PARLIAMENTARY DEBATE
Engagements - 29 January 2025 (Commons/Commons Chamber)

Communities across the United Kingdom have been hit hard by Storm Éowyn. I spoke to the leaders of the devolved Administrations in Scotland and Northern Ireland over the weekend to discuss working with them on the support that is required, and to pay tribute to all those responding on the frontline.

Kick-starting economic growth is the No. 1 mission of this Government. It will put more money in people’s pockets and will deliver on our plan for change. Today the Chancellor announced our next steps to deliver that plan: a new Oxford-Cambridge corridor, redeveloping Old Trafford, and supporting a new runway at Heathrow. We are removing the barriers to investment, supporting innovation, and going further and faster to boost growth.

This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House, I shall have further such meetings later today.

This April the state pension will increase by £470 a year, and over the course of this Parliament it will increase by up to £1,900, benefiting millions of pensioners. Does the Prime Minister agree that means-testing the state pension would do severe harm, and will he confirm that this Government will always protect the state pension and the triple lock?

Let me be absolutely clear: there will be no means-testing of the state pension under this Labour Government. We are committed both to the triple lock and to the principle that people should receive pensions based on their contribution, regardless of their wealth. My hon. Friend is right: 12 million pensioners will receive a £470 increase in April. When people such as the Leader of the Opposition say that they want means-testing, that means a cut. The difference between us is that they would cut pensions and we are increasing them.

I call the Leader of the Opposition.

May I take this opportunity to solemnly commemorate the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz? We remember the 6 million Jewish men, women and children who were murdered. The Holocaust stands as a unique evil in human history.

Yesterday the Prime Minister set his growth test. He said that if a policy is

“good for growth…the answer is ‘yes’, if it’s not then the answer is ‘no’.”

This morning the Chancellor embraced a series of Conservative policies. Although many are welcomed, they will take years to deliver. When the Conservatives left office, we had the fastest economic growth in the G7, but what are the Government doing for growth now? They are destroying it. Let us look at the employment Bill. The Government’s own figures say it will cost business £5 billion a year. It clearly fails the Prime Minister’s growth test. Will he drop it?

I think the proposition that the Conservatives left a golden inheritance was tested on 4 July, which is why they are standing over there.

The Leader of the Opposition asked what we are doing. The Office for National Statistics says that we have the highest investment for 19 years. PwC says that this is the second-best place to invest in the world. The International Monetary Fund has upgraded our growth, predicting that the UK will be the fastest-growing major economy in Europe. Wages are up and inflation is down. However, there is more to do. We are reforming planning and regulation, building the new homes that we need, and supporting a third runway at Heathrow. As the Leader of the Opposition admitted to the CBI in November,

“there is no point in me just complaining about Labour when it was obvious that we Conservatives lost the confidence of business.”

We are not taking lectures from them.

The Prime Minister does not want to talk about the employment Bill because he does not know about it. Last week he misled the House. He was not on top of his own Education Bill—

Order. We cannot accuse the Prime Minister of misleading the House. [Interruption.] We cannot do it. I am sure there are words that the Leader of the Opposition would prefer to use.

Last week, the Prime Minister claimed to have laid down an amendment that he had not made. He does not know what is going on in here or out there. Last week, I spoke to a woman running a business in Exeter. She is terrified of taking on new staff. She is struggling to keep her head above water, dreading what this Government will do next. She is not alone. The Federation of Small Businesses says 92% of small employers are concerned about the employment Bill. Clauses 1 to 6 make it harder for businesses to hire new employees—often young people looking for their first job. This is not an employment Bill; it is an unemployment Bill. Given these clauses, will he drop his Bill and show that he is not anti-growth?

We believe in giving people proper dignity and protection at work. That is why we are proud of our record on supporting workers. The Conservatives consistently vote against any protection for working people, and the Leader of the Opposition’s consistent refrain is that there should be less, but we are driving growth on behalf of working people. Good work rights are consistent with growth—every good business knows that. On top of planning reform, the building of houses and supporting aviation, the Chancellor this morning spoke of the Oxford-Cambridge growth corridor, redeveloping Old Trafford, and manufacturing at East Midlands airport. We want to grow the economy; the only policy the Leader of the Opposition has got is to shrink pensions.

