Oral Answers to Questions

Keir Starmer Excerpts

Wednesday 26th February 2025 Commons Chamber

[Dr Luke Evans (Hinckley and Bosworth) (Con)]

Q1. If he will list his official engagements for Wednesday 26 February.

[The Prime Minister (Keir Starmer)]

This week marked three years since Putin’s barbaric invasion of Ukraine. The courage of the Ukrainians is inspiring, and across this House we stand with them for as long as it takes. That is why we are increasing defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by April 2027, with an ambition to reach 3% in the next Parliament, as economic and fiscal conditions allow. This afternoon, of course, I will travel to the US to have discussions with President Trump about the enduring security partnership between our two countries.

I am also delighted that we have announced the first 750 schools to start offering free breakfast clubs. This is our plan for change in action, ensuring every child has the chance to thrive.

I am sure the whole House will want to join me in thanking Amanda Pritchard for her service as chief executive of NHS England, and I wish her well for the future.

This morning, I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in this House, I shall have further such meetings later today.

[Dr Evans]

Could the Prime Minister tell this House whether the outcome of his Budget was by design or by mistake? Did he mean to push 100,000 pensioners into poverty with his own analysis when he removed the winter fuel allowance, or was that a mistake? Did he mean to decimate family farming when he changed inheritance tax, or was that a mistake? Did he mean to tax GPs, care homes and hospices when he raised national insurance contributions, or was that a mistake? Can the Prime Minister tell the House whether they are acceptable collateral damage in his path for change, or simply mistakes that need rectifying?

[The Prime Minister]

I will tell the hon. Member what was a mistake: leaving a £22 billion black hole that we had to sort out. We took the difficult decisions, investing in our NHS, and I would have thought he would have welcomed the 2 million extra appointments that we have achieved in the first seven months of a Labour Government. That is the difference our Budget is making to people.

[Alex McIntyre (Gloucester) (Lab)]

Q2. I am delighted that Calton and Grange primary schools in my city of Gloucester will be among the first 750 schools to get free breakfast clubs, and I am pleased that this Government are already delivering on their manifesto promises in less than a year. So will the Prime Minister agree with me that, by helping working parents with childcare and delivering the best start to the day for every single child, we are delivering opportunity for the next generation?

[The Prime Minister]

I agree with my hon. Friend. We are pleased that two of the early adopter schools will be in his constituency. We are ensuring that all children of primary school age can get access to free breakfasts and at least 30 minutes of free childcare. That means every child ready to learn, and parents of course supported with up to £450 a year back in their pockets. That is the change a Labour Government make.

[Mr Speaker]

We now come to the Leader of the Opposition.

[Mrs Kemi Badenoch (North West Essex) (Con)]

I wish the Prime Minister every success on his trip to Washington. The visit to see President Trump must serve our national interest. The Prime Minister and I are completely united in our support for Ukraine as a proud and sovereign nation. What specific steps will he take to ensure Ukraine is at the negotiating table for any peace settlement?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank the Leader of the Opposition for her words about the forthcoming trip. It is right, and I think the whole House will think it is right, that Ukraine must be at the table at negotiations. There can be no negotiations about Ukraine without Ukraine. That has been my consistent position in all of the discussions that I have had. That will continue to be my position, because this is about the sovereignty of Ukraine and the Ukrainians’ ability to decide for themselves the future of their country, so they must be at the table.

[Mrs Badenoch]

I thank the Prime Minister for that answer, and as I said, I wish him every success. We want to support him on this issue.

Turning to the details of the plan the Prime Minister set out yesterday, over the weekend I suggested to him that he cut the aid budget, and I am pleased that he accepted my advice—[Laughter.] It is the fastest response I have ever had from the Prime Minister. However, he announced £13.4 billion in additional defence spending yesterday. This morning, his Defence Secretary said the uplift is only £6 billion. Which is the correct figure?

