Oral Answers to Questions

Steve Race Excerpts

Wednesday 28th October 2026 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I have repeatedly set out the red lines of the manifesto, and can I just say this one final time? I am doing what I can to get a better deal for Britain, and getting a better deal for Britain, I can tell the right hon. Lady, is part of this job. I am standing up for British business. Can I tell her who supports what we are doing? The CBI, the Federation of Small Businesses, the British Retail Consortium, Asda, Morrisons, Marks & Spencer, Salmon Scotland—they all support what we are trying to do. Why does she not join us, with other colleagues across this House, and send a strong message that Britain is calling for a better Brexit deal, so that we can get growth going again, as my right hon. Friend will shortly show to this whole House?

[Steve Race (Exeter) (Lab)]

Q2. I commend the Prime Minister’s commitment to ending rough sleeping and for hosting the first No. 10 rough sleeping summit on Monday. I have fantastic organisations such as St Petrock’s and CoLab in Exeter that help people who end up on the street but who have very complex needs that require wraparound services such as addiction treatment and trauma support. Does the Prime Minister agree with me that, alongside a roof over their heads, we need to rebuild the wraparound support system for people that were so dismantled under the previous Government?

[The Prime Minister]

I do agree with my hon. Friend. I do not think we should accept in this country that anybody should spend even one night sleeping rough on the streets. I said when I walked up Downing Street coming into office that I wanted to change that and wanted to bring an end to rough sleeping. I am grateful to my right hon. Friend the Chancellor for committing funding for the whole of this Parliament to support a drive to give everybody an offer of support, and I can confirm to the House today that we are increasingly confident that everyone will get such an offer before the Christmas break. My hon. Friend is right to raise this issue, and I thank him for attending the summit. I hope everybody will get behind this national drive.

Oral Answers to Questions

Steve Race Excerpts

Wednesday 9th July 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

We are fixing the mess that we inherited, and we are working with other countries to ensure that we take the measures necessary to stop people crossing the channel. They are serious answers to serious problems. For 10 years, the hon. Member’s proposal—the tail wagging the Tory dog—has been to break everything and claim that it is how you fix things, and to stick two fingers up at our neighbours and then expect them to work with us. He voted against the borders Bill, which gives more powers to our law enforcement to deal with security at our border. The reason for that is that he has no interest in fixing the problem; he wants to milk it and exploit it. That is the truth about him and his party.

[Steve Race (Exeter) (Lab)]

Q4.   From homelessness to child poverty, so many of the challenges I see people facing in Exeter can be traced back to early years, so I welcome the Government rebuilding on the legacy of Sure Start, which was so cruelly dismantled by the Conservative party. Will the Prime Minister set out what difference that will make to family services in Exeter?

[The Prime Minister]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend. We have discussed this before; he is a brilliant champion for Exeter. Every child should have support to realise their potential. The Conservative party tore up Sure Start and took it out of our communities—an act of vandalism that abandoned families and deepened inequalities. We are delivering 1,000 Best Start family hubs across the country. That is in addition to free childcare being rolled out, and expanding free school meals. That is the change that a Labour Government make.