Mr speaker, i shall make a statement on the mission of this new conservative government. Before i begin, i am sure that the whole house will join me in paying tribute to my right hon. Honorable friend the member all that shed, for has given to the services of our nation. From fighting modern slavery to tackling the problems of mental ill health, she has a great legacy on which we shall all be proud to build. Our mission is to deliver brexit on 31 october for the purpose of uniting and reenergizing our great United Kingdom and making this country the greatest place on earth. When i say the greatest place on earth, i am conscious that some may accuse me of hyperbole, but it is useful to imagine the trajectory on which we could now be embarked. By 2050, it is more than possible that the United Kingdom will be the greatest and most prosperous economy in europe, at the centre of a new network of trade deals, which we have pioneered. With the road and Rail Investments that we are making and propose to make now and the investment in broadband and 5g, our country will boast the most affordable transport and technological connectivity on the planet. By unleashing the productive power of the whole United Kingdom come not just of london and the south east, out of every corner of england, scotland, wales and Northern Irelandwe will have closed forever the productivity gap and seen to it that no town is left behind ever again and no community ever forgotten. Our children and grandchildren will be living longer, happier and healthier lives. Our kingdom in 2050, tanks, by the way, to the initiative of the previous Prime Minister, will no longer make any contribution whatsoever to the destruction of our precious planet, brought about by carbon emissions, because we will have led the world in delivering that netzero target. We will be the home of electric planes, cars, even powered by britishmade battery technology, which is being developed right here, right now. We will have the free ports to revitalise our coastal communities, a bioscience sector liberated from antigenetic modification rules, blight resistant crops that will feed the world, and satellite and earth observation systems that are the envy of the world. We will be the seedbed for the most exciting and dynamic Business Investments on the planet. [shouting] mr. Speaker order. I apologise for interrupting the Prime Minister. There is far too much noise in this chamber, and there are far too many members who think it is all right for them to shout out their opinion at the Prime Minister. Well lets be clear, it isnt. The statement will be heard, and there will be ample opportunity, in conformity with convention, and as established by me over the last decade, for colleagues to question the Prime Minister, but the statement will be heard, and heard with courtesy. The Prime Minister. Johnson mr. Speaker, i applaud your intervention. I also think there is far too much negativity about the potential of our great country, as i think you will agree. Our constitutional settlement, our United Kingdom, will be firm and secure; our union of nations beyond question; our democracy robust; our future clean, green, prosperous, united, confident and ambitious. That is the prize, and that is our responsibility, in this house of commons, to fulfil. To do so, we must take some immediate steps. The first is to restore trust in our democracy, and fulfil the repeated promises of parliament to the people by coming out of the European Union, and by doing so on 31 october. I and all ministers are committed to leaving on this date, whatever the circumstances. To do otherwise would cause a catastrophic loss of confidence in our political system. It would leave the british people wondering whether their politicians could ever be trusted again to follow a clear democratic instruction. I would prefer us to leave the eu with a deal; i would much prefer it. I believe that it is possible, even at this late stage, and i will work flat out to make it happen, but certain things need to be clear. The Withdrawal Agreement negotiated by my predecessor has been three times rejected by this house. Its terms are unacceptable to this parliament and to this country. No country that values its independence, and indeed its selfrespect, could agree to a treaty that signed away our economic independence and selfgovernment, as this backstop does. A time limit is not enough. If an agreement is to be reached, it must be clearly understood that the way to the deal goes by way of the abolition of the backstop. For our part, we are ready to negotiate, in good faith, an alternative, with provisions to ensure that the irish border issues are dealt with where they in thealways have been negotiations on the future agreement between the uk and the eu. I do not accept the argument that says that these issues can be solved only by all or part of the uk remaining in the Customs Union or in the single market. The evidence is that other arrangements are perfectly possible, and are also perfectly compatible with the belfast or good friday agreement, to which we are, of course, steadfastly committed. I, my team, and my right honorable friend the secretary of state for exiting the European Union are ready to meet and talk on this basis to the european commission, or other eu colleagues, whenever and wherever they are ready to do so. For our part, we will throw ourselves into these negotiations with the greatest energy and determination and in a spirit of friendship. I hope that the eu will be equally ready. And that they will rethink their current refusal to make any changes to the Withdrawal Agreement. If they do not, we will, of course, have to leave the e. U. Without an agreement and article the uk is better prepared for 50. That situation than many believe, but we are not as ready yet as we should be. In the 98 days that remain to us, we must turbocharge our preparations to ensure that there is as little disruption as possible to our national life, and i believe that is possible with the kind of National Effort that the british people have made before and will make again. In these circumstances, we would , of course, have available the £39 billion in the Withdrawal Agreement to help deal with any consequences. I have today instructed the chancellor of the duchy of lancaster to make these preparations his top priority. I have asked the cabinet secretary to mobilise the Civil Service to deliver this outcome, should it become necessary. The chancellor has confirmed that all necessary funding will be made available. I will also ensure 4. 2 billion pounds has already been allocated i will also ensure that preparing to leave the eu without an agreement under article 50 is not just about seeking to mitigate the challenges, but about grasping the opportunities. This is not just about technical preparations, vital though they are; it is about having a clear Economic Strategy for the uk in all scenarios. Something that the conservative party has always led the way on, and producing policies that will boost the competitiveness and productivity of our economy when we are free of eu regulations. Indeed, mr. Speaker, we will begin right away on working to change the tax rules to provide extra incentives to invest in capital and research. We will now be accelerating the talks on those free trade deals, and we will prepare an economic package to boost British Business and lengthen this countrys lead, which seems so bitterly resented by opposition members, as the number one destination in this continent for overseas investment. A status that is made possible at least partly by the diversity, talent, and skills of our workforce. Speaker, i also want to repeat unequivocally, our guarantee to the 3. 