Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Rishi Sunak and Philip Davies(3 months, 3 weeks ago)
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The Prime Minister
I point out to the hon. Gentleman that since 2010 the number of people living in poverty has actually reduced by 1.7 million, including hundreds of thousands of children, but the best way to make sure that children do not grow up in poverty—which no one wants to see—is to make sure that their parents are in work, and then to make sure that they can keep as much of their hard-earned money as possible. That is why I urge the SNP to think again about its plans to make Scotland the highest-taxed part of the United Kingdom for an average worker.
Philip Davies (Shipley) (Con)
My constituents know only too well the disaster of living under a Labour regime. Just before Christmas, the Labour council in Bradford announced that it was bankrupt, and then spent the first three hours of the subsequent council meeting debating Gaza and Israel rather than the perilous financial situation it was in. Will the Prime Minister support my campaign and that of my hon. Friend the Member for Keighley (Robbie Moore) to get our constituencies out of Bradford Council’s control? It is more urgent than ever. Will he also make sure that the Government deliver a swimming pool in Bingley, which is something that was run down and then closed down as part of the mismanagement of Bradford Council?
The Prime Minister
My hon. Friend makes an excellent point: whether it is local councils in his area, in Nottingham or indeed in Birmingham, we see a track record of Labour mismanagement of finances in local areas. We all know, as my hon. Friend points out, that when that happens—when Labour is in power—it is working people who pay the price. That is why we have to stick to our plan.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Rishi Sunak and Philip Davies(7 months, 2 weeks ago)
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The Prime Minister
Across the public sector, Departments are making sure they follow the technical guidance to identify and mitigate RAAC, as required. As the hon. Lady has seen in the NHS, we have moved the affected hospitals into the new hospitals programme. More generally, this Government have invested record sums in defence—the £24 billion at the last spending review is the single biggest uplift in defence spending since the end of the cold war.
Philip Davies (Shipley) (Con)
The Prime Minister
My hon. Friend is right to say that prisoners who are violent towards people working and living in prisons will and should face the full consequences of their actions. I am pleased that the recent Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 increased the maximum penalty, to up to two years’ imprisonment, for those who assault emergency workers—that includes prison officers. The Ministry of Justice will continue to press for charges for more serious offences, such as ABH—assault occasioning actual bodily harm—where appropriate.
NATO Summit
Debate between Rishi Sunak and Philip Davies(9 months, 3 weeks ago)
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The Prime Minister
I think the people of Ukraine received a very strong signal of support from the NATO alliance over the past couple of days. That is what President Zelensky believes and it is what he is taking back to his country. He called it a significant security victory. The signature of the multilateral agreement on security guarantees by the G7 represents near-term, immediate support for Ukraine’s security from the G7 allies. I am highly confident that others will join that declaration, too, giving the Ukrainian people some assurance and security, which they rightly deserve.
Philip Davies (Shipley) (Con)
I commend the Prime Minister for his leading role at the NATO summit, and I very much support his statement. In the statement, he said:
“All allies made an enduring commitment to invest at least 2% of GDP.”
Many countries have been making that promise for many years and never actually fulfilling it. They want the protection of NATO but are not paying their fair share towards it, and are instead relying on the UK taxpayer and, more importantly, the US taxpayer to foot the bill. What more can be done to ensure that every country in NATO, if they want the protection of NATO, pays its fair share?
The Prime Minister
My hon. Friend makes an excellent point, and I agree wholeheartedly. It is why we fought hard for the new defence investment pledge to set 2% as an enduring commitment and as a floor, not a ceiling. Progress has been made. If he looks at the statistics over the past couple of years in particular, he will see an increase not just in the volume of defence spending across the alliance, but in the number of countries that are meeting 2%. That is forecast to be potentially as high as two thirds of all members next year, which would represent a landmark achievement. He is right that we must keep the pressure on and urge everyone to fulfil their 2% commitment.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Rishi Sunak and Philip Davies(10 months, 2 weeks ago)
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Philip Davies (Shipley) (Con)
The Prime Minister
As ever, my hon. Friend makes an excellent point. Putin’s weaponisation of energy has amplified the need for greater energy security, which is why we deliberately launched a new licensing round for the North sea. Official forecasts suggest that a block on North sea oil and gas investment would mean that the UK’s dependence on imports rises substantially. The Labour party’s decision is one that puts ideology ahead of jobs, investment and Britain’s energy security.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Rishi Sunak and Philip Davies(10 months, 3 weeks ago)
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The Prime Minister
I join the hon. Lady in saying that it is absolutely right that we do everything possible to stamp out violence against women and girls. That is why the Government passed the landmark Domestic Abuse Act 2021, set up a 24/7 victims line and quadrupled funding for victim support. She is also right to highlight that the people of Northern Ireland are not getting the local government that they need and deserve. I want to see that as much as she does, and I will continue to work hard to bring it about.
Philip Davies (Shipley) (Con)
One of the socialist landmines that the Prime Minister has inherited from the former Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip— I am sure the Prime Minister remembers him: he is the one who said that we should be more Conservative; if only he had had a majority of 80 and been Prime Minister, he might have been able to do something about it—is the banning of “buy one, get one free” and other special offers on products that the Department of Health and Social Care thought were unhealthy. At the best of times that is an idiotic triumph of the nanny state, but during a cost of living crisis it is utterly bonkers. Will the Prime Minister intervene, pursue a more Conservative agenda—as the former Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip would want him to—and scrap this ridiculous policy?