All the Prime Minister’s ideas are the ones that we thought up. He needs to make sure that we deliver growth now, as well as in the future. To grow our economy, we must get more people off sickness and welfare, and into work. Clauses 8 and 9 of the unemployment Bill take us in the opposite direction by increasing entitlements. The Government themselves—his Government—estimate that these changes will increase business costs from £600 million to £1 billion a year in sick pay. That will mean higher prices, fewer jobs and less growth. Will he drop these measures from the Bill?

No. I think they are good for workers and good for growth. This is the same argument that the Conservatives made against the minimum wage and every protection for workers. The Leader of the Opposition says that they are their ideas. She says she supports a third runway at Heathrow. Her shadow Transport Secretary says that it would be “calamitous”. The shadow Business Secretary is busy writing letters opposing airport expansion in his own back yard. The shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury says the Oxford-Cambridge idea is “flawed” and he is against it. We are the coalition of builders; they are the coalition of blockers.

The Prime Minister forgets that his own Chancellor blocked an airport in her constituency. They are hypocrites.

Let us talk about the employment Bill. Part 1 of the Bill means that a new employee could start a job in the morning and take their employer to a tribunal that afternoon. It is no wonder that this Bill has been called an “adventure playground for lawyers”. This Bill is terrible for business, but it is great employment for lawyers. I know the Prime Minister loves the legal profession, but he needs to stop being a lawyer and start being a leader. This is another measure in the Bill that fails his growth test. Will he show some leadership and drop it?

I understand that the Leader of the Opposition likes straight talking: she is talking absolute nonsense. She knows, and anybody who understands anything about the Bill or any employment law will know, that you cannot start in the morning and go to a tribunal in the afternoon. We know she is not a lawyer, she is clearly not a leader, and if she keeps on like this, she is going to be the next lettuce.

The Prime Minister does not know what his Bill is doing. He should listen to business, which is terrified of this Bill. The only workers he cares about are lawyers, but it is not just lawyers benefiting from this Bill. Who else benefits? It is not taxpayers; they will be paying for even more welfare. It is not young workers; they will not get their first break. It is definitely not businesses; they are being hammered with yet more burdens. Who benefits? It is the trade unions. Part 4 of the unemployment Bill—[Interruption.] Labour Members have not read it. Part 4 of the unemployment Bill is the biggest expansion of trade union powers for a generation—[Interruption.] Exactly; thank you. The public will have heard them cheer. Rather than deregulating for business, which creates growth, he is deregulating for the unions. Clause 61 alone reduces the notice period for strikes to just one week. Given that strikes are catastrophic for growth, will he drop part 4 of the Bill?

It is good for working people, and it is good for the economy. The right hon. Lady should keep up: the CBI has welcomed our positive steps this morning. The Chancellor has given a brilliant speech on the economy, fixing the mess the Conservatives left and growing our economy, and the CBI has said it celebrates this

“positive leadership and a clear vision to kickstart the economy”.

That is the difference. We are growing the economy; the Conservatives left it in a complete mess.

The arrogance of the Prime Minister is that he thinks that it is his Government who create growth. He is wrong. It is business that creates growth. Our economy is built by entrepreneurs, risk-takers and the hard graft of working people. They know that you cannot tax your way to growth, you cannot borrow your way to growth, you cannot legislate your way to growth. Other countries are serious about freeing business from red tape. President Trump is doing it in America. Argentina is taking a chainsaw to regulations. Even the EU is not going as far as this left-wing Government. This Bill will put us at the bottom of the pack. Added to the jobs tax and the family business tax, it is no wonder that wealth creators are fleeing Britain in droves. The Chancellor is desperately trying to save her reputation. She knows Labour has damaged growth. This Bill manifestly fails the Prime Minister’s own growth test. If he will not drop the unemployment Bill, what is the point of his growth test?

