Oral Answers to Questions

Iain McKenzie Excerpts

Wednesday 4th March 2015 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I will certainly talk to my hon. Friend the Minister about the review. Obviously, it makes sense for as many people as possible to have that sort of training, because where we can prevent accidents and needless loss of life, we should do so. So let me talk to the Minister and get back to my hon. Friend.

[Mr Iain McKenzie (Inverclyde) (Lab)]

Let us try the Prime Minister on another one of his promises: to make energy companies put their customers on the lowest possible tariff. Too many of my constituents are still paying many hundreds of pounds more per year for energy. Will he again make that promise or is he content to wait until an incoming Labour Government in May fix this energy market?

[The Prime Minister]

What we promised was to get energy companies to cut their bills by taking some of the charges off them, and that has been delivered. What the Labour party is promising is a price freeze even when prices are coming down. So even before the election Labour has started to inflict real damage on consumers in our country by helping to keep prices higher than they otherwise would be.

Oral Answers to Questions

Iain McKenzie Excerpts

Wednesday 27th June 2012 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I certainly join my hon. Friend in praising the emergency services. These were really very dangerous and damaging floods, caused by a huge amount of rainfall over a very short period. The emergency services performed superbly, and I hope to go and see that for myself, but now we are in the recovery phase and the phase when people start to look at going back into their homes. There will be all sorts of questions about insurance and about how we can help, and I am sure that he will make those arguments in the House and that the Government will do all they can to help.

[Mr Iain McKenzie (Inverclyde) (Lab)]

Q9. Will the Prime Minister finally answer the question why this year to date this Government have actually borrowed £3.9 billion more than they had by this time last year?

[The Prime Minister]

The deficit, which the hon. Gentleman and his party left, is down by a quarter, and the policy that he supports is to spend more, to borrow more and to put the debt up even further.

Oral Answers to Questions

Iain McKenzie Excerpts

Wednesday 25th April 2012 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

We are investing more in school building than Labour did in its first two Parliaments after 1997. The figure is along the lines of £17 billion during the spending review period. So there are opportunities for new classrooms and buildings, and I am sure that the Secretary of State for Education, who is listening carefully to my hon. Friend, will be in touch with him about their prospects.

[Mr Iain McKenzie (Inverclyde) (Lab)]

Q6. Did the Prime Minister agree with the hon. Member for Mid Bedfordshire (Nadine Dorries) when she said that the Prime Minister and the Chancellor—[Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. Let us hear the question.

[Mr McKenzie]

Did the Prime Minister agree with the hon. Lady when she called him and the Chancellor “posh boys” showing no compassion or understanding for the lives of others? Is that not further evidence that they are out of touch and an explanation for this double-dip recession?

[The Prime Minister]

I agree with my hon. Friend the Member for Mid Bedfordshire (Nadine Dorries) about many, many things.

Oral Answers to Questions

Iain McKenzie Excerpts

Wednesday 18th January 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Iain McKenzie (Inverclyde) (Lab)]

With the tragic accident involving the cruise ship Costa Concordia and the 50-plus liners of the same size or bigger that will visit Greenock dock on the Clyde in the coming months and year ahead, does the Prime Minister still think that it was the correct decision to close the Clyde coastguard station?

[The Prime Minister]

First, the case in Italy is clearly a tragic one, and our hearts should go out to the people who have lost loved ones—people from countries right across the world. We need to wait and see what the exact cause of the accident was before we jump to conclusions about any changes to regulations or other things. However, if changes need to be made, including on the issue that the hon. Gentleman raises, of course we will make them.