Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Matt Western and Boris Johnson

Wednesday 6th July 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is a great champion for Meon Valley, and I will ensure that she has a meeting with the Minister for levelling up at the earliest opportunity.

[Matt Western (Warwick and Leamington) (Lab)]

3. The public clearly think that this Government have lost the plot over the cost of living crisis. The Prime Minister may be aware that the average salaries of a nurse and a primary school teacher are £36,000 and £38,000 respectively. They, and indeed working people everywhere, are struggling to pay their rents and their mortgages. Given that they can barely afford a £150,000 mortgage on a new home, can the Prime Minister tell the House how he could afford a £150,000 treehouse?

[The Prime Minister]

What I can tell the hon. Gentleman is this. Rather than talking about fantasy infrastructure, I can tell him about real infrastructure. We are helping to unite and level up the people of this country with £650 billion of investment. We are helping people—helping to lift the aspirations and opportunities of people up and down the country. Thanks to the strength of our economy, we are helping exactly the people whom the hon. Gentleman describes, with £1,200 going into their bank accounts to help them with the cost of living pressures.

Easter Recess: Government Update

Debate between Matt Western and Boris Johnson

Tuesday 19th April 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I repeat what I said earlier: there could not be a clearer expression of the robustness of our democracy than that all of us must be held to account. I have been held to account, and I apologise very sincerely.

[Matt Western (Warwick and Leamington) (Lab)]

The public will be appalled by the Prime Minister’s statement, because not only did he make a statement to the nation virtually every night during the pandemic, but the Government he leads spent hundreds of millions of taxpayers’ pounds on advertising campaigns demanding that the public followed the rules. One featured a woman in intensive care on a ventilator. The Prime Minister must have seen it; it said:

“Look her in the eyes and tell her you never bend the rules.”

Three months ago I reminded him of this, and asked him to explain himself; he told me to wait until after the police had investigated. They now have; it is clear that he bent the rules. He is taking the public for fools, isn’t he?

[The Prime Minister]

I apologise again. I thank the public very much for what they did: by their collective action, they have helped us to keep covid at bay.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Matt Western and Boris Johnson

Wednesday 30th March 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I am very happy to meet my hon. Friend to talk about this issue, which he has campaigned on many times, but I can tell him that the British Council, for which I have huge regard, has received a massive grant and loans to allow it to continue its activities.

[Matt Western (Warwick and Leamington) (Lab)]

Q11. You will forgive me, Mr Speaker, if I start by saying that, given the Prime Minister’s preferences for fantasy castles and Peppa Pig, he is welcome to come and visit Zog Playland at Warwick castle.In Warwick and Leamington, as across the country, the cost of living crunch is really serious. As we have heard, energy bills are set to double by the end of this year and food prices to rise by 10% to 15% by year end, and fuel is already 22% up year on year. It must be hard for the Prime Minister to stay in touch with financial reality, given that donors and friends pay for flights and holidays and many of his bills. We also have a “200 Million Dollar Man” Chancellor—[Interruption]—who is so out of touch that he is contactless. The public believe—

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Matt Western and Boris Johnson

Wednesday 23rd March 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Yes. Like everybody in this House, I have read some surprising things about what has been going on at the DVLA. We need to make sure that it is given every possible encouragement and support to expedite the supply of driving licences to the people of this country.

[Matt Western (Warwick and Leamington) (Lab)]

Q10. It is nice to see the Prime Minister back in his place; I missed him last week. A fantasy castle, perhaps Snow White, too, and certainly girls, girls, girls were promised at a party—less burlesque, more Berlusconi. According to a former Minister, it seems that the Prime Minister has been entertained at these bunga parties, hosted by his close friend, a Russian oligarch. Given that his many weaknesses could leave him open to blackmail, why does the Prime Minister think that MI6 may not entirely trust him?

[The Prime Minister]

Last week, I was not here to benefit from one of the hon. Gentleman’s elaborately confected questions. I admire his style, but I am afraid that I simply fail to detect any crouton of substance in the minestrone of nonsense that he has just spoken.

Sue Gray Report

Debate between Matt Western and Boris Johnson

Monday 31st January 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Gentleman just needs to look at the report again and to wait for the conclusion of the inquiry.

[Matt Western (Warwick and Leamington) (Lab)]

“Look her in the eyes and tell her you never bend the rules.” A lot of us remember that campaign. It cost of tens of millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money. On 13 November 2020, the Prime Minister bent the rules, didn’t he?

[The Prime Minister]

I refer the hon. Gentleman to what I said earlier in this House. Frankly, he needs to wait until the conclusion of the police inquiry.

