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

The scenes of destruction emerging from Jamaica are truly shocking. Both the Foreign Secretary and I have been in close contact with our Jamaican counterparts in recent days to offer the UK’s full support. I can update the House: HMS Trent and specialist rapid deployment teams are pre-positioned in the region, and we stand ready to provide humanitarian support.

Awaab Ishak died five years ago from a respiratory condition caused by exposure to black mould in his flat in Rochdale. He was just two years old. No child should grow up without the safety and security of a decent home. For far too long, millions of people have lived at the mercy of rogue landlords and insecure contracts. Labour is ending that. Despite the best efforts of the Tories and Reform, who voted against it, our Renters’ Rights Act 2025 is now law, including Awaab’s law.

Fighting for working people: that is the difference that a Labour Government make, and on that issue, this Government have secured the biggest deal to manufacture Typhoon fighter jets in this country for almost 20 years. We secured that deal because the UK is back as a leading and trusted member of NATO. That is a timely reminder for the Green party, whose policy is to take us out of NATO; for the Putin-friendly Reform party, which would have no standing with NATO; and for the Leader of the Opposition, because you do not win NATO deals by not turning up to NATO summits.

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.

I associate myself with the Prime Minister’s remarks about supporting Jamaica.

Across our country, and in Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney, off-road bikers are a menace. They tear up our environment, and turn our streets into racetracks. After years of Tory cuts, Gwent police are now tackling that. Does the Prime Minister agree that police forces, and communities such as mine, are seeing the difference that Labour can make in power?

I share my hon. Friend’s determination that everyone should feel safe and secure in their community. Neighbourhood policing was decimated by the Conservative party, and we are restoring it with 3,000 extra officers by spring. We are also giving them the powers that they need, including tough new respect orders that allow the police to seize and destroy vehicles within 48 hours. The Tories walked through the Lobby, with Reform, to vote against our Crime and Policing Bill.

I call the Leader of the Opposition.

Last year, in its manifesto, Labour promised not to increase income tax, not to increase national insurance, and not to increase VAT. Does the Prime Minister still stand by his promises?

I am glad that the Leader of the Opposition is now finally talking about the economy. I can update the House: retail sales are higher than expected; inflation is lower than expected; growth has been upgraded this year; and the UK stock market is at an all-time high. The Budget is on 26 November, and we will lay out our plans then, but I can tell the House now that we will build a stronger economy, cut NHS waiting lists and deliver a better future for our country.

Well, well, well; what a fascinating answer. It is not the same answer that I received when I asked exactly the same question, word for word, on 9 July. Then, the Prime Minister replied with just one word—yes—and then he sat down with a smug grin on his face. What has changed in the past four months?

As the Leader of the Opposition well knows, no Prime Minister or Chancellor will ever set out their plans in advance. But I can say this: the figures from the productivity review that is being undertaken—which is a judgment on the Tories’ record in office—are now coming through, and they confirm that the Tories did even more damage to the economy than we had previously thought. We will turn that around. We have already delivered the fastest growth in the G7 in the first half of this year, five interest rate cuts in a row, and trade deals with the US, EU and India. The Tories broke the economy; we are fixing it.

The right and learned hon. Gentleman says that no Prime Minister or Chancellor will say these things before the Budget. Has he told his Chancellor? She has been out there flying kites, causing constant speculation around the Budget that is damaging the economy. All week, the Government have been briefing about tax rises. What we have heard is that he does not have a plan, so we have some ideas for him. [Interruption.] It is quite clear that they need some ideas. On the Conservative Benches, we believe in scrapping taxes on family homes. Yesterday, we voted to abolish stamp duty; Labour voted against it. Even the former Deputy Prime Minister, who resigned in disgrace for not paying stamp duty, voted to keep it. I remind them that on this side of the House we know that abolishing stamp duty is how we get young people on the housing ladder and get the economy growing. So why will he not scrap this terrible tax?

Why did the Tories not do it, then, in their 14 years in office? As I said, the productivity review figures are now coming in, and those show the true extent of the damage that they did. The Leader of the Opposition asks us to take advice from them. These figures are coming out, and we all know that austerity damaged the economy on their watch. The botched Brexit deal damaged the economy on their watch. Liz Truss’s mini-Budget damaged the economy on their watch. So we will take no lectures or advice from them on the economy. They will not be trusted on the economy for generations to come. That is why I can be clear that, at our Budget, there will be no return to austerity—that is what broke the country—and no return to the instability of their mad borrowing spree, and we will end the unfairness and low growth that squeezed living standards for working people. That is the path to national renewal.

The Conservatives reduced the deficit every year until the pandemic. We more than doubled the personal allowance. We left 4 million more jobs than we found from Labour. We brought inflation down to 2%; it has nearly doubled—[Interruption.]