[The Prime Minister]

I am going to have to let the Leader of the Opposition down gently: she did not feature in my thinking at all. I was so busy over the weekend that I did not even see her proposal. She has appointed herself the saviour of western civilisation; it is a desperate search for relevance.

If you take the numbers for this financial year and the numbers for the ’27-28 financial year, there is a £13.4 billion increase. That is the largest sustained increase in defence spending since the cold war, and will put us in a position to ensure the security and defence of our country and of Europe.

[Mrs Badenoch]

That was not very clear. How is it that the Defence Secretary says £6 billion, but the Prime Minister says £13.4 billion? The Institute for Fiscal Studies has said the Government are playing “silly games with numbers”. How has he found this difference in numbers?

[The Prime Minister]

We went through this two weeks ago, going over the same question again and again. Let me say it again: if you take the financial year this year, and then you take the financial year for ’27-28, the difference between the two is £13.4 billion. That is the same answer. If she asks again, I will give the same answer again.

[Hon. Members]

More!

[Mrs Badenoch]

Someone needs to tell the Prime Minister that being patronising is not a substitute for answering questions. He has not answered the question. What he has said is different from what he said yesterday. We are still not clear where the money is coming from. We want to support him. He has also said that we should put British troops on the ground in Ukraine, but we have not seen the detail of any proposals. Would his new spending plans allow him to fund that commitment effectively?

[The Prime Minister]

I think it is the same question again. It is £13.4 billion—that is the difference between this year and ’27-28.

The Leader of the Opposition asks a serious question about the security guarantees in Ukraine. That is extremely important, because the worst of all outcomes, if there is to be a cessation of hostilities, would be for it to be a short break, rather than a sustained and lasting peace. That means there have to be security guarantees, and I have indicated that we will play our full part. There has to be US backing; otherwise, I do not think it will deter Putin. We are working on that. I am having extensive discussions on it. I am not in a position to put details before the House today, as she well knows, but I will continue down that route. I want a lasting peace in Ukraine and Europe for the safety and security of Ukrainians, Europeans and, of course, everybody in this country.

[Mrs Badenoch]

This is an endeavour that we want to support the Prime Minister in, but we need to know exactly what we are supporting. We need clarity and transparency over the money, and we also need to know where the money is going. This morning, the Defence Secretary could not say whether the Chagos deal would come out of the defence budget. Can the Prime Minister confirm to the House that none of the defence uplift includes payments for his Chagos deal?

[The Prime Minister]

The additional spend I announced yesterday is for our capability on defence and security in Europe, as I made absolutely clear yesterday. The Chagos deal is extremely important for our security and for US security, and the US is rightly looking at it. When the deal is finalised, I will put it before the House with the costings. The figures being bandied around are absolutely wide of the mark. The deal is for well over a century. The funding I announced yesterday is for our capability, and will put us in a position to rise to a generational challenge. That is what that money is all about; I thought the right hon. Lady supported it.

[Mrs Badenoch]

We need to make sure we are supporting a plan that is clear and transparent. Yesterday, the Prime Minister set an ambition for defence spending to reach 3% in the next Parliament, and we agree with him on that. However, that could be 2034—almost a decade away. That is too slow. We do not know how he will pay for it. We cannot raise taxes further, and we already pay more on debt interest than defence.

Everyone in this House will have heard the Prime Minister not answer the previous question, so I will ask again: is he paying for the Chagos deal with this defence uplift or not?

[The Prime Minister]

I have just dealt with that question, Mr Speaker. The money announced yesterday is going to our capability in order to put ourselves in a position to defend the security of both our country and Europe. The Leader of the Opposition asked about defence spending. She gave what people have described as a rambling speech yesterday, where she could not say what defence spending should be. We have been absolutely clear. We have set out a full, credible, costed plan, and I thought she supported it.