The right hon. Lady has got a nerve. The Conservatives broke the economy and completely destroyed it. They broke the health service and completely destroyed it. They ruined the prisons and everything else you can mention. They failed on every front. They are in no position to give us lectures on anything. She says that she accepts they failed and they are changing, but they have learned absolutely nothing.

The Conservatives have a lot to answer for in the failing system that they left behind. We have taken immediate action to ensure that consumers insulating their homes are not let down again. We are investing £3.4 billion in our warm homes plan to upgrade 5 million homes.

I call the leader of the Liberal Democrats.

I take this opportunity to thank the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust for all its work in commemorating the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, and to say what a privilege it was to meet Holocaust survivors at the Guildhall event.

When my hon. Friend the Member for North Devon (Ian Roome) and I recently visited a hospital in Barnstaple, a surgeon there told us that it was like a ticking time bomb. He explained that a hospital of that size needs 12 operating theatres to meet demand; it has just four. The last Conservative Government promised to rebuild it, but we all know that that was a hollow promise. Now the North Devon district hospital is one of nine across the country whose urgent rebuild programme has been postponed for over 10 years. Will the Prime Minister meet hon. Members whose constituents’ lives being are harmed by this delay, to see if there is any way we can bring these urgent projects forward?

I join the right hon. Gentleman in his comments about the Holocaust survivors that we met earlier this week. It was incredibly moving, as it always is, and I was struck by the fact that there were so many in the gathering. We are unlikely to see so many in one place like that again. We must never, ever forget.

On the question of hospitals, I think people across the country are right to feel angry, betrayed and frustrated at the last Government’s plan, or non-plan, for hospitals. It was unachievable. It was unfunded. It was empty promises. Under them, these hospitals would never have been built. Our funded plan, backed by the investment we have put in, will deliver them. We will take such steps as we can on hubs etc, to advance quickly on waiting lists and operations, and I am more than happy to make sure that all constituents and Members can meet the relevant Ministers.

Last week, the Prime Minister told me that it would be three years before social care reforms can be implemented. Now he is saying that urgent hospital rebuilds will take more than a decade. My hon. Friends and I will keep coming back to this issue.

The Chancellor has now admitted that we need to go further and faster in the pursuit of economic growth, and we agree, but the Prime Minister knows that we believe that means setting aside his objections to a UK-EU customs union so that our country can go further and faster in rebuilding our trading relationships with our European neighbours, especially with the threat to world trade posed by Trump’s tariffs and trade wars. If the Prime Minister will not change his mind today on a customs union, will he confirm to the House that when he goes to Brussels on Monday he will open negotiations for the UK to join the pan-Euro-Mediterranean convention so that we can start removing the growth-damaging trade barriers set up by the Conservatives?

Our No. 1 mission is growth, which is why have we set out all the initiatives over the past seven months, particularly the ones this morning. The right hon. Gentleman knows that in relation to the reset with the EU, which we are determined to achieve, we have clear red lines when it comes to the single market and the customs union. He knows where we stand on that.

I thank my hon. Friend for raising this. I know she is deeply concerned about this issue and campaigns on it. The rise in poverty caused by the mismanagement of the economy by the Conservative party is unacceptable. Our approach to social security will ensure that work is accessible to as many people as possible, as a route out of poverty. That includes the new Connect to Work programme, which is expected to help 100,000 disabled people find and stay in work.

I thank the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster for their sterling support for Northern Ireland over the past few days in the aftermath of Storm Éowyn, which is greatly appreciated and demonstrates how well the Union works.

On 15 August 1998, the fragile peace in Northern Ireland was shattered when the Real IRA detonated a bomb in Omagh town. Twenty-nine people died, and two unborn twins never saw this world. Through the dignity and the stoic campaigning of Michael Gallagher, whose son Aiden died, a public inquiry was secured through the courts, which recommended in 2021 that the Irish Government should similarly hold an inquiry to understand what could have been prevented, given the cross-border nature of the atrocity—the bomb was prepared in and transported from the Irish Republic. Will the Prime Minister use his good offices to ensure that truth is delivered and justice arrives for the families of those who so needlessly lost their lives to Irish republican terrorism?

