Oral Answers to Questions
Jeff Smith Excerpts(4 days, 10 hours ago)
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The Prime Minister
We will grip the mess we inherited and close every hotel. At their peak, under the previous Government, there were 400 hotels; now there are only 200 remaining. The hon. Gentleman says that he does not have time to condemn the comment that children in care are “evil”. He has also not had the time, it appears, to condemn the racist comments of his own MP—utterly spineless.
Jeff Smith (Manchester Withington) (Lab)
The Prime Minister
I was very proud to attend COP last week, and the UK is leading on tackling climate change, delivering energy security, getting bills down and generating hundreds of jobs across the country. We are investing over £250 million to put rooftop solar on schools, hospitals and military sites across the country, and that will deliver £400 million of savings to renew our public services.
Oral Answers to Questions
Jeff Smith Excerpts(2 weeks, 4 days ago)
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The Prime Minister
The Conservatives were kicked out of office because they broke the economy. They will not be trusted for years to come. The right hon. Lady cannot tell us what her position is on the last Budget, and she has a phantom £47 billion with no foundation as we go forward. That is exactly the mess that they caused, and they have not changed one bit. Meanwhile, we are fixing their mess: 5 million extra NHS appointments, five interest rate cuts, and growth and wages are up. That is the change a Labour Government make.
Jeff Smith (Manchester Withington) (Lab)
The Prime Minister
I thank my hon. Friend for raising this point. I am deeply concerned by the strikes. This underlines the fragility of the ceasefire deal. All sides need to uphold President Trump’s peace plan. It is the only route to long-term peace for Israelis and Palestinians. We are of course in close touch with the US and regional allies pushing for de-escalation. The scale of destruction in Gaza is unimaginable. The immediate priority remains getting aid in at the speed and the volume needed.
Oral Answers to Questions
Jeff Smith Excerpts(1 year, 6 months ago)
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Jeff Smith (Manchester, Withington) (Lab)
The Deputy Prime Minister
Labour Members might want to forget it, but I remember the day the Conservatives came into office in 2010. What was the note left on the desk of the Chief Secretary to the Treasury? “There is no money left.” That is the challenge that we have addressed through the Prime Minister and Chancellor successively.
Oral Answers to Questions
Jeff Smith Excerpts(1 year, 8 months ago)
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Jeff Smith (Manchester, Withington) (Lab)
Karin Smyth (Bristol South) (Lab)
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Chris Heaton-Harris)
I start by welcoming the return of the devolved institutions to Northern Ireland, following the publication of the “Safeguarding the Union” Command Paper earlier this month and the Windsor framework, which was agreed exactly a year ago yesterday. Let me also take this opportunity to mention that the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission and the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland will celebrate their 25th anniversaries on Friday.
The Government are doing all that we can to support the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery in delivering effectively for victims and families. Significant progress has been made since the ICRIR was established in December last year, and I expect the commission’s doors to open on 1 May.
Jeff Smith
In the light of this morning’s High Court ruling, does the Secretary of State still think that after 1 May the citizens of Northern Ireland should be the only people in the UK denied the right to seek justice for crimes committed during the troubles, through civil cases and inquests?
Chris Heaton-Harris
Mr Justice Colton handed down his judgment at 10.15 this morning. It is a very complex case. I am told that the judgment runs to over 200 pages, and I am yet to see it. It will take some time to consider, but we will consider Mr Justice Colton’s findings very carefully. We remain committed to implementing the legacy Act.
Oral Answers to Questions
Jeff Smith Excerpts(1 year, 9 months ago)
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Jeff Smith (Manchester, Withington) (Lab)
Nicola Richards (West Bromwich East) (Con)
The Minister for Women and Equalities (Kemi Badenoch)
Tackling violence against women and girls is one of the Government’s key priorities. We are making progress in delivering various cross-Government workstreams, including the tackling violence against women and girls strategy and the rape review action plan.
Jeff Smith
Three quarters of police-recorded domestic abuse cases are closed due to evidential difficulties or because the victim does not support further action. Does the Minister agree that Labour’s proposal to put rape and domestic abuse specialists in every police force in England and Wales will give women the confidence to come forward and secure more convictions?
Kemi Badenoch
We will have 2,000 rape specialists across all police forces by April. In the autumn statement, the Prime Minister announced that the Government would provide £2 million of additional funding for a flexible fund that trials one-off payments to victims of domestic abuse. That fund was made available to victims on 31 January.
Tributes to Sir Tony Lloyd
Jeff Smith Excerpts(1 year, 9 months ago)
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Jeff Smith (Manchester, Withington) (Lab)
It is a special politician who gets a tribute covering the whole front page of the Manchester Evening News with the headline “An example of honesty, principle and kindness”, a quote taken from comments from the Mother of the House but echoed by so many in recent days. The tributes often mention what an outstanding public servant Tony was, and what a good, kind person he was. He was always ready with a kind word to me in difficult times; in particular, I remember his sympathy when my mum died.