Order. Mr Tufnell, you are in my sights. The pantomime season has not arrived—do not start it too early.

On our record, we brought inflation down to 2%; it has doubled under the Prime Minister. We left him the fastest growing economy in the G7; it is no longer. The truth is, the Government have no ideas; we are giving them some. There is another way to get growth: cutting welfare spending and getting people into work. Last month, I offered to work cross-party with him to bring down welfare spending, because he knows and we know that he would rather dip into people’s pockets than upset the people behind him. Instead of tax rises, will he work with us to find a way to cut welfare spending and get Britain working again?

The right hon. Lady talks about the Conservatives’ record, so let us go through it. They crashed the economy. Inflation went up to 11%. Mortgages went through the roof. Welfare spending went up by £33 billion. And they want to give us advice! They reduced the UK to a laughing stock. Because of our Budget, waiting lists have come down, wages are up, mortgage rates are down and other countries want to do deals with us. Just on Monday of this week, the Turkish Government signed an £8 billion deal for Typhoons. Earlier this year, the Norwegian Government signed a £10 billion deal for frigates. That is because of the Budget that we passed—fixing the mess that the Tories left.

It is not because of the Budget that the Prime Minister passed; I started that deal back in January 2024, and I welcome it. [Interruption.] It has nothing to do with the Government’s Budget; we are lucky the deal is still happening. I welcome the £8 billion deal that he has done with Turkey, but I remind him that just last month his Chancellor borrowed £20 billion. He will have to sell a hell of a lot more jets to make up for that. He will not rule out any tax rises, he cannot cut spending and he is increasing unemployment. This man knows nothing about economic growth, except how to destroy it. In his weakness, he has caved in to the unions on their regulations that will cripple businesses, costing them £5 billion every year. [Interruption.] Yes, please do speak up, because I want every single business out there to hear Labour MPs heckling when we talk about the damage that they are doing. I ask the Prime Minister: how on earth can he consider adding more burdens for these firms to deal with?

The right hon. Lady has overlooked the fact that we had the highest growth in the G7 in the first six months of this year—and that growth has just been upgraded—and we had three interest rate cuts. We are not going to take lessons from the Conservatives. She has now introduced what I think she calls a “golden economic rule”. This golden rule that she is now putting forward—very golden!—is £47 billion-worth of unspecified spending cuts, with no detail whatsoever. Let me put that in context: that would mean 85,000 fewer nurses, 234,000 fewer teachers or cutting every police officer in the country twice over. No wonder the Institute for Government said she is on “shaky foundations”. That is exactly what caused the problem in the first place.

The fact that he has to stand there and make stuff up just shows what kind of Prime Minister he is. We had an itemised list worth £47 billion; £23 billion was on welfare spending, which I asked him to work with us to cut. He refuses to do so. All he knows how to do is tax, tax, tax. If you work, the Government tax you more. If you save, they tax you more. If you buy a home, they tax you more. None of these taxes were in their manifesto, which he had four years to prepare. He is raising taxes because he is too weak to control spending. He is blaming us, he is blaming the OBR. Last week, they were blaming Brexit. Is it not the truth that with this Prime Minister, it is always someone else’s fault?

The Conservatives were kicked out of office because they broke the economy. They will not be trusted for years to come. The right hon. Lady cannot tell us what her position is on the last Budget, and she has a phantom £47 billion with no foundation as we go forward. That is exactly the mess that they caused, and they have not changed one bit. Meanwhile, we are fixing their mess: 5 million extra NHS appointments, five interest rate cuts, and growth and wages are up. That is the change a Labour Government make.

I thank my hon. Friend for raising this point. I am deeply concerned by the strikes. This underlines the fragility of the ceasefire deal. All sides need to uphold President Trump’s peace plan. It is the only route to long-term peace for Israelis and Palestinians. We are of course in close touch with the US and regional allies pushing for de-escalation. The scale of destruction in Gaza is unimaginable. The immediate priority remains getting aid in at the speed and the volume needed.

We come to the leader of the Liberal Democrats.

May I associate myself with what the Prime Minister said about Jamaica, and indeed all the islands and countries affected by Hurricane Melissa? Our thoughts and prayers are with them all.

I am sure the whole House will also want to join me in paying tribute to Prunella Scales. I suspect I am not the only Member of the House with a “Fawlty Towers” DVD box set. She will be greatly missed.

Across Europe, in countries like Poland, Germany and France, we have seen evidence of dangerous Russian political interference. Last month, the former leader of a major party in Wales pleaded guilty to taking bribes to make pro-Russian statements. The evidence shows that Nathan Gill was a close confidant of the current Reform party leader for years. Does the Prime Minister agree with me that it is time we had an in-depth investigation into Russian meddling and money in British politics?