[Ms Polly Billington (East Thanet) (Lab)]

Q5. The Prime Minister will be aware that in coastal communities such as mine in East Thanet, people develop cancer earlier, get treated and diagnosed later and die younger. Can he give the House an update on the Government’s plans to implement the recommendations by the chief medical officer, Chris Witty, for tackling poor health in our seaside towns?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising this matter. She is right that cancer patients are waiting too long for diagnosis and treatment. Addressing healthcare inequity is part of our 10-year health plan, which aims to halve the gap in healthy life expectancy between the richest and the poorest regions, and we are already making progress on that.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the leader of the Liberal Democrats.

[Ed Davey (Kingston and Surbiton) (LD)]

May I start by wishing the Prime Minister well on his trip to the White House? It will not be an easy meeting, but we are all behind him for the sake of our national interest. It is already clear that, sadly, under President Trump, we will not be able to rely on the United States to help ensure our security against Russian aggression, which is why we strongly welcome the Prime Minister’s decision to increase Britain’s defence spending. But Europe must do far more to rearm in the face of Putin’s threat and the UK must lead on that. That is why we back the idea of a new European rearmament bank, so that we can finance a big increase in manufacturing capacity without the need to cut Britain’s vital soft power. Will the Prime Minister look at this idea, work across this House and across Europe, so that we can make a European rearmament bank happen?

[The Prime Minister]

I shall resist the right hon. Gentleman’s suggestion that we somehow have to choose between the US and our European partners. I do not believe that to be the case. I want to strengthen our already strong relationship with the US, because it is vital that we do so. I of course want to work with our European allies on defence capability and on what more we need to do in relation to capability, co-ordination and funding. In the longer term, there is an ongoing discussion among allies as to future funding, and I am happy to share that with the House as it evolves.

[Ed Davey]

I hope the Prime Minister is successful in keeping the US on board with our European allies. I am glad that he is talking about finance and defence. If he were to push this European rearmament bank at the summit of European leaders on Sunday, I think that he would be pushing at an open door. Certainly, Prime Minister Tusk is supporting the idea from the Polish point of view.

Let me turn now to domestic matters, with the cost of living crisis hitting so many of our constituents. Families in my constituency are really angry that Thames Water is sending them bills this April that will cost them £150 a year more. Thames Water has already let down so many people, whether it is through leaking pipes or pumping its filthy sewage into our rivers. A third of customers’ bills are already used just to pay the interest on Thames Water’s debt, and now the company will borrow £3 billion more. Is it not time to stop making people pay for bailing out the vulture funds that are drowning Thames Water in debt? Will his Government just put this firm out of its misery and put it into special administration, so that we can sort out that mess and the mess left by that lot on the Conservative Benches?

[The Prime Minister]

The right hon. Gentleman is certainly right about the mess made by that lot. We obviously have our water Bill, which contains very strong measures, and I think that he supports them.

[Dr Rosena Allin-Khan (Tooting) (Lab)]

Q6.  We have heard extraordinary rhetoric coming out of Washington in recent days and we have seen fascist salutes on our screens. We have witnessed wild statements about Palestinians being expelled from Gaza, and we have seen our allies labelled “dictators”. Britain’s interests are best served by standing with Ukraine, working closely with our European allies, upholding international law and remaining a strong part of NATO. Will the Prime Minister assure us that this will form a central part of his message when he meets world leaders this week?

[The Prime Minister]

We certainly stand with Ukraine—I think I speak for the whole House when I say that. As I set out yesterday, NATO is the bedrock of our security. It has been our most important alliance for many, many years, and it is as important today as it has ever been. We build that alliance by working with the US. We have a special and deep relationship with the US—that is not just words, but to do with security, defence, and intelligence capability, which are vitally important for both sides—but we also work with our European allies. It is that ability to work with the US and our European partners that has held the peace for so many years, and needs to hold the peace for many years to come.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Leader of the SNP.

