PMQs

Question

The Prime Minister sees himself as a man of candour, so will he tell the House whether anyone associated with the running of Manchester City football club raised the charges that they were facing, and have now been found guilty of, with either him or any member of his team?

Question

I am sure we were all incredibly moved by the Prime Minister's tribute to his late father at Labour party conference, and I wish to pass on my personal condolences to him and his family. During the Prime Minister's speech, I thought about my own grandparents, who were both former teachers with decades of public service, but when they needed looking after, they had to go through their savings and their pension just to receive the care that my granny needed. I am sure that that story will resonate with thousands of people in Ipswich and across the country, because we have a care system that puts profit before people, leaving behind not only the people who depend on this service, but the incredible people who work within it. As a Labour and Co-operative MP, I ask our country's first Labour and Co-operative Prime Minister whether he will consider the co-operative approach to social care so that we can finally put people before profit.

Question

I thank you, Mr Speaker, and the Prime Minister for the words about Sir David Amess. We on this side of the House miss him dearly, as do his family. He was a fellow Essex MP and a very good friend to me and to so many across this House, and I know that he is still very much loved by his constituents in Southend. The Prime Minister has had a busy few weeks: tying himself in knots explaining why national security should not come at the expense of social security, and bumbling into a row—still ongoing—about Manchester City. I do not think that his carefully worded answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Broadland and Fakenham (Jerome Mayhew) will suffice—it does not sound like that one is going away. He also spent the last 48 hours trying to unsay that Russia influenced the 2016 referendum when we all heard him say it. Does he ever get tired of putting his foot in his mouth?

Question

It sounds like the Prime Minister is digging in, but you cannot fight misinformation with misinformation. This is the first time I have ever heard the head of MI5 slap down a Prime Minister for doing Russia's dirty work for them. Either the Prime Minister knew what he was doing on that podcast—trying to undermine the 2016 referendum—or he opened his mouth on a matter of national security and said the first thing that came into his head. Does the Prime Minister agree with the director general of MI5 that talking up Russian interference was a mistake?

Question

Still digging in—it was not me that MI5 was talking about. The fact is, this Prime Minister will say anything instead of dealing with the tough decisions that only he can take—like on Britain's energy security. In July, he said that he would approve the Rosebank and Jackdaw oil and gas fields in the North sea. What is he waiting for? If he had approved them back then, we would have British gas warming British homes this winter. Will he now—[Interruption.] It is true: all the gas from Jackdaw goes on to the British grid. Will he now stop faffing about and approve Rosebank and Jackdaw?

Question

2 million people are being paid sickness benefits, and they may not even be sick. Billions of pounds are being paid to people who should not be getting that. Is the Prime Minister afraid to cut benefits because he does not want a fight with his Back Benchers?

Question

The Budget is in two weeks. Let me tell the Prime Minister what should be in it: cutting welfare to fund defence. Why will he not announce a date for 3% in this month's Budget?

Question

Yesterday I met a beauty salon owner who is struggling with the impact of Labour's tax rises. She told me that she is dipping into her pension to pay the young people she employs. The last two Labour Budgets have been a total disaster. Is he not too busy appeasing his MPs, excusing his own mistakes and avoiding difficult decisions to give the country the leadership it needs?

Question

Almost 10 years ago, the shutters on Southall police station were pulled down for good because of austerity cuts by the Conservative Government. A shuttered police station in the middle of our town centre makes criminals feel that they can get away with it, and residents feel like no one cares. Will he back my campaign to pull up the shutters on Southall police station so that local residents can feel safe again?

Question

When the Prime Minister announced cross-party talks on social care over the summer, I was delighted and immediately accepted because getting this right really matters. He said then that to build a lasting solution on funding care, we were going to have to listen to each other and find common ground. He said that when he tried before, back in 2009, his mistake had been leaving it too close to an election. Does he still think that now? If we are to find the common ground well before the next election, will he tell us when the next round of cross-party talks will be?

Question

The Prime Minister knows that I share his passion to get this right. He knows that I share his passion to work cross-party to find consensus, which is the only way we can put this right, but I hope we can get on with the cross-party talks. We cannot push this to the end of the next decade. We have to act now for the millions of people who need our help. Can I move on to other matters? Scared of the mid-terms, President Trump has done a deal with Vladimir Putin to buy Russian diesel, ripping up international sanctions against Putin. The Prime Minister studiously avoided commenting on Trump's behaviour on Monday, but this House deserves to know his position, as do President Zelensky and our brave Ukrainian allies. So let me ask the Prime Minister this: does he not agree that this is yet another shameful Trump betrayal of the Ukrainian people and European security?

Question

The school of my six-year-old constituent Hollie does not allow siblings to attend school events. Her brother William has profound, multiple, life-limiting disabilities and needs 24/7 specialist care. He is also a delightful little boy. As they cannot bring William or leave him with a babysitter, this effectively means that Hollie's parents must always stay away from school events, missing everything from parents' evenings to Christmas plays and phonics workshops. Yet Catalyst Academies Trust, which runs the school, and its CEO, Tony Parfett, have repeatedly refused to make an exception to accommodate William or even to meet myself to discuss ways forward. Will the Prime Minister back my call for the Catalyst Academies Trust to do the right thing, and can he ensure that academy trusts are meeting their reasonable adjustment obligations to disabled children and their families?

Question

MI5 boss Sir Ken McCallum yesterday revealed that there have been 50 arrests in the last year linked to Iran, and I have to say that this Government deserve praise. They deserve praise for proscribing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps—a very important move. But every single week there are young, unidentified males from Iran coming into this country, some of whom pose a genuine security threat to our nation. Is it not time the Government recognised that what is going on in the English channel is a national security emergency?

