Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Keir Starmer and Tessa Munt

Wednesday 11th September 2024 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising this important matter. One of the first Bills we introduced was to reform our railways after 14 years of chaos. Great British Railways will unite track and train under a single leadership. That means closer collaboration across the industry and faster, more effective decisions on critical infrastructure, and I know how vital that will be in relation to both Luton and Leagrave stations in her constituency. We are carefully considering the best approach, but I assure her we are committed to ensuring that our railways will be open to everyone.

[Tessa Munt (Wells and Mendip Hills) (LD)]

Q2. Today is Back British Farming Day. The previous Government let our farmers down and, in their incompetence, underspent the farming budget by £100 million. Will the Prime Minister deny rumours that his Government plan to take advantage of the Conservatives’ failure by removing that £100 million permanently? Farmers across the country want to know that the Prime Minister will increase the agriculture budget, as the Lib Dem manifesto proposed, speed up the roll-out of the new environmental land management schemes, and support profitable, sustainable and nature-friendly farming.

[The Prime Minister]

This is a really important issue; our rural communities were neglected by the previous Government, which is why confidence is at an all-time low. We will protect farmers from being undercut in trade deals, make the supply chain work more fairly, and prevent shock rises in bills by switching to GB Energy. We will not pre-empt the Budget in relation to this matter, but we will put the support in place.