2 million eu nationals now living and working among us. I thank them for their contribution to our society and for their patience. I can assure them that under this government they will have the absolute certainty of the right to live and remain. Mr. Speaker, i want to end by making clear my absolute commitment to the 31 october date for our exit. Our National Participation in the European Union is coming to an end, and that reality needs to be recognised by all parties. Indeed, mr. Speaker, today, there are very many brilliant uk officials trapped in meeting after meeting in brussels and luxembourg, when their talents could be better deployed in preparing to pioneer new free trade deals or promoting a truly global britain. I want to start unshackling our officials to undertake this new mission right away, so we will not nominate a uk commissioner for the new commission taking office on december. ,nder no circumstances although, clearly that is not intended to stop the eu appointing a new commission. Mr. Speaker, today is the day of first a new approach which will and with our exit from the eu on 31 october. Then i hope that we can have a friendly and constructive relationship, as constitutional equals, as friends and partners in facing the challenges that lie ahead. I believe that is possible, and this government will work to make it so. But, mr. Speaker, we are not going to wait until the 31st of october 2 begin building the broader and bolder future that i have described. We are going to start right away. [shouting] johnson by providing vital funding for our frontline Public Services, to deliver better healthcare, better education and more police on the streets. Mr. Speaker, i am committed to making sure that the nhs receives the funds that it deserves, the funds that were promised by the previous government in june 2018and these funds will go to the frontline as soon as possible. That will include urgent funding for 20 hospital upgrades and for winter readiness. I have asked officials to provide policy proposals for drastically reducing waiting times for gp appointments. To address the rising tide of Violent Crime in our country, i have announced that there will be 20,000 extra police keeping us safe over the next three years, and i have asked my right honorable friend, the home secretary, to ensure that this is treated as an absolute priority. We will give greater powers, ours resisted, by the way, by the opposition party, to the police, to use stop and search to help tackle Violent Crime. I have also tasked officials to draw up proposals to ensure that in future, those found guilty of the most serious sexual and violent offences are required to serve a custodial sentence that truly reflects the severity of their offence and policy measures that will see a reduction in the number of prolific offenders. On education, i have listened to the concerns of so many colleagues around the house, and we will increase the minimum level of per pupil funding in primary and secondary schools and return Education Funding to previous levels by the end of this parliament. We are committed to levelling up across every nation and region of the uk, providing support to towns and cities and closing the opportunity gap in our society. We will announce investment in vital infrastructure, full fibre rollout, transport and housing that can improve the quality of peoples lives, fuel Economic Growth and provide opportunity. Finally, we will also ensure that we continue to attract the best and brightest talent from around the world. No one believes more strongly than me in the benefits of migration to our country, but i am clear that our immigration system must change. For years, politicians have promised the public an australianstyle pointsbased system, and today i will actually deliver on those promises. I will ask the Migration Advisory Committee to conduct a review of that system as the first step in a radical rewriting of our immigration system. [shouting] i am convinced we can produce a system that the british people can have confidence in. Mr. Speaker, over the past few years, too many people in this country feel that they have been told repeatedly and relentlessly what we cannot do. Since i was a child, i remember respectable authorities asserting that our time as a nation has passed and that we should be content with mediocrity and managed decline, and time and again [shouting] time and again these are the sceptics and doubters, my friends. [shouting] they are time and again, by their powers to innovate and adapt, the british people have shown the doubters wrong, and i believe that at this Pivotal Moment in our national story, we are going to prove the doubters wrong again, not just with positive thinking and a cando attitude, important though they are, but with the help and the encouragement of a government and a cabinet who are bursting with ideas, ready to create change and determined to implement the policies we need to succeed as a nation. The greatest place to live, the greatest place to bring up a family, the greatest place to send your kids to school, the greatest place to set up a business or to invest, because we have the best transport and the cleanest environment and the best healthcare and the most compassionate approach to care for elderly people. That is the mission of the cabinet i have appointed, and that is the purpose of the government i am leading. And that is why i believe that if we bend our sinews to the task now, there is every chance that in 2050, when i fully intend to be around, although not necessarily in this job, we will be able to look back on this period, this extraordinary period, as the beginning of a new golden age for our United Kingdom. I commend this future to the house just as much as i commend this statement. [applause] mr. Speaker Jeremy Corbyn. Mr. Corbyn thank you, mr. Speaker. I welcome the right honorable gentleman to his position and thank him for an advance copy of his statement. No one underestimates this country, but the country is deeply worried that the new Prime Minister overestimates himself. He inherits a country that has been held back by nine years of austerity that hit children and young people the hardest. Their youth centres have closed, their School Funding has been cut. College budgets slashed, and with the help of the liberal democrats, tuition fees have trebled. Their housing costs are higher than ever, their jobs are lower paid. Opportunity and freedom have been taken away. Austerity was always a political choice, never an economic necessity. Mr. Speaker order. Order i indicated that people would not shout down the Prime Minister. Precisely the same applies to the leader of the opposition. Dont try it. You are wasting your vocal cords and, above all, it wont work. The right honorable gentleman will be heard and these exchanges will take as long as they will take, whatever other appointments people might have. The