Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Geraint Davies and Boris Johnson

Wednesday 20th July 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is a brilliant champion for Essex and her hospital. I know the case is under review by the Department, but never forget it is only possible because of the money this Government are investing.

[Geraint Davies (Swansea West) (Lab/Co-op)]

Q15. The Prime Minister will be remembered as a man of his word: “Pile ’em high”—200,000 dead, the most in Europe; “F- business”—[Interruption.] This is the truth; they don’t like it, do they? Let’s listen to the truth: 400,000 fewer people in jobs than before the pandemic if we include the self-employed, which the Prime Minister does not. So will he now keep faith with the 3.7 million people who have taken out student loans since this Conservative Government have been in power and who now face rising inflation in terms of rent, heating and eating, and who now must pay—[Interruption.] Listen to that rabble. [Interruption.] Listen to them.

Ukraine

Debate between Geraint Davies and Boris Johnson

Thursday 24th February 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Eloquently put, and my right hon. Friend is dead right. I think my hon. Friend the Member for Henley (John Howell), who is on the Council of Europe, made that point the other day, and I certainly agree with it.

[Geraint Davies (Swansea West) (Lab/Co-op)]

So many Russians see this attack on Ukraine as they would see an attack of their father on their mother, because there are such intimate family relationships between the two groups. Today, thousands of Russians are protesting in cities—against their domestic law—about this awful war. Will the Prime Minister provide them with his support? Will he amplify that support to help reduce any support there is for this ridiculous war? Will he also provide sanctuary and safe haven for refugees, including troops, outside Ukraine so that they can re-engage and we can win this war at home and abroad?

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Gentleman makes a series of extremely important observations. Yes, it is vital that we get the message across to the whole of Russia about what is really going on. They are being lied to day after day, and his point about supporting troops who need temporary exile, as it were, is a good one.

Living with Covid-19

Debate between Geraint Davies and Boris Johnson

Monday 21st February 2022 Commons Chamber

[Geraint Davies (Swansea West) (Lab/Co-op)]

The Prime Minister says that this is a scientific decision, so will he remind the House what the current R rate or infection rate is; what it is projected to be by the start of May; and at what R rate he is willing to reintroduce testing and self-isolation? Or is it not a scientific decision?

[The Prime Minister]

As I said earlier, the rate of infections is falling and so are hospitalisations.

G20 and COP26 World Leaders Summit

Debate between Geraint Davies and Boris Johnson

Wednesday 3rd November 2021 Commons Chamber

[Geraint Davies (Swansea West) (Lab/Co-op)]

Six per cent. of global GDP is spent on fossil fuel subsidies, which is destroying our planet, and China spends more on them than the United States, Russia and the European Union combined. Will the Prime Minister take leadership in reducing fossil fuel subsidies? In particular, will he support the carbon border taxes that are being promoted by the EU, so that, for instance, UK steel made in Wales is not displaced by Chinese steel made from coal, which has twice the carbon footprint, and we can protect local jobs and save the planet through greener trade?

[The Prime Minister]

I think that our steel companies have done a great job in trying to reduce their carbon footprint. That is extremely hard for steel corporations, because they are one of the biggest emitters that we have. We must move towards zero-carbon steelmaking, while keeping a steelmaking industry in this country. The measures that the hon. Gentleman has described—such as the carbon border adjustment levy—are certainly worth considering.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Geraint Davies and Boris Johnson

Wednesday 17th March 2021 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Of course, I thank the NHS in Hampshire, and indeed around the country, for the amazing job it is doing in rolling out the vaccination programme—it has been truly stunning. Perhaps the best thing I can say about the Oxford-AstraZeneca programme is that I have finally got news that I am going to have my own jab very shortly; I am pleased to discover that. I do not know whether the right hon. and learned Member for Holborn and St Pancras (Keir Starmer) has had his. [Interruption.] He has had his. It will certainly be the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab that I will be having.

[Geraint Davies (Swansea West) (Lab/Co-op) [V]]

There have now been more than 600 cases of coronavirus infection at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency in Swansea since September, yet Ministers still refuse to meet the Public and Commercial Services Union to discuss ways in which more workers could work from home in safety before they are vaccinated. Workers have now resorted to voting for strike action, as a last resort, to protect their families and communities. I ask the Prime Minister again: will he now instruct Ministers to engage in talks with the union to help shield vulnerable workers before vaccination, or will he force a needless strike?

[The Prime Minister]

I think “needless” is the right word, and the hon. Gentleman should bear it in mind that any strike is likely to be bad news for motorists. We are at the stage now where we are advancing down our road map out of lockdown, and at the DVLA any staff who can work from home are doing so. Out of a workforce of 6,000, only five cases of covid have currently been found, and I understand that those individuals are all working from home. Frankly, I see no need for industrial action.