[Stephen Flynn (Aberdeen South) (SNP)]

Prior to the election, the Labour party promised to reduce energy bills by £300, yet on its watch, energy bills are about to increase by almost £300. Is the failure to keep that promise a consequence of Government incompetence, or has the Labour party been caught lying to the public?

[The Prime Minister]

We are very proud of the fact that we are pushing forward for energy independence, which will keep our bills lower. The right hon. Gentleman knows very well what my position is; however, I note again that he is very quiet on the SNP record, and I will tell hon. Members why. Just this week, we have seen the attainment gap widen in Scotland. Numbers of pupils leaving schools with no qualifications rising; those from deprived areas going to work falling. Instead of playing the politics of grievance, SNP Members need to take responsibility for their own record.

[Charlotte Nichols (Warrington North) (Lab)]

Q8.   My constituent Mike Addison was one of a kind. A physical disability rugby league world champion with England and Warrington Wolves and an avid volunteer for the club and foundation, he was a friend to everyone who knew him. Tragically, he died at age 45, having taken his own life. One death by suicide is too many, and every suicide is preventable. However, Office for National Statistics data puts the rate in the north-west at more than double the rate in London, with a 17% increase last year. Will the Prime Minister outline what more can be done, working across Government, to help Warrington meet our target of eliminating suicide?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising that tragic case. My thoughts, and I am sure those of the House, are with the family, friends and teammates of Mike at Warrington Wolves. She is right that one death by suicide is one too many and reducing the number is a vital part of our health mission. We are recruiting an additional 8,500 mental health workers who are especially trained to support people at risk of suicide. We are committed to taking forward the suicide prevention strategy for England and I am sure the whole House supports that.

[Dr Neil Hudson (Epping Forest) (Con)]

Q3.  I welcome the Prime Minister’s statement committing us to increased defence spending and reaffirming the UK’s support for Ukraine and its democratically elected leader, President Zelensky. He is a wartime leader like Winston Churchill, who also had to delay elections because his country faced an existential threat. As the Prime Minister travels to Washington, with this House and the country willing him to succeed, will he invoke the legacy of Churchill in making the case for the UK to be the key in bridging transatlantic relations, to bring us all together for the sake of freedom and democracy across the world?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank the hon. Member for his question, and may I pick up on both elements? First, President Zelensky is a democratically elected leader and suspending elections was precisely what we did in this country when we were fighting in the second world war. Secondly, yes, the UK has successfully been a bridge between the US and Europe for many years. It is vital that we continue in that role. That is why my message to President Trump is that the relationship between our two countries needs to go from strength to strength—it is already strong—while we work at the same time with our European allies.

[Jessica Toale (Bournemouth West) (Lab)]

Q9. On Monday night, there was a brutal double stabbing in my constituency, which adds to a long line of horrific knife attacks that have included three fatalities over the past two years. I know that the Prime Minister is aware of the particular challenges we face in Bournemouth. Although crime has been going down, I know there is much more that he will want to do. Will he join me in praising the crucial work done by organisations such as Changes Are Made, which provide positive activities such as boxing to young people, and will he share what more the Government can do to tackle knife crime in communities such as mine?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising that really important issue. Yesterday, we introduced our Crime and Policing Bill, which is central to our plan for change and to halving knife crime. It involves new powers to seize and destroy knives found on private property and a new criminal offence of possessing a bladed article with the intent to cause harm, plus tougher penalties for selling dangerous weapons to under-18s and stricter rules for online sales under Ronan’s law. We will continue that work.

[Jack Rankin (Windsor) (Con)]

Q4. The floods of 2013-14 devastated Datchet, Horton and Wraysbury, and the flooding last January was not much better. But shockingly, the River Thames scheme as currently proposed continues to leave my constituents at risk. The council was asked to cough up tens of millions but, like many, it is cash-strapped. Does the Prime Minister agree that the only option to protect my constituents is to fund channel 1 of the River Thames scheme as national strategic infrastructure, which really it is?

