Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Wes Streeting and Boris Johnson

Wednesday 24th February 2021 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on what she is doing to champion takeaways in Stourbridge. I am not sure it would be environmentally friendly for me to order a takeaway from Stourbridge to Westminster, but I thank her very much for her initiative. I look forward to visiting the hospitality sector in her constituency as soon as possible.

[Wes Streeting (Ilford North) (Lab)]

The education and wellbeing recovery of children from the pandemic is one of the biggest challenges facing our country. We went into this pandemic with rising child poverty, a widening attainment gap, and school funding falling in real terms. Given that, does the Prime Minister believe that the 43 pence per pupil per day announced today really cuts it? If he does, would he be happy to see that amount spent on his own children?

[The Prime Minister]

I passionately disagree with what the hon. Gentleman has just said about the spending that was going on. Even before the pandemic we were increasing funding for primary schools—up to £4,000 per pupil, and £5,000 for secondary school pupils—and putting up starting salaries for teachers across the board to £30,000. That was a massive investment in education across the board, including in further education.

The catch-up funds now amount to £2 billion—[Interruption.] No, the hon. Gentleman is wrong. They amount to £2 billion. Yes, we will have to do more, because this is the biggest challenge our country faces. We will get it done. We are able to do it because we have been running a strong economy. We had the resources to do it, because we had not followed the bankrupt policies of the hon. Gentleman and the Labour party.

United Kingdom Internal Market Bill

Debate between Wes Streeting and Boris Johnson

2nd reading & 2nd reading: House of Commons & Money resolution & Money resolution: House of Commons & Programme motion & Programme motion: House of Commons
Monday 14th September 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Actually, I think that this Bill is essential for guaranteeing the economic and political integrity of the United Kingdom and simply sets out to achieve what the people of this country voted for when they supported our election manifesto: not only unfettered access from NI to GB and from GB to NI, but also—I quote from the manifesto—to

“maintain and strengthen the integrity and smooth operation of our internal market.”

[Wes Streeting (Ilford North) (Lab)]

Will the Prime Minister give way?

[The Prime Minister]

I will not.

The Bill is designed to honour that pledge and maintain those freedoms. When we renegotiated our withdrawal agreement from the EU, we struck a careful balance to reflect Northern Ireland’s integral place in our United Kingdom, while preserving an open border with Ireland, with the express and paramount aim of protecting the Belfast/Good Friday agreement and the peace process. In good faith, we accepted certain obligations in the Northern Ireland protocol in order to give our European friends the assurances they sought on the integrity of their single market, while avoiding any change to the border on the island of Ireland. We agreed to conduct some light-touch processes on goods passing between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, in case they were transferred to the EU.

Prime Minister's Update

Debate between Wes Streeting and Boris Johnson

Wednesday 25th September 2019 Commons Chamber

[Wes Streeting (Ilford North) (Lab)]

The Prime Minister’s political hero, Sir Winston Churchill, when threatened with deselection by Chamberlainites in his Epping constituency in the 1930s, said:

“What is the use of Parliament if it is not the place where true statements can be brought before the people?”

He understood the role of parliamentarians as not simply delegates to this place but representatives; as servants of the people but also guardians of the national interest. There are certain pillars on which our democracy rests: Parliament, the judiciary, the free press, and the pillars of civil society. Does the Prime Minister not understand that given the way he has conducted himself, whether it is the unlawful Prorogation of Parliament, the language he has used the Chamber, or withdrawing the Whip from Members sitting behind him who seemingly have more regard for Conservative values than he does, he may be the problem and not the solution? If he really believes in consent, there are two ways to go back to the people. The first is to honour the law passed by the House to seek an extension to article 50, and we will gladly troop through the Lobby behind him. The other is to put a deal, or no deal, to the people in a confirmatory vote. Both those ways will unlock the parliamentary deadlock. The only question is whether he has the courage to do it.

[The Prime Minister]

But to what end? I do not understand why on earth the hon. Gentleman, who I normally admire as he normally speaks sense, would want to stay in the EU beyond 31 October. What is his purpose? The people have spoken. It would cost another £1 billion a month. I simply fail to understand his logic.

Priorities for Government

Debate between Wes Streeting and Boris Johnson

Thursday 25th July 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I certainly will. I thank my hon. Friend for his question.

[Wes Streeting (Ilford North) (Lab)]

The Prime Minister’s carelessness and lack of attention to detail aided and abetted the Iranian regime in locking up a British citizen. I ask the Prime Minister to put right what he did so wrong, and take personal responsibility for ensuring the release of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe.

