Oral Answers to Questions

Andy Burnham Excerpts

Wednesday 11th November 2026 Commons Chamber

[Claire Hanna (Belfast South and Mid Down) (SDLP)]

Q1. If he will list his official engagements for Wednesday 11 November.

[The Prime Minister (Andy Burnham)]

As we have just done in the past hour, we remember all those who made the ultimate sacrifice in the service of our country. We honour the courage and bravery of all our armed forces. No one who has served our country should ever sleep rough on our streets. I have today written to all English councils, as part of our drive on rough sleeping, to ask that an offer of accommodation be made to all ex-forces ahead of the winter break. I hope that Members across the House will work with their councils to ensure that happens.

Over the weekend, a British national was sadly killed and another injured in the terrible shooting in Krakow. Our thoughts are with the families, who we will support in whatever way we can. Of course, the UK stands with the people of Poland, as I have assured Prime Minister Tusk.

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

[Claire Hanna]

Humour me for a moment and imagine that one party in this Parliament could, if it did not like the way the political winds were blowing, refuse to take part and bring Westminster to a standstill. That would be unthinkable here, but in Stormont the abnormal has become routine. We have watched parties taking turns at collapsing government for years at a time. We have watched policies blocked not by the strength of an argument, but by vetoes that were designed for inclusion. It seems like dysfunction is easier than actually doing the work, and ordinary people are paying the price. Wherever you want to go constitutionally, the path is through making a fist of things and offering people a decent life. It is worth saying that every poll shows that more people are working towards a new Ireland. Stormont is in its dying days if urgent steps are not taken to make it more productive and stable. Will the Prime Minister commit to working with us and others on a politics for the common good to end the cycle of dysfunction and despair?

[The Prime Minister]

Can I say to my hon. Friend that I know exactly where she is coming from? We all want to see Stormont up and running and delivering for the people of Northern Ireland, particularly as we approach the 30th anniversary of the Good Friday agreement. My right hon. Friend the Northern Ireland Secretary is working hard with colleagues across all parties in Northern Ireland to settle a budget for this year and to consider further ideas for reform of Stormont. We will continue to do whatever we can to bring the parties together. It is incumbent on us all to get Stormont up and running as soon as possible.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Leader of the Opposition.

[Mrs Kemi Badenoch (North West Essex) (Con)]

On this Armistice Day, we remember the courage and sacrifice of those who served our country and those who gave their lives for us. We owe them and their families an enduring debt of gratitude.

The Prime Minister entered Downing Street promising a 10-year plan to reverse 40 years of neoliberalism. Is it really true that he has so little vision for this country that he needs the Boston Consulting Group to write it for him?

[The Prime Minister]

I did walk into Downing Street promising a 10-year plan for this country, because I am determined to give this country the stability that the Conservatives failed to provide, and I am determined to give the leadership that this country needs. I can say to the right hon. Lady that we will present our plan for Britain to this House before it rises for the Christmas recess.

[Mrs Badenoch]

I am not surprised that the Prime Minister has asked management consultants to help him write his 10-year plan—he needs all the help he can get. We have heard one thing that will be in it: he is merging the DVLA with the DVSA. [Hon. Members: “Ooh!”] Exciting stuff, Mr Speaker. It is no wonder that Labour MPs are already telling The Guardian that it is a “tragic joke”. This Government are adrift. Two weeks ago we had a “do nothing” Budget. It pushed all the big decisions, like funding our defence, into the spending review, but we have no idea when that will be. He has talked about the 10-year plan. Can he assure the House that the spending review will come before next summer?

[The Prime Minister]

The right hon. Lady mentions the Budget—the most popular Budget for a number of years, I have to say—which helped people with the cost of living crisis. Can she explain why the Conservatives voted against a bank levy that will deliver a council tax cut for 20 million households in January? It was a big decision to oppose that, and she needs to explain why she took that decision.

There will be a proposal for a national care service in the 10-year plan. The covid inquiry recently said that social care was an “afterthought” for the Conservative party. We will also present the Milburn report to this House next week. We will put forward a plan to this House and the country for a safe and sustainable way to bring the welfare bill down and get young people into work.