The Prime Minister
I thank my hon. Friend, who has long highlighted this policy. As he knows, after I took office, given the concerns that he and others had raised about the impact on the cost of living of this policy, we postponed its introduction. No final decisions have been made, but I will continue to take what he says very seriously in all our deliberations.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Rishi Sunak and Philip Davies(1 year, 3 months ago)
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The Prime Minister
As the hon. Gentleman will already be aware, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs already carried out a comprehensive, evidence-led investigation, considered everything robustly and concluded that natural causes were most likely responsible for some of the things that we saw. But we recognise that people want a thorough investigation of this issue, and DEFRA has confirmed that an independent panel will be set up to report quickly.
Philip Davies (Shipley) (Con)
The Prime Minister
Unlike the Labour council, my hon. Friend is a fantastic champion for his constituents in Bingley. As I have told him previously, I cannot comment on individual bids but I wish him every success and will be following with close interest how it proceeds.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Rishi Sunak and Philip Davies(1 year, 6 months ago)
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Philip Davies
Go figure, as Joe Biden might say.
I congratulate my right hon. Friend on becoming Prime Minister. He is absolutely the right person for the job and I wish him every success. He knows he has my full support. His two immediate predecessors made levelling up a key part of their agenda. Will he reaffirm his commitment to levelling up and start as he means to go on by approving the levelling-up fund bid for Bingley in my constituency?
The Prime Minister
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his warm remarks. I can confirm that he must be the only person who texted me in the last 24 hours to say that he did not want a job. I can give him my cast-iron commitment to levelling up, particularly in Yorkshire, which he and I share. Obviously, he will know that I cannot comment on individual bids, but by the end of the year, an announcement is expected on the successful ones, and I wish him every luck with that.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Rishi Sunak and Philip Davies(1 year, 10 months ago)
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Rishi Sunak
My hon. Friend, as always, is right on the point, and he makes a good observation. He knows from his discussions with me that the mileage allowance rates are advisory, and organisers and employers can provide whatever support they think is appropriate and justified under the circumstances. I would be happy to talk to the Health Secretary. As my hon. Friend knows, the NHS has received a record funding settlement. Where we can find efficiencies to support people, we should do so.
Philip Davies (Shipley) (Con)
Further to the question from my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Esther McVey), may I urge the Chancellor to think again about the cut in fuel duty? Although the one he introduced was welcome, it has not really been noticed by many people, so will he consider a much more substantial temporary cut in fuel duty, as has been done in Germany?
Rishi Sunak
I am glad that my hon. Friend is supporting my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Esther McVey). I will take all his recommendations under advisement. As my hon. Friend the Exchequer Secretary pointed out, a cut of £5 billion, together with the freezing of fuel duty, is significant, but we appreciate that that is not being felt at the pumps because of the rise in wholesale prices. I assure him that the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is in dialogue with the Competition and Markets Authority to ensure that the fuel duty cut is being passed on.
Philip Davies (Shipley) (Con)
The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Rishi Sunak)
In common with countries around the world, the UK is experiencing global inflationary forces. We are taking action to support the country through that, with £37 billion of support targeted at the most vulnerable, but also focused on the long term in combating inflation and reducing prices through supply-side reforms, responsible fiscal policy, and a strong and forceful independent monetary policy.
Philip Davies
Many people are grateful to the Chancellor for all the support he has given to help people with their energy bills, but many businesses are also struggling with very high energy bills. Will he consider giving further support to businesses to help them through that, preferably through cutting their taxes? It would be a tragedy if the Chancellor kept all those businesses going, at huge cost, through the pandemic, only to see them come a cropper after the pandemic because of the inflationary cost pressures caused by those lockdowns.
Rishi Sunak
My hon. Friend is a champion of all the small businesses in his constituency, and rightly so. They have endured the pandemic and are bouncing back strongly on the other side, and we want to support that. On tax cuts, I hope he can reassure his small businesses that this year they are benefiting from two specific tax cuts—a cut of about £5,000 in business rates for a typical pub; and with the increase in the employment allowance, a cut of £1,000 on national insurance contributions—and we will of course support them in the years to come.
Spending Review 2020 and OBR Forecast
Debate between Rishi Sunak and Philip Davies(3 years, 5 months ago)
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Rishi Sunak
The OBR and others have said that our economic interventions have helped to keep down unemployment and protected jobs, and that is part of the reason why our unemployment rate is lower than that in Italy, France, Spain, Canada and the United States.
Philip Davies (Shipley) (Con)
I support the Chancellor’s decision to cut the overseas aid budget, which will be widely welcomed across the country in the real world, even if not always in here. I do not see why it should be controversial to say that we should spend only what we can afford on overseas aid. I suspect that the vast majority of the British public will be asking not why he has cut so much, but probably why we are still spending so much. If some of that money that he is saving can be spent on the much-needed and long-awaited Shipley eastern bypass and on some proper flood defences in the Shipley constituency then so much the better.
Rishi Sunak
I thank my hon. Friend for his support. He makes an important point: this spending review is about delivering on the British people’s priorities. Yes, we have made some tough choices, but we have done that so that we can continue investing in the things that our constituents value most. I look forward to talking to him further about the bypass and flooding defences that he needs, but, hopefully, with a doubling of our flood defences over this Parliament, it is something that we can make progress on for him.