Oral Answers to Questions

Ed Miliband Excerpts

Wednesday 28th January 2015 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I am sure that my hon. Friend speaks on behalf of the whole House and indeed the whole country in wanting to commemorate properly the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, and to ensure that here in Britain we properly commemorate the horrors of Auschwitz for years to come. The Leader of the Opposition, the Deputy Prime Minister and I were privileged to meet so many survivors yesterday with the extraordinary stories that they have to tell, but they cannot go on telling those stories for ever, so it is vital that we record their testimony; that we make sure that education about the holocaust is maintained; that we establish this national monument, for which three places have been identified; and that this work goes ahead, starting now with all-party support.

[Edward Miliband (Doncaster North) (Lab)]

Let me first associate myself with the remarks of the hon. Member for Harrow East (Bob Blackman) and the Prime Minister. Yesterday was an incredibly moving and emotional day for anyone who was part of the commemoration. I thank the Prime Minister for the work that has been done as part of the Holocaust Commission and I can confirm absolutely that it will be taken forward on a cross-party basis so that we do indeed keep the memory alive.

Before the last election, the Prime Minister said that he would have a “bare-knuckle fight” to save 29 accident and emergency and maternity units, and he published a list. Can he assure the House that in line with his promise all those services have been protected?

[The Prime Minister]

I am glad that the right hon. Gentleman has mentioned the NHS, because before we go any further he needs to clear something up. He has now been asked nine times whether he made the disgraceful remarks about weaponising the NHS. Everyone in the House and, I suspect, everyone in the country knows that he made those remarks, so he should get up to the Dispatch Box and apologise for that appalling remark, and then we can take this debate forward.

[Edward Miliband]

The only person who should be apologising is the Prime Minister who has broken all his promises on the national health service. He did not give us an answer: he toured the country, standing outside hospitals and promising that services would remain open. Let me tell him about a few of those services. The A and E at Queen Mary’s hospital in Sidcup is now closed. The maternity unit in Ilford is closed. The A and E unit in Welwyn is closed. Why did he break his promises?

[The Prime Minister]

It is very simple: one of the most respected political journalists in Britain, Nick Robinson, the political editor of the BBC, said—and I shall quote it however long it takes—

“A phrase the Labour leader uses in private is that he wants to—and I quote—‘weaponise’ the NHS for politics.”

That is one of the most respected journalists in our country. Will the right hon. Gentleman now get to the Dispatch Box and apologise for that appalling remark?

[Edward Miliband]

This is a ridiculous smokescreen from a Prime Minister running from his record on the NHS. The answer—because this is Prime Minister’s questions—is that all those units have closed. Let me give him another one. He stood outside the A and E unit at Chase Farm, with the local MP, saying, “Hands off our hospital. No to cuts, no to closure.” Is the A and E at Chase Farm open or closed?

[The Prime Minister]

I will tell the right hon. Gentleman my record on the NHS—9,000 more doctors, 6,000 more nurses, hospital-acquired infections right down, investment in our health service up. People rightly want to know what his motives are when it comes to the NHS. If his motives are that he cares about this great national institution, that is fine, but he told the political editor of the BBC that he wanted to weaponise the NHS. I ask him again: get up there and withdraw.

[Edward Miliband]

I will tell the right hon. Gentleman what my motive is: it is to rescue the national health service from this Tory Government. Frankly, this is a man who has got a war on Wales and is using the Welsh NHS to make political propaganda. This is a man who has broken—[Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. For the avoidance of doubt, however long it takes, the questions from the Leader of the Opposition will be heard and so will the answers from the Prime Minister. That is the situation and the sooner people learn that quite simple lesson, the better.

[Edward Miliband]

We know the Prime Minister is in a hole on the NHS and this is all he can offer the British people. It is time we had some answers from him. He has broken his promises on waiting times in A and E. He could not defend what he said about maternity and emergency services. Can he explain why this morning new guidance has been issued to some hospitals making it harder for them to declare a major incident?

[The Prime Minister]

Let me answer that very directly. The NHS in the west midlands, without any instruction from the Department of Health and without any instruction from Ministers, issued a statement about major incidents. The head of NHS England was asked about it this morning and she said this:

“I haven’t been under any political pressure. This document was issued…in the west midlands.”

What a contrast between the operational managers of the NHS and the man who wants to weaponise the NHS.

The right hon. Gentleman mentioned Wales. He criticised me a moment ago for mentioning Wales. He seems to have forgotten that yesterday he said this to the BBC: “It is right to look at problems in Wales and to compare”. That is what he said yesterday. Now, let us look at what happened today in Wales. The Welsh ambulance service statistics have come out and they are the worst ever on record: just 42% of emergency calls are answered in time, compared with 70% in England. Will he now admit that Labour’s catastrophic cuts and mismanagement in Wales have cost the NHS dear?

[Edward Miliband]

The last time the right hon. Gentleman was in charge in Wales, people were waiting two years for an operation. That is the comparison—with what was happening. Everyone will have heard that he did not answer the question about what is happening in the NHS in England. This is what the head of operations at one NHS hospital says:

“This is the enhanced criteria that have been introduced by NHS England to…stop trusts from calling a major incident.”

The whistleblower says the hospital’s hands are being tied. The Prime Minister says they are not. Who does he think people will believe?

[The Prime Minister]

People will believe the head of NHS England, who said this very clearly this morning:

“Local hospitals continue to have responsibility for deciding whether to declare major incidents”.

It is perfectly clear what is happening: the right hon. Gentleman is clasping at straws because he is in a desperate mess on the NHS. He talks about Wales. Here is the record: per head of the population, 10 times more people in Wales on a waiting list for an operation; nearly twice as many ambulances failing to meet those urgent calls; almost twice as many people waiting for more than four hours for A and E. That is what is happening in the NHS in Wales because Labour Ministers cut its budget. But the reason he is in such a mess on the NHS is this: a week ago the shadow Chancellor said that every penny from their new homes tax would go into the NHS. Yesterday, the leader of the Labour party said he had a plan to pay down the deficit with tax changes such as the mansion tax they have announced. There we have it: 99 days to go before the election and they cannot even have a sensible policy on the NHS. What a completely useless Opposition.

[Edward Miliband]

We have 99 days to kick out a Prime Minister who has broken all his promises on the NHS. Today’s revelation shows once again that, under him, the NHS is in crisis and under strain. It is a crisis of his making and on his watch, which is why nobody will trust him with the NHS ever again.

[The Prime Minister]

What a contrast—the Government dealing with the unions to stop the action in the NHS, and a Labour party weaponising the NHS. That is what everyone can see. The right hon. Gentleman talks about what has happened this week. We have seen Labour casting around for a coalition with the SNP and a coalition with Sinn Fein—the first time Britain would have people who want to break up Britain and bankrupt Britain. What a useless shower.