Action Against Houthi Maritime Attacks
Debate between Rishi Sunak and John Cryer(3 months, 1 week ago)
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The Prime Minister
As my right hon. Friend can see, we will always back up our words with action. We have been clear that we will not tolerate risk to innocent lives and British interests in the region. We will take action where necessary in a limited and proportionate way, in compliance with international law and in self-defence. That is what we did last week and what we have done this week, and we will always reserve the right to do so in order to protect British lives and interests.
John Cryer (Leyton and Wanstead) (Lab)
It is clear that the “Partisans of God”—the Houthi militia—are fascist and racist. They are backed by fascists and racists in Tehran. Further to earlier questions—this has been asked time and again from both sides of the House—may I ask when we will get around to fully proscribing the IRGC?
The Prime Minister
As I have said previously, we do not routinely comment on groups that we may or may not be considering for proscription, but we have taken significant action against the IRGC, including sanctioning them in their entirety and passing new laws here at home to make sure that we can protect ourselves. Critically, we are working with our allies so that we can jointly determine what is the most effective way to combat the risk that Iran poses to us.
Tackling Short-term and Long-term Cost of Living Increases
Debate between Rishi Sunak and John Cryer(1 year, 11 months ago)
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Rishi Sunak
None the less, I am glad to see that the right hon. Gentleman supports universal credit. That is one thing that the Government are proud of introducing. The benefit can respond in a crisis, as it so admirably did.
John Cryer (Leyton and Wanstead) (Lab)
The Chancellor has just admitted that he could increase universal credit by £20, so why does he not do it?
Rishi Sunak
Because we want to make sure that we get support to everyone in a way that suits them. What we did do—and we heard this from the right hon. Member for Doncaster North (Edward Miliband) when he gave a case study on universal credit—is cut the universal credit taper by the biggest amount ever. That was the biggest tax cut that we have seen for people on low incomes, which is in contrast to the cherrypicked example that we heard from right hon. Gentleman. What does that mean for a single mother on universal credit, working on the national living wage, renting, and with two children? It means that that mum will be £1,600 a year better off this year. That is what this Government are doing. Help is there, and anyone seeking to pretend otherwise is simply causing more worry and more anxiety.
Spending Review 2020 and OBR Forecast
Debate between Rishi Sunak and John Cryer(3 years, 5 months ago)
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John Cryer (Leyton and Wanstead) (Lab)
The Chancellor has announced a pay freeze for hundreds of thousands of public sector workers today who do not deserve it. Firefighters, care assistants and teaching assistants will all suffer a pay freeze. What is the assessment of the economic impact of that pay freeze? There must be one in the Treasury somewhere. What is it?
Rishi Sunak
It would be wrong to describe this policy as a blanket pay freeze when a majority of those working in the public sector will see an increase in their pay next year, because they earn less than the UK median salary of £24,000 or they work in the NHS, or, indeed, they are on the national living wage. Across all those areas, there will be a pay increase. That will benefit millions of people and make a difference to the economy.