right honorable gentleman will be heard. Stop it Jeremy Corbyn mr. Corbyn thank you mr , speaker. His predecessor promised to end austerity, but spectacularly failed to deliver. People do not trust the Prime Minister to make the right choices for the majority of people in this country when he is also promising tax giveaways to the richest and big business, his own partys funders. So can he now indicate when he will set out the detail of the exact funding settlement for our schools and for our hardpressed local authorities and police, so that they can start planning now . We must also address the deep regional inequalities in this country. The Northern Powerhouse has been massively underpowered and the midlands engine has not been fueled. So will he match labours commitment to a £500 billion Investment Fund to rebalance this country through Regional Development banks and a National Transformation fund . He has hastily thrown together a hardright cabinet. And i have just a couple of , mr. Speaker, on those appointments. Given his appointment of the first home secretary for a generation to support the death penalty, can the Prime Minister are sure the house now that his government has no plans to try and bring back Capital Punishment to this country . [shouting] mr. Corbyn and before appointing the new education secretary, was he given sight of the huawei leak investigation by the cabinet secretary . I am deeply alarmed to see no plan for brexit. He was in the cabinet that accepted the backstop and, of course, he voted for it on 30 march this year. It would be welcome if he could set out what he finds so objectionable, having voted for it less than four months ago. Can he explain this flipflopping . [laughter] mr. Corbyn the house will have a sense of dejavu and of trepidation at a Prime Minister setting out rigid red lines and an artificial timetable. There is something eerily familiar about a Prime Minister marching off to europe with demands to scrap the backstop, so why does he think he will succeed where his predecessor failed . However, i do welcome the Prime Ministers commitment finally to guarantee the rights of European Union citizens. It is a great shame that this offer has only been made now, more than three years after this party put that proposal before this house. Our friends, neighbours and family should never have been treated as bargaining chips, causing untold stress and worry to people that have worked so hard for this country and the communities that make it up. If the Prime Minister continues to pursue a reckless no deal, he will be directly flouting the expressed will of this parliament. Industry, business and unions have been absolutely clear about the threat that that poses no deal means no steel, no car industry, food prices dramatically rising and huge job losses. Make uk, representing much of manufacturing industry, says no deal would be the height of economic lunacy. Companies from toyota to asda have been clear about the dangers of no deal. Is the Prime Minister still guided by his f business policy . Those recklessly advocating no deal will not be the ones who lose out. The wealthy elite that finds him and his party will not lose their jobs, see their Living Standards cut or face higher food bills. Mr. Speaker, if the Prime Minister has confidence in his plan, once he has decided what it is, he should go back to the people with that plan. Labour will oppose any deal that s to protect jobs [shouting] mr. Corbyn well oppose any deal that fails to protect jobs, workers rights or environmental protections. And if he has the confidence to put that decision back to the people, we would, in those circumstances, campaign to remain. [shouting] mr. Corbyn mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker. [shouting continues] mr. Speaker it will take as long as it takes. I have plenty of time; i am totally untroubled by these matters. Mr. Corbyn mr. Speaker, the office of Prime Minister requires integrity and honesty, so will the Prime Minister correct his claim that kipper exports from the isle of man to the uk are subject to eu regulations . Will he also acknowledge that the £39 billion is now 33 billion, due over 30 years, and has been legally committed to be paid by his predecessor . This is a phoney threat about a fake pot of money, made by the Prime Minister. Mr. Speaker, we also face a Climate Emergency, so will the Prime Minister take the urgent actions necessary . Will he ban fracking . Would he back real ingenuity like the swansea bay tidal lagoon . Will he increase investment in Carbon Capture and storage . Will he back our Solar Industry and onshore windso devastated over the last nine years . Will he set out a credible plan to reach net zero . I note that the Climate Changedenying u. S. President has ordered labeled the Prime Minister britain trump and welcomed his commitment to work with nigel farage. Could britain trump take this opportunity to rule out once and for all that our nhs is not going to be part of any trade deal, any trade deal with President Trump and the usa . [shouting] he make it will clear that our National Health service is not going to be sold to American HealthCare Companies . Speaker, people fear that far from wanting to take back control, the new Prime Minister would effectively make us a vassal state of trumps america. [shouting] mr. Corbyn will he ask the new foreign secretary to prioritise the release of nazanin zaghariratcliffe, and is he working with European Partners to restore the Iran Nuclear Deal and deescalate tensions in the gulf . Mr. Speaker, the challenge to end austerity, tackle inequality, resolve brexit and tackle the Climate Emergency are what will define the new Prime Minister. Instead, we have a hardright cabinet staking everything on tax cuts for the few and a reckless racetothebottom brexit. He says he has pluck and nerve and ambition; our country does not need armwaving bluster; we need competence, seriousness and, after a decade of divisive policies for the few, to focus for once on the interests of the many. [shouting in agreement] johnson mr. Speaker, i struggle to discover a serious question in that, but i will make one important point that it is worth making, which is that under no circumstances will we agree to any free trade deal that puts the nhs on the table. It is not for sale. And i would remind right honorable gentleman that for 44 years of it 71 years of glorious existence, it is the nhs but has benefited from conservative policies and conservative government, because we understand, we understand that unless support wealth creation, unless we believe in British Business, british enterprise and british industry, we will not have the funds; unless we have a strong economy, you will not the image of a for a fantastic nhs. That is a lesson that the right honorable john gentleman simply doesnt get. But trouble to see the country he described in his description of the United Kingdom today, because the reality mr. Speaker, is that unemployment is of , course, down under the conservatives to the lowest level since the 1970s. Crime is actually done a third since 2010. We have record inward investment in this country, of £1. 