Covid-19 Update

Debate between Matt Western and Boris Johnson

Wednesday 5th January 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

There are no restrictions on them at the moment, and that is certainly the way we wish to keep it.

[Matt Western (Warwick and Leamington) (Lab)]

In Warwickshire last year, there were 436 excess deaths caused by covid in care homes. Currently, 77% of residents and staff in care homes are boosted; the other 23% are not. What are the Government doing to ensure that they get the booster vaccination, so that we do not repeat the mistakes of last year?

[The Prime Minister]

Often the problem in care homes is that someone may have had covid recently and therefore is not eligible for the booster, so people have to come round, but we are doing that as fast as we possibly can.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Matt Western and Boris Johnson

Wednesday 7th July 2021 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My right hon. Friend is completely right. All those bodies are involved, but the lead agency is the Environment Agency, and I know that it is in touch with her. I must say that I have a very high regard for the agency and for its work.

[Matt Western (Warwick and Leamington) (Lab)]

  I am not sure that the Prime Minister actually welcomed my hon. Friend the new Member for Batley and Spen (Kim Leadbeater), but perhaps he will want to correct the record after this. They say that where there’s a will there’s a way, and the public will clearly welcome the Government’s move to introduce emergency legislation tomorrow for pubs and bars to be able to stay open later on Sundays. However, the public will wonder why the hon. Member for Delyn (Rob Roberts) will be allowed to return to this House tomorrow and not be subject to a recall, despite there being a serious case of sexual harassment. The public do not understand why there should be one rule for Conservative MPs and another for the rest of us. Will the Prime Minister therefore allow time tomorrow for a motion to close this loophole and make the hon. Member for Delyn the subject of a recall?

[The Prime Minister]

First of all, the gentleman in question’s sanction has come to an end. Secondly, the hon. Member for Warwick and Leamington (Matt Western) is in error: the hon. Member for Delyn (Rob Roberts) is not a Conservative MP.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Matt Western and Boris Johnson

Wednesday 14th April 2021 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Engineers and scientists of all kinds have been crucial in the fight against covid, and this is the moment to become an engineer or work towards being an engineer. We are putting a huge £640 billion investment into the infrastructure of this country over the next few years. We will need skilled young people to go into engineering, and that is why we put in the T-levels. I congratulate my hon. Friend on his initiative, and I will do my best to support him.

[Matt Western (Warwick and Leamington) (Lab)]

Given his ancestry, the Prime Minister will be more than familiar with the phrase “a fish rots from the head down”—it is a Turkish proverb. Put simply, since he became the Prime Minister the sound of Big Ben’s bongs has been replaced by the cash till sound of big donor bungs. There has been a threefold increase in bungs from property developers. Last summer, we had the case of Richard Desmond and the Communities Secretary. More recently, we have had Ministers dishing the dosh between constituencies, and the Health Secretary handing—or involved in—a contract with his pub landlord for £30 million-worth of PPE. Now, we have a Chancellor and Health Secretary who have sought to grease the wheels of involvement with Greensill and David Cameron. What does this say about the Prime Minister’s leadership of his Government?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Matt Western and Boris Johnson

Wednesday 9th December 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend. No. 1, yes of course we will do everything we can with NHS Test and Trace, plus our armed forces, to roll out community testing in Stafford; and No. 2, of course we want to support Stafford and the people of Stafford with a massive programme of business support, including nearly £1.4 million in bounce back loans, grants, rate relief and VAT deferrals.

[Matt Western (Warwick and Leamington) (Lab)]

  The Prime Minister will fully appreciate that the use of gross domestic product as a measure is abstract in terms of dealing with and understanding prosperity, but people talk about a 15% drop in GDP as a result of the pandemic. Looking at a simple analysis of car sales as an indicator of economic performance, relative to Germany, we have lost 184,000 car sales in the UK, or versus France, 100,000. Behind those numbers, which are a big hit to UK plc, are jobs and businesses. How does the Prime Minister explain this relative economic performance?

[The Prime Minister]

The Government of this country have done everything we can to support business and support lives and livelihoods throughout this pandemic, with now, I think, more than £260 billion of support, and that remains the case. The hon. Gentleman mentions France and Germany. He should know that unemployment, in spite of all the difficulties this country has faced, remains lower in this country than in France, Italy, Spain and the United States. Yes, it is tough, but we are going to get through it and we are going to get through it together.

Covid-19 Update

Debate between Matt Western and Boris Johnson

Monday 2nd November 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

That is exactly why we wanted to pursue the local approach for so long, and that is why I think it was always right to try to avoid a national lockdown for as long as we could. The difficulty is that the overall rate across the whole country is now speeding up and the virus is doubling across the entire country. I would be happy to publish all the data, as my hon. Friend knows.

