Easter Recess: Government Update

Debate between Boris Johnson and David Morris

Tuesday 19th April 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I in no way wish to deflect from the gravity of the fine that I have received. I want to stress again the apology, but I simply must disagree very profoundly with what the hon. Gentleman has just said.

[David Morris (Morecambe and Lunesdale) (Con)]

I have heard the Prime Minister apologise countless times in the Chamber today. I am man enough to accept that. This is about a matter of trust. I trusted the Prime Minister to see us through Brexit, and he did. I trusted him to see us through the covid epidemic—bear in mind that he nearly died of it himself—and he did. And do you know something else? [Interruption.]

--- Later in debate ---

[David Morris]

I totally agree, Mr Speaker. But do you know something else? Most importantly, this Prime Minister is leading the world against Putin’s aggression in Ukraine, and the G7 leaders all respect him for that. And more to the point, so does President Biden. Prime Minister, will you please carry on leading this country?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend very much indeed. The answer to his question is yes, I will. But that in no way means that I wish to mitigate the offence of which I have been found guilty or to undermine the importance of my apology.

Ukraine

Debate between Boris Johnson and David Morris

Tuesday 22nd February 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The right hon. Gentleman is completely right. We need to make it absolutely clear to Russia that as a result of this ill-conceived and disastrous venture in Ukraine, Putin’s country will end up, as I said, poorer, more encircled by NATO, engaged in a disastrous conflict with fellow Slavs and as a pariah state. That is what President Putin is willing on his people: a pariah state—that is what it will become.

[David Morris (Morecambe and Lunesdale) (Con)]

There is more at stake than just sanctions; we have various international protocols that have been drafted literally over decades, going back to the last war. Where does this incursion into Ukraine leave us with those protocols and how can we enforce any further measures against any breaches of them?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is completely right, because this action tears up the 1994 Budapest memorandum. It makes an absolute nonsense of the whole Minsk process—the agreement of 2014. That is ripped up, too. International law has been mocked by what President Putin has done, and that is what is at stake: democracy and the rule of law across the world.

Covid-19 Update

Debate between Boris Johnson and David Morris

Wednesday 5th January 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

No, it does not, and I will make sure that the right hon. Gentleman is advised on the new arrangements.

[David Morris (Morecambe and Lunesdale) (Con)]

The University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust has been overwhelmed recently with people effectively bed blocking because they cannot get back into the care homes. I know we are putting tents in car parks; I have seen that on the news. However, in a helpful way, I ask whether my right hon. Friend does not think it would be right to enact, in areas such as mine—more rural areas going north—the big Nightingale centres like we had in Preston.

[The Prime Minister]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend, but what we are doing is ensuring that we support hospitals up and down the country that are facing the pressures he describes, not only with more staff but with more facilities and on-site Nightingales, as I said in my statement.

G20 and COP26 World Leaders Summit

Debate between Boris Johnson and David Morris

Wednesday 3rd November 2021 Commons Chamber

[David Morris (Morecambe and Lunesdale) (Con)]

Later today in this Chamber, we will talk about nuclear. That shows that the Government are now looking forward to the future—we have two nuclear power stations in Heysham—but I would also like to draw to the Prime Minister’s attention the wondrous work that we are doing to prepare for the Eden project in Morecambe. I know that I invited him last week at Prime Minister’s questions, but I am still pushing it: Boris, come and see us in Morecambe.

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend for his unrelenting invitation. Of course I will do my utmost to oblige him; he is a great campaigner for clean power. As he knows, we are taking forward plans for SMRs as well.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Boris Johnson and David Morris

Wednesday 27th October 2021 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The reports of spiking are extremely disturbing, and as the hon. Lady knows, it is already a criminal offence. I know that my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has asked the police to update her on exactly what details they have and what is happening. She wants to give them the space, for the time being, to conduct their inquiries into what is going on, but I would ask everybody with information about such incidents to come forward and contact their local police.

[David Morris (Morecambe and Lunesdale) (Con)]

With COP26 imminent, I would like to draw the Prime Minister’s attention to the good work that is being done in Morecambe on the Eden Project. Wes Johnson at Morecambe and Lancaster College has put forward a programme to teach youngsters in Morecambe the international Eden ethos, in order to, shall we say, propagate the goodwill around the world. I would like to invite the Prime Minister to come to the Morecambe riviera to see the Eden Project site at his earliest convenience.

[The Prime Minister]

I am delighted to respond in the affirmative to my hon. Friend, because the last time he asked me about this it was to ensure that we got an Eden Project in Morecambe. It sounds from what he is saying that we are making progress in that direction, and that is thrilling.

Health and Social Care

Debate between Boris Johnson and David Morris

Tuesday 7th September 2021 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Actually in the last few years we have seen record increases in local council spending power, and we have continued to support councils throughout the pandemic. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care will be setting out how we propose to support local government going forward with the fair cost of care, but in the meantime may I thank the hon. Gentleman for his unprecedented support for these measures?

[David Morris (Morecambe and Lunesdale) (Con)]

I can probably say that in the last 18 months during lockdown I have seen more of the NHS than most people—I have had a neck operation, my baby was born, my back exploded, for want of a better word, and I was paralysed—and I would like to go on record and thank the Royal Lancaster Infirmary for getting me walking again and looking after me and my family.

I say the following in a collegiate sense to everybody. What the Prime Minister has done here is what Andy Burnham wanted to do 10 years ago but never brought it through when he was the last Labour Health Secretary and the shadow Secretary. What the Prime Minister is doing is brave, but I have been saying for years when knocking on doors in my constituency, “Put an extra penny on taxation for the NHS,” and everyone has agreed with me. So, whatever these tax rises are going to be, so be it: we have to protect the NHS—it is our moral duty.

[The Prime Minister]

It is wonderful to see my hon. Friend looking so well, and I echo his thanks to our healthcare professionals for everything they do. I believe it is the fixed view of the British people that after a very difficult time it is fiscally right and responsible to protect frontline healthcare and support the NHS but also at the same time to fix the underlying problems, of which social care is just one.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Boris Johnson and David Morris

Wednesday 8th January 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I can only repeat my point, which is that the Scottish people do have a mechanism. They used it in 2014: it is a referendum. It took place, and as I think SNP Members all confirmed, it was a once-in-a-generation event.

[David Morris (Morecambe and Lunesdale) (Con)]

Mr Speaker, you, being a northern MP like myself, would welcome the news that more money is going to be spent in the north of England. I want to reiterate that Morecambe needs the Eden Project. Would my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister like to come to Morecambe to see me and the Eden team about getting the Eden Project back in Morecambe again, to make Morecambe the best place on the face of this earth?

[The Prime Minister]

Indeed, the Eden of Britain—[Interruption.] I have just heard from my right hon. Friend the Chancellor that he does indeed: the House should know that the Eden Project is now, thanks to the Chancellor, very likely to come to Morecambe.