First, I assure the right hon. Gentleman that we will continue to work with the leaders in Northern Ireland to ensure that we deal with the storm, which has been devastating for very many people who are still without power and who have all the associated problems.

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for raising the Omagh bombing inquiry. It was a heinous and cowardly terrorist attack, and it shocked the world. Our thoughts are with the family members who are taking part in commemorative hearings this week. I welcome the Irish Government’s commitment to co-operating with the inquiry. The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has raised with the Irish Government the importance of working together on addressing these and all legacy issues, and I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for raising this very serious and important issue.

My hon. Friend has been relentless in seeking to boost growth and investment in Ipswich and Suffolk. The gridlock his constituents face underlines the failure of the Conservatives to deal with that when they had the chance to do so. We will fast track decisions on at least 150 major economic infrastructure projects to kick-start growth, and I will ensure that my hon. Friend gets a meeting with the relevant Minister to discuss the issues of concern to him.

I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising the issue. His constituents will be angry and frustrated at the empty, unfunded promises left by the Conservatives. Let us be clear, under their non-plan, North Devon district hospital would simply not have been delivered—it was not just delayed; it was never going to be delivered. Conservative Members know that, the hon. Gentleman knows that and his constituents know that. We have put in place a funded, deliverable plan that will see the hospital built, and we will work closely with the trust to accelerate work. The Conservative party owes his constituents an apology.

My hon. Friend is right to raise that very serious issue. We are committed to working with every council to deliver the biggest increase in social and affordable housing in a generation. We are immediately taking action to reform the right to buy and to enable councils to borrow more cheaply, and investing in the affordable homes programme.

I extend my sympathy for what the hon. Member experienced—it must have had a profound impact on him and his family. I, too, have seen the power of restorative justice, which enables victims to receive answers and perpetrators to face the human costs of their crimes. Under the victims’ code, all adult victims must be told about restorative justice and how to access it. We can always do more and I will ensure that he gets the meeting that he wants with the relevant Minister.

I wish my hon. Friend and his wife well with their new arrival. We are conducting a review into parental leave, because we cannot grow the economy if parents have to choose between work and their children. Thanks to the Employment Rights Bill, which the Conservatives oppose, 30,000 more fathers will get paternity leave. That is the difference: the Leader of the Opposition wants to roll back parental rights; we are extending them.

I thank the hon. Lady for raising this important issue. Of course we will look at the report, but I do not join in her description—we will look at the report.

My hon. Friend has given decades of service to his community. I am a firm believer in moving power out of Westminster and into the hands of those with skin in the game. That is how we boost growth, create opportunities and drive reform. I am pleased that we are establishing a combined county authority in Lancashire. Our ambition is for mayors across all areas of England who can take advantage of the powers set out in the devolution White Paper, including in Lancashire.

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for raising this matter on behalf of his constituents, so I will speak and his constituents will hear the answer. There was not a plan for the building. It was a pretend plan; it was a fiction. It was unfunded and undeliverable. It only existed in the head of Boris Johnson. There is the frustration for his constituents and I really understand it. They thought—because they were promised—that they were going to get something, which the Conservative party knew was never going to be delivered. That is absolutely unforgiveable. We will pick that up. We have put in place a funded scheme to build as quickly as we can, but it has to be funded and it has to be deliverable. That is the difference between the approach that we are taking and the approach that they took. Of course I will ensure that a relevant Minister meets the hon. Gentleman and his constituents to explain that more fully to them.

What a contrast to the SNP: a strong Labour voice championing economic growth in Scotland. The AI developments this week show why we are right to put artificial intelligence at the heart of our plan for change. We have already secured £39 billion of AI investment, which will create 13,000 jobs across the UK. I agree with my hon. Friend that Scotland has real potential for AI growth zones. I will make sure that he can meet the relevant Minister to discuss that.