[Mrs Badenoch]

I think it was popular compared to the former Chancellor’s Budget. I asked the Prime Minister to confirm when the spending review will be, and we did not get an answer. All the waffle he gave us there was kicking everything into the long grass. Meanwhile, the Iranians are threatening our bases today, but he cannot tell us when his Government will properly fund our defence. But he has so much time on his hands that last night he attended a speech by the head of the civil service. He is supposed to be telling her his plan, not sitting in the audience while she tells him hers.

There was one worthwhile thing in the Budget: the Rosebank oilfield. The Chancellor has already banked the tax revenue, but there is just one problem: Rosebank has not been approved. If it is not going to be approved, why was it in the Budget?

[The Prime Minister]

The right hon. Lady knows that the Rosebank decision is a quasi-legal decision and it will be taken in due course. She stood at the Dispatch Box a moment ago and said that this Government are not taking big decisions. We did approve the Jackdaw gasfield. Today £12 billion is going into renewable energy. These are big decisions. Yesterday she put forward what she considers a big decision: £36 billion of cuts. Does she accept that so many of the people affected by what she announced are working people—people whose incomes will be hit hard in a cost of living crisis? I think the right hon. Lady needs to answer why she would make the cost of living crisis harder for people through the cuts she has just announced?

[Mrs Badenoch]

I asked the Prime Minister about Rosebank. He says that it is a quasi-judicial decision. It is a political decision. Why else did it take the Labour Government two years to approve Jackdaw while the Foreign Secretary was in charge, but now he is gone it happened just like that? This is the real reason they did not do it: the Foreign Secretary instructed Government lawyers not to fight the court case. He called Rosebank “climate vandalism”—but then he also thought that cosying up to Russell Brand would make him Prime Minister, so I do not think we need to trust his judgment. [Interruption.] Labour Members are saying “Shame”—they are right, the Foreign Secretary should be ashamed. Meanwhile, the Chancellor is already banking the tax revenue from Rosebank in his calculations. Why will the Prime Minister not just approve Rosebank?

[The Prime Minister]

Correct me if I am wrong, but the Jackdaw decision that the last Government tried to take was struck down, because they made it overtly political—that was why they could not take that decision. The right hon. Lady comes to the House handing out lectures week after week, but maybe she needs to look a little closer to home as to why the last Government failed to take that decision. We will take a further decision on Rosebank in due course, as well as building a renewable energy future, which is what we are also announcing today. We are facing the big issues and we will lay that out in the 10-year plan. This country was going backwards under the Conservative party. We are leading it forward. We are bringing people back together. We are giving people hope. She is voting against the help that we just announced in the Budget. When will she directly address the cost of living crisis in this House?

[Mrs Badenoch]

I ask the questions here and I am asking about Rosebank—it was literally in the Budget. The reason why the Prime Minister will not approve it is because Government Members are all squabbling, or maybe he does not want it hanging over his head at COP. It is not just the Foreign Secretary, because 50 of his MPs do not want it either, led by the current Energy Secretary, and she is only in the job because the Culture Secretary turned it down.

Today the Government are in court defending our right to drill oil and gas off the Falklands. At the same time, they are passing legislation to ban drilling off Scotland. This is ludicrous. Why is it acceptable to drill oil and gas in the Falklands but not in the North sea?

[The Prime Minister]

The right hon. Lady has not been paying attention. We recently approved the Jackdaw gasfield in the North sea—something that she failed to do when she was in government—and through the energy wealth fund created by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor, we are using the proceeds to accelerate the delivery of renewables. Today we are announcing two offshore wind projects—off the coast of East Anglia and off the east coast of Scotland—in part funded by the National Wealth Fund.

