UK-EU Summit

Debate between Keir Starmer and Harriet Cross

Tuesday 20th May 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I completely agree—the Conservatives and Reform should go around the country and explain to our constituents why they should pay higher prices. I think they would get a pretty universal response.

[Harriet Cross (Gordon and Buchan) (Con)]

Our fishermen had been promised, and the EU had agreed, that annual access agreements would be reverted to from 2026, but, seemingly at the 11th hour, the Prime Minister abandoned our fishing communities, our fishing fleets and control of our seas by handing not a three, four or even five-year access agreement, but a 12-year multi-annual agreement to the EU. He sold out our fishermen to meet his self-imposed deadline for announcing the agreement and has shown that he will not stand strong for UK fishermen. Can he confirm that Parliament will have the final say on the fisheries deal, and that it will not be ratified elsewhere by unelected officials in Whitehall or Brussels?

[The Prime Minister]

The simple fact of the matter is that, under the agreement the Conservatives struck, it was much more difficult for fishermen to sell into the European market. We are making it much easier—it is 72% of their stock. Shellfish can be sold back into that market again, and we have set up a fund for our fishing communities. The alternative, which was to come off the current agreement and then negotiate every year with no certainty at all, would not be good for anyone.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Keir Starmer and Harriet Cross

Wednesday 12th February 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I am very pleased that my hon. Friend has raised this issue, and that we will be able to give employers more flexibility on maths and English requirements. This is really important, as many young people did not get the maths qualification they wanted but are very well suited for the future and want to play their part. They can now get an apprenticeship under our changes. These 10,000 extra apprenticeships are delivering for them, giving them a chance to contribute to our economy.

[Harriet Cross (Gordon and Buchan) (Con)]

Q12.   Yesterday, the farming Minister, the hon. Member for Cambridge (Daniel Zeichner), told a conference of farmers that farming is “not high on the pecking order”for this Government. Given the heartless family farm tax, will the Prime Minister say if his Minister is correct—yes or no?

[The Prime Minister]

Farming is top of the agenda, as far as I am concerned. That is why we put £5 billion to support farmers in the Budget—[Interruption.] The Conservatives failed to spend £300 million on farming on their watch. We have set out our road map, which has been welcomed by the National Farmers Union, as the hon. Lady very well knows. It was described as “long overdue”; I wonder who did not do it before?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Keir Starmer and Harriet Cross

Wednesday 27th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I agree that desecration is awful and should be condemned across the House. We are, as I said before, committed to tackling all forms of hatred and division, including Islamophobia in all its forms.

[Harriet Cross (Gordon and Buchan) (Con)]

Q2. Sarah and her family have farmed beef cattle in my constituency for over 70 years and they had always planned for her sister to continue the family legacy. Earlier this year, Sarah’s mother died suddenly and unexpectedly. She was just 58. Sarah said to me that, despite already having a tragic year, it was made even worse after the Budget. She said:“Changes to agricultural property relief have hit us hard while we’re already struggling to cope with bereavement and losing Mum.”What would the Prime Minister say to Sarah and her family, in what has been the most difficult year of their lives, in the light of the family farm tax?

[The Prime Minister]

I am grateful to the hon. Lady for raising that case and the awful bereavement. If she would kindly send me the details, I will certainly have a look at the case. In relation to farming more broadly, as she knows, £5 billion was set aside in the Budget over the next two years as an investment in farming. That is the biggest amount that has ever been set aside—[Interruption.] I hear the chuntering, but the Conservatives actually failed to spend the last farming budget by £300 million. On the question of inheritance of family farms, it is important to bear in mind that in a typical case, which is parents passing to a child, the threshold is £3 million, and that is why, as she knows, the vast majority of farms will be totally unaffected.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Keir Starmer and Harriet Cross

Wednesday 4th September 2024 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Yes, I do. First, it is great that Oasis are back together—from what I have determined, about half the country was probably queuing for tickets over the weekend—but it is depressing to hear of price hikes. I am committed to putting fans at the heart of music and ending extortionate resales, and we are starting a consultation to work out how best we can do that.

[Harriet Cross (Gordon and Buchan) (Con)]

Q5. Offshore Energies UK reports that the Government’s proposed windfall tax increases will cost our economy £13 billion, risk 35,000 jobs and see investment in the North sea slashed from £14.1 billion to just £2.3 billion by 2029. It also suggests that there will be a £12 billion cost in tax revenues. How does this proposal chime with the Prime Minister’s goal of economic growth, and will he reverse this tax increase, which industry leaders are calling economic suicide for the oil and gas sector?

[The Prime Minister]

We are committed to the necessary transition to renewable energy, which will lead to cheaper energy, energy independence and the jobs of the future. But let me be clear: oil and gas will play their part for many years to come, and that is why I have been clear about the support that we have for them. I am sure the hon. Member and others will want to celebrate the fact that, just this week, contracts for difference secured a record 131 new clean energy projects—enough to power 11 million homes—and they are the jobs of the future.