Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Harriett Baldwin and Andy Burnham(1 week, 6 days ago)
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Dame Harriett Baldwin (West Worcestershire) (Con)
The Prime Minister
May I condemn the motion that was passed, unequivocally? It is wrong, it is antisemitic, and Labour Members will have nothing to do with it. We will always take the right response when it comes to any partnerships that we have with other parties, and we cannot support a partnership with a party that holds the position that has recently been adopted.
Direction of Government
Debate between Harriett Baldwin and Andy Burnham(1 month, 3 weeks ago)
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The Prime Minister
I think I am right in saying that the Leader of the Opposition made strong statements early in the year—going back to January—on this very issue, and I indicated then that I supported the strongest action, recognising the damage to children’s mental health that social media has been doing. That is an example of how I work and how I will work in this role. Where something is obviously wrong and causing harm, particularly to children, it is incumbent on all of us to act. From my point of view, there is no watering down; we do need to take action. Those of us with children can sometimes see the damage being done, and we should not just accept it. I will lead from the front on this issue.
Dame Harriett Baldwin (West Worcestershire) (Con)
I welcome the new Prime Minister to the Dispatch Box. I note that in his statement he referred to the biggest issues facing the country as being “the economy and the cost of living crisis”. Will he accept that one of the things that has damaged our economy and caused prices to be higher is the tax-and-spend Budget in November 2024? He has cut taxes twice—two small tax cuts—since he became Prime Minister. Will he commit that in the Budget there will be no further searching for new things to tax? The biggest message of hope he could send to the country today would be to rule out further tax rises.
The Prime Minister
May I say clearly to the hon. Lady and to the country more broadly that I fully understand the pressure that businesses are under? The cost of doing business is higher it than it should be, owing to the pressures from energy costs and other things. I do not come into this position in any way in denial about that. We need to take further steps to reduce the cost of business, and I have indicated a direction of travel on that today.
These are matters that we need to give the utmost consideration to. We need to get growth up. The hon. Lady tried to give an analysis, but we have had a decade of low growth—these issues go back, and are much deeper—which is why, in my statement, I laid out the issues very clearly, and put forward a plan for growth. That plan requires us to be pro-business, and to provide what support we can.