I join in the right hon. Member’s comments on Prunella Scales.

On the question of Russian interference, it is a serious problem in countries across Europe, including in our country, where it is a constant threat. For NATO allies, the conflict in Ukraine and dealing with Russian aggression is the No. 1 issue. That is why I have to say the Reform party would be an absolute disaster for our defence. We are a trusted member of NATO; we would not be a trusted member if we were Putin-friendly. We are leading the coalition of the willing, giving security and comfort to 30 other countries. That would collapse under Reform because it is Putin-friendly, and it would be a real threat to our defence and our security.

I am grateful for the Prime Minister’s reply, and I agree with him on Ukraine, but I do hope he will look to have an investigation into this Russian interference in our politics.

Last week, I questioned how the Prime Minister can accept the damage of Brexit while refusing to do anything meaningful about it. The damage is clear, with the Financial Times reporting that lower productivity growth alone has blown a £20 billion black hole in the public finances—just part of the Brexit black hole that the Conservatives and Reform will not apologise for. Last week, he rejected my plan for a new customs union, so can I ask him what action he will take to change the Brexit deal, or is he just planning to complain about it?

The right hon. Member must have overlooked the fact that there was a UK-EU summit earlier this year, in which there were 10 strands to the change that we have already agreed in relation to the relationship with the EU, including closer trading relationships and closer work on defence and security; that is an iterative process that we will continue into next year. But he is absolutely right about the botched deal of the last Government and the damage that has done to our economy. We are just seeing some of the figures coming through in relation to that. That is one of the factors behind the way they crashed the economy.

Can I start by wishing Hartlepool United the best for this season? My hon. Friend will appreciate that the structure of the leagues is a matter for the leagues themselves, but I commend his campaign and everything that he is putting behind it. I also pay tribute to the staff, fans and players of Sheffield Wednesday at this difficult time. We have delivered the Independent Football Regulator to stand up for fans and to make sure that clubs have fit and proper owners. The Conservatives used to support that, but now they oppose it.

The Prime Minister has a deep understanding of policing in Northern Ireland and its importance. He knows about the ongoing national security threat and about the additional costs of dealing with the legacy of our past. He knows that the Police Service of Northern Ireland has been underfunded, and that the Northern Ireland Executive have rightly brought forward a stability programme for it. He also know that it is under strength; in 2020, New Decade, New Approach suggested that there should be 7,500 police officers in Northern Ireland, but today there are 6,200.

Does the Prime Minister know, however, that the Treasury did not look favourably on a request to draw on the reserves for a data breach that cost £120 million? Does he recognise that, in Treasury terms, the incident was “unforeseen, unaffordable and unavoidable”, and therefore matches the Treasury’s criteria? To set aside that money in-year would be 10% of the PSNI’s overall budget—it is not affordable. Can I ask him to think about this issue again, in engagement with the Chancellor, and to ensure that our Police Service of Northern Ireland and the national security threat that it faces are not hampered by in-year financial rules?

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for raising this important issue, which I know is of real concern to him. I reassure him that I am in regular contact with Chief Constable Jon Boutcher and the PSNI on it, as he would expect. As he is aware, we provided a record settlement of £19.3 billion a year on average for the Executive, and we invested £113 million in additional security funding for the PSNI to help to address specific security challenges. While it is for the Executive to set the PSNI budget, I reassure him that our commitment is to keeping people safe in Northern Ireland.

I thank my hon. Friend for raising that tragic case. I am sure that I speak for the whole House in saying that we send our sympathies and thoughts to Hudson’s parents, Shannon and Tyler. I will make sure that they get the meeting that he has asked for. This is exactly why we are working to improve access to face-to-face appointments for those who want one. To enable that, we have delivered the largest cash uplift for GPs in a decade, have put over 2,500 GPs into general practice, and are upgrading 1,000 surgeries to deliver 8 million more appointments.

I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising this issue and for the two examples that he has given. The downgrading of Basildon hospital is deeply disappointing. The Care Quality Commission has set out immediate actions for the trust leaders to deliver improvements. Our decisions in government have seen a £26 billion boost for our NHS, helping to deliver over 5 million extra appointments. I gently point out that he was elected to represent a Reform party that would dismantle our NHS and charge people to see their doctor.

I am proud that we have delivered the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation—which the Tories and Reform have voted against at every turn, as they always do with any form of workers’ rights and protections. The deal that we struck on Monday with Turkey is worth £8 billion, 20,000 jobs and 10 years of work in manufacturing the Typhoons. It was possible only because we are a trusted member of NATO. Reform would be an absolute nightmare on defence—it would not be a trusted member of NATO because it is Putin-friendly.

