Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Boris Johnson and Philippa Whitford

Wednesday 20th July 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my right hon. Friend very much for her suggestions. The key thing is for people to behave responsibly with the use of these things. It is clearly insane to take a disposable barbecue on to dry grass.

[Dr Philippa Whitford (Central Ayrshire) (SNP)]

Q7.   Due to Scottish Government investment in affordable housing, the Scottish child payment and extended free school meals, Scotland has the lowest level of child poverty in the UK, in contrast to the north-east, where it has risen by 50% on the watch of this Government. In contrast, the Prime Minister took over £1,000 from the poorest families—so much for levelling up—and those fighting to replace him have been falling over themselves to promise tax cuts to the wealthy. If the UK is meant to be a voluntary Union, does he not recognise that voters in Scotland have the right to a referendum, so that they can choose a fairer future?

[The Prime Minister]

Actually, we increased the living wage across the whole of the UK by £1,000, we made sure that people on universal credit got their tax bills cut by £1,000, and over the last couple of weeks we have cut national insurance contributions by an average of £330. It was because of the Union that we were able to support families up and down the country, in Scotland, with the furlough and other payments, to the tune of £408 billion.

Ukraine

Debate between Boris Johnson and Philippa Whitford

Thursday 24th February 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Yes, my hon. Friend is quite right. I know that, by soft power, he is thinking also of the British Council, which can have such a wonderful beneficial effect across Russia. Indeed, I have seen its work across Russia. He is right about standing up to the playground bully. We should have done it ages ago. I think the scales have fallen from the eyes of many of our friends and partners.

[Dr Philippa Whitford (Central Ayrshire) (SNP)]

In an earlier response, the Prime Minister suggested that this country would welcome people who were reuniting with family here. I have a constituent who is Ukrainian but a British citizen. She is trying to bring her mother from Ukraine, but has been turned down because she is over 18. Her mother is on her own and has no family, so naturally she is frightened. Will we see a change in the Home Office to enable British citizens who are Ukrainian to bring their vulnerable family here?

Living with Covid-19

Debate between Boris Johnson and Philippa Whitford

Monday 21st February 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I know that my right hon. Friend is a staunch Thatcherite; he will recall that it was Margaret Thatcher who promulgated the public health Act in 1984, and it has served this country well for a long time. I will consider the point that he makes—it is a valuable one—but I think it may also be something that the inquiry will want to consider itself.

[Dr Philippa Whitford (Central Ayrshire) (SNP)]

With 38,000 new covid cases today, can the Prime Minister explain which public health experts advised abandoning testing and isolation, and when will that advice be published?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank the hon. Member very much. As she knows, cases are falling, hospitalisations are falling, and the number of excess deaths from omicron is actually in negative territory. We consult a wide range of scientific opinion, including the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies and, clearly, the chief scientific adviser and the chief medical officer, but the decisions are for Ministers, and we take them.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Boris Johnson and Philippa Whitford

Wednesday 12th January 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend, who is a fantastic champion for Stoke-on-Trent. In addition to all the things that we are supporting in Stoke-on-Trent, I am delighted to say that it will become home to the Home Office as well.

[Dr Philippa Whitford (Central Ayrshire) (SNP)]

Q10. This session shows how much of a distraction the Prime Minister’s behaviour has been. After a recent survey showed that 37% of small businesses felt totally unprepared for the introduction of import controls, rules of origin and the upcoming sanitary and phytosanitary checks, will he listen to the Federation of Small Businesses and introduce financial and technical support for those small businesses, or is he just too busy drinking in his garden?

[The Prime Minister]

What we are doing is offering financial and technical support to businesses, which are responding magnificently. As we come out of the pandemic, as I said to the House earlier, we are seeing record numbers of people in work and youth unemployment at a record low.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Boris Johnson and Philippa Whitford

Wednesday 23rd June 2021 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is entirely right to raise the issue of the appalling murder in Swadlincote. We are making sure with our Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill that such crimes are dealt with in a more expeditious way, with greater powers for the police. As I say, we are also recruiting 20,000 more police, including, she will be pleased to know, an additional 85 in Derbyshire.

[Dr Philippa Whitford (Central Ayrshire) (SNP) [V]]

During the Brexit referendum the Prime Minister promised that there would be no change in the rights of EU citizens in the UK, yet in a week’s time those without settled status will lose the right to work, rent a flat or access free healthcare. This Government have demanded repeated grace periods during the Brexit process, so will he now finally agree to extend the deadline for EU citizens?

[The Prime Minister]

The EU settlement scheme has been one of the great successes of our recent Brexit negotiations, and it has produced 5.6 million applications already; I seem to remember that we were told there were only 3.2 million or 3 million to begin with. Everybody knows what the deadline is. I hope people will come forward and do what 5.6 million other people have already done.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Boris Johnson and Philippa Whitford

Wednesday 21st April 2021 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Did you notice, Mr Speaker, how those on the Opposition Benches recoiled at the idea of the recapture of the Falkland Islands? We have just heard the hon. Member for Cardiff North (Anna McMorrin) say that she was ashamed of her country. It is no wonder that people take that kind of attitude. I think my hon. Friend is entirely right in what he says about President Reagan. He was a very distinguished president. It is not up to me to install a statue for him; I think that is for the Greater London Authority. I think he has to appeal to the current Mayor of London, although let us hope that there is a new one to do justice to the memory of Ronald Reagan.