3 trillion. We have fantastic new electric car factories. [shouting] mr. Speaker order order mr. Mcdonald, you really are at times a reckless delinquent. Calm yourself, man. [laughter] mr. Speaker i know you get very irate because you feel passionately. I respect your passion, but i do not respect your delinquency. Calm yourself, man; take some sort of soothing medicament and you will feel better as a consequence. The Prime Minister. Mr. Johnson they do not like the truth that more homes were built in this country last year than in any of the last 31 years bar one. Wages are now outperforming inflation for the first time in a decade. The living wage, a conservative policy that i am proud to say i championed in london and that was then stolen by our wonderful conservative government and made into a national policy, the living wage has expanded the incomes of those who receive it by £4,500 since 2010. That is a fantastic achievement, and it is a conservative achievement. The right honorable gentleman asks about trust and asks, who can you trust to run the government . How on earth . And he asks about iran. A right honorable gentleman who has been paid by press tv of iran and who repeatedly sides with the mullahs of tehran rather than our friends in the United States over what is happening in the persian gulf. How incredible that we should even think of entrusting that gentleman with the stewardship of this countrys security. That by far, mr. Speaker, this is a right honorable gentleman, who is set on an economic policy, together with the shadow chancellor who was sacked by Ken Livingstone for being too leftwing. [shouting] mr. Johnson quite rightly, he was sacked for fabricating a budget. He forged a budget. Sacked for forging a budget. He would raise taxes on inheritance; he would raise taxes on pensions, mr. Speaker i am answering. I am telling you [shouting] mr. Speaker order. Order mr lavery, you are another overexcitable denizen of the house. Calm yourself; it would be therapeutic for you to do so. There is far too much noise on both sides of the house, and i fear that the noise on the front bench is proving contagious. I note that certain back benchers who are becoming overexcitable. They must restrain themselves. I know that the Prime Minister will, of course, be both passionate and restrained. The Prime Minister. [laughter] mr. Johnson it is only with an effort that i can master my feelings here, mr speaker. The right honorable gentleman would not only put up taxes on inheritance, pensions and corporations; he would put up taxes on income to 50p in the pound. [shouting] mr. Johnson there he is. The shadow chancellor, the forger of the budget of 1984, mr speaker. [laughter] would give the leader of the opposition a chance he would put up taxes not just on homes, but on gardens. He speaks about trust in our democracy. He speaks about trust in our democracy, mr. Speaker. I have to say, a most extraordinary thing has just happened today. Did anybody notice . Did anybody notice the terrible metamorphosis that took place, like the final scene of invasion of the bodysnatchers . At last, this longstanding eurosceptic, the right hon. Beennorable john has captured. He has been jugulated, he has been reprogrammed by his hon. Friends. He has been turned now into a remainer [laughter] of all the flipflops that he has performed in his tergiversating career, that is the one for which i think he will pay the highest price. It is this party now, this party, this government that is clearly on the side of democracy in this country. It is this party that is on the side of the people who voted so overwhelmingly in 2016, and it is this party that will deliver the mandate that they gave to this parliament, and which, by the way, this parliament promised time and time and time again to deliver. And indeed, the right honorable gentleman and all his colleagues promised to deliver it. The reality now is that we are the party of the people. [applause] pm johnson we are the party. We are the party of the many, and they are the party of a few. We will take this country forward. They, mr. Speaker, will take this party backwards this country backwards. [shouting] speaker mr. Iain duncan smith. Mr. Smith i unreservedly welcome at my right honorable friend to his place. Today the eu will have listened and realised that the days of supplication are over and that we are intent on a policy to leave the European Union. But can i our chimp, in the course of his attempts at the dispatch box not to be too unkind to his opposite number. He has not just become a remainer, over the last three and a half years, he has been trying to remain again and again and again, despite his own partys determination. And can i ask him, in the process of his preparation to leave without a deal, if that were necessary, could he now not allow us to do this in private . Good he instructed his right honorable friend that all of this should now be done in public, week by week, to tell the world, to tell the European Union and our colleagues that we are nearly ready, and then finally that we are ready to leave, if necessary, without a deal . I thank my right hon. Friend very much for that excellent question and the point that he makes. It is vital now that, as we prepare for a better deal, a new deal, we get ready, of course, for no dealnot that i think that that will be the outcome and not that i desire that outcome. But it is vital that we prepare business, industry and farming every community in this country that needs the relevant advice. As my right hon. Friend has wisely suggested, there will be a very active and Public Campaign to do so. I should welcome the Prime Minister to his place the last Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. It is often said that the Prime Minister lives in a parallel universewell, my goodness, that has been proven beyond any reasonable doubt this morning. In fact, it looked as if he was about to launch himself into outer space. There are questions to be asked as to the mandate that the Prime Minister has for the office that he now occupies. He has been appointed not by this house, not by the people but by the tory party. What have they done . It horrifies me that the new Prime Minister finds his position through such an undemocratic process. Indeed, it was the Prime Minister himself who called the system a gigantic fraud when gordon brown was parachuted into office, just like he was, 12 years ago. Scotland did not vote for brexit, we did not vote for no deal, and we most certainly did not vote for this Prime Minister. Will the Prime Minister accept the first ministers call this morning for an urgent meeting of the heads of government . Scottish government analysis has shown that a Nodeal Brexit will hit the economy hard, with a predicted 8 hit to gdp, threatening up to 100,000 scottish jobs. Just this week alone, we have seen the International Monetary fund, the confederation of british industry, the trades union congress, the food and drink industry and the british chambers of commerce all warning of a Nodeal Brexit. The office for budget responsibility has revealed that a Nodeal Brexit could lead to a plunge in the value of the pound and leave a £30 billion black hole in the public finances. What analysis has the Prime Minister made of no deal . When he was asked last week, he had no answer. He wants to drive us off the cliff edge and he does not even know the impact of the damage that will cause. This is the height of irresponsibility, economic madness driven by ideology, from the Prime Minister, supported by his new rightwing ideologues on the front bench. A new deal from europe is the stuff of fantasy. Time and again, europe has made it clear that the Withdrawal Agreement is not open for negotiation. Last night, leo varadkar confirmed once again that it will not happen. The Prime Minister has no plan. He is full of bluster, but the consequences of his fantasy land will have devastating consequences. He is deluded. Let me warn the Prime Minister if he tries to take scotland and the United Kingdom out of the European Union on a nodeal basis, we will stop him doing so. This house will stop the Prime Minister. We will not let him do untold damage to the jobs and constituents of our country. Parliament will stop this madness in its tracks. The Prime Minister was elected by 0. 