If the right hon. Lady wants to address energy policy, perhaps we can talk about why energy bills went up and up under the Conservatives. Perhaps we can discuss how they lost public control, lost control of people’s bills and left people paying more and more. We are removing standing charges from gas bills, which will bring people’s bills down, and we are going to do the same by looking at reforming standing charges on electricity bills. We have taken VAT off electricity bills. Also, through all those efforts, we will speed up the delinking of gas and electricity prices, getting bills down over the long term. That is an energy policy, and the Conservative party could have done with one when they were in office.

[Mrs Badenoch]

There was a lot of waffle there, but I did not hear why it is all right to allow oil and gas drilling in the Falklands but not in the North sea. The Prime Minister sounds confused: he did not seem to know that he is legislating to ban oil and gas drilling. The Government are totally adrift—they need consultants to tell them what to think and civil servants to tell them what to do—so we are left with a “do nothing” Budget, a spending review delayed and a 10-year plan outsourced. Meanwhile, the whole country is in limbo. Labour MPs want to pretend that Keir Starmer simply walked off into the sunset, but in reality this man knifed him in the back and now does not know what to do. Is not the truth that they are all sat there shaking their heads, wondering whether it was all worth it?

[The Prime Minister]

I have told the right hon. Lady today what I am doing. Whether she was listening or not, people at home will have heard that I am bringing forward a national care service, when the Conservatives ignored social care for years and years. I am acting to get people’s energy bills down, when the Conservatives did not. I listen to her talking at the Dispatch Box as though they got everything right. A quarter of a million young people became NEETs—not in education, employment or training—between 2021 and 2024, when she was in the Cabinet. The welfare bill rose by £33 billion in her last year in office, when she was in the Cabinet. When will she come to this House with real proposals to address those things, rather than repeating more of the same? Next month, she will see our plan for Britain presented to this House. It will lay a new path for this country to go forward, breaking with the failed policies of the Conservative party. She is going to have to come up with better than that if she is going to take on what we are putting forward.

[Mrs Elsie Blundell (Heywood and Middleton North) (Lab)]

Q4. As the Prime Minister knows, Heywood is the largest town in Greater Manchester without an express bus service to Manchester city centre. I have pushed for such a service since my election, because I know that it would transform the lives of people in my constituency and transform the economy there. What will the Government do to support Transport for Greater Manchester in delivering that service, and to make sure that people in Heywood have the benefits of buses being brought back under public control?

[The Prime Minister]

The Leader of the Opposition began by talking about the biggest changes in 40 years. We all remember when the Conservative party deregulated buses across this country, and the bus fares that left people paying. This is still happening in many parts of the country, because services are still deregulated. People can pay £3 or £4 for a single journey in many Conservative Members’ constituencies. We will put a £2 cap on those bus fares next year. Because we put the buses under public control in Greater Manchester, and because we reversed 40 years of deregulation, we can introduce the service that my hon. Friend is calling for. I used to support that in my previous job; I cannot speak for the current Mayor of Greater Manchester, but I hope she does the same.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the leader of the Liberal Democrats.

[Ed Davey (Kingston and Surbiton) (LD)]

As we mark Armistice Day, may I join the Prime Minister in honouring the incredible sacrifices made by all those who paid the ultimate price as they served our country? We will remember them. May I also welcome the announcement of new offshore wind farms, and remind the Prime Minister that they are coming in through a Liberal Democrat policy that we brought in when in government?

Our politics has been affected by poisonous ideas, such as the idea that people born and raised in England cannot be English because they are not white. Shamefully, even some in this House have argued for that racist ideology. We must reject it, as the Conservative leader, to her great credit, has done. We should start with the census; when it asks about ethnicity, the only English option is “White English”. My hon. Friend the Member for Eastbourne (Josh Babarinde), a proud Englishman, introduced a Bill yesterday to change that, and to create new options such as “Black English” and “Asian English”. Will the Prime Minister support his Bill?

[The Prime Minister]

I echo the right hon. Gentleman’s comments at the start. We all pay tribute to our armed forces today. I also echo him in praising the Leader of the Opposition, as I did from this Dispatch Box a few weeks ago. On some issues, we should rise above party politics; we should recognise when things are completely unacceptable and make common cause against them. I have not looked at the detail of the Bill, but I stand here thinking that I would want to support it, to directly take on the poisonous politics that we have seen from some in this House who are seeking to divide us. We must move on from a decade of division and drift in this country. We must bring people back together. I am interested in working with anyone in this House who shares that aim.

