Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Boris Johnson and Alex Norris

Wednesday 25th May 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I will see what we can do to help those particular people but I just remind the House that we not only evacuated 25,000 people under Op Pitting, which was a great credit to this country, but since then have supported 4,600 more to come to this country, and we will do what we can to help the people my hon. Friend mentions.

[Alex Norris (Nottingham North) (Lab/Co-op)]

Q13. Jubilee LEAD Academy in my constituency, working with Nottingham citizens, recently asked me to visit the school to hear about their low pay campaign. They are tired of seeing people in our community working hard but living in poverty. Bills are rising and inflation is at 9%, yet the Government seem incapable and, frankly, a little disinterested in doing anything to help out. Our children can see the need for emergency action; why cannot our Government?

[The Prime Minister]

Everybody in work—30 million workers—will get a tax cut in July, on top of everything that we are already doing, but that is not the end of what this Government are going to do to look after people. I told the House before this afternoon that we will continue to use our fiscal firepower to look after the British people through the covid aftershocks and beyond.

Sue Gray Report

Debate between Boris Johnson and Alex Norris

Monday 31st January 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I could not quite hear the end of the hon. Gentleman’s question, but the answer is no. If he thinks I drunk too much, no.

[Alex Norris (Nottingham North) (Lab/Co-op)]

The Prime Minister wants my constituents to suspend their disbelief and wait for the Met police to report. In which case, will he at least give them clarity that should the Metropolitan police issue him with a fixed penalty notice for participation at his party, he will resign?

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Gentleman really needs to wait and see what the Met decide.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Boris Johnson and Alex Norris

Wednesday 16th December 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Yes indeed. I know that my hon. Friend, as a doctor, knows the vital importance of medical research and pure science. That is why this Government are investing record sums in science R&D—£14.6 billion in 2021-22. That is going to support all the life sciences sectors. If anybody wants evidence of why it is so vital to support those sectors, they have only to look at the events of the last few months.

[Alex Norris (Nottingham North) (Lab/Co-op)]

HS2, in full, will transform the east midlands and the north, reversing a 40-year trend of losing skilled work. In February, the Prime Minister promised that it would be built in full. Yesterday’s National Infrastructure Commission review reduces the eastern leg to a small line between Birmingham and the disliked station at East Midlands Parkway. That will not deliver the connectivity or the economic uplift that the midlands and the north need. Will the Prime Minister reaffirm his previous commitment and reject the NIC’s plan, or is this yet another broken promise to our community?

[The Prime Minister]

I am afraid that the hon. Gentleman is quite wrong. What the NIC is saying is that there are other things we can do as well, including massively improving the midland main line—I think everybody would want to do that—but the ambition to do the eastern leg, as I have said in the House before, remains absolutely unchanged.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Boris Johnson and Alex Norris

Wednesday 8th July 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for bringing that attractive idea to my attention. I know that several projects are being considered along the Cumbrian coast. I would advise him, first, to get in touch with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to see what he can do to take it forward, and I will give what support I can.

[Alex Norris (Nottingham North) (Lab/Co-op)]

Yesterday, after a delay of more than a year, the Government published their response to their call for evidence regarding violence and abuse against shopworkers. In that period, there have been 150,000 such incidents, which are completely unacceptable. There are a lot of good things in the Government’s response, but it is disappointing that they have stopped short of a change in the law. Will the Prime Minister make a commitment that if his plans do not reduce the 400-plus incidents every day, within six months he will support legislative change?

[The Prime Minister]

I think we should have absolutely zero tolerance for violence or aggression towards people who work in shops, just as we have zero tolerance for people who are aggressive towards those who work in our public services, and we will do everything we can to ensure that that is the case.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Boris Johnson and Alex Norris

Wednesday 12th February 2020 Commons Chamber

[Alex Norris (Nottingham North) (Lab/Co-op)]

Q7. Every day, an estimated 280 shopworkers will be victims of violence at work. At my local Co-op, a staff member was hit with a glass bottle. The Co-op is a good employer, and it wants this to stop, so it and other local retailers engaged with the Government’s call for evidence on violence towards shop staff. Seven and a half months later, they are awaiting a response. Prime Minister, will you commit today to publishing your response to the call for evidence, and will you meet me and a group of shopworkers who have experienced violence at work to hear about what happened to them?

[The Prime Minister]

I certainly will make that undertaking to the hon. Gentleman. I am glad that he has raised this matter. We should not tolerate crimes of violence against shopworkers or indeed anybody else. I therefore find it paradoxical that the leader of his party is soft on the deportation of serious violent offenders.

Transport Infrastructure

Debate between Boris Johnson and Alex Norris

Tuesday 11th February 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

There will be a review—I must be clear with the House. We will be going forward with the whole programme, but we will ensure that we get proper value and proper political leadership and grip of the whole programme.

[Alex Norris (Nottingham North) (Lab/Co-op)]

For four decades, the east midlands economy has been losing skilled work, which has caused extraordinary damage to our communities. HS2 is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reverse that decline and add tens of thousands of skilled jobs to our community. The Prime Minister has taken a difficult but welcome decision. Can he reassure east midlands people that there will not be any unnecessary delay to HS2b and that Midlands Engine Rail will be woven into the scheme?

[The Prime Minister]

Yes, I can.

Priorities for Government

Debate between Boris Johnson and Alex Norris

Thursday 25th July 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend, and it smacks of tyranny. It smacks of tyranny. These people pretend to be democrats, yet their plan is to quash the will of the people time and time and time again.

[Alex Norris (Nottingham North) (Lab/Co-op)]

Last September, the Government announced a report on the merits of safe standing at football games. Two months ago, Ministers confirmed to me that they have the report, but that Members could not see it. The Prime Minister says he is a plain speaker. Could he exercise some plain speech today, and release this report and get safe standing going at our football grounds?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising that very important point with me. I am informed that the issue of safe standing at football matches is currently under review, but clearly we take it extremely seriously.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Boris Johnson and Alex Norris

Tuesday 27th March 2018 Commons Chamber

[Boris Johnson]

I invite the hon. Gentleman to speculate himself on the answer to that question, because we do not discuss intelligence matters.

[Alex Norris (Nottingham North) (Lab/Co-op)]

Last month, Impactt’s audit of the Qatari supreme committee, which is responsible for the World cup, highlighted significant positive progress in areas relating to workers’ rights. What efforts will the British Government make to support further progress and promote its spreading to neighbouring states?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Boris Johnson and Alex Norris

Tuesday 11th July 2017 Commons Chamber

[Alex Norris (Nottingham North) (Lab/Co-op)]

10. What steps the Government are taking to support the implementation of the Paris agreement on climate change.

[The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Boris Johnson)]

The United Kingdom was instrumental in securing the Paris agreement on climate change. We are helping other countries to meet their targets and we are confident that we will be able to meet our own groundbreaking target of reducing emissions by 80% by 2050.

[Alex Norris]

Last week, Downing Street said that the Prime Minister intended to challenge President Trump on climate change at the G20 meeting. Would it not have been better to do that before he announced that the United States was pulling out of the Paris agreement, rather than after?

[Boris Johnson]

As I have told the House before, we have repeatedly made our views clear to the US Administration. We have expressed our dismay that they have withdrawn, but on the other hand all Members, on both sides of the House, should in all fairness acknowledge that the United States has made and continues to make, even under this Administration, substantial progress in reducing greenhouse gases. This country has reduced CO₂ emissions by 42% since 1990, despite a 67% increase in GDP; the United States has achieved comparable progress, and we intend to encourage it on that path.