, the right hon. Gentleman is absolutely right that AI poses risks to our national security, but it could also be the source of solutions for keeping us safer, and that was a discussion that we had yesterday. That is why I appointed a Minister for Artificial Intelligence to the Cabinet. We have lifted the level of conversation about artificial intelligence within Government, and the offer is open to colleagues on all sides of the House who want to be a part of that crucial discussion.

It is good for me to be able to credit the Communic [8D [K Communication Workers Union, because I know it has done a huge amount of wo [2D [K work over the years to raise some of the issues within Royal Mail. It is be [2D [K because of that work that there has now been a commitment from the business [8D [K business to invest £500 million in frontline resourcing. Everyone in this H [1D [K House will know that standards have not been good enough, and people have b [1D [K been facing an unreliable service. We are committed, as a Government, to a [K comprehensive universal service obligation. That is what will safeguard Roy [3D [K Royal Mail's future, but the company now needs to listen to what my hon. Fr [2D [K Friend is saying and get on and deliver it.

I will, Mr Speaker. I will remove VAT from electric [8D [K electricity bills next month. It is not going to solve everything for peopl [5D [K people, but it will take a little bit of pressure off, and the hon. Gentlem [7D [K Gentleman should look out for further measures as we go through the year. I [1D [K I appreciate that it does not apply in Scotland, but we will impose a £2 ca [2D [K cap on bus fares across England for the whole of 2027. We are doing this be [2D [K because this is a cost of living Government, and we want to give people hop [3D [K hope that some help is coming.

We recently consulted on conversion kits and will set o [1D [K out a response shortly. A robust response on all issues raised is expected. [9D [K expected. While I may not attend the roundtable, I will ensure a Minister d [1D [K does.

We can give the assurance that the local power plan bac [3D [K backed by £1 billion from Great British Energy will benefit every community [9D [K community, including Bath. If the hon. Lady wants to meet with Great Britis [6D [K British Energy, I will facilitate that.

I visited the constituency and saw where the ferry link [4D [K link used to go. I will not accept the abandonment of this service. I will [K work with the hon. Friend to find ways of bringing the service back, suppor [6D [K supported by No. 10 North. She has my word on that.

On this issue, I will agree to the hon. Gentleman's req [3D [K request for a meeting. As announcements this week have shown, I believe tha [3D [K that political reform always benefits from the highest degree of consensus, [10D [K consensus, so I give him that assurance here and now.

I am aware of the potential office closure in Liver [5D [K Liverpool by BT, and the number of job losses—up to 600, I believe. Steve R [1D [K Rotheram, the Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, and MPs have been in meet [4D [K meetings, including with No. 10 North yesterday, discussing this and other [K issues. We will continue to work to support those jobs. Can I also congratu [8D [K congratulate the Mayor of the Liverpool City Region on bringing buses acros [5D [K across the city region back under public control at the weekend, after 40 y [1D [K years of deregulation?

In my first week in office, I made the decision to [K cut business rates for pubs. We need to go further to support hospitality. [K I cannot commit, from this Dispatch Box today, to what she is asking, but s [1D [K she should wait for the Budget. We are keen to support high streets and hos [3D [K hospitality up and down the country—in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland [K and, indeed, Wales.

I understand the concern that my hon. Friend is raising [7D [K raising about data centres. I have to say to him that at this point, I will [4D [K will not go as far as a moratorium, but I agree that it is important that c [1D [K communities see the benefits of AI and data centre investment. I can say fr [2D [K from experience that the data centre can be the magnet that clusters in oth [3D [K other investment over time; that needs to be remembered. This Government ha [2D [K have a policy that AI growth zones will allow local authorities to retain 1 [1D [K 100% of business rate growth, so that they can benefit communities.

The hon. Member mentions the Good Friday agreement, and [3D [K and I will stick to it 100%. I remind him, on the question of a border poll [4D [K poll, that that is to be considered by the Northern Ireland Secretary when [K there is clear consensus in the country—when public opinion has changed to [K the point at which the call has to be considered. I would say that it is ex [2D [K exactly the same situation in Scotland. I am not aware that there is majori [6D [K majority public support for another referendum, and until that changes, the [3D [K there will not be one.

I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for the incredible work [4D [K work she is doing in memory of her friend; I know that her dad Nigel has al [2D [K also campaigned so strongly on this. I have always believed in whole-person [12D [K whole-person care—in physical, mental and social care being delivered toget [5D [K together. We are investing more in perinatal mental health and parent-infan [12D [K parent-infant relationships—more funding is going in—but I accept, as she i [1D [K is saying, that more needs to be done. I will look at her Bill. I understan [9D [K understand the call for Sophie's law and will make sure that a Health Minis [5D [K Minister meets her to discuss it.

I thank the hon. Lady for that very direct and good question. She is right to point to wasted spending in the mental health system when people are sent hundreds of miles in search of a bed; those placements can be very costly indeed. We need to move to a more preventive mental health service, and I will look at the specifics in her constituency. This will all be considered as part of a mental health strategy that will come before this House before Christmas.

I remember well my visit to Stourbridge; it will not leave me, actually, because of the devastation, and the loss of everything in a moment for so many families. My hon. Friend’s support for them was really visible on the day, and the community is clearly very strong; that was evident. I am going to be chairing a wildfire summit, and she is welcome to be part of that, if she wishes. Our fire services are not set up for the future. I mentioned community resilience before; we need a fire service that has a statutory responsibility to deal with flooding, that is equipped to deal with wildfires, and with back-up national aerial support, so that there is better support next time we see these issues. I give my hon. Friend my word that we will learn every possible lesson from what she and her community went through.

We gave the most careful consideration to all of the issues involved, and indeed all of the risks. The Foreign Secretary and I took close advice from the security services and, of course, officials in the Foreign Office and in our embassies. The risk of the collapse of the two-state solution and the effect that would have on the middle east should concern us all. The risk is that it is dying before our eyes, and that requires us to have the courage to act. In the world that we are in, if Britain loses the confidence to lead on the world stage, where will we be? Where will this country be? It is right that we have taken this action. The Father of the House said yesterday that he “absolutely and fully” supports what my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary is doing,
“standing up for freedom, for morality and for justice for all people in this world.” —[Official Report, 8 September 2026; Vol. 790, c. 891.]
Those were his words, and we take great heart from them.