Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Rachel Taylor and Keir Starmer

Wednesday 29th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I thank the right hon. and learned Gentleman for raising that. As he says, the Health Secretary is looking at it. I assure him that I will also look at it with the Health Secretary, and we will get back to him as we do so.

[Rachel Taylor (North Warwickshire and Bedworth) (Lab)]

This week, I heard a story from an elderly resident in Bedworth. Kolin Basra phoned the GP surgery to make an appointment for his elderly wife and was told that no appointments would be available for three months. Does the Prime Minister agree that that is utterly shocking and horrifying, and a direct result of 14 years of neglect by the Conservative party?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising that. She is absolutely right: the damage that the Conservatives did to the NHS was absolutely unforgiveable. We are taking steps to ensure that more GP appointments will be available, we are getting the waiting lists down, and we are putting investment into the NHS. As with everything else, we are clearing up the mess that they left behind.

G20 and COP29 Summits

Debate between Rachel Taylor and Keir Starmer

Thursday 21st November 2024 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

This is a really important point, and I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for raising it. We are powering forward to clean power by 2030, which will not just achieve independence, particularly to stop Putin putting his boot on our throat with energy bills—everybody has suffered because of that—but will also bring down prices, meaning cheaper bills, which is really important. To the hon. Gentleman’s point at the beginning of his question, it will deliver the next generation of well-paid, secure jobs across the United Kingdom, including in Scotland.

[Rachel Taylor (North Warwickshire and Bedworth) (Lab)]

A couple of years ago, my constituents were hit hard by rocketing gas prices and energy bills, because the last Government left the UK hooked on global gas markets controlled by dictators such as Vladimir Putin. Following the COP summit, can the Prime Minister reassure my constituents in North Warwickshire and Bedworth that he will work relentlessly to ensure that nothing like that ever happens again?

[The Prime Minister]

Yes, I can; it is an important point. All countries were impacted by the conflict in Ukraine. We were impacted more than other countries, because some of the steps that could have been taken in the move towards renewables were not taken at speed by the previous Government, and people across the country paid the price.