To those of us who have been involved in Greater Manchester politics for a long time, Tony was a giant. His record of public service is unparalleled—as a councillor, MP, police and crime commissioner and Mayor, he was a hugely respected and influential figure. He will be missed across greater Manchester, but also across Parliament. The respect he was held in on all sides of the House been clear today and in recent days. Perhaps what I admired most about Tony was that his contributions were always so thoughtful. They came from a place of principle, and he always had great conviction, but he was always measured and able to look at the big picture with great knowledge and experience. His wisdom will be missed across this House.
As a long-time resident of Chorlton in my constituency, he will be missed by the local community. As a familiar face on Beech Road, he was liked by everyone. Among many tributes, I was touched to see the following written by staff from Ludo’s deli on Beech Road:
“We are all very sad at Ludo’s. One of our loveliest customers, so supportive. I’m already missing him and all the lovely chats we had about everything and nothing. All our thoughts are with his family and friends”—
as are all our thoughts today.
Finally, he will be missed by his friends in the Bowling Green and the other pubs in Chorlton, where he liked to chat about politics or Manchester United over a pint, and especially by his colleagues in our local Labour party, who admired and respected him so much.
Oral Answers to Questions
Jeff Smith Excerpts(2 years, 2 months ago)
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Dame Diana Johnson (Kingston upon Hull North) (Lab)
Jeff Smith (Manchester, Withington) (Lab)
The Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General (Jeremy Quin)
It was a privilege to appear before the infected blood inquiry on 25 July. You, Madam Deputy Speaker, referred to birthdays earlier and I believe that that was the birthday of the right hon. Lady, but she shared it with us in the inquiry—she was there in person for the hearings. At the inquiry, I shared the work the Government are undertaking to consider the interim recommendations and I look forward to receiving the final report in the autumn.
Jeremy Quin
As the right hon. Lady knows, we are working through this. There is more work to be done. It is a mammoth undertaking, as she knows, and we are looking forward to the final report and putting our response into that context.
Jeff Smith
“Working through this” is not good enough. Several families in my constituency have lost partners or parents as a result of the infected blood scandal and they are frustrated by the delay and obfuscation. One of my constituents told me:
“The lack of transparency is causing great stress and anxiety to those of us at the heart of this NHS treatment disaster who have already waited decades for our loss and suffering to be recognised.”
One person is dying every four days. This is becoming urgent. Will the Government commit to a full compensation scheme as quickly as possible?
Jeremy Quin
We commit to responding as soon as we can to the final report. The hon. Gentleman is right that we have accepted the moral case for compensation. After the final report comes through, we will be bringing out our response as swiftly as we can.
Oral Answers to Questions
Jeff Smith Excerpts(3 years, 1 month ago)
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Jeff Smith (Manchester, Withington) (Lab)
The Secretary of State for Scotland (Mr Alister Jack)
I can assure the hon. Gentleman that my Cabinet colleagues and I are committed to ensuring the further success of Channel 4. The Government are determined to support the incredible TV production industry in Scotland, and we believe that in the long run the UK production industry will benefit from a sustainable Channel 4.
Jeff Smith
Channel 4 is a key commissioner for Scottish independent production companies. It spends about £20 million a year on Scottish productions, supporting about 400 jobs in Scotland. Analysis from Ernst & Young says that privatisation could result in £1 billion being lost from the UK’s nations and regions, so for the sake of Scotland’s creative economy, will the Secretary of State make representations to the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to follow the evidence and keep Channel 4 in public hands?
Mr Jack
I have had discussions with the Culture Secretary and the previous Culture Secretary. The Government’s position is that we are looking again at the sale of Channel 4, and we will have further details in due course. We want Channel 4 to flourish, and we want independent production companies to flourish and thrive, because we recognise that we live in a challenging and changing media landscape.
Functioning of Government
Jeff Smith Excerpts(3 years, 4 months ago)
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Michael Ellis
I am unable to answer the hon. Member’s question. The Committees of this House will continue in the normal way of business.
Jeff Smith (Manchester, Withington) (Lab)
The majority of those who left the Government have referred to the Prime Minister’s lack of integrity, honour, honesty and competence. They surely cannot return to work for such a man, even on a temporary basis. To get a functioning Government, we need a full set of Ministers and we need a swift transition. Will the Paymaster General at least convey that message to No. 10 and to his Cabinet colleagues?
Independent Adviser on Ministers’ Interests Resignation
Jeff Smith Excerpts(3 years, 5 months ago)
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Michael Ellis
I venture to suggest that the hon. Lady’s constituents will find it surprising that in the past six months Labour has focused constantly on personalities and not on policies. The reason has to be that when it comes to policy, Labour loses.
Jeff Smith (Manchester, Withington) (Lab)
I am sure that the Minister will agree that principles and standards in public life must be upheld. Can he confirm from the Dispatch Box that the Government have no plans whatsoever to abolish the role of the independent adviser on ministerial interests?