[Ed Davey]

I thank the Prime Minister for that reply, and I hope it means that he is inviting my hon. Friend for a meeting to discuss his Bill. Turning to welfare, we cannot leave young people without the dignity of work and the chance to get on, and we need to bring the welfare bill down, but the blame does not lie with young people. It primarily lies with the Conservatives, who tanked the economy and sent the welfare bill soaring—and Labour has made things worse with its jobs tax. Businesses cannot hire young people in the UK while they are battling unfair taxes and tied up in Brexit red tape, so will the Prime Minister do the single biggest thing to cut welfare and help young people into work: grow the economy by joining the single market?

[The Prime Minister]

No is the answer to that, today. We are honouring our manifesto pledge to have deeper ties. There is the prospect of a deal with Europe that could add up to 0.4% to GDP—[Interruption.] The Opposition laugh at growth in our economy. This is the Conservative party! Any growth on that scale is worth taking, and we will take it. We will seek that deal. On young people, I agree with what the right hon. Gentleman has said. Young people need support to get into work. To cut their benefits without that support is wrong. I mentioned a statistic a moment ago: a quarter of a million young people were NEET in the last three years of the last Conservative Government. That is because that Government rejected the report from Sir Kevan Collins that would have given young people better mental health support and other support. That is why we saw the huge rise in the number of young people not in education, employment or training. We need to grow our economy. We need to rethink the support we give to our young people. We need an education system that is both academic and technical—that is balanced between the two—and my right hon. Friend the Work and Pensions Secretary will set out those reforms as we embark on our response to the Milburn report next week.

[Alan Strickland (Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor) (Lab)]

Q5. The north-east has a wealth of innovative defence businesses but receives less than 1% of Ministry of Defence industry funding. That is why there is so much interest in the decision on the Skynet satellite programme, which could bring 500 jobs to my constituency and thousands to the supply chain, and help to reindustrialise the north-east. Can the Prime Minister give an update on when we can expect this important decision and, more broadly, will he meet north-east MPs to discuss how we can put north-east industry at the heart of our national defence?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is a champion for the north-east, and particularly for reindustrialisation, which we are completely committed to in his region. The issue he raises is a live process, and I have to say to him that no final decisions have yet been made, but we are determined that our decision will drive good jobs in his region and reindustrialisation across the country, as well as building the defence and the security of the United Kingdom.

[Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North) (Your Party)]

The whole world is appalled and disgusted at what is now happening in Gaza, where people are dying for want of food and medicine and because of the lack of aid and the terrible flood there. Will the Prime Minister ensure that aid gets to Gaza? And if Israel will not deliver that aid, will he ensure that Britain and other countries deliver aid directly, given the desperation of the people of Gaza, 100,000 of whom have already died? Will he also support an inquiry on our participation in the bombardment of Gaza through the supply of weapons and security information to Israel, so that the truth can be told about the horror that the Palestinian people have faced, and continue to face?

[The Prime Minister]

The humanitarian situation in Gaza remains heartbreaking, and we are doing everything that we can to put pressure on the Israeli Government to allow the necessary aid into Gaza and to lift the restrictions on it. We have also taken further steps on sanctions, particularly in relation to the settlements on the west bank, to make sure that we preserve the viability of a two-state solution. We await the outcome of the negotiations following the Israeli general election, but the right hon. Member can be certain that we will continue to pursue the path that we have set out.

[Mary Kelly Foy (City of Durham) (Lab)]

Q8. University hospital of North Durham has been mired in a number of controversies in recent years, including the ongoing scandal in breast services. The latest disappointment for my constituents is the withdrawal of plans for A&E expansion, which the trust can no longer fund without external capital support. I commend the efforts of the new leadership team to build public confidence, but it is clear that they alone cannot cure the decline of our hospital. Does the Prime Minister agree that everyone should have access to quality healthcare, free at the point of use, in state-of-the-art facilities, and will he meet me to discuss the urgently needed improvement to our hospital provision in the City of Durham?