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Member has raised this issue before, which obviously is important for his constituents. We inherited flood defences in their worst state on record, which is why we are investing £2.6 billion to protect over 50,000 properties. I understand that the options to reduce flood risk to these communities are being considered as part of the Datchet and Hythe End flood alleviation scheme. I will ensure that he has a meeting with the relevant Minister to take forward the work.

[Sally Jameson (Doncaster Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

Q11. In order for the Government’s growth agenda to be a success, it must be felt in all areas of the country, including Doncaster and South Yorkshire, where we have green growth transport companies such as Hybrid Air Vehicles and Clean Power Hydrogen, alongside the reopening of Doncaster Sheffield Airport. Will the Prime Minister put on record his support for Mayor Ros Jones, who has led on the airport reopening? Will he set out how the growth agenda will override traditional investment patterns mainly in the south of England and bring prosperity to South Yorkshire and the north as a whole?

[The Prime Minister]

Yes, I will. Doncaster has a proud industrial heritage of rail, steel and coal, and extraordinary potential for industries of the future, from hydrogen to artificial intelligence. We are focused on devolving more power and funding to metro Mayors to support regional industry. We will work with the Mayors of Doncaster and South Yorkshire to support efforts to reopen Doncaster Sheffield airport.

[Graham Leadbitter (Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey) (SNP)]

Q7. I have the privilege to represent the home of Speyside malts, one the finest Scotch whiskies. Last week, the UK Government unveiled damaging plans to grant a different definition of single malt to English producers from that of Scottish single malts. That is entirely inconsistent with the global reputation of the quality of single malts, and seeks to tear up the well-established definition of a single malt, pulling the rug yet further from under the Scottish whisky industry. Given the backlash from the industry and the damage that it could cause to Scotch whisky exports and jobs, will the Prime Minister’s word on whisky be his whisky bond? Will he back the industry to the hilt and scrap these plans?

[The Prime Minister]

We do support Scotch whisky. It is a really important part of our economy, and that is why we allocated £5 million in the Budget to it and why we are working with Brazil, which is worth £25 million for Scotch whisky. That is what we are doing to support that sector in Scotland. In another sector, at the weekend I was very pleased to announce the £200 million investment in Grangemouth and in future generations there.

[Steve Race (Exeter) (Lab)]

Q12.  Yesterday I returned from Ukraine, having spent four days with a cross-party delegation of parliamentarians. The Ukrainians we met from across society had one simple message: they were deeply thankful for our partnership, and they wanted us to know that they can overcome the Russian invasion because they must. Does the Prime Minister agree that alongside our welcome 100-year partnership, now is the time for the UK to redouble our efforts alongside our European partners to help secure Ukraine’s future as a free, democratic and sovereign European nation?

[The Prime Minister]

Yes, I do. I am proud of the way that the United Kingdom has risen to the challenge of the past three years in a united way, through the capability and funding that we have provided to Ukraine and also by throwing open homes here to those fleeing. I was privileged to welcome some of the families to Downing Street on Monday. It was a human reminder of the impact on them, their children and their families.

[Dr Kieran Mullan (Bexhill and Battle) (Con)]

Q10.   The whole House wants the Prime Minister’s meeting with President Trump to be a success, which requires credibility on our defence spending commitments. The Leader of the Opposition gave the Prime Minister the opportunity to rule out unambiguously funding any Chagos deal from the defence budget, but I am not clear that he did that. I want him to be taken seriously in Washington, so I will make it really easy for him: will he rule out funding any Chagos deal from the defence budget—yes or no?

[The Prime Minister]

As I have said, when the deal is complete, I will put it before the House with the costings. The money yesterday was allocated to aid our capability and is the single biggest sustained increase in defence spending since the cold war.

[Ms Diane Abbott (Hackney North and Stoke Newington) (Lab)]

The whole country stands behind the people of Ukraine, but there is a view that taking money from aid and development to spend on armaments and tanks makes people less safe, not more safe, because the desperation and poverty that so often leads to warfare is what aid and development money is supposed to counter.