13 of the population. He has no mandate from scotland. He has no mandate in this house. Scotland has had a tory government for whom it did not vote for 36 of the past 64 years. The barnett formula that protects spending in scotland has been criticised by the Prime Minister, the home secretary and the foreign secretary. Will the Prime Minister today rule out changing the barnett formula, or is scotland under attack from this Prime Minister . The whole internal tory party crisis has been a democratic outrage. Scotlands first minister has been clear that she is now reviewing the timetable for a second independence referendum. Scotland will not stand by and let decisions be taken by charlatans on our behalf. I ask the Prime Minister to do the honourable thing call a general election and let the people of scotland have their say. I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his suggestion. I should point out that the people of this country have voted in 2015, 2016 and 2017, and what they want to see is this parliament delivering on the mandate that they gave us, including him. I take no criticism of my election from the party whose leader, nicola sturgeon, replaced alex salmond without a vote, as far as i know. Did she not . The right hon. Gentleman is completely wrong in his analysis and his defeatism and pessimism about our wonderful United Kingdom, which he seeks to break up, because if we can deliver a fantastic, sensible and progressive brexit, which i believe we can, and the whole United Kingdom comes out, as i know that it will, what happens then to the arguments of the Scottish Nationalist Party . Will they seriously continue to say that scotland must join the euro independently . Will they seriously suggest that scotland must submit to the entire panoply of eu law . Will they join schengen . Is it really their commitment to hand back control of scottish fisheries to brussels, just after this countrythis great United Kingdomhas taken back that fantastic resource . Is that really the policy of the Scottish Nationalist Party . I respectfully suggest to the right hon. Gentleman that that is not the basis on which to seek election in scotland. We will win on a manifesto for the whole United Kingdom. Our history is littered with Prime Ministers being dealt an extraordinarily difficult hand but, by pluck and determination, finally winning through in europe. To make it possible, though, every mp has to realise that this is no longer a conscience issue. We have to learn to compromise and vote for something that may not be the perfect solution for us personally but is best for our nation. I thank my right hon. Friend very much for his remarks and for the spirit in which he made them. He speaks for many of us in saying that we need to get this done, we can get it done and we will get it done. The 3 million eu citizens are our family, our friends, our neighbours, our carers, yet for three years they have been made to feel unwelcome in our country. They deserve better than warm words and more months of anxiety. They deserve certainty, now. The Prime Minister has made assurances, so will he back the bill of my lib dem colleague lord oates, which would guarantee in law the rights of eu citizens . Or is he all talk and no trousers . I congratulate the hon. Lady on her own election and join her in insisting on the vital importance of guaranteeing the rights and protections of the 3. 2 million who have lived and worked among us for so long. Of course, we are insisting that their rights are guaranteed in law. I am pleased to say that under our settlement scheme some 1 million have already signed up to enshrine their rights. I welcome my right hon. Friend to his place as Prime Minister and welcome the optimistic tone that he used in his opening statement. He has set out his priorities for government, but will he consider two others . The people of Northern Ireland have been without a government for two and a half years, and that has affected many, but most deeply it has affected those who were victims of historical institutional abuse and those who were severely physically and psychologically disabled in the troubles, through no fault of their own. Will he commit to deliver for those people . I thank my right hon. Friend very much for what she has done. She has worked tirelessly to promote Good Government and the restoration of the government in stormont, and she has a record of which she can be very proud indeed. If and when stormont is restored, it will be largely thanks to her hard work, efforts and diplomacy. I thank her very much. She is right to insist on the proper way of sorting out some of these very difficult legacy issues. I think it is Common Ground across the house that it is not right that former soldiers should face unfair prosecution, with no new evidence, for crimes or for alleged crimes, when the charges were heard many years ago. I thank her for what she has done in that respect as well. In following the right hon. Member for staffordshire moorlands, may i also thank her for her Public Service to Northern Ireland . I warmly congratulate the Prime Minister on his appointment and thank him for the conversations that we have had, and we look forward to further conversations in the coming weeks to ensure that we can have a sustainable conservative and unionist government Going Forward. The alternative is unthinkable in terms of National Security and the union of the United Kingdom, never mind the economic damage that would be inflicted upon this great nation of ours. I warmly welcome his positivity, his optimism; that is what this country needs. Does he agree that, in terms of our shared priority, the union comes first, that we need to deliver brexit with a deal, but that we must be prepared for no deal if necessary . We need to get the devolution settlement up and running, but let us strain every sinew to strengthen the union, get a deal to leave on the right terms and get stormont up and running again. I thank the right hon. Gentleman very much for all the cooperation and support that has enabled the government of this country to carry on and to protect the people of this country from the depredations of the labour party, because, frankly, that is what we would face were it not for his encouragement and his support. He is, of course, right in what he says about the primacy of the union. He and i share the same perspective that we can do that by coming out as a United Kingdom, whole and