[The Prime Minister]

I know there are thousands of women in the north-east affected by the breast surgery scandal that my hon. Friend mentions, and I will ensure that my right hon. Friend the Health Secretary provides all the support that they need to get the help and the answers that they must have. I am also prepared to meet my hon. Friend to discuss the situation regarding hospital services in the north-east, and I will make sure that happens soon.

[Ian Sollom (St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire) (LD)]

Q2. My constituent Maxwell has spinal muscular atrophy, has used a wheelchair since he was two, and relies on carers every single day. He has a first-class degree and a good job, and like many young people, he wants to save a deposit for a home, but under the social care capital limit, every pound he saves above £23,250 goes directly on his care. The Prime Minister has rightly made social care a priority of this Government, so will he meet Maxwell and me to discuss how we can remove the capital limit, and stop placing a limit on the aspirations of young people like Maxwell?

[The Prime Minister]

It is a very powerful case that the hon. Member makes, and it is unfair—there is no other way of putting it. We are not waiting to make improvements; we are increasing the minimum income guarantee for 150,000 disabled adults. I realise that does not answer the question that he has raised on behalf of Maxwell today, but I am sure he is also speaking for many people across the country. Baroness Casey is conducting her review, and I urge him to put that point to the review. We will have cross-party talks on adult social care before the end of the year.

[Martin Rhodes (Glasgow North) (Lab)]

Q11. My constituents in Glasgow North regularly raise with me the increase in illegally modified e-bikes travelling at dangerous speeds on our roads and pavements. Online marketplaces are selling unsafe e-bikes and conversion kits that take pedal cycles beyond the legal limits, leaving pedestrians, families and vulnerable people worried for their safety when going about their daily life. Will the Prime Minister set out what action the Government are taking to hold online sellers and marketplaces to account for selling these products?

[The Prime Minister]

We are considering tougher regulations for the sale of non-compliant e-bikes and conversion kits across the UK. We will, of course, work with the Scottish Government to ensure that they apply in Scotland, whatever we decide. I agree with my hon. Friend: the safety risks posed by e-bikes that are going at excess speeds need to be stopped.

[Mr Gagan Mohindra (South West Hertfordshire) (Con)]

Q3. The Prime Minister visited Watford general hospital last week, so he must understand the issues caused by the recent closure of the urgent care centre at Mount Vernon, and that his Government’s decision to delay the rebuild of Watford general hospital is an issue. I want to make sure that my constituents can access high-quality healthcare when they need it, so can the Prime Minister confirm that his Government will get on with the rebuild of Watford general hospital without further delay?

[The Prime Minister]

The Health Secretary and I did visit Watford general. We were very impressed with what is happening at the hospital to address corridor care, and with the improvements that it has made. I know Watford has been waiting a long time for its new hospital. I think we need to look both at Watford general and the Mount Vernon site together in considering what change is made, but I do believe Watford has waited long enough, and I will be working with the Health Secretary to make sure we move quickly on a new hospital for Watford as quickly as possible.

[Kirith Entwistle (Bolton North East) (Lab)]

Q12. When my right hon. Friend was the Mayor of Greater Manchester, he and I had many discussions about the state of public transport in Bolton. Now that he is the Prime Minister and spreading the message of hope, what hope and assurance can he give my constituents that we will finally get the tram in Bolton North East?

[The Prime Minister]

This is one for the Mayor of Greater Manchester rather than for me, but I am aware that a proposal was developed that would bring a tram-train service through Bolton North East. As I said before, I did favour that option in my previous job; I favour it in this job. We will see if we can make a business case to bring it forward.

