Sue Gray Report

Debate between Boris Johnson and Steven Bonnar

Wednesday 25th May 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I think the hon. Gentleman will find the answer to that question in Sue Gray’s report.

[Steven Bonnar (Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill) (SNP)]

The conclusion of the report states that Ms Gray found that

“some staff had witnessed and been subjected to behaviours at work”—

that were concerning, and that there were—

“…multiple examples of a lack of respect and poor treatment of security and cleaning staff.”

For me, that is the most damning and also the most telling part of the report. Why is it that people like the Prime Minister and the people who work at No.10 think that cleaners, security guards, nurses and teachers are beneath them and less important than them?

[The Prime Minister]

I condemn such behaviour. When I was running London transport, for instance, I instituted much tougher penalties for those who abused our staff. I support tougher penalties for those who abuse shopworkers. Those are the values that I stand for.

Sue Gray Report

Debate between Boris Johnson and Steven Bonnar

Monday 31st January 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

No, for the reasons I have already given.

[Steven Bonnar (Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill) (SNP)]

We do know that staff were made to work in conditions that made them feel uneasy, and perhaps even unsafe, and they also felt that they were unable to say something. People were exposed to a potentially deadly virus, unable to say something about it, in their workplace, while parties were raging on around and about them, “At least some” of which, says Mrs Gray,

“represent a serious failure to observe…the high standards expected of those working at the heart of Government”.

Who is responsible for that, Prime Minister?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Boris Johnson and Steven Bonnar

Wednesday 12th January 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Yes indeed, and I thank my hon. Friend for that. It is notable that the Opposition do not like to dwell on these points, but it is an astonishing fact that we have 420,000 more people in work now than before the pandemic began, and youth unemployment is at a record low.

[Steven Bonnar (Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill) (SNP)]

Q3. Another week, another scandal for this Prime Minister and his utterly shameless Government. For two years my constituents made sacrifice after sacrifice, spending time away from their loved ones and missing out on important life events. Some paid the ultimate sacrifice, while he partied away. Figures released just last night show that 79% of people in Scotland think the Prime Minister should step down. Does he realise that it is now clear to all that, although he may not understand how to be socially distant from others, there is no doubt that he is morally distant from the rest of us across these nations, and that the best thing he can do now is to go? Resign, Prime Minister!

[The Prime Minister]

I thank the hon. Gentleman from the SNP, and I repeat the point I made earlier: I do not think that he should pre-empt or anticipate the inquiry.

Covid-19: Road Map

Debate between Boris Johnson and Steven Bonnar

Monday 22nd February 2021 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My right hon. Friend raises a very interesting point. Our scientific advisers are looking at everything we can do, including the means that he suggests, to reduce transmission of the disease.

[Steven Bonnar (Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill) (SNP) [V]]

Scientific research from leading Scottish universities has today shown substantial reductions in serious covid-19 hospital admissions following the administration of the first dose of the vaccine. Given this success, does the Prime Minister agree that it is now time to prioritise critical public servants, such as teachers and other key workers, to ensure that maximum protections are in place as we begin to ease our way out of this lockdown?

[The Prime Minister]

I think that most people in this House would agree that the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation was right in its prioritisation of those who are most vulnerable, and that our ambition in the vaccine roll-out programme should be to vaccinate first those who are most at risk of serious disease and death; that is the right approach.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Boris Johnson and Steven Bonnar

Wednesday 27th January 2021 Commons Chamber

[Steven Bonnar (Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill) (SNP) [V]]

  Will the Prime Minister now do the right thing and commit to making the £20 a week uplift to universal credit permanent, or will he be responsible for pushing thousands of Scottish families further into an income crisis?

[The Prime Minister]

I repeat what I have said before: we will continue to look after the people of this country throughout this pandemic, and it is a feature of the strength of the UK Treasury that we can continue to do this.

Covid-19 Update

Debate between Boris Johnson and Steven Bonnar

Monday 2nd November 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Yes. I thank my hon. Friend, and I am very glad that Oakberry Christmas trees is able to remain open. I am told that it provided No. 10 with a free Christmas tree five years ago; that is not meant to be any kind of hint, by the way. I know that it is one of the UK’s premier Christmas tree farms, and I thank them for what they are doing.

[Steven Bonnar (Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill) (SNP) [V]]

The Scottish Government have repeatedly called for months for an extension to the furlough scheme. However, such calls were completely ignored, with the uncertainty resulting in the loss of many jobs here in Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill. He may not wish to think it, but that is the reality of this Prime Minister’s governance. It is lost on absolutely nobody that the Prime Minister refused to extend furlough until the 11th hour, and only did so when the situation in the south of England ran out of control. At the risk of seeming disbelieving, I must ask him to confirm his U-turn: does the Prime Minister now fully commit to an extension of the furlough scheme available across all nations of the UK on a when-required basis to protect further against otherwise preventable job losses in Scotland and elsewhere?

[The Prime Minister]

Listening to the Scottish nationalists, one would have thought that furlough had not applied in Scotland over the last few months. It has been available throughout the UK throughout this period, and will continue to be a UK-wide solution.