entire, getting rid of that divisive antidemocratic backstop that poses that appalling choice to the British Government and the british peopleto the United Kingdomof losing control of our trade, losing control of our regulation or else surrendering the government of the United Kingdom. No democratic government could conceivably accept that, and i am entirely at one with the the right hon. Gentleman. I congratulate my right hon. Friend on getting off to a terrific start. His words yesterday outside no. 10 and again today will have brought real hope and inspiration to people and interests right across the United Kingdom. He touched on one of them just now. The common fisheries policy has been a biological, environmental, economic and social catastrophe that has ruined coastal communities and brought devastation to our marine environment. Some recent comments by government ministers have alarmed those fishermen that, perhaps, the negotiations will involve the cfp being used as a bargaining chip. Will the Prime Minister confirm to me that, on the day we leave, we will establish total sovereignty over the exclusive Economic Zone and all the resources within it, we will become a normal marine nation like norway or iceland, and, from then on, we will negotiate, on an annual basis, reciprocal deals with our neighbours . I thank my right hon. Friend. Valiant for truth in these matters, as he has been for so long, he is, of course, quite right that we have a fantastic opportunity now to take back control of our fisheries, and that is exactly what we will do. We will become an independent coastal state again, and we will, under no circumstances, make the mistake of the government in the 1970s, who traded our fisheries away at the last moment in the talks. That was a reprehensible thing to do. We will take back our fisheries, and we will boost that extraordinary industry. The Prime Minister said in his statement that he had alternative arrangements for the border. I asked the chancellor, the former home secretary, what those arrangements were and what the technology would be 17 times and he could not tell me. Can the Prime Minister tell me what the technology is and what the arrangements are, or is this just more bluster and guff . As the right hon. Lady knows very well, it is Common Ground between the uk and indeed dublin and the Eu Commission that there are abundant facilitations already available, trusted trader schemes, electronic preregistering, and all manner of ways of checking whether goods are contraband and checking for rules of origin, and they can take place away from the border. I want to make one point on which i think we are all agreed under no circumstances will there be physical infrastructure or checks at the Northern Irish border. That is absolutely unthinkable. It is great to have an optimist as Prime Minister. Once we have left the eu, can we please have more service plots of land, so that people can bring forward their own Housing Schemes . Will he encourage the housing sector and the new housing minister to meet, as soon as possible, the right to build task force, which has already, for the mere expenditure of £300,000 from the nationwide foundation, added 6,000 to 11,000 extra dwellings to the pipeline . I congratulate my hon. Friend on the campaign that he has waged for so long. He and i have discussed this. I tried to steal his idea years ago. I support it unreservedly and i will make sure that the relevant meeting takes place as soon as possible. The Prime Minister has set out his new brexit policy, but did he notice that, yesterday, the taoiseach said that any suggestion that a whole new negotiation could be undertaken in weeks or months is not in the real world . If leo varadkar is right and, as a consequence, the house of commons votes in the autumn against leaving the European Union on 31 october without an agreement, what will the Prime Ministers policy be then . What the right hon. Gentleman has said is redolent of the kind of defeatism and negativity that we have had over the past three years. Why begin by assuming that our eu friends will not wish to compromise . They have every reason to want to compromise, and that is what we will seeka compromise. I respectfully say to him, and indeed to all hon. And right hon. Members, that it is now our collective responsibility to get this done. Both main parties in this house of commons know full well the haemorrhage of support that we face if we continue to refuse to honour the mandate of the people. I think that, if he talks to his constituents in chesterfield leeds central. I am sorry. Forgive me. I was thinking of the right hon. Gentlemans father. His father, of course, was right. If the right hon. Gentleman talks to his constituents in leeds he will know that they want him to honour the mandate of the people, and that is what we will do. I very much congratulate my right hon. Friend on assuming his role and on his cracking policies and appointments so far. Actions speak louder than words, and it says a great deal when the four great posts of state are held by descendants of immigrants, and we should take great pride in that. May i turn the Prime Ministers attention very briefly to something that affects millions of people in this country, and that is cancer. His predecessor introduced the oneyear cancer metric at the heart of the cancer longterm plan in order to encourage earlier diagnosis. This could save tens of thousands of lives a year. Will he look at that and commit to continue with that proud policy Going Forward . I thank my hon. Friend for his question. The simple and short answer is yes, and my right hon. Friend the secretary of state for health is only too happy to talk to him at his earliest convenience. Diolch yn fawr, lefarydd. Data shows that the Prime Minister faces a binary choice delivering brexit on 31 october or maintaining his grip over the four nations of the United Kingdom. He can indulge in bombast and gesticulation all he likes, but the facts are irrevocable, so can he confirm to me, which is his Hearts Desire leaving the European Union or retaining the United Kingdom . He has to pick one, do or die. Diolch yn fawr, mr speaker. My short answer to the right hon. Lady is that, of course, the people of the whole United Kingdom voted to leave the eu, and the people of wales, to the best of my knowledge, voted emphatically to leave the eu, and that is what we will do. My right hon. Friend will be aware that he and i do not exactly see eye to eye on the question of the likely consequences of leaving without a deal, but may i ask him to maintain his optimism about the possibility of achieving a deal and to recognise that there lies within this house, i believe still, a possible majority in favour of almost any sensible arrangement . I personally will certainly vote for any arrangement he makes for an orderly exit from the eu. I thank my right hon. Friend, who has been zealous in his pursuit of arrangements to prevent the nodeal option. I share his desire not to get to a nodeal outcome. I am delighted that he is willing to put his shoulder to the wheel and work to find a solution that will bring us together across the house and get this thing done, because that is what the people want us to do. If optimism was all it took to get things done, i am sure that thousands of people would