[The Prime Minister]

As I said yesterday, overseas development is important, and I am proud of what we have done. It was not a decision that I took lightly or wanted to take, but it is important at this moment that we put defence spending and the defence and security of our country and Europe uppermost. We will, of course, make sure that we are able to fulfil our humanitarian obligations in relation to Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan and other vital work. I want to be clear: we do of course want to go back and increase that funding as soon as we are able to do so.

[Simon Hoare (North Dorset) (Con)]

Q13.  I hope the Prime Minister knows that when he travels to Washington to meet the former leader of the free world, he does so with the hopes and prayers of this House and the country; probably no more serious a meeting could be taking place. While the subject of Ukraine will clearly dominate, will he undertake to raise with President Trump the fact that Canada is a valued, respected and much-loved member of both NATO and our Commonwealth? This childish nonsense of a 51st state should be called out by the Prime Minister for what it is.

[The Prime Minister]

I thank the hon. Member for raising this issue. The UK and Canada are close allies and have been for a long time, with a partnership based on a shared history and a shared set of values and a determination to be an active force for good in the world. We work closely with Canada on issues of the Commonwealth, on NATO and, of course, Five Eyes intelligence sharing. We will work to strengthen that relationship.

[Michelle Scrogham (Barrow and Furness) (Lab)]

Barrow and Furness has always been ahead of the times in high-skilled engineering. In the light of the Prime Minister’s historic commitment to raise defence spending—the biggest increase since the end of the cold war—I invite him to visit and see the many small and medium-sized enterprises who can support this vital supply chain. Does the Prime Minister agree that investing in those businesses will not only deliver our nuclear deterrent but improve security and the economy for us all?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising that, and we will obviously consider her invitation. Defence spending already supports more than 430,000 jobs across the United Kingdom and I recognise the contribution made by the workers in Barrow and Furness.

[Wendy Morton (Aldridge-Brownhills) (Con)]

Q14.   In my constituency, the planning inspector chose to use the term grey belt to pass a battery energy storage system application before the order was laid in the House to change the national planning policy framework and without recognising the moratorium for local authorities to manage their local plans. The decision failed to recognise the green belt that protects us against urban sprawl, and it failed to recognise the proximity to a school, a church and a graveyard. Can the Prime Minister define what grey belt actually is, or is it simply a grey area to allow for inappropriate development?

[The Prime Minister]

I am not across the details of the right hon. Member’s case, as she will understand, but I am in favour of making sure that we can have the infrastructure and the houses we need to grow our economy. One of the problems we had over the past 14 years was an assertion or rhetoric that we wanted homes and infrastructure, but when the decision for all that came up, the answer was always no. The answer cannot always be no.

[John McDonnell (Hayes and Harlington) (Ind)]

I thank the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary for their efforts to secure the release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah, the British human rights campaigner who has been imprisoned in Egypt for over 10 years. The Prime Minister will know—he has met the family—that his mother is on the 150th day of her hunger strike and her health is failing rapidly. May I ask the Prime Minister to pick up the phone to President Sisi and seek the release of Alaa to save his life and that of his mother?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for raising this really important case. As he says, I met the mother and the family just a few days ago. It is an incredibly difficult situation for them. I can assure him that I will do everything I can to ensure the release in this case. That includes phone calls as necessary. I have raised it before and I will raise it again. We raise it and will continue to do so. I gave my word to the family that that is what I will do, and I will.

[Claire Hanna (Belfast South and Mid Down) (SDLP)]

Q15.   People in Northern Ireland are sick to the teeth of paramilitaries, the menace of sectarianism and keeping people stuck in the past. In the light of the announcement yesterday on transition, does the Prime Minister recognise that people will be highly sceptical of the process? There must be real learnings from the failed transitions of the past. There can be no rewards for paramilitaries for hanging on, but there must be robust criminal justice, flags off lampposts and streetcorners, and community-funded policing to allow communities that have been brutalised by paramilitaries to finally look forward to a confident and shared future.

