Oral Answers to Questions
Gagan Mohindra Excerpts(6 days, 4 hours ago)
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Ellie Reeves
Our plan for growth is central to this mission-driven Government. Our investment in housing—building 1.5 million homes—will add £7 billion to the economy by the end of the Parliament. We are getting building, with spades in the ground on our rail and road projects, and getting on where the Tories failed this country for 14 years.
Mr Gagan Mohindra (South West Hertfordshire) (Con)
Joe Robertson (Isle of Wight East) (Con)
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Pat McFadden)
Our plan for change is already delivering for the British people, as the Minister without Portfolio, my right hon. Friend the Member for Lewisham West and East Dulwich (Ellie Reeves), has just said: wages up more in the first 10 months of our Government than in 10 years under the previous Government; a new nuclear age with £14 billion committed to building Sizewell C as a critical part of our clean energy transition; and NHS waiting lists down by more than 200,000 for the first time in years. What a contrast to the record of the Conservatives.
Mr Mohindra
Will the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster reassure the House that once he has actually started publishing the tracking dashboard for the plan for change, the six milestones will not go the same way as the three foundations, the six first steps for change, the five missions and the seven pillars of growth, and that it will not be abandoned and replaced when the Government realise they are missing their targets?
Pat McFadden
If the hon. Gentleman wants more facts about delivery, let me help him out right now. Last week we launched the biggest social and affordable housing programme in a generation, meeting a need that has been unmet for years in this country; we have extended free school meals to half a million more children; and this year, we will be putting 3,000 more neighbourhood police back on the beat. I am very happy to give the hon. Gentleman all the figures he wants.
Oral Answers to Questions
Gagan Mohindra Excerpts(1 month, 1 week ago)
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Nick Thomas-Symonds
I am grateful to the hon. Lady for her support. In fairness, she has been supportive of the youth experience scheme throughout. Having secured the agreement at the summit, we will obviously move now into a different phase of the negotiations, looking at implementation, whether that is in terms of the link with the emissions trading systems, the sanitary and phytosanitary agreement or the youth experience scheme. We obviously want to move forward as quickly as we can with implementation.
Mr Gagan Mohindra (South West Hertfordshire) (Con)
The Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office (Nick Thomas-Symonds)
There is no question but that the new arrangements we have with the European Union will grow our economy. It will put more money in the pockets of working people, and the proof will be there for all to see as it eases pressure on food prices and cuts red tape—more prosperity, more safety, more security—but unfortunately, it seems that the Opposition’s position is to unpick all of that.
Mr Mohindra
The Government continue to celebrate last month’s latest EU surrender deal, continuing their long-term ambition to undo the results of a democratic vote that their leadership has never agreed with and is doing its best to reverse at every opportunity. The Government have already proven that when Labour negotiates, Britain loses. Can the Minister reassure the House that this Government have no further intentions to surrender any more hard-won Brexit freedoms?
Nick Thomas-Symonds
The only thing that has been surrendered is the credibility of the Conservative party. This Government have used the independent post-Brexit trade policy to secure a deal with India, a deal with the United States, and a deal with the EU that is good for jobs, good for bills and good for borders. The Conservatives will have to explain at the next election why they want to undo all of it.
Oral Answers to Questions
Gagan Mohindra Excerpts(4 months, 2 weeks ago)
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Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)
Mr Gagan Mohindra (South West Hertfordshire) (Con)
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Hilary Benn)
The approach to legacy taken by the last Government was wrong. It caused immense pain to victims and survivors, and in many respects has been found to be unlawful. In December I laid a proposal for a draft remedial order to address the human rights deficiencies in the Act that had been identified by the courts, and when parliamentary time allows, I will introduce primary legislation to reinstate legacy inquests halted by the Act and to reform and strengthen the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery.
Hilary Benn
Because sections 46 and 47 of the Act were found to be unlawful, and, as the right hon. Gentleman will be aware, the case that gave rise to the attempt to deal with the problem through those sections that have now been found to be unlawful arose from a Supreme Court judgment in 2020. For two and a bit years, the last Government were unable to find a solution.
Mr Mohindra
Notwithstanding the Secretary of State’s response, may I ask why this Labour Government are continuing to undermine the tough action taken by the Conservative Government on individuals who have acted against our democracy and society, such as Gerry Adams, by considering repealing the Act, giving Adams and others the possibility of a six-figure payout?
Hilary Benn
As I said during the last Northern Ireland questions, no one wants to see that happen. We are currently working to find a lawful way of dealing with the problems that were created by the way in which the original interim custody orders were signed in 1972 and, I think, 1973. In 2020, the Supreme Court found that orders that had not been signed and considered by the then Secretary of State were not lawful.
Oral Answers to Questions
Gagan Mohindra Excerpts(5 months, 1 week ago)
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The Prime Minister
My hon. Friend raises a very important issue in relation to maternity pay and maternity leave. The Leader of the Opposition thinks that maternity pay is excessive. That is the difference—we know that workers’ rights are pro-growth, and I am proud that our Employment Rights Bill will introduce parental leave from day one, which means that 1.5 million more employees will be entitled to unpaid parental leave and 30,000 more fathers will be entitled to paternity leave. I am happy to ensure that my hon. Friend gets the meeting with the relevant Minister.
Mr Gagan Mohindra (South West Hertfordshire) (Con)
The Prime Minister
In December 2020, I was in my office, working on the expected Brexit deal with my team. We had to analyse the deal as it came in at speed and prepare and deliver a live statement at speed on one of the most important issues for our country in recent years. That was what I was doing. What were the Conservatives doing? Bringing suitcases of booze into Downing Street, partying and fighting, vomiting up the walls, leaving the cleaners to remove red wine stains. That is the difference. I was working—they were partying.
Oral Answers to Questions
Gagan Mohindra Excerpts(9 months, 1 week ago)
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Mr Gagan Mohindra (South West Hertford-shire) (Con)
The Prime Minister (Keir Starmer)
Earlier this week, the House marked the first anniversary of the horrific attacks on 7 October, and I take this opportunity to reiterate that the hostages must be released. I also reiterate our call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon.
This week, the Government will deliver on our promise to the British people of the biggest upgrade of workers’ rights in a generation. The employment rights Bill will ensure that work pays; it will forge a new partnership with business, and reset the dreadful industrial relations that have cost our economy and our national health service so much in recent years. We are also preparing for the international investment summit next week, which will bring hundreds of global chief executive officers to the United Kingdom and unlock billions of pounds of investment.
This morning, I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House, I shall have further such meetings later today.
Mr Mohindra
The commitment of £400 million for a new hospital at Watford General was one of the many brilliant things that the last Conservative Government did, along with my good friend Dean Russell, the former Member of Parliament for Watford. It would have been life-changing as well as lifesaving for so many of my constituents. Why is the Prime Minister cancelling that funding commitment, and spending billions of pounds on giving pay rises to train drivers instead?
The Prime Minister
Because the promise of 40 new hospitals did not involve 40 and did not involve hospitals, they were not new, and they were not funded.