be spending this blisteringly hot and sunny day waltzing across the Prime Ministers garden bridge and jetting off on holiday from boris island airport. As it is, people need Real Solutions to their problems. Does the Prime Minister agree with me that fixing the crisis in social care requires an immediate cash injection as well as longterm funding reform, and a system that works for disabled adults as well as older people; and that, above all, it means deciding that funding cannot be left to individuals and families alone . We must pool our resources and share our risks to ensure security and dignity for all. I thank the hon. Lady very much for her question. I agree very strongly with the thrust of what she says. I suggest it is high time that this house again tried to work across parties to find a crossparty consensus about the way forward. That is absolutely vital. If the opposition are not interested, we will fix it ourselves, but i urge them to think of the good of the nation. I thank the Prime Minister for the letter that he sent to the Defence Committee earlier this month, pledging what he called an absolute commitment to fund defence fully. Does he accept that events in the gulf have cruelly illustrated the fact that the size of the royal navy is now way below Critical Mass . Will he join the Defence Committee in wishing to reverse the reckless reduction in defence spending by successive governments from 3. 1 of gdp in the 1990s to just 1. 8 in likeforlike terms today . I congratulate my right hon. Friend on the campaign he has waged for many years to support our armed services. I share with him a strong desire to increase spending, particularly on shipbuilding, which not only drives highquality jobs in this country, but is a fantastic export for the uk around the world. The ships we are building now are being sold for billions of pounds to friends and partners around the world. We should be very proud of what we are achieving. Do the government stand by the commitment they made in the joint ukeu statement of december 2017 in the absence of agreed solutions, the United Kingdom will maintain full alignment with those rules of the internal market and the Customs Union which, now or in the future, support northsouth cooperation, the allisland economy and the protection of the 1998 agreement . Of course, that is the very trap from which it is now absolutely vital that we escape. As the right hon. Gentleman says, that 8 december document effectively commits the uk to remaining in regulatory alignment in the Customs Union. We believe and it is Common Ground in dublin, brussels and elsewhere that there are facilitations available to enable frictionless trade not just at the Northern Irish border but at other borders too, in order for the uk to come out of the eu Customs Union while doing a free trade deal. That is what we are going to achieve. I welcome my right hon. Friend to his post; i so welcome his enthusiasm. Would he come down to our seaside towns, which desperately need love and investment . He would be most welcome to come personally. May i ask him to keep a focus on the future of seaside towns and the vital role they play in our communities . I thank my hon. Friend. He is totally right to focus on seaside towns and coastal communities because too often they have been forgotten, as has their infrastructure. This new governments programme this new governments programme is to unite this country with infrastructure, better education and technology to bring opportunity not just to cities around the country, but to rural and coastal communities as well. But despite all the optimism, if the Prime Minister fails to secure some magical, mythical new deal with the European Union, will he promise now at the dispatch box that the matter will return to this Sovereign Parliament so that we can decide what happens next before 31 october . A simple yes or no will do. This parliament has already voted several times to honour the mandate of the people to come out of the eu, and that is what we should do. I think that the right hon. Lady herself voted to trigger article 50, unless i am mistaken. I would encourage her to stick by the pledge she made. Does my right hon. Friend agree that although money for schools is very welcome, further education and apprenticeships are probably the best enablers of social mobility, giving people a second or third chance . Will he ensure that apprenticeships and further education have the cash that they desperately need . I pay tribute to my right hon. Friend for all the work that she has done in her career. She is absolutely right to raise the issue of further education and skills. Indeed, i had a long discussion on that very theme last night with the new education secretary, and that will be a priority of this government. Yes, it is a great thing that 50 of kids should have the ambition to go to university, but it is equally important that other kids should acquire the skills that they need, which can be just as valuable and can lead to just as fantastic careers. It is vital that we invest now in further education and skills. The uks air pollution is at illegal levels and scientists are clear that we need to do a lot more to address the growing climate crisis. Few will forget the Prime Ministers pledge to lie down in front of the bulldozers to stop the construction of a third runway at heathrow airport. Luckily for himluckily for us allhe is now at the Steering Wheel and can turn those bulldozers around. Will he do it . Will he scrap the third runway . Of course, the bulldozers are some way off, but i am following the court cases with a lively interest because i share the hon. Ladys concerns about air quality and pollution. However, i would point out parenthetically that nox pollution has in fact fallen by 29 under this conservative government. The hon. Lady did not point that out. I will study the outcome of the court cases with a lively interest. Angela merkel has indicated that there might be some flexibility on the backstop. Does the Prime Minister believe, as i do, that the french and germans are likely to put the eu under more pressure to be flexible . We should approach these talks in the spirit of maximum optimism, although optimism seems to be a quality that is deprecated on the opposition benches. It is a wellfounded optimism because common sense dictates that now is the moment for seriousness and compromise, and i think that is what we are going to find. This mornings announcement of 12,500 job losses at nissan worldwide is really worrying, although at this stage there is no indication that any of these job losses are going to be at the sunderland plant in my constituency. But it does highlight the fragile nature of the Automotive Industry. This really should refocus our minds, therefore, on the existential threat that a Nodeal Brexit would be to the Automotive Industry in the uk. Will the Prime Minister today rule out a Nodeal Brexit and commit to an active, innovationled industrial strategy that will protect our industrial towns and cities . I will indeed commit to that approach, because i think that is the right way forward. If i may say so, nissan in sunderland is the most efficient plant in the world, and what a fantastic thing that is. Just in the past few weeks, as the hon. Lady will have noticed, bmw has announced a Huge Investment to build electric minis at cowley and Jaguar Land Rover has put £1 billion into electric vehicles in birmingham. That, by the way, is how we will tackle the Climate Change issue, not with the hair shirtism of the greens but with wonderful new Technology Made in this country. May i warmly congratulate my right hon. Friend on lifting the mood of the nation . Will he look at the record amount of funds going into education, to address not only the funding going to further education but the distribution among the highestfunded and lowestfunded education authorities . That is of course what we are doing. That is the nature of the pledge and the undertaking that we are making with the £4. 