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising this important and obviously sensitive issue. We are committed to making progress towards ending paramilitarism once and for all in Northern Ireland. That is why we have agreed to support a short independent exercise to look at a formal process. I will make sure that the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland keeps her updated.

[Rishi Sunak (Richmond and Northallerton) (Con)]

Prostate cancer is now our country’s most common cancer, yet there is no national screening programme. We made progress towards that in government, but there is more to do, which is why I am delighted to have joined the charity Prostate Cancer Research as an ambassador. I am grateful to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care for his engagement thus far. Will the Prime Minister ensure that we have a targeted national screening programme for the groups most at risk of prostate cancer, so we can not only save the NHS money and make progress towards the Government’s early diagnosis targets, but, most crucially, save thousands of lives?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for raising this issue, and I thank him for using his authority and reputation to support this vital cause, which will make a material difference. I look forward to working with him on it. We share a commitment to detecting prostate cancer earlier and treating it faster. We must do that. Our national cancer plan will improve the way we treat cancer right across the country. I will make sure he is fully informed of the steps we are taking and will work with him.

[Ruth Jones (Newport West and Islwyn) (Lab)]

Will the Prime Minister join me in wishing all Welsh citizens everywhere a very happy St David’s day on Saturday? Will he also join me in welcoming the latest news of the £600 million investment by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners to ensure that Bute Energy and Green GEN Cymru can take forward the bold ambition to achieve 100% green electricity production by 2035 in Wales, thus providing much-needed sustainable green jobs for the people of Wales?

[The Prime Minister]

I wish my hon. Friend and her constituents a very happy St David’s day, and join her in welcoming the significant new investment in her constituency that will ensure good, well-paid skilled jobs and the transition to energy security and lower bills. I know her constituency will play a vital role in that.

[Jeremy Hunt (Godalming and Ash) (Con)]

Does the Prime Minister agree that our biggest single foreign policy priority is the preservation of NATO with America at its heart? If so, following his welcome announcement yesterday, is the next step to talk to our European allies and for all of us to agree to spend 3% of GDP on defence within a specified timescale, so we can look the President in the eye and say that Europe is finally pulling its weight on defence?

[The Prime Minister]

I agree with the right hon. Gentleman entirely on the priority in terms of NATO. Putin thought he could weaken NATO. He has only made it stronger and larger. NATO’s strength comes from the US, European partners and others working together, and that is absolutely the focus of my work at the moment. It is right, as he says, that European countries, including the United Kingdom, need to do more on capability, co-ordination and defence spend. That must be seen not as a project separate to NATO, but as part of an essential project that ensures NATO is there for decades and decades to come preserving the peace, just as it has been for 75 years.

[Euan Stainbank (Falkirk) (Lab)]

The Grangemouth refinery closure has loomed over central Scotland since Petroineos’s announcement in November 2023. Two weeks ago, Scottish Labour colleagues and I met the National Wealth Fund to make the case for investment in Grangemouth. I strongly welcome the exceptional commitment that this Labour Government have shown to Grangemouth by committing £200 million from the National Wealth Fund. Can I ask the Prime Minister what steps the Government will be taking to secure permanent good jobs at Grangemouth?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend for being such a great champion for Scotland and his constituency. Grangemouth is really important to communities in Scotland and to the economy in Scotland. It is not a charity case; it has incredible potential and huge opportunity. That is why, at the weekend, I was pleased to announce £200 million from the National Wealth Fund to incentivise private investment. That follows the £100 million in the growth deal that we announced earlier. This is about securing jobs for decades to come in Grangemouth. It is a really exciting opportunity and we intend to seize it.

[Mr Speaker]

I hope that His Excellency Mr Afrim Gashi, the Speaker of the Assembly of North Macedonia, enjoyed questions.