Question

It is tough growing up in Britain today. With one in five young people now with a mental health condition, the wellbeing of our young people remains in crisis. In communities such as mine in Croydon East, where young people are waiting up to four years for support, families are desperate for help. Can the Prime Minister outline what his Government are doing to invest in early mental health support in communities across the country and how he will tackle the long wait for support that is robbing young people of their future?

Question

Exactly five weeks ago, I asked the Prime Minister if he would back my three-year campaign to get a new mental health in-patient hub in Hertfordshire, which would begin to pay for itself as soon as it is built. I know that the Prime Minister understands the principle of invest to save, because he himself has used this argument to explain why building social homes will reduce the housing benefit bill. So will he stick to his principles and, having reviewed the proposal that I sent him, now commit to provide the up-front resources to build this self-funding mental health hub in Hertfordshire?

Question

This summer I visited a holiday activities scheme, whose organisers told me they had to increase the size of the lunch portions because children were hungry, and with schools closed, it was the only meal some of them were getting. The Prime Minister has rightly talked about the need to tackle the cost of living crisis and bring people hope again, which is essential in my constituency. Will he join me, our trade unions and community organisations in prioritising the elimination of food poverty? No child in our country should go to bed at night feeling hungry.

Question

In rural Somerset distance has a price. Every school bus, bin round and pothole fix costs more, yet the Government are diverting hundreds of millions from rural to urban councils, leaving Somerset £21 million a year worse off. Roberta from Martock told me yesterday that people need more affordable homes, but slashing funding will not build a single one. Will the Prime Minister use December's settlement to restore remoteness funding to Somerset—yes or no?

Question

A recent BBC “Disclosure” documentary exposed violence, open drug dealing, child exploitation, and a staggering 1,200 sexual offences recorded in Glasgow city centre in the year to March 2026. We must have an honest discussion about the city's pressures, including addiction, deprivation, immigration and community cohesion. While SNP underfunding has crippled local public services, and Glasgow city council's response has fallen short, Reform is exploiting public safety fears to stoke racial division in our welcoming city. Will the Prime Minister hear this call for help and support a co-ordinated response to make Glasgow safer?

Question

The Leader of the Opposition has made her position on doing deals with other parties crystal-clear. Will the Prime Minister make it equally clear, following the Green party's descent into the most abhorrent antisemitism, that he will rule out co-operating with it?

Question

On a recent visit to Stirling high school, senior pupils studying politics and modern studies asked me about everything from climate change to war in the middle east. One young woman asked how young people can know they are being heard by politicians, so I have brought her question here so that she and her classmates can see that a question asked in their assembly hall can get an answer from the Prime Minister. Whether we are discussing mental health, housing, jobs, our relationship with Europe or the upcoming report on NEETs—those not in education, employment, or training—we are discussing their future. How will the Prime Minister ensure that we talk with young people, rather than just about them, and show them that their ideas and opinions shape the decisions that we take in this place?

Question

Despite the desperate need for pitch space in my constituency, Udney Park playing fields in Teddington have lain derelict for over a decade. The most recent owner, a Chinese business man, has now been sanctioned by the British Government and has had his assets frozen. Given that the Prime Minister has made it clear that he wants communities to take back control of precious sites like Udney Park, will he work with me to ensure those playing fields are put back in the hands of the community, right where they belong?

Question

It is now nearly 10 years since the Grenfell Tower fire. I welcome the recent progress on criminal accountability, but from Hillsborough to infected blood to the Countess of Chester hospital, too often inquiries and inquests make recommendations that sit on a shelf, leaving victims chasing answers and avoidable harms continuing. Will the Prime Minister give his support to an independent national oversight mechanism to sit alongside the Hillsborough law, and ensure that when tragedies like Grenfell do occur, the state is held properly accountable for change?

Question

The national planning policy framework is 130 pages long. The London plan is over 500 pages long. The mayor's guidance to the London plan is over 2,000 pages long. Will the Prime Minister concede that because of that, added to the increase in taxes that his Government are putting on businesses and employers, Labour has been a disaster for home building in London, pricing young people out of the market and putting pressure on home counties constituencies, like mine?

Question

The 60th anniversary of the Aberfan disaster, which claimed the lives of 116 children and 28 adults, will be marked on 21 October. In the coming days, the community will mark the occasion with a range of events. As a precursor, this evening in Portcullis House the Lewis Merthyr band will perform a piece of music dedicated to the lost children of Aberfan. It was the most unimaginable horror that befell the village, and just how the community came together in the days and months ahead was, and is, testament to the spirit of the people of that community, who responded with such dignity and fortitude. It is fitting that the chair of the Aberfan memorial charity and a survivor of the disaster, Mr David Davies, is with us in the Gallery. Will the Prime Minister join me in paying tribute to those who were lost and to what Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II described as the most “indomitable spirit” of the people and community of Aberfan?

Question

It has been 43 days since the Prime Minister received a letter signed by all Opposition parties expressing support for the Lobular Moon Shot Project, which seeks funding to fight the insidious disease that is lobular breast cancer. Sadly, no response has been received. When the Prime Minister was the Mayor of Greater Manchester, he committed to supporting the Lobular Moon Shot Project. Will he reaffirm that commitment from the Dispatch Box?

Question

In recent weeks, the Argentine Government have increased their economic aggression towards the Falkland Islands. Given that, will the Prime Minister update the House on the actions that the Government are taking in response to that belligerence?