I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising this matter, which I know is personal to him. We are investing £600 million to improve diagnostic capacity and are rolling out new radiotherapy machines, including, I am pleased to say, in his local trust. We have seen real improvements, with 148,000 more people now having cancer diagnosed or ruled out within 28 days, but I acknowledge that there is more to do. The national cancer plan will set out how we will go further and deliver the best care for every patient.

I know how important face-to-face banking is on our high streets. As my hon. Friend says, we have committed to rolling out 350 banking hubs across the United Kingdom, and over 180 are already open. However, I want to reassure him that 350 is not the limit; although decisions over hubs are taken independently, they can be rolled out wherever a community needs one. I am happy to make sure the relevant Minister follows up with details for him.

Order. The problem is, one or two of you are trying to catch my eye. If we don’t get through this, you won’t get a chance.

Thank you, Mr Speaker.

The triple lock was a great achievement of the previous Government, and we will be keeping it. From April, pensioners with private pensions as low as £2 a month will be paying income tax for the first time. At last year’s Budget, the Chancellor was clear that extending the freeze on personal allowances would breach Labour’s manifesto commitment. Will the Prime Minister prove the media speculation wrong, keep his promise and guarantee that there will be no extension to the freeze on personal allowances?

The freeze was introduced by them. That is why it is coming in next year.

Yes. She is bearing down on the challenges at the Home Office—most of them inherited from the last Government. We will make the changes necessary, and I have every confidence in the Secretary of State to do so.

I call the Father of the House.

I agree. I thought that the King and the Pope praying together sent an incredible message to the world and was very powerful. I agree that if we all work together, we can bring people together, notwithstanding the very many difficulties and challenges around the world and in our own country. It is why we should, so far as we can, unite on national patriotic renewal in this country, rather than have the toxic division we see from some on the Benches opposite.

My hon. Friend’s constituency is just one example of why the United Kingdom is a world leader in educating and attracting the brightest minds. Our immigration White Paper includes changes to make sure that more of the world’s best graduates and entrepreneurs start their careers and businesses here. We are also boosting our research and development sector with more than £86 billion, to ensure that we continue to attract the best and the brightest.

Our small business plan was widely welcomed by small businesses across the country, not least because of their input into it. The hon. Lady complains about the measures we had to take at the last Budget, including national insurance—[Interruption.] The Conservative Front Benchers are saying that we chose to take them, but they still cannot say whether they would reverse them. They know nothing about the damage they did to our economy.

I am wearing all black today to demonstrate my sorrow over a fatal stabbing that took place in my constituency yesterday. We all know that one death is one death too many, but I have had two deaths in my constituency in the last few weeks. My community needs reassurance. Knife crime must end. Will the Prime Minister say what more his Government are doing to tackle knife crime?

I thank my hon. Friend for raising these tragic cases, which have a huge impact on families, friends and communities. I know that she is a passionate and dedicated campaigner on this issue. Every single life lost to knife crime devastates communities. That is why we banned zombie knives and ninja swords and are strengthening controls on online knife sales. We are also giving stronger powers to the police in our Crime and Policing Bill, which both the Conservatives and Reform voted against.

I am grateful to the hon. Member for raising that. I think the broken SEND system has been raised with me more frequently than any other issue at Prime Minister’s questions. We need to review it because it is not working for any of those involved, particularly children and parents. It is important that we get it right and, in so far as we can, that we get a consensus on how we go forward. That is what we are attempting to do.

I begin by paying tribute to my hon. Friend’s sister Margaret, who was a guiding figure in the Labour party and left a powerful legacy in helping us to tackle brain cancer. We are determined to improve cancer survival rates and hit all NHS waiting times in relation to cancer so that no patient waits longer than they should. That is why we are investing £1.5 billion in new surgical hubs and diagnostic scanners to help deliver over 30,000 more procedures and over 1.2 million diagnostic tests.

I recently met about 20 independent local traders in Totnes who are furious that the last bank in town will close in January and that Link has refused to consider a banking hub. My businesses and constituents—1,100 of them have signed a petition—deserve better. The Prime Minister just told the hon. Member for Blyth and Ashington (Ian Lavery) that a banking hub can be rolled out wherever a community needs one, so will he now back my campaign, ask his Ministers to write to Link and instruct it to grant a banking hub to Totnes, and review the eligibility of rural towns for such hubs so that we can keep our vital high streets alive?

I thank the hon. Member for raising that. She will have heard the answer I gave a few moments ago. I will ensure that she gets a meeting with the relevant Minister so that she can put the case for the banking hub in question.