[Dame Caroline Dinenage (Gosport) (Con)]

Q6. Recent small boat crossings in the direction of the Solent have been spectacularly mishandled. The Government’s failure to communicate with Gosport residents bred misinformation and led to violent protests. It also sent a clear message to the gangs that this is a viable new route. What message does the Prime Minister have for Gosport businesses and properties that were damaged, for residents trapped in their homes in fear, for Hampshire police and for taxpayers left with a bill for over £800,000? Recent events have shown that Gosport is not a suitable place to disembark these boats. Can he reassure my constituents that it will not be used again?

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Lady asks me what message I have for her constituents. The message is that we will work with their Member of Parliament to hold to account those who caused the damage to those properties and businesses, but also to provide the support they need in the situation they are in. I understand she is meeting the Border Security Minister later today to discuss those issues further. Because the Government have been successful in stopping small boat crossings, the gangs are changing their tactics, but we will continue to chase them down. As we do, we will ensure that we learn from what happened and improve the arrangements going forward.

[Andrew Cooper (Mid Cheshire) (Lab)]

Q13. Four years after the Down Syndrome Act 2022 was passed, we are still awaiting publication of the statutory guidance that will bring the Act to life. This guidance is essential to improve life chances for people with Down’s syndrome and to guarantee they will receive the support they need and deserve so that they can thrive. Can the Prime Minister confirm when the guidance will be published, and will he agree to meet me so that we can deliver on a long overdue promise made to the Down’s syndrome community?

[The Prime Minister]

I understand that there is a legal challenge to the guidance, but notwithstanding that, we will ensure that it is finalised as soon as possible. I will arrange for the relevant Minister to meet my hon. Friend to give him a full update.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

Q7. On Armistice Day, I joined the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition in paying tribute to all those who laid down their lives in the service of this country. We all wear our poppies with pride, but what is often forgotten is those millions of men and women who came from across the Commonwealth to serve this country, so I wear the marigold to commemorate the 3.2 million Indians who were the largest volunteer army in both the great war and the second world war and who risked their lives in the service of this country. On Sunday, the Association of Jewish Ex-Servicemen and Women will parade at the Cenotaph. I will have the honour of laying a wreath together with a renowned Holocaust survivor, Susan Pollack, remembering those who were murdered by the Nazis. Will the Prime Minister join me in commemorating and praising all those who give their service to this country?

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right to say what he has just said, and we honour the service of everybody who fought alongside British service personnel fighting Nazism in the second world war. It was uplifting to see the representation of all those communities at the Cenotaph on Sunday. I was there with the right hon. Lady the Leader of the Opposition, and it is always the most moving of moments. But we must never forget the contribution, as he rightly says, of people across the Commonwealth supporting and standing alongside Britain and the people in those countries who made the ultimate sacrifice, too.

[Feryal Clark (Enfield North) (Lab)]

Q14. The Prime Minister has rightly made it a priority to ensure that children with special educational needs and disabilities can learn alongside their friends and siblings in mainstream schools, so he will be pleased to hear that Suffolks primary, a pioneering school in my constituency, is already delivering the inclusive education model, championing the Government’s White Paper. Will he join me in congratulating Suffolks on its outstanding work? I know the Prime Minister has one or two things in his diary, but will he consider visiting the school to see for himself this excellent example of inclusive education?

[The Prime Minister]

I would love to do so, when my diary allows. SEND reform is coming through. It is part of what we need to do in response to the Milburn report, to rethink how we support young people growing up, and how we have the right experts on site in our schools to give children the speech and language therapy, and other support that they need, so that they do not fall behind and they do not miss out. I would love to come to see the school at some point, as a beacon of best practice in supporting young people with additional needs.

[John Lamont (Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk) (Con)]

Q9. The price of heating oil has doubled in the last year, and more than 9,000 households in the Scottish borders rely on it to heat their homes. Many are vulnerable people; many are pensioners, like Kate from Cockburnspath who told me that she will be sitting at home freezing this winter because she cannot afford to heat her home. She says that support from the Government does not go far enough to help her, so what more will the Prime Minister do to help people who are struggling to pay their heating bills because they are relying on heating oil this winter?

[The Prime Minister]

We have provided extra funding to local authorities to help with precisely the situation that the hon. Gentleman’s constituent is in. We have also provided funding through the Barnett consequentials in relation to VAT on electricity—[Interruption.] If I could just finish the point. We have given extra support to the devolved Administrations—sorry, not in relation to VAT, but in relation to the support we have provided in the Budget. There is extra help that the Scottish Government can use alongside what we have already done, and we will ensure everybody is supported this winter.

[Ms Diane Abbott (Hackney North and Stoke Newington) (Lab)]

There has been a lot of talk recently about immigrants and the need to frame legislation to ensure they make a contribution. My parents were immigrants, and my mother was a nurse. She was one of the wave that helped to build the NHS after the war. To this day, immigrants make a very important contribution to the NHS and the care system. Does the Prime Minister agree that we should never forget to honour the contribution of generations of immigrants to this society?

[The Prime Minister]

My right hon. Friend speaks very powerfully on this issue from personal experience. I can also share mine as I saw people from around the world caring for my dad. She is absolutely right that we must celebrate their contribution, as I did in my speech at the party conference. We must take on a politics that seeks to say to those people that they have no place here, because they do.

[Sir Julian Lewis (New Forest East) (Con)]

Q10. Whether the level of military threat from Russia faced by the UK is currently as great as that during the cold war years.

[The Prime Minister]

The right hon. Gentleman asks about the Russian threat that we face today compared with the cold war. With rapid changes in technology, including AI, cyber-warfare and autonomous systems, we face new complex threats, which is why we are fully funding the defence investment plan and investing in the modern capabilities needed for the future.

[Sir Julian Lewis]

I think that answer suggests that the Prime Minister accepts that the threat we face today is comparable in dangerous intensity to that we faced during the cold war years. If that is the case, may I urge him to try to persuade his fellow Ministers to stop using the standard line that the Government have made the greatest increase in defence spending “since the end of the cold war”? At the end of the cold war, the threat largely declined, but we have to look at the level of spending during the cold war, which was regularly at 4.5% to 5% or more during the 1980s. As someone who has criticised successive Governments for cuts I am not trying to make a partisan point, but please stop making a comparison between the post-cold war years and now. The threat we face now is similar to that of the cold war years, and our defence investment has to match that level.

[The Prime Minister]

I assure the right hon. Gentleman that there is no complacency here. I understand the seriousness of the points that he is making, but, in the two years that this Government have been in office, we have seen the biggest sustained increase in defence spending since the cold war period. That is important, and that will continue. The Chancellor set out a path to increased defence spending as we go through the next decade to honour our NATO commitments, but we have to recognise that the threat is different; it is multifaceted, and we will address it on every level.

[Andy MacNae (Rossendale and Darwen) (Lab)]

The Prime Minister has rightly championed reindustrialisation. That is a powerful vision that resonates in Rossendale and Darwen and across the country; through it, people see the opportunity for good jobs in the places that need them the most. The Budget lay out the framework for reindustrialisation as an engine for growth and national resilience. Does he agree that the next step is to embed a truly ambitious reindustrialisation strategy in his 10-year plan? Will he meet me and members of the 90-strong Reindustrialisation Research Group to discuss how we can achieve that together?

[The Prime Minister]

I will meet the group, and I agree with my hon. Friend. The 10-year plan must lay out a compelling vision for the reindustrialisation of Britain.

[Graham Leadbitter (Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey) (SNP)]

Q15. The Chancellor has acknowledged that Scotland could have had a £1 trillion wealth fund from oil and gas, but instead we have seen no fund and 1,000 jobs lost every month. Before the Prime Minister jets off to COP31, will he commit to a Scottish wealth fund to ringfence revenues from Scotland’s waters for Scotland’s renewables future, or is he content to continue Labour’s deindustrialisation of Scotland, just like Thatcher in the ’80s?

[The Prime Minister]

That is a very unfair comment, if I may say so, on the very day that the National Wealth Fund has committed £1 billion of funding to support offshore wind off the east coast of Scotland. I would have thought that the hon. Gentleman would stand up and welcome that announcement.