Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation
Debate between Wes Streeting and Kemi Badenoch(6 days, 16 hours ago)
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Mrs Badenoch
Look at them, Madam Deputy Speaker. If war comes, do we want this lot running the country—people so unserious that they do not understand that you cannot have social security without national security? If we cannot defend our country, there will be nothing left to defend. To be honest, I do not blame the Housing Secretary for stocking up on sauvignon blanc. If Russia attacks with these guys in charge, we will all need a drink.
Mrs Badenoch
The Defence Secretary is chuntering; he could not even commit to 3% on TV the other day. He is still not doing his job. The fact is that there are huge problems coming down the road, and this Budget is simply trying to get through today. It is a Budget for getting by, not for getting on.
I was cautiously optimistic when the right hon. Gentleman was appointed Chancellor. This is a man who once seemed to grasp the danger that Britain is now in. I thought that he was putting country before party when he quit as Defence Secretary—he will remember that I said he was a man of principle. Let me remind him what he wrote in that resignation letter in June. He said:
“I am certain that a…date for 3% of GDP on defence in 2030 is what Britain must set.”
[Interruption.] I have not finished—Labour MPs will have to wait for the punchline. They are so slow. He went on to say that if that did not happen, he would be
“forced to make decisions that would…increase the risk to personnel on operations, and could make the country less safe.”
Today is the day he should have set that date. He is the man who has failed to set a plan for 3%. [Interruption.] Today is the day that we should have got the plan.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Wes Streeting and Kemi Badenoch(9 months, 2 weeks ago)
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Mrs Kemi Badenoch (North West Essex) (Con)
I agree with the Prime Minister’s comments on Iran. Today, Erfan Soltani faces execution for protesting in Iran. I am sure the whole House will be united in condemning that; our thoughts are with him and his family and the brave protesters fighting for their freedom against an evil regime.
I know the Home Secretary will be making a statement today on the West Midlands police. The first thing she should be announcing is the sacking of the chief constable. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for West Suffolk (Nick Timothy) for relentlessly pushing this issue.
I welcome the Prime Minister’s latest U-turn—I feel like I say that every week. Mandatory digital ID was a rubbish policy, and the Opposition are glad to see the back of it. Yesterday, the Health Secretary said that the Prime Minister’s new year’s resolution should be to try to get it right first—[Laughter.] It should be to
“try to get it right first time”.