Sue Gray Report

Debate between Natalie Elphicke and Boris Johnson

Wednesday 25th May 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The answer to that question is contained in the continued support of the people of the United Kingdom for our Union. Despite everything the SNP is doing to try to overturn the democratic verdict of 2014, I do not believe it will succeed.

[Mrs Natalie Elphicke (Dover) (Con)]

I thank my right hon. Friend for his further apology and explanation today, which is important to many of my constituents. Does he note that paragraph 4 on page 36 of the Sue Gray report says

“there have been changes to the organisation and management of Downing Street and the Cabinet Office with the aim of creating clearer lines of leadership and accountability”?

Does he agree with Sue Gray that these changes need to bed in, that the focus of our Government must be laser-like in tackling the cost of living crisis that has come about as a result of the covid pandemic and Ukraine, and that, over and above everything else, this is the concern of my constituents?

Easter Recess: Government Update

Debate between Natalie Elphicke and Boris Johnson

Tuesday 19th April 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I think what they probably want to have in Wales is better government. I would think they are campaigning for the investment in the NHS that I am afraid both Welsh Labour and Plaid Cymru have failed to deliver.

[Mrs Natalie Elphicke (Dover) (Con)]

I thank the Prime Minister for his fulsome apology today. Given that, does he agree that the priority for the House and the Government must be the very real challenges facing our country, particularly the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the cost of living pressures caused by covid and worsened by Russia’s war on Ukraine? Coming from Poland, having helped with Ukrainian child refugees last week, I pass on, if I may, the widespread respect and admiration in which his leadership on Ukraine is held.

[The Prime Minister]

May I thank my hon. Friend very much for what she has been doing to help refugees in Poland? We talked about it the other day. I know that many other Members across the House are doing the same, and I thank them all.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Natalie Elphicke and Boris Johnson

Wednesday 23rd March 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I am grateful for the hon. Gentleman’s question. I knew he was going to ask it and he was right to ask it. I anticipated his question earlier on. We are going to make sure that everybody working in the UK exclusive economic zone gets paid the living wage, and we will do it as fast as we possibly can with the Opposition’s assistance.

[Mrs Natalie Elphicke (Dover) (Con)]

I welcome the Prime Minister’s commitment to take legal action to hold P&O Ferries and DP World to account. I again call on them to reverse their action and reinstate the workers. Dover and Kent are already badly affected by this business, including on the roads and in the business community. Will he meet me to discuss specific support for our affected area, including the A2 upgrade for national transport links and an east Kent enterprise zone to cover and include the port of Dover?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is right in what she says about P&O and about the 800 workers. I will make sure that she gets all the meetings she needs to make sure that we continue with all our fantastic investments in Dover, whether transport, education or otherwise.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Natalie Elphicke and Boris Johnson

Wednesday 9th February 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Natalie Elphicke (Dover) (Con)]

Dover is once again beset by miles of traffic jams along the motorways, affecting residents and local businesses alike—not because of Brexit but because of Brussels bureaucracy and red tape. Will my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister meet me to discuss how we can invest in our local roads, the M2, the M20 and the Dover traffic assessment project to unclog those roads once and for all, and how we can get rid of the unnecessary red tape for a trading global Britain?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right in what she says. As the economy rebounds, we are seeing all sorts of pressures. We need to ensure that we clear bottlenecks everywhere in our system and that is what we will do.

Sue Gray Report

Debate between Natalie Elphicke and Boris Johnson

Monday 31st January 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I really think that the hon. Gentleman should recite the whole report. I have told him that I accept the findings that Sue Gray has given in full and we are acting on them today.

[Mrs Natalie Elphicke (Dover) (Con)]

I welcome my right hon. Friend’s apology. He has taken responsibility; he has apologised; and it is right that he should do so. Can he confirm that tackling the small boats crisis will remain top in the new Office of the Prime Minister, because that is what the country wants to see—this Prime Minister getting on with the job?

[The Prime Minister]

Yes, that is right. That is why we brought forward the Nationality and Borders Bill, which I am delighted to say that my hon. Friend supports and that the Government are getting through, and which the Labour party voted against.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Natalie Elphicke and Boris Johnson

Wednesday 21st July 2021 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Lady makes an extremely important point. That is why my right hon. Friend the Housing Secretary will make a statement to the House shortly. We must be clear that the risk from fire to life in homes is very, very low and leaseholders should not be trapped in their properties, unable to buy or sell, because their properties have been unfairly maligned in that way. Lenders and valuers should not be asking for EWS1 forms on buildings below 18 metres. The Housing Secretary will set out later more about how we propose to ensure that that does not happen.

[Mrs Natalie Elphicke (Dover) (Con)]

Dame Vera Lynn did so much for our nation and now a fitting memorial is planned on the white cliffs of Dover to ensure that this national icon continues to be celebrated for decades to come. Does my right hon. Friend agree that Dame Vera was a great inspiration to women, showing the difference we can make and contributing throughout the whole of her life to our national life? Will he extend his support to this important Dame Vera Lynn national memorial project?

Covid-19: Winter Plan

Debate between Natalie Elphicke and Boris Johnson

Monday 23rd November 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

What I can certainly say is that it does not help to read about confidential discussions in the papers. I must say that a lot of the stuff I have read seems to be very wide of the mark, but I am grateful to all colleagues in the DAs for the co-operation that they are showing in the work we are doing together.

[Mrs Natalie Elphicke (Dover) (Con)]

Will the Prime Minister join me in congratulating all the arts venues, such as the Astor theatre in Deal, the churches and parish halls that have opened their covid-secure doors to help others during the pandemic and encourage such kindness and neighbourly behaviour to continue as we tackle the virus together across the nation?

[The Prime Minister]

I do indeed congratulate all the arts venues in Deal that have pulled together in the way that my hon. Friend describes. Let us hope that we can get them all fully open as soon as possible, so that they can enjoy the benefits of a new deal for Deal, or an even better deal for Deal, which I am sure she is championing.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Natalie Elphicke and Boris Johnson

Wednesday 4th November 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I listen to a huge range of scientific advice, and indeed there are eminent scientists and epidemiologists who say that we should not do any kind of lockdowns or measures like this at all—David Nabarro of the World Health Organisation, whom I esteem greatly, for instance. We have to take a balanced decision and make a judgment about when the right moment is. The hon. Gentleman talks about the long-term effects on people’s lives. We have to make a balanced judgment about the effects on people’s mental health, livelihoods and prospects, the prospects of young people, and the importance of saving lives and protecting our NHS. That is the balance we are trying to strike tonight, and I hope he will support it.

[Mrs Natalie Elphicke (Dover) (Con)]

In a few short weeks, we end the transition period with the European Union. May I ask the Prime Minister to confirm that the transition team will endeavour to keep Dover clear of traffic gridlock, and that work will continue at pace on the proposed upgrade to the A2 between Whitfield and Dover’s eastern docks?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend and I congratulate her on her campaign for the people of Dover. I can tell her that, thanks to her lobbying, Highways England is now developing plans to improve Brenley Corner junction and access into Dover along the remaining single-carriageway sections of the A2 from Lydden.