[The Prime Minister]

Of course, we work very hard to secure the release of Nazanin and all dual nationals who are held, in my view unfairly and illegally, by the Iranian regime. It is time that an innocent woman was released.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Wes Streeting and Boris Johnson

Tuesday 27th March 2018 Commons Chamber

[Boris Johnson]

Absolutely. I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for all the work that he has done. He led a very good debate on the Commonwealth last week. He is quite right in what he says about halving the incidence of malaria, which is a further objective of the summit. He is also right to pay tribute to the absolutely central role of Her Majesty the Queen. The summit has an extraordinary turnout. Virtually every single one of the 53 Heads of State and Government is coming to London, and there is no doubt that the draw is not just our city or our country, but the chance to see the Queen herself.

[Wes Streeting (Ilford North) (Lab)]

16. The Government of Sri Lanka continue to flout the obligations that they signed up to under a UN Human Rights Council resolution that they co-sponsored regarding truth, justice and reconciliation in that country. Given that our trade with Sri Lanka is currently conducted on preferential terms under the generalised scheme of preferences plus arrangements agreed with the European Union, will the Secretary of State make it clear to the Government of Sri Lanka that that preferential trade arrangement may not apply after we leave the European Union, and that certainly the Government will not be minded to give such preferential access to our markets unless and until Sri Lanka fulfils the obligations that it has made to its own people and the international community?

[Boris Johnson]

We certainly value our relationship with Sri Lanka, although I perfectly understand the hon. Gentleman’s points about human rights. He can be in no doubt that we will continue to raise those points in our discussions with Sri Lanka.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Wes Streeting and Boris Johnson

Tuesday 9th January 2018 Commons Chamber

[Boris Johnson]

As I said earlier, I have made it absolutely clear to the Iranian authorities that we believe in and support the right of the people of Iran to demonstrate peacefully in accordance with the law. I will continue to make that point to my Iranian counterparts later this week.

[Wes Streeting (Ilford North) (Lab)]

T6. Following ministerial appointments since the general election, can the Foreign Secretary provide some reassurance to the House that the Department for International Development has not become a wholly owned subsidiary of the Foreign Office and that aid will continue to be the primary focus of DFID?

[Boris Johnson]

Most sensible commentators would say it is vital that this Government perform and act overseas as one HMG, and that is what we are doing.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Wes Streeting and Boris Johnson

Tuesday 21st November 2017 Commons Chamber

[Boris Johnson]

I thank my hon. Friend for putting his finger on the huge opportunity to focus on young people that the Commonwealth summit provides. We should focus in particular on the education of young women and girls. That presents an opportunity to change lives most dramatically across all Commonwealth countries, and indeed across the world, and to promote the objectives of freedom, opportunity, democracy and peace to which he rightly subscribes.

[Wes Streeting (Ilford North) (Lab)]

I am delighted that we are hosting the Commonwealth summit next year. Following the most recent meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council and in relation to our bilateral relationship with Sri Lanka, will the Foreign Secretary take this opportunity to reiterate our Government’s position that the Sri Lankan Government must ratify the Rome statute of the International Criminal Court and that international judges and prosecutors are involved in the prosecution of historical war crimes in Sri Lanka in order to build confidence that war crimes will be properly investigated and prosecuted?

[Boris Johnson]

I have indeed raised those questions with my opposite number and with the Sri Lankan Government. We believe that they are making progress, but we will continue to insist that more needs to be done.

Counter-Daesh Update

Debate between Wes Streeting and Boris Johnson

Tuesday 7th November 2017 Commons Chamber

[Boris Johnson]

Perhaps for the sake of brevity I can tell the hon. Gentleman that Richard Ratcliffe himself has welcomed the clarification that I have offered today, and I think I am content with that. We will push on on that basis. I may say to the hon. Gentleman that he sat through that Committee in a state of glassy indifference and made no remark at all about anything that I had said, either then or two days afterwards.

[Wes Streeting (Ilford North) (Lab)]

Our armed forces can be proud of the work they have done in countering Daesh, as we are proud of them, but there is no way that this House can be proud of the conduct of our Foreign Secretary. He is quite right, as others have been right to argue, that the responsibility for the detainment of a British citizen is solely the responsibility of the Iranian regime, but with the ill-judged and inaccurate remarks he made to the Foreign Affairs Committee last week, the only person in this House who did the bidding of the Iranian regime was the Foreign Secretary. What is so egregious about this whole affair is that he did not take ownership of his mistake and did not seek to quickly rectify it; indeed, he has come here this afternoon and cannot even bring himself to show an ounce of contrition or even make an apology. This is not a criticism of the Conservative party, and certainly not a criticism of the finest diplomatic service in the world; it is a criticism firmly of the Foreign Secretary, who does not have the care and attention necessary to do one of the most important jobs in Government—so why is he still in the job?

[Boris Johnson]

I must respectfully repeat the point I have made several times now, which is that I have clarified the remarks I made to the Foreign Affairs Committee. I have also pointed out the most important conclusion of today, which is that nothing I said has had any impact whatever—contrary to the assertions that have been made repeatedly by the Opposition—on the judicial proceedings taking place in Tehran. I think that we should be working together to secure the release of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, and that is certainly what we are doing.