6 billion that we have announced. The objective, as i think members will know by now, is to lift per capita per pupil funding to a minimum everywhere of £4,000 for Primary School pupils and £5,000 for secondary school pupils. I want to maximise participation and there is therefore a premium on brevity. I appeal to colleagues to be unselfish and to ask singlesentence questions without preamble so that they are also helping their colleagues. The phrase workers or Employment Rights was absent from the Prime Ministers statement, so will he make a commitment now that eu workers rights will be protected in the event of brexit . Not only that, but under the freedoms that we will obtain we will be able, where necessary, to enhance workers rights in this country. Will my right hon. Friend look at helping to make the work of the 20,000 more Police Officers more effective by implementing preventive measures such as restricting the number of properties being converted to houses in multiple occupation, which are undoubtedly a magnet for antisocial behaviour . Of course it is vital that we look at prevention measures of all kinds. I am familiar with the problem that my hon. Friend raises and i will take it up with my right hon. Friend the home secretary. The Prime Minister has again given a long list of public spending commitments. I, for one, can see the difference between optimism and fantasy, so either the Prime Minister is a fantasist or he will tell us now how he is going to fund these commitments. Actually, the spending pledges i have made have been modest, so far. As the hon. Lady knows full well, they are well within the fiscal headroom that this country currently enjoys, and it is about time that that money was spent. If labour members are now opposing that spendingif they now think that we should not be putting another £1 billion into policing and another £4. 6 billion into educationthen now is the time to speak. But the labour front benchers seem to have departed. While waiting to vote a fourth time on a negotiated agreement with the eu27, will my right hon. Friend recognise the achievement of the past three years in dealing with abuse of residential leaseholds and lend his weight to making sure that we go on making progress so that leaseholders are not abused or exploited . I am well familiar with the problem that my hon. Friend describes and the injustice that many leaseholders have been facing, and i side with him on that. I congratulate him on the campaign that he has run. We will make sure that we look after the interests of leaseholders who are, i think, being cheated at the moment. The sixth principle of public life reads honesty holders of Public Office should be truthful. Can the Prime Minister stand at that dispatch box and tell us whether, in his public life so far, he has maintained that principle . I think that if the hon. Lady looks at what i have promised the British Public and promised the electorate in my political career, and looks at what i have delivered time and time again, she will see that when i have said i would deliver x, i have delivered x plus 20, whether it was cutting crime in london, investing in transport or building more homesmore, by the way, than the labour mayor ever did. I am very proud of my record and stand and fight on my record. Can i urge my right hon friend the Prime Minister to continue all the efforts the government have so far been engaged in to secure and save a future for the British Steel industry, which is so important to the north of england . One way of doing that would be to commit quickly to hs3Northern Powerhouse rail. I thank my hon. Friend for his advice. Yes, i am a huge fan of Northern Powerhouse rail. I went up to Manchester Airport and saw the plan. It is a truly visionary and exciting plan, and i think we should definitely be doing it. If i might remind him, it is not just rails in this country that are built by British Steel in scunthorpe; it may be to the advantage of the house and the pessimists of the opposition to know that the tgv in france runs on rails made in scunthorpe as well. The Prime Minister recently appalled and offended many people when he criticised investigating historical child abuse as spaffing money up the wall. What does he have to say to those who have suffered at the hands of predatory paedophiles, especially those who are still seeking justice, and will he now apologise . This country is proud of its record as a world leader in fighting child sexual abuse, and under this government we will continue to lengthen that lead. I hope the Prime Minister agrees that having a general election might be something that the leader of the opposition wants but it is not what the country needs and it will not resolve the brexit deadlock. Will he bring back any brexit plan, put it to this house and then put it to the people, because that is the way we can finally break the brexit deadlock, unite the country, move on, and get on to fixing the real problems that britain faces, not least improving social mobility and achieving equality of opportunity . My right hon. Friend and i go back a long way and she and i agree on so many things, but on this i must, i am afraid, respectfully disagree. Having a second referendum, which is now labours policyit was not before, but it is now the party of return or revokewould be catastrophic for our union because it would of course undermine our most important case that when you have a referendum, that deeply divisive and toxic event should only take place once in every generation. That was what we said to the people of scotland. How could we look at them and say we could not have a second referendum in scotland if we had another referendum on the eu in the uk . It is simply the wrong thing to do. Given the Welcome Change of the Prime Ministers recognition of the benefits of migration, will he bring forward the reconsideration system proposed by the former home secretary, now chancellor, for overseas students falsely accused of cheating in the english language test by the us firm ets so that they finally have the chance to clear their name . My right hon. Friend the home secretary has made me aware of the issue to which the right hon. Gentleman refers. I will make sure that we write to him about what we are doing to address it. As he knows, i have a longstanding commitment to supporting the freedom of people of talent to come to this country. If he looks at my political record, i do not think, genuinely, that he will find anybody who has done more to champion the rights of immigrants to this city or to this country. heather conley, a former secretary of state for Eurasