European Council

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Lucy Powell

Monday 25th March 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is tempting me to indicate what we might do. We do not know what the options are. We do not know which options will be chosen, or the sequence in which they will be chosen. However, my hon. Friend is absolutely right to point out that we stood on a particular manifesto. We stood on a manifesto to honour the result of the referendum, and the Labour party stood on a manifesto to honour the result of the referendum. I think that there is a way to honour the result of the referendum, and it is a pity that we have not been able to agree that.

[Lucy Powell (Manchester Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

The Prime Minister talks of frustration with Parliament. She has also said today, on a number of occasions, that today is decision time. But given that she is not putting her deal to another vote, and she is preventing the House from having indicative votes, will she advise us on how we are to express our decision?

[The Prime Minister]

Actually, what I said was that “as things stand”, I was not bringing back the meaningful vote, but

“I continue to have discussions with colleagues across the House to build support, so that we can bring the vote forward this week and guarantee Brexit.”

The process that will take place in the absence of a meaningful vote and in the absence of agreeing the deal this week will be referred to by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in the debate that will take place after this statement, and, of course, there is the amendment tabled by my right hon. Friend the Member for West Dorset (Sir Oliver Letwin), which gives an indication and a timetable that would operate were that amendment to be passed. I will be whipping against the amendment, for the reasons that I set out earlier.

Leaving the European Union

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Lucy Powell

Monday 21st January 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

We have been looking at a free trade area—a free trade agreement—with the European Union. I just want to ensure that that is as ambitious as possible, and that is what is set out in the political declaration.

[Lucy Powell (Manchester Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

The only thing we know for certain that people voted for in the referendum was to leave the EU—any other speculation is simply that. I repeat the question that my right hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster North (Edward Miliband) put earlier. Amazingly, the Prime Minister did not even mention the words “customs union” in her statement, but if this House voted either to remain in a customs union or to remain in EFTA or the EEA—all issues that were raised with her by her own MPs when she met them last week—will she adhere to that?

[The Prime Minister]

As I have said, obviously it will be for people to amend the motion that takes place next week and to see whether there is—[Interruption.] Can I just say to the hon. Lady that she is making some assumptions about the views of people across this House that have not been reflected by the discussions that we have had with Members across this House?

Exiting the European Union

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Lucy Powell

Monday 10th December 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I think my hon. Friend has heard my response in relation to a people’s vote, a second referendum, before. I genuinely believe that we should recognise that the referendum in 2016 was the biggest exercise in democracy in our history. We should respect the many people who went out to vote, including many who had not voted before. I believe that if we then go back to people and say, “Have another think, think again,” they will question the value of democracy and the value of the vote.

[Lucy Powell (Manchester Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

This is a political challenge for the Prime Minister, not a substantive one. It seems that the Prime Minister’s strategy is now to try to placate further the ERG wing of her own party. Is it not the truth that they are insatiable? They will never be satisfied. Given that the parliamentary maths are now so difficult, to really break the deadlock requires different parliamentary maths and a general election.

[The Prime Minister]

What the country requires is for us to continue to work to get a good deal over the line, so we can deliver on Brexit in a way that honours the referendum, and protects jobs and livelihoods across the country. Further uncertainty and division will do nothing to help people who are looking to their futures.

October EU Council

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Lucy Powell

Monday 22nd October 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Let me first thank Steve for all the work he has done for the party over many years—as a former councillor, I know how hard councillors work to represent their local communities. One of the problems is that there is an assumption that we are suddenly saying that we have signed up to extending an implementation period by a year; we have not done so. What we are saying is that we need to ensure that we have a backstop in the withdrawal agreement. On the proposal we put forward on a UK-EU-wide customs territory, there has been a substantial shift from the EU. We are now working with the EU on that proposal. The other proposal that has emerged is for us to have the option, as an alternative, of choosing to extend the implementation period for a short period of time, were that to be necessary. I want to work to make sure that neither of those is necessary.

[Lucy Powell (Manchester Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

Given that we have apparently made 95% progress on the withdrawal deal, what percentage progress have we made on the substantive deal? Given the answer that the Prime Minister has already given today, what percentage progress does she now think would be sufficient for the House to vote on the deal: 95%, 100%, 60% or 40%? Does she agree that we seem to be putting our finger in the wind on this one?

[The Prime Minister]

No, I do not agree. As I have said, we will bring forward detail on the future relationship alongside the withdrawal agreement so that the House knows what the future relationship will be.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Lucy Powell

Wednesday 25th April 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

This is very important. Parents will sometimes decide to educate their children at home, and they will have their reasons for wishing to do so, but it is important that those children get an appropriate quality and level of education. I reassure my hon. Friend that I know that the Secretary of State for Education is looking at the issue.

[Lucy Powell (Manchester Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

Q10. On Saturday, I met a lovely young couple who had all but given up hope of ever being able to buy their own home, but thanks to an innovative and genuinely affordable housing scheme by Manchester City Council, they have just moved into their own house, right near the university. Will the Prime Minister join me in praising Manchester Labour, which, despite her Government’s planning and funding restrictions, has built many hundreds of truly affordable homes in my constituency, and will have another 2,000 coming on stream very soon?

[The Prime Minister]

I am happy to say to the hon. Lady that I think it is important that we are providing and building more homes for people, and that within that we include affordable homes, too. I am pleased to say that, since we came into office in 2010, we have delivered more affordable homes than the previous Labour Government did in their last seven years in office. The Government are in fact working with Manchester—with the Mayor of Manchester and the combined authority—to ensure that we are supporting them in certain areas with funding, encouraging that building of affordable homes, and indeed ensuring that there are homes to which young people can aspire, so that those who never thought they would be able to get their foot on the property ladder can do so.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Lucy Powell

Wednesday 20th December 2017 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend has raised an important point. The issue of disclosure has come to a focus of concern as a result of the case that he has cited and, I understand, another case which is in the press today. I can tell him that, even before these cases arose, my right hon. and learned Friend the Attorney General had initiated a review of disclosure. I think it important that we look at the issue again to ensure that we are truly providing justice.

[Lucy Powell (Manchester Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

Q10. According to the Prime Minister’s own Social Mobility Commission, social mobility in Britain is stalling, and for many it is “getting worse not better.” According to her former chief of staff, the social mobility action plan released last week was “disappointing. Full of jargon but short on meaningful policies, it would have been better left unpublished.”Does she agree with him?

[The Prime Minister]

The social mobility action plan

“will play an important role in enabling less advantaged young people to get on in life.”

That is not what I have said; it is what the Sutton Trust has said, and the Sutton Trust has a fine record in helping disadvantaged young people to get on in life. If the hon. Lady wants some more quotes, the Association of Colleges has said:

“The plan sets out an ambitious agenda to tackle longstanding and deep-seated inequalities which the education system struggles to overcome.”

It is a good plan, and it will make a real difference to young people’s lives.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Lucy Powell

Wednesday 15th November 2017 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend raises an important point. We have all seen what has happened in Harare, and we are monitoring developments carefully. The situation is still fluid, and we would urge restraint on all sides, because we want to see—and would call for—an avoidance of violence. Of course, our primary concern is the safety of British nationals in Zimbabwe. It is an uncertain political situation, obviously, and we have heard reports of unusual military activity, so we recommend that British nationals in Harare remain safely at home until the situation becomes clearer. On his specific point, we are currently providing bilateral support to Zimbabwe of more than £80 million per year, partly to support economic reform and development, just as he says.

[Lucy Powell (Manchester Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

Next week will mark six months since the tragic attack at Manchester Arena. Will the Prime Minister join me in once again paying tribute to all those who responded so brilliantly in the aftermath? She will also be aware that the costs associated with this attack, now imposed on the city, are well in excess of £17 million—costs that the Government agreed to meet—yet as of today those moneys have yet to be reimbursed. Will she today give a clear and categoric commitment that those moneys will be reimbursed at the earliest opportunity?

[The Prime Minister]

Our thoughts continue to be with all those who were affected by the terrible attack that took place in Manchester. As well as meeting some of the victims immediately after the attack, I also met some of the victims and those involved a matter of weeks ago and talked to them about the long-lasting impact that this has on them.

The hon. Lady has raised an important issue. In relation to this funding issue, I can say to her that we will be responding in full by the end of next week, but I would expect that response to confirm that the majority of funds will be made available.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Lucy Powell

Wednesday 14th December 2016 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I recognise the interest that my right hon. Friend takes in this issue. She will know that it has been debated on a number of occasions in the House. The general assumption is that someone should not be named before the point of charge, but there is an allowance for the police to be able to raise someone’s name if it is a case where they believe that doing so will perhaps help other victims to come forward. This is of particular concern in matters of sexual violence—rape, for example—or where the police believe that the naming of an individual will help in the detection of the crime. This is a delicate issue, and I recognise my right hon. Friend’s concern. The College of Policing is looking at it very carefully, and is due to provide new guidance to the police in the new year in relation to the media.

[Lucy Powell (Manchester Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

Q6. The heart-breaking humanitarian crisis and genocide in Syria continue to take place as the world watches impotently, yet there is no end in sight. Does the Prime Minister agree with the right hon. Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne) that what is happening in Syria is a failure of western leadership, and does she agree with me that what is urgently required is what our dear friend, Jo Cox, called for nearly a year ago: a UK-led strategy to protect civilians, whether they are fleeing persecution, whether they are surrendering, or whether they are still besieged?

[The Prime Minister]

We must all take responsibility for decisions that we have taken, whether we take them sitting around the National Security Council table or, indeed, whether we take them in the House, with the decision it took in 2013. The hon. Lady raised the question of UK-led action in relation to the protection of civilians. The UK has been pressing for action in the United Nations Security Council, working with the French. The two most recent emergency UN Security Council meetings were called for by us, and the most recent took place yesterday. As she will know, there have been six UN Security Council resolutions which have been vetoed by Russia. The most recent was also vetoed by China. We continue to work with the United Nations, but if we are to get a solution that works on the ground other countries have to buy into it, and it has to be a solution that Russia buys into, as well as the regime.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Lucy Powell

Wednesday 16th November 2016 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

That is a very interesting point. Perhaps my hon. Friend would like to come up and see me some time.

[Lucy Powell (Manchester Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

Q5. In its state of the nation report, the Government’s Social Mobility Commission today issued a damning verdict on progress: things are getting worse. The commission concluded that the key drivers of social mobility—quality in early education, narrowing the educational attainment gap, and access to work and housing—are all going backwards on the Prime Minister’s watch. When will she come forward with a real strategy for opportunity for all, instead of fixating on creating an even more elite education for those who are already elite?

[The Prime Minister]

I note that the Social Mobility Commission has recorded today that more working- class youngsters are benefiting from higher education than at any point in our history. The Government have invested record amounts in childcare and the early years, and the attainment gap, as the report acknowledges, has actually narrowed. The hon. Lady refers to the education system and the reintroduction of grammar schools, so I refer her to the report commissioned by a Labour council in Knowsley to look at how it could improve educational achievement there. That report said:

“Re-introducing grammar schools is potentially a transformative idea for working class areas”.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Lucy Powell

Wednesday 19th October 2016 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend raises a matter that was one of the first issues that my right hon. Friend the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice raised with me: violence and safety in prisons. That is why my right hon. Friend is looking across the board at the action that needs to be taken. She has already announced extra money for more staff in prisons and recognises the importance of this particular issue.

[Lucy Powell (Manchester Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

Q13. Just one in every 1,000 pupils is a child on free school meals in a grammar school. Does the Prime Minister agree that that tiny number is a flimsy evidence base on which to create a new national schools policy? Would it not be better for her to look at the real evidence base and at how to reduce inequality in education?

[The Prime Minister]

I want to see every child getting the education that is right for them. I want every child to be able to get on as far as their talents and hard work will take them. That is why we need to increase the number of good schools in this country. If we look at the gap in attainment in grammar schools between those who are from disadvantaged backgrounds and those who are not, we see that it is virtually zero—that is the not the same in other schools. I just say to the hon. Lady that it is wrong that we have a system in this country where a law prevents the opening or expansion of good schools. That is what we are going to get rid of.