Covid-19: Road Map

Debate between Geraint Davies and Boris Johnson

Monday 22nd February 2021 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The right hon. Gentleman did not hear my answer to the previous question, so I will repeat it, because his question is identical to several previous questions. The answer is that we need time to evaluate the success or otherwise of each unlocking; we need four weeks to see what has happened. We must bear in mind that we are dealing with a disease that is extremely contagious and large numbers of people who are still unvaccinated and still very vulnerable, so we have to proceed with caution. That is why there is the five-week interval that we have. The second reason is that we want a timetable that we can stick to. People would really much rather have a sense of certainty and security—the maximum possible certainty and security—rather than any sense that this is fluid again and the date they have in their heads could change. That is very, very important. Certainty in this particular road map is of great value.

[Geraint Davies (Swansea West) (Lab/Co-op) [V]]

In Wales, excess deaths over the five-year average are 13% more, compared with a figure of 20% more in England. So will the Prime Minister ensure that the UK Government website says, “If you live in more highly infectious areas of England, you should not travel to Wales”?

[The Prime Minister]

The restrictions throughout the country apply in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and they will continue to apply for the duration of the pandemic.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Geraint Davies and Boris Johnson

Wednesday 10th February 2021 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Yes, indeed. I thank Brighton and Hove City Council for co-operating with Eastbourne Borough Council in getting this done. There must be co-operation. No one in this country should be sleeping rough or homeless as a result of this pandemic or, indeed, through any other cause. We have invested £700 million this year to help people off the streets, and it continues to be a national priority. I am grateful to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government for what he is doing and the various taskforces that are currently at work to prevent people from coming out on the streets again as we lift the restrictions.

[Geraint Davies (Swansea West) (Lab/Co-op) [V]]

At the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency in Swansea, there have been 526 cases of coronavirus since last September. The Prime Minister told us at Prime Minister’s Question Time:“All staff who can work from home are doing so”—[Official Report, 28 January 2021; Vol. 688, c. 374.]But in March last year, 250 people were working on site, and now the numbers are in their thousands, and they are facing a more infectious and widespread disease. Yesterday, 90 people were sent home following the latest outbreak of coronavirus just before the weekend. Given that BT is on standby to install home secure technology to allow homeworking, will the Prime Minister meet me and the Public and Commercial Services Union ahead of the strike ballot next week, so that workplace numbers can be reduced until the vaccine is rolled out, to keep people safe and avoid an unnecessary strike?

Covid-19: Winter Plan

Debate between Geraint Davies and Boris Johnson

Monday 23rd November 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I very much echo my hon. Friend’s tribute to the sailors lost at sea. My hon. Friend is right to focus on the R. We want to get it down and keep it down, if possible for good.

[Geraint Davies (Swansea West) (Lab/Co-op) [V]]

Wales is already out of its successful circuit-breaker. When England comes out of lockdown into a tiered system, will the Prime Minister ensure that people who live in tiers 2 and 3 are not in a position to make non-essential travel out of those regions into other English regions or into Wales, in order to contain the spread of the transmission of the disease?

[The Prime Minister]

If the hon. Gentleman looks at the guidance on travel in tiers 2 and 3, he will see that it sets out clearly that in tier 2 people should reduce the number of journeys that they make and avoid travelling into tier 3 areas, and that in tier 3 they should avoid travelling out of the area altogether. There is more detail in the guidance, which he might care to study.

Covid-19 Update

Debate between Geraint Davies and Boris Johnson

Monday 12th October 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Yes, and I thank my hon. Friend for what he does to make sure that happens. The ways that we co-operate are much more significant than the differences between us.

[Geraint Davies (Swansea West) (Lab/Co-op) [V]]

Will the Prime Minister confirm that people who can work from home should do so? Therefore, will he reinstate digital democracy in this Parliament, which allowed MPs to participate in debates and ask questions while self-isolating or shielding so that they do not risk infecting other people as they travel to work, infecting others at work or being infected themselves?

[The Prime Minister]

On this matter, Mr Speaker, I defer to you and the House authorities.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Geraint Davies and Boris Johnson

Wednesday 2nd September 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend for her apposite intervention on behalf of Alexander Dennis. I was a keen customer of Alexander Dennis’s fantastic machines. I cannot guarantee this, but I hope that our green recovery and our massive investment in green buses will be of benefit to the workforce of Alexander Dennis.

[Geraint Davies (Swansea West) (Lab/Co-op) [V]]

The Prime Minister is stumbling forward into mass unemployment with the sudden and universal removal of furlough, and towards a further spike and resurgence of coronavirus due to making people who are working from home travel to work. To minimise further and future bad decisions and U-turns, will he fully restore the online Parliament so that all voters can be fully represented in all debates and law making, as happens in the Welsh Government, the Scottish Government and the Lords, whether their MPs are shielded or unshielded, so that we make the best decisions with the least harm during the pandemic and the recession through the reintroduction of proper online democracy.

