Oral Answers to Questions

Lindsay Hoyle Excerpts

Wednesday 6th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Jo Stevens]

In my first week as Welsh Secretary, I discovered that the £80 million promised by the previous Conservative Government for the transition board was part of the £22 billion of unfunded promises they had made. That shocking dereliction of duty threatened to leave workers and businesses high and dry without the support they needed. I have therefore made it my mission to fight tooth and nail for that money on behalf of our steel communities, and I would not have left them unsupported. I am pleased to be able to confirm that under this Labour Government the transition board is fully funded, and we are getting on with the delivery.

[Mr Speaker]

I welcome the new shadow Secretary of State for Wales.

[Mims Davies (East Grinstead and Uckfield) (Con)]

Thank you, Mr Speaker. At the outset, as I come to the Dispatch Box for the first time in this role for Wales questions, may I please pay tribute to my former private secretary in the Wales Office, Debbie John, who was taken at a tender age due to pancreatic cancer? She and her family are in my thoughts today as I take up this role. She is much missed and very fondly remembered.

The right hon. Lady clearly needs to acknowledge to the House that the deal for Tata steel recently re-announced by her UK Government is identical to the one negotiated by my right hon. Friend the Member for North West Essex (Mrs Badenoch), who is now Leader of the Opposition.

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[Jo Stevens]

If an apology is due, it is to the people of Port Talbot for promising £80 million for a transition board that operated for nine months under the previous Secretary of State for Wales, and delivered not a single penny to the people of Port Talbot, and now we know why: the £80 million did not exist.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

[David Chadwick (Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe) (LD)]

The closure of the last blast furnace at Port Talbot has resulted in the loss of several thousand highly skilled jobs across south Wales, prompting another economic contraction across our region. The global centre for rail excellence at Onllwyn is one project that could reverse the trend of deindustrialisation and bring back good, well-paid jobs to south Wales. Will the Secretary of State confirm that the UK Government intend to make further investments in that project, and give an update on what conversations she has had to ensure that the project gets going?

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[Jo Stevens]

I was very pleased that the Budget was able to protect the current farming budget for the next financial year, despite the difficult decisions that we had to make because the Conservative party had trashed our economy. [Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. Mr Griffith, you are continually being a nuisance on the Front Bench. I want you either to restrict it or to go and get yourself that cup of tea.

[Jo Stevens]

Thank you, Mr Speaker. Obviously, farming is devolved in Wales, and the decision on how to spend that budget will be up to the Welsh Government.

[Jo Stevens]

My hon. Friend is a wonderful advocate for her constituency and for the Burns commission’s recommendations for her constituency, and I would be very happy to meet her to discuss them.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Secretary of State.

[Mims Davies (East Grinstead and Uckfield) (Con)]

Will the Secretary of State express her regret about the impact of Labour’s Budget on Wales? It will undoubtedly make the people of Wales poorer. Pensioners have been left wondering whether they should turn on their heating this winter, and family farms will be destroyed. The Budget is affecting business confidence and employment across the nation.

[Mims Davies]

rose—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. You cannot just keep asking questions, shadow Secretary of State. You are allowed only two, and that was your second.

[Andrew Ranger (Wrexham) (Lab)]

5. What recent discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on increasing economic growth in Wales.

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The Prime Minister was asked—

[Mr Speaker]

I welcome the Leader of the Opposition and wish her well.

[Dame Caroline Dinenage (Gosport) (Con)]

Q1. If he will list his official engagements for Wednesday 6 November.

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[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend for his question. He is a champion for families in his constituency. My answer is simple: yes. I do not agree with the Leader of the Opposition when she says that maternity pay is excessive and has gone too far.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Leader of the Opposition.

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

I thank the Prime Minister for his almost warm welcome. I echo the comments he has made. It is an immense privilege and the honour of my life to lead the Conservative party. I look forward to joining him at the Cenotaph this Remembrance Sunday.

As Leader of His Majesty’s Opposition, I will be taking a different approach to the last Opposition, by being a constructive Opposition, so I would like to start by congratulating President-elect Trump on his impressive victory this morning. The Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary met him in September. Did the Foreign Secretary take that opportunity to apologise for making derogatory and scatological references, including

“Trump is not only a woman-hating, neo-Nazi-sympathising sociopath. He is also a profound threat to the international order”?

If he did not apologise, will the Prime Minister do so now, on his behalf?

[Mrs Badenoch]

The Prime Minister did not distance himself from the remarks made by the Foreign Secretary, and I am very sure that President Trump will soon be calling to thank him for sending all of those north London Labour activists to campaign for his opponent. Given that most of his Cabinet signed a motion to ban President Trump from addressing Parliament, will the Prime Minister show that he and his Government can be more than student politicians by asking the Speaker to extend—[Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. Mr Perkins, I do not need any more. Your voice carries; it is like mine—too loud.