I am grateful to the hon. Member for raising this matter. As he knows, local councils received an increase in their settlement this year, so they have more money to deal with the problems that they face. They were underfunded and broken by the previous Government. We have now put that support funding in place. That is the right thing to do.

I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for raising this really important issue. All those who serve our country deserve our fullest respect and gratitude. That is why we are righting the historic wrongs inflicted on LGBT veterans, already significantly increasing the compensation available and enabling them to get their ranks restored. I know that this is a real issue for the Foreign Secretary. He is looking at it, and I will make sure that she gets to talk to him about it. We do need to deal with this historic injustice; she is right about that.

We are proud of, and totally committed to, the Good Friday agreement. Northern Ireland matters to this Government, and it matters to me. The hon. and learned Gentleman will know that I worked there for five years with the Police Service of Northern Ireland. I want to see Northern Ireland secure and safe for all communities and thriving in the future. I believe that it can be, and we will do everything to make sure that it is.

Tomorrow marks the 20th anniversary of the loss of RAF aircraft XV179 and the 10 UK service personnel who were killed onboard. Those service personnel were known to their friends as Steady, Smudge, Gary Nic, Pards, Gibbo, Ritchie, Bob, Dave, Jonesy and Paddy. They were killed on a routine flight between Baghdad and Balad as the result of a poorly protected aircraft. This was the largest single loss of life in the Iraq war. Will the Prime Minister join me in thanking and recognising our service personnel for their service and their sacrifice, and their families for their stoicism, as we gather to commemorate such a tragic moment?

I thank my hon. Friend for reminding the House of this case. I know that the condolences of the whole House remain with the families of these brave soldiers. We will never forget the vital role they played in supporting the coalition operation in Iraq. I also thank my hon. Friend and pay tribute to his service. We are immensely proud of our armed forces and their courage and dedication as they keep our country safe.

The Prime Minister may know that, this time last week, representatives of those who have been injured seriously by covid vaccines were giving evidence to the covid inquiry, including my constituent, Kate Scott. I hope he also knows that the compensation available to those people is not adequate and is not adequately accessible. I am grateful to the Health and Social Care Secretary for the thought that I know he is giving to how that position may be remedied, but may I ask the Prime Minister to give his personal support to that objective, not just because it is the right thing to do for the people affected, but because it will support the objective that we should all share, which is to maintain public confidence in vaccination?

I thank the right hon. and learned Gentleman for raising that. As he says, the Health Secretary is looking at it. I assure him that I will also look at it with the Health Secretary, and we will get back to him as we do so.

This week, I heard a story from an elderly resident in Bedworth. Kolin Basra phoned the GP surgery to make an appointment for his elderly wife and was told that no appointments would be available for three months. Does the Prime Minister agree that that is utterly shocking and horrifying, and a direct result of 14 years of neglect by the Conservative party?

I thank my hon. Friend for raising that. She is absolutely right: the damage that the Conservatives did to the NHS was absolutely unforgiveable. We are taking steps to ensure that more GP appointments will be available, we are getting the waiting lists down, and we are putting investment into the NHS. As with everything else, we are clearing up the mess that they left behind.

The Prime Minister should know that my Romford constituents are shocked, angry and dismayed by the suggestion by the Office for National Statistics that the population of this country will rise to 72.5 million by 2032—that is 500,000 people a year, which is unsustainable. Who voted for that, and will the Government do something to ensure that the population of this country is sustainable going forward? There is no mandate for such a colossal increase in immigration to this country.

I think the hon. Gentleman should talk to his party leader. Net migration went through the roof under the previous Government—by nearly 1 million; it quadrupled—and who was cheering it on? The Leader of the Opposition. The hon. Gentleman’s constituents are right to be concerned about the loss of control by the previous Government. We are taking control; we will bring those numbers down. But the record is absolutely clear, and it sits right there on the Opposition Benches.