Oral Answers to Questions

Matt Vickers Excerpts

Wednesday 24th July 2024 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I welcome my hon. Friend to his place, and thank him for raising this awful case. The loss of a teenage boy in west London is shocking, and our thoughts—I am sure I speak for the whole House—are with his family and friends. I urge the public to support the Metropolitan police with any information that could help in their investigation, which is ongoing. Making streets safer is one of the five central missions of this Government, and this is a shocking reminder of just how important that mission is. We have an ambition to drive down this sort of violence in our communities. We do not want interventions like this, as we have had over the last few years. It is shocking to hear of this particular incident.

[Matt Vickers (Stockton West) (Con)]

Q15. The last Government invested massively in Teesside, most recently committing £1 billion to improving transport in our area. That money will protect the future of our iconic transporter bridge, upgrade Thornaby train station, create a new transport hub at Teesside Park, and much, much more. Can the Prime Minister confirm whether we are still getting our £1 billion, or is Labour turning its back on Teesside?

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Gentleman talks about Labour turning its back; I think he is the sole remaining Tory MP in the north-east or Teesside. I have already taken an early opportunity to make our commitment clear to the plans that we need for economic growth across the country. We will be working with all the mayors who are in place, including those who wear a different rosette. That is the way we will take this forward.

Oral Answers to Questions

Matt Vickers Excerpts

Wednesday 2nd December 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

If the hon. Gentleman wants to keep this country in the EU, which I think was the gist of what he was saying, he will be sorely disappointed and so will the Labour party.

[Matt Vickers (Stockton South) (Con)]

It is said that Britain is a nation of shopkeepers, and in Stockton we are proud to have some of the best retailers in the country. They have had a tough year. They are grateful for the support that they have received from the Government, but remain concerned about the future of business rates. Will my right hon. Friend confirm that the Government remain committed to a fundamental review of business rates, and will he join me in encouraging people to get down the local high street and shop local this Christmas?

[The Prime Minister]

Yes, indeed. My hon. Friend reminds me that it is Small Business Saturday this Saturday. Everybody should be shopping local. I can also tell him that the Treasury is considering the responses to the call for evidence on business rates ahead of the review’s conclusion in the spring.

Northern Ireland Protocol: UK Legal Obligations

Matt Vickers Excerpts

Tuesday 8th September 2020 Commons Chamber

[Brandon Lewis]

As I have said several times today, obviously our focus is on ensuring that none of these clauses is required because we are able to secure a free trade agreement through the negotiations, which are ongoing this very day in London, as well as through the work of the Joint Committee. These clauses will simply put in place reasonable and limited structures to ensure that, should those negotiations not come to a satisfactory conclusion, in January we are able to show that we are delivering unfettered access for the people of Northern Ireland and ensuring that Northern Ireland remains an integral part of the UK customs territory and single market.

[Matt Vickers (Stockton South) (Con)]

The Prime Minister was clear yesterday that an agreement with our European friends must be made by 15 October if it is to be enforced by the end of the year. Can my right hon. Friend confirm that under no circumstances will we agree to any demands that would force us to give up our rights as an independent state?

[Brandon Lewis]

Absolutely. That was very clear in the votes in 2016 and the past two general elections, arguably in 2017, as well as the overwhelming mandate in 2019, bearing in mind that people, even Labour voters, were at the time voting for a party that said it would deliver on leaving the EU. I appreciate that Labour has changed its position somewhat over the past year or so. There has been a regular, clear mandate from the people of the United Kingdom that we should get on and deliver on what they asked for: to leave the European Union, to bring back sovereignty to the UK Parliament, and, where we can—as we will be doing through the UK internal market Bill—to devolve more powers to the devolved authorities as part of the United Kingdom.