Debate on the Address

Debate between Geraint Davies and Boris Johnson

Monday 14th October 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The destruction that Labour would do to business is, I think, the single gravest concern that this country faces—far greater than any fears that business may have had about a no-deal Brexit.

Worst of all for the certainty and confidence of business is what this Opposition would do were they ever to obtain power, because they would simply delay Brexit with yet more paralysis and pointless procrastination. I say let’s not wait—we cannot wait. Let’s get Brexit done so that we can take back control of our money, our borders and our laws. Let’s get Brexit done so that we can regulate differently and better: getting life-saving medicines faster and more cheaply to market for the NHS; galvanising coastal areas with a constellation of new free ports; and organising our immigration system ourselves so that we are open to talent and open to scientists.

[Geraint Davies (Swansea West) (Lab/Co-op)]

The Prime Minister talks about getting Brexit done, but he knows it is a painful journey and not an end point. Why has he not included a trade Bill to enable this House to scrutinise the trade bills that will come week after week? We will not be able to see those bills, so we will end up importing hormone-impregnated food, asbestos and the like. Where is the trade Bill?

[The Prime Minister]

I reassure the hon. Gentleman by saying that the trade Bill is in the Queen’s Speech, so I very much hope that we can count on his support in voting for any deal we might secure and in getting Brexit done.

Prime Minister's Update

Debate between Geraint Davies and Boris Johnson

Wednesday 25th September 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I must respectfully disagree with the point that the hon. Gentleman makes. As far as I am concerned, the Government have treated the court with great respect and we intend to respect the judgment.

[Geraint Davies (Swansea West) (Lab/Co-op)]

On the issue of ideas, if Parliament continues to resist the Prime Minister’s desperate pleas for an election in order to enable him to secure a deal, and if Parliament says it will agree that deal but only if it is subject to a public vote, would he prefer that or to inflict a no deal on Britain, with all the medicine shortages and other problems that would entail? Which would he prefer: his deal with a vote, or no deal?

[The Prime Minister]

Obviously I would prefer a deal, and I hope I could count on the hon. Gentleman’s support if we were to get one. As for my desperate pleas for an election, actually I am not desperate for an election at all. I rather thought it was the function of the Opposition to be desperate for an election. If he is desperate for an election, perhaps he could communicate with his right hon. Friend the Leader of the Opposition.

Early Parliamentary General Election (No. 2)

Debate between Geraint Davies and Boris Johnson

Monday 9th September 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Mr Speaker, I repeat my point—[Interruption.]

[Geraint Davies (Swansea West) (Lab/Co-op)]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. The Prime Minister has just informed the House that on 31 October he will go to Brussels and ensure that we leave with or without a deal, in contravention of a motion we have just passed that we will obey the law in compliance with that law that has just been passed. Is that out of order?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Geraint Davies and Boris Johnson

Wednesday 4th September 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my right hon. Friend very much for everything she has done for that cause over many years, and I reassure her that, very shortly, the Chancellor of the Exchequer will outline not just more money for primary schools and secondary schools, but also a big investment in schools for special educational needs and disabilities. That is, again, delivering on the priorities of the British people.

[Geraint Davies (Swansea West) (Lab/Co-op)]

Q4. People in Swansea voted to leave the EU, but leave voters are saying to me that they did not vote for a no deal or for “do or die” on 31 October. They want to live. They voted for good things—for more money, more jobs and more control—and now they see that they will get less money, less jobs and less control, so they want a final say.Will the Prime Minister undertake, when he goes to extend article 50 after the passage of the Bill we are considering this afternoon, to ensure there is a proper referendum so that there is a choice between a managed deal and remain, and not a kamikaze no deal?

[The Prime Minister]

If the hon. Gentleman wants to put that matter to the people, the best thing he can do is persuade his right hon. Friend to summon up his courage and to stop being so frit. If he is going to pass this wretched surrender Bill, at least he should submit it to the judgment of the people in the form of a general election.

If the hon. Gentleman wants to implement the will of the people of Swansea, what he should do is vote with this Government and not for the surrender Bill tonight.

Iran Nuclear Deal

Debate between Geraint Davies and Boris Johnson

Wednesday 9th May 2018 Commons Chamber

[Boris Johnson]

We are of course working hand-in-glove with the United States, but we do believe that there were advantages in maintaining the discrete deal at the heart of the JCPOA and stopping Iranian breakout. We thought that was a good idea. We certainly share the general ambition across the House to constrain Iran’s malignant activity.

[Geraint Davies (Swansea West) (Lab/Co-op)]

France, Germany and the United Kingdom have stood shoulder to shoulder in supporting the nuclear peace deal, and the US has walked away. Does that not show that it is not the customs union that is crazy, but the idea that we can instead have a trade deal with the United States that we think will put mutual interests before Trump’s and the US’s self-interest?

[Boris Johnson]

I am sure that in due course we will get a great trade deal with the United States, so I am not quite sure what that has to do with the JCPOA.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Geraint Davies and Boris Johnson

Tuesday 21st November 2017 Commons Chamber

[Boris Johnson]

We will review the success of the funding, but it is there to show the Government’s commitment, as part of our global Britain values agenda, to a free press around the world. I mean that very sincerely. Across the world, more journalists are being killed and locked up, and that is not only a political disaster but an economic disaster. The most prosperous and successful countries are those that also have a free press that is able to expose corruption and enable democracy, which allow the economy to flourish.

[Geraint Davies (Swansea West) (Lab/Co-op)]

24. In Hong Kong, press freedom and the freedom of expression and assembly are guaranteed by article 3.5 of the Sino-British joint declaration, yet last week Beijing basically said it would imprison people for up to three years for booing or disrespecting the Chinese national anthem. President Trump said nothing about that during his visit. What will the Foreign Secretary do to uphold the fundamental values that the United Kingdom is legally obliged to uphold?

[Boris Johnson]

We have made it absolutely clear to our Chinese partners that the joint declaration is absolutely valid and operative, and that one country, two systems, enshrining all the values the hon. Gentleman rightly draws attention to, remains in force.

Budget Resolutions

Debate between Geraint Davies and Boris Johnson

Monday 13th March 2017 Commons Chamber

[Boris Johnson]

As I was saying before your kind advice to Members, Mr Speaker, it is right that at this pivotal and exciting moment in our international economic relations, not just with the EU but of course with the 93% of the world that does not live in the EU—shortly to be 94%—that I should be the first Foreign Secretary in more than 10 years to open a Budget debate. I do so with pride, because this is a Budget that will sustain the momentum of what is already one of the fastest growing economies in the west, with unemployment at its lowest for 11 years, the stock market 1,000 points higher than it was on 23 June, to pick a date entirely at random, and with more people in work—

[Geraint Davies (Swansea West) (Lab/Co-op)]

Will the Foreign Secretary give way?

[Boris Johnson]

I want to make a tiny bit of progress. I will give way many times, but let me get to the end of my second sentence—more people in work than ever before. This is a Budget that continues and enables the biggest programme of infrastructure investment this country has seen since Victorian times. It offers our young people the funding and technical qualifications to enable them to realise their full potential. As Britain prepares for re-entry, as I call it, into the global economy and for forging new relationships and partnerships around the world, the Budget—

--- Later in debate ---

[Boris Johnson]

I am terribly sorry; I missed the second half of that question. However, if the assertion was that British diplomacy is in any way falling short, let me say this. I believe that in the last few months we have seen an understanding of what the country wants, and a growing warmth towards our objectives, because they are, after all, shared with our European friends and partners.

As I have said, one of the things that are most admired by our colleagues around the table, not just in Brussels but in the United Nations, the G7 and the G20—all the bodies whose meetings I attend—is the fact that, as they realise, our Government have an extraordinary record of giving development aid. As we sit here now, the Department of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development is helping the Pakistani Government to put 6 million girls through school in the Punjab alone. I think everyone appreciates that that is the best way of promoting economic growth, curbing infant mortality and reducing the pressures of a growing population.

We do not spend our aid budget—0.7% of gross national income—just because that is the right thing to do, although surely it is morally the right thing to do. I am not embarrassed to say that it is also the best way of promoting the development of the economies concerned, and thereby spurring the growth of our export markets. In that sense, a global Britain—[Interruption.] I did not think Labour Members would like that, because they are not interested in any policy that is so obviously of economic benefit to the country, but that is one of the reasons we are doing this. I speak as a defender of, and a believer in, globalisation, because millions of British people in our country—tens of millions, indeed—depend for their jobs and their livelihoods on the benign force of global free trade, which in turn requires safe and open shipping lanes, clear rules and effective institutions. None of that can be taken for granted.

[Geraint Davies]

Will the Foreign Secretary give way?

[Boris Johnson]

I think I have already given way to the hon. Gentleman. [Interruption.] I am sorry; I have not. Go on.

[Geraint Davies]

In the context of global free trade and, in particular, the judgment of the international financial markets, does the Foreign Secretary not accept that since 23 June our economy has slipped from fifth biggest to sixth biggest, and that those markets have deflated its value by 15%, which is why we have devalued and everyone’s wages and all our assets are 15% lower? That is not a success; it is a failure.

[Boris Johnson]

One would have thought that they would learn. One would have thought that the merchants of this kind of thing would have understood that there is no point in continually standing up and running our country down when, in fact, we are back up at No. 5. We have seen record investment in the United Kingdom, and we continue to see that the fundamentals of the British economy are strong and getting stronger.