[Mrs Badenoch]

Will the Prime Minister show that he and his Government can be more than student politicians by asking you, Mr Speaker, to extend an invitation to President Trump to address Parliament on his next visit?

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[Mrs Badenoch]

The Prime Minister will not make that commitment; that is very clear. All that he is doing —[Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I am going to hear the questions. If there are people who do not want to hear them, they can leave now.

[Mrs Badenoch]

The Prime Minister will not make that commitment, yet the world is getting more dangerous. His Chancellor’s Budget did not even mention defence. The Chancellor’s Budget last week was a copy and paste of Bidenomics. It turns out that a high-spending, high-borrowing and high-inflation approach is less popular than she may have thought. May I suggest that he now urges her to change course, or is he determined to be a one-term leader?

[Mrs Badenoch]

I was the one who, as Business Secretary, raised the minimum wage last year; I have a strong record on this. We need to make sure that we balance the books. The Prime Minister’s scripted lines show that he has not even listened to the Budget himself, so I will try a different question. Perhaps he can give something that is unscripted to the people who are watching.

Farmers across the United Kingdom—[Laughter.] Mr Speaker—[Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I do not need any help. If anybody wants to leave, I will help them do that. I am going to hear the question, and I certainly want to hear the answer as well, so, please, let us have some courtesy.

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[Hon. Members]

More!

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I want to hear Matthew Patrick.

[Matthew Patrick (Wirral West) (Lab)]

Q3. Emily left her ex, but the abuse did not stop. He stayed in their home, cancelled the mortgage contributions and destroyed her credit score. Now she cannot even take out a mobile phone contract. Surviving Economic Abuse and UK Finance have made progress in tackling this issue, but more has to be done. Will the Prime Minister and his Government work with me to introduce new provisions, so that we can restore the credit files for survivors of economic abuse like Emily?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising this really important issue. Economic abuse has a devastating impact on victims, leaving them vulnerable and isolated, and we are committed to ending this national emergency and keeping women safe from domestic abuse, harassment and stalking. That includes £200,000 this year for the charity Surviving Economic Abuse, and His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs has launched an online tool to help charities and businesses to identify and respond to economic abuse. I will make sure that my hon. Friend has a meeting with the relevant Minister.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the leader of the Liberal Democrats.

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

I join the Prime Minister in his comments about Remembrance Sunday. We must always remember the brave British men and women who gave their lives for our country. I also join him in welcoming the Conservative leader to her place, and congratulate her on becoming the first black leader of a UK-wide party—a major and historic achievement.

President-elect Trump praised Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. He called it “genius”. He also said that he would encourage Russia

“to do whatever the hell they want”

to NATO allies, so what action is the Prime Minister taking to encourage a Trump presidency to change its mind? Otherwise, it is a huge threat to global security, and national security in the UK. Does the Prime Minister agree that, if the US will not oppose President Putin and support our brave Ukrainian allies, the UK must lead in Europe, so that together we do?

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[The Prime Minister]

The River Wye is one of our most important and iconic rivers, and we are working closely with the Welsh Government on that pressing issue. The destruction of our waterways should never have been allowed. That is why we have launched a water commission to attract investment and speed up infrastructure delivery, and why we have introduced legislation to enable tougher penalties and severe fines to crack down on polluters. I will ensure that my hon. Friend gets a meeting with the relevant Minister.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Father of the House.

[Sir Edward Leigh (Gainsborough) (Con)]

Q8. As a good lawyer, the Prime Minister will want to listen to the evidence, so if evidence mounts from experts and organisations such as the National Farmers Union that smaller family farms of average size—250 acres—will be severely impacted by the tax changes, will he, in a spirit of compromise, listen to that evidence, keep an open mind and perhaps be prepared to raise the threshold in order to preserve our family farms?

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[Mr Speaker]

I call Llinos Medi.

[Llinos Medi (Ynys Môn) (PC)]

Q12. Diolch, Llefarydd. Representatives of Glan Rhos nursing home in my constituency tell me that the Budget changes mean a 10% increase in their in-year costs—a staggering £127,500 extra. Will the Prime Minister reconsider the rise in employer national insurance?

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[The Prime Minister]

Yes. We are committed to pushing the Government of India on this important case. The Foreign Secretary has raised it and will continue to do so, and we will ensure that we speak to my hon. Friend as we do so.

[Mr Speaker]

That completes Prime Minister’s questions.

[The Leader of the House of Commons (Lucy Powell)]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. Does the Leader of the Opposition want to correct the record, as she said in Prime Minister’s questions that the Chancellor did not mention defence spending in her Budget, yet the Chancellor mentioned it many, many times, including its allocation of £2.9 billion, which far exceeds our commitment?

[Mr Speaker]

It is not for me to correct the record—and that is not a point of order—but the right hon. Lady has done it.