[Dr Philippa Whitford (Central Ayrshire) (SNP) [V]]

Polio, a disease that kills and maims children, has been eliminated in all but one region of the world due to the incredible work of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. In 2019, the then UK International Development Secretary, the right hon. Member for Reading West (Alok Sharma) pledged £400 million to the programme, as he said to do otherwise would risk a return to thousands of new polio cases every year. Will the Prime Minister now reassure the House that he will honour that commitment?

[The Prime Minister]

The Global Polio Eradication Initiative has been backed by £1.37 billion of UK aid since 1995. As the hon. Lady rightly says, there are many proud successes of that programme, and polio across the planet, largely thanks to the help of the British taxpayer, has been almost eliminated.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Boris Johnson and Philippa Whitford

Wednesday 24th June 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I refer my hon. Friend to what I said to our hon. Friend the Member for Eastbourne (Caroline Ansell) just now. We will continue to support the hospitality sector in all the ways that I have described, but, of course, what could also happen is that people in Newcastle-under-Lyme could be encouraged to enjoy themselves sensibly, in a covid-secure way, and keep the purple flag flying above it.

[Dr Philippa Whitford (Central Ayrshire) (SNP) [V]]

The ongoing impact of covid on international travel threatens over 100,000 jobs in the aerospace industry, including hundreds in my constituency. Will the Prime Minister commit to protecting vital aerospace jobs and invest in a green aviation recovery to reduce future carbon emissions?

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Lady has an extremely important point. It is one that we are working on very intensively now in Government, so that we use the opportunity of this crisis to bounce forwards with new low-carbon technology that will continue to drive the UK’s formidable aerospace industry.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Boris Johnson and Philippa Whitford

Tuesday 26th June 2018 Commons Chamber

[Boris Johnson]

My strong advice is for people to look at our Be on the Ball website, where they can follow Foreign Office advice, and to not to let their hopes run away with them.

[Dr Philippa Whitford (Central Ayrshire) (SNP)]

T10. Last month, when the House debated the shooting of unarmed protesters on the Gaza border with high-velocity live rounds, the Minister talked about pushing for an investigation, yet three days later the UK abstained on a UN vote on an investigation. Why?

Balfour Declaration

Debate between Boris Johnson and Philippa Whitford

Monday 30th October 2017 Commons Chamber

[Boris Johnson]

My hon. Friend is completely right. That is why I speak in the terms that I do about the state of Israel. It is a pluralist society, a society that protects the rights of those who live within it. It is a democracy. It is, in my view, a country to be saluted and celebrated. My hon. Friend is, of course, also right in pointing to the many failures of diplomacy and politics that I am afraid have been perpetuated by the Palestinian leadership for generations. We have to hope now that the current generation of leaders in the Palestinian Authority will have the mandate and the momentum to deliver a different result.

[Dr Philippa Whitford (Central Ayrshire) (SNP)]

Some Members will be aware that I spent nearly a year and a half in Gaza working as a surgeon in 1991 and 1992. I was there when the Madrid peace process started, and by half-past 4 in the afternoon, young men were climbing on to armoured cars with olive branches. When I came back four weeks ago, my feeling was that we were further from peace than we had been a quarter of a century earlier.

When I spent time on the west bank recently, I saw settlements expanding at an incredible rate. We blame America, and we expect America to come up with a solution, but people in Israel look to Europe, because they see themselves as part of Europe. I think the United Kingdom and Europe need to use their power to secure a new peace process, and part of that is to do with recognition. How can we talk about a two-state solution if we do not recognise both states?

[Boris Johnson]

Obviously, I have great respect for the work that the hon. Lady has done in Gaza, and I appreciate the suffering that she has seen there. There is no doubt that the situation in Gaza is terrible. As the hon. Lady knows, the UK Government do a lot to try to remedy affairs by supporting, for instance, sanitation projects and education, but in the end a trade-off must be achieved. The Israelis must open up Gaza for trade and greater economic activity to give the people hope and opportunity, but before that happens, Hamas must stop firing rockets at Israel. Hamas must recognise the right of the Israeli state to exist, and it must stop spewing out anti-Semitic propaganda.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Boris Johnson and Philippa Whitford

Tuesday 22nd November 2016 Commons Chamber

[Boris Johnson]

It is wonderful to hear of a senior French politician, who is married to a British wife—[Interruption.] A Welsh wife, indeed. I hesitate to blight Monsieur Fillon’s chances by offering him my congratulations or my support at this stage.

[Dr Philippa Whitford (Central Ayrshire) (SNP)]

T5. The Bedouin village in the Negev of Umm al-Hiran was due to be demolished today, despite the Bedouin having lived there since they were wrongfully displaced from their own land in 1956. That contrasts with the expansion of settlements in the west bank. I worked in Gaza 25 years ago, at the time of the Oslo accord. A quarter of a century on, what is the Minister doing to get us back on track?