Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Keir Starmer and Lee Anderson

Wednesday 21st May 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

May I begin by congratulating Tommy and everyone selected to represent the British and Irish Lions? It is an incredible achievement and we will be cheering them on.

It is important that we protect those with severe disabilities or lifelong health conditions who cannot work, paying them a premium and stopping those reassessments, which is part of the reform that we are bringing about. Ultimately, we also need to get back to face-to-face assessments by trained assessors and health professionals, which fell to only one in 10 assessments under the previous Government.

[Lee Anderson (Ashfield) (Reform)]

Q9. This Prime Minister keeps telling his gullible Back Benchers that he has deported 24,000 people from this country since he came into power, but he will not say who these people are. It is my guess that they are people who came on work visas or students and that they were simply overstayers, but I am willing to be proved wrong if he can answer one simple question: how many of these people that he has deported are failed asylum seekers that have come on small boats or on the back of lorries? Answer the question!

[The Prime Minister]

I am very proud that we have removed over 24,000 people: the highest record for nearly 10 years. We are taking other measures to get back control of our borders, including the Borders Bill, which gives our law enforcement enhanced powers, including terrorism-like powers. What did the hon. Member’s party do? What did he do? He voted against them, and I will tell you why: they do not want to fix this problem, because it benefits them not to fix it. Party before country.

It is very good that the hon. Member is standing in for the hon. Member for Clacton (Nigel Farage) today. There was no sign of him yesterday at the EU summit. He was the first through the e-gates to somewhere in the south of France: Nice work if you can get it!

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Keir Starmer and Lee Anderson

Wednesday 19th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is right that remediation has been far too slow, and everybody deserves a safe and secure home. We have signed a contract with 54 major developers who will pay for or fix over 1,700 buildings, and we are accelerating that progress. We will take tough action against those who evade their responsibilities. We will recover taxpayers’ funds and make sure that those responsible pay up and fix unsafe buildings quickly.

[Lee Anderson (Ashfield) (Reform)]

I come to this Chamber every week to ask sensible questions—[Interruption]—and I expect sensible answers, but all I get is glazed expressions and waffle from those on the Government Benches. I want to ask the Prime Minister a simple question on behalf of all the net zero sceptics. If we became net zero tomorrow, by how much would that reduce the Earth’s temperature? It is a simple question.

[The Prime Minister]

Net zero is of course not easy, but it is a huge opportunity to boost our growth, our jobs and our economy. The hon. Member knows my views on that. He complains, but Reform would have better ideas if it stopped fawning over Putin. I understand that the hon. Member for Clacton (Nigel Farage) wants to be Prime Minister, but he cannot even lead a party that fits in the back of a taxi.