[Matt Western (Warwick and Leamington) (Lab)]

Yesterday, Sir Jeremy Farrar made it quite clear that the scientific evidence and advice given to the Government had been crystal clear that they must go earlier and harder. Their delay, of course, is now impacting businesses, education and health across the country; according to the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, the cost of the two-week delay is £20 billion. My question is very simple: it is an expensive mistake, so who is going to pick up the tab?

[The Prime Minister]

There is a wealth of scientific advice, and we have heard from other parts of the House this afternoon that there are scientists who do not believe that these measures are necessary. We have to look at the balance of the advice. We had to take a very difficult decision based on the welfare of the country, the health of the country, saving lives but also protecting the economy. That is why we came to the judgment that we did.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Matt Western and Boris Johnson

Wednesday 7th October 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Yes, I can indeed confirm to my hon. Friend that, in addition to the particular support that he mentions, we are directing another £160 billion of support for business and local authorities and business improvement districts, and I am more than happy to congratulate The Only Way is Melts, by Tracy in Radcliffe.

[Matt Western (Warwick and Leamington) (Lab)]

Across the UK, our universities are struggling to contain the coronavirus, with some 5,000 cases reported in recent weeks. Our communities deserve better and more local and immediate access to testing facilities, but in Leamington I am told that Deloitte will not deliver on its testing facility until the end of this month, some four weeks after 7,000 students will have arrived back in the town of Leamington. My question is simple: were the Government not expecting students to return to university?

[The Prime Minister]

It is very important that students should return to university in the way that they have, and I want to thank the overwhelming majority of students for the way that they have complied with the guidance, complied with the regulations and are doing what they can to suppress it. Clearly, there are particular problems in some parts of the country, which we have discussed at length already, and we will be pursuing the measures that we have outlined to bring them down in those areas, and I hope that the hon. Member will support them.

Transport Infrastructure

Debate between Matt Western and Boris Johnson

Tuesday 11th February 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I pay tribute to the workers of British Steel for what they do. Most of our train tracks come from British Steel, whether in Scunthorpe or elsewhere, and we will do our utmost, notwithstanding the difficulties that the plant faces, to ensure that that remains the case in future.

[Matt Western (Warwick and Leamington) (Lab)]

When we first talked about HS2 10 years ago, we were not talking about a climate emergency. Given that the landscape has changed in that respect, the Government should invest significantly more than proposed in sub-regional transport systems such as buses and cycle routes, as the French and continentals are doing.

[The Prime Minister]

I think I can say without fear of contradiction that I have built more cycle lanes than anyone else in the House—that was not always popular—but that is nothing compared with what we are about to do. The investment that we are about to make in buses is absolutely colossal, and I am surprised that the hon. Gentleman finds grounds for criticism.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Matt Western and Boris Johnson

Wednesday 5th February 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Yes, indeed. That is why we have given another £165 million to extend the troubled families programme this year.

[Matt Western (Warwick and Leamington) (Lab)]

Q3. In the past 10 years, violent crime has risen 152% across the towns of Warwickshire. In the past two weeks in my constituency, two people have been killed in two separate events and others remain seriously ill or injured. The Government have promised to reinstate 20,000 police officers, but is not the simple truth that it is now our residents, through hikes in council tax of 12% last year and 6% this year, who are picking up the whole bill for the Old Bill, and that the Conservative party is no longer the party of law and order but the party of fear and disorder?

[The Prime Minister]

To be fair to the hon. Gentleman, he is making an important point about violent crime. I share his anger. That is why we are putting 20,000 more police on the streets. That is, above all, why we are now tackling the county lines drugs gangs that are behind so much of the rise in violent crime. We will get that crime down.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Matt Western and Boris Johnson

Wednesday 8th January 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Yes I can; and not only are we investing record sums in primary and secondary education, but we are also setting up a national skills fund to help those who do not necessarily think that they are candidates for university but have a huge amount to offer the economy and need all the help they can get—they have massive, massive potential.

[Matt Western (Warwick and Leamington) (Lab)]

Q12. May I wish a happy new year to you, Mr Speaker, and everyone else in the Chamber? Can the Prime Minister detail what steps he has taken, working in concert with Germany and France, in helping to restore the Iran nuclear deal since he was appointed Prime Minister in July?

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Gentleman raises a very important point. As he knows, it is our view that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action remains the best way of preventing nuclear proliferation in Iran—it is the best way of encouraging the Iranians not to develop a nuclear weapon—and we think that after this crisis has abated, which of course we sincerely hope it will, that way forward will remain. It is a shell that has currently been voided, but it remains a shell into which we can put substance again.