Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Tom Blenkinsop and Baroness May of Maidenhead(7 years, 7 months ago)
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The Prime Minister
My hon. Friend has raised this issue with me previously, and I know that he has been a tireless campaigner on it. He has been a strong voice for his local constituency and he has put his case persuasively to Ministers. He is absolutely right: Labour’s disastrous PFI deals are costing the NHS more than £1 billion every year. The choice at the election will be clear. Do the people of Colne Valley want his strong voice for their local A&E, and the ear of a strong Conservative Government who are continuing to keep our economy strong and investing in our national health service, or do they want the Leader of the Opposition and his coalition of chaos—less money for our public services, less money for our national health service, fewer doctors, fewer nurses and worse healthcare for our constituents?
Tom Blenkinsop (Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland) (Lab)
The Prime Minister
I believe that the hon. Gentleman is standing down at the election, and he has said that that is due to his “significant and irreconcilable differences” with the leadership of his party. [Interruption.]
European Council
Debate between Tom Blenkinsop and Baroness May of Maidenhead(8 years, 1 month ago)
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The Prime Minister
I note what my hon. Friend slipped in at the end of his question. What I would say to him is that it is absolutely right and, as I said in response to a couple of questions from the Opposition earlier, important that people see that we are committed to invoking article 50, because there are those, I fear, who wish to delay the invocation of article 50 as a proxy for not leaving the European Union. It is important that we give people certainty, and that is why I have set out that we will invoke article 50 by the end of March next year.
Tom Blenkinsop (Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland) (Lab)
The Prime Minister said that discussing trade at the European Council was a topic for the future. In relation to lesser duty tariffs, her chief of staff, Nick Timothy, seems to know the Government’s hand very well and has, indeed, declared it. He says:
“We do not have to accept ‘dumping’ by the Chinese steel industry”
and we
“could impose retaliatory tariffs on Chinese steel”,
but it is the UK Government’s policy “to oppose these measures.” Do the Government not have their hands tied behind their back and, indeed, are they not tying the hands of British steelworkers as we speak?
The Prime Minister
No. The Government have, in a number of ways, been supporting steel production here in the United Kingdom, as the hon. Gentleman will know—both in compensation in relation to climate change and renewables costs, and by the ability to take social issues into consideration when deciding on the procurement of steel. There is a whole range of measures that we have taken. In relation to the action that is being taken by the European Union, we decided at the end of last week that we will modernise the trade defence instruments, but we will do that in a balanced way—balancing the interests of users, producers and consumers. As I am sure he will know, the application of the lesser duty relief has actually meant that, for certain parts of the steel industry, imports from China have dropped by 90%.
G20 Summit
Debate between Tom Blenkinsop and Baroness May of Maidenhead(8 years, 3 months ago)
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The Prime Minister
I think I can honestly say that in all the discussions that I had in the G20 and all the plenary sessions that I sat and listened through, “Star Trek” was never mentioned.
Yes, we will be ratifying the Paris agreement. People seem to think that the commitment of the Government to tackling climate change can only be represented by whether or not there is a separate Department devoted to it. That is not the case. The important point is that we have taken energy and climate change and put them alongside business and industrial strategy, and I think that by doing so we will get a better, more strategic approach on these issues. But I repeat the point that I made to the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion (Caroline Lucas) at Prime Minister’s questions earlier by saying that if the hon. Member for Glasgow North (Patrick Grady) is interested in climate change, I would hope that he would congratulate the Government on what we have done in relation to climate change, because we have been at the forefront of encouraging others to take action on emissions.
Tom Blenkinsop (Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland) (Lab)
We know the Prime Minister raised the issue of steel at the plenary session, but did she also raise it at the bilateral session? Did she have any discussions with the Chinese delegation about market economy status? What powers will the new forum have? I have to say that when states such as China are communist, when the state owns its own steel industry and when it deliberately uses measures to distort the market and undermine the steel industries of other nations, it is a bit rich to hear lessons from the Tory party about free trade. When are we going to get immediate trade defence measures from this Government? For the last four to five years, we have seen an explosion of dumping into the British market by the Chinese state—with zero action from this Government.
The Prime Minister
It is absolutely not true that this Government have taken no action. The whole question of global overcapacity is significant in the steel industry, and it is an issue for other industries as well. That is why it is important that this forum, on which the Chinese will be represented, has been set up. Let us look at the various ways in which we have been supporting the steel sector. The industry had certain asks of us. We secured state aid to compensate for energy costs, and flexibility over EU emissions regulations. We made sure that social and economic factors can be taken into account when the Government procure steel. We successfully pressed for the introduction of anti-dumping duties to protect UK steel producers from unfair trade practices. This Government have taken and will continue to take many steps, because we recognise the importance of the steel industry to the UK.
Mohammed Ahmed Mohamed
Debate between Tom Blenkinsop and Baroness May of Maidenhead(11 years, 1 month ago)
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Mrs May
As I have already made clear, I think that we should indeed consider replacing the Human Rights Act with a British Bill of Rights, and the Conservatives will take that policy to the next election. Meanwhile, I am taking the action that I can take to make it easier for us to deport foreign criminals in particular, and to ensure that certain aspects of the interpretation of the European convention on human rights reflect the will of this Parliament. As we know, this Parliament is on the people’s side, and that is where the law, and its interpretation, should be as well.
Tom Blenkinsop (Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland) (Lab)
When did the Home Secretary know that Mohammed Ahmed Mohamed had become a British citizen, and when did she become aware of his terrorist activities?
Alcohol Strategy
Debate between Tom Blenkinsop and Baroness May of Maidenhead(12 years, 8 months ago)
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Mrs May
My hon. Friend is right. We are changing the law on the powers of the licensing authorities, and I am sure that Deal and other towns and cities will find very helpful the early morning restriction orders, which will be introduced later this year and will enable local authorities to restrict licensed premises’ ability to open between midnight and 6 am.
Tom Blenkinsop (Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland) (Lab)
Does the Health Secretary agree with the policy?