Oral Answers to Questions

Lucy Powell Excerpts

Wednesday 2nd October 2019 Commons Chamber

[Dominic Raab]

It sounds like a tantalising proposal. I am sure that the Health Secretary will look at it very carefully indeed. We have made it clear that we back the NHS with the biggest cash boost in history, an extra £34 billion a year by 2023-24. We can do that only with a strong economy, which is precisely what the Labour party will put at risk.

[Lucy Powell (Manchester Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

Q5. On Monday, my constituent Richard should have been paid. It was the first time in his life that he was not. Richard, like many others whom I met with his union, Unite, was a dedicated employee of Thomas Cook. Given that the warning signs were there for months, if not years, will the Government use the extra parliamentary time that we now have to bring forward emergency legislation to stop a further airline collapse? Will the Government pledge now to expedite Richard’s redundancy pay and to recoup the millions taken by the directors in the past few months?

[Dominic Raab]

I feel for anyone in the Thomas Cook scenario—people stranded abroad or people who lost their jobs. I have set out why the Government do not systematically bail out or step in to prop up firms that are unsustainable. I am afraid that if the hon. Lady looks at the figures, she will see that that was not a sustainable route to follow. Of course, if she wants to write to me, we will look at any details she raises, but the bottom line is that the way we create a healthy economy and jobs is by making sure that we have the tax measures in place—by not raising taxes on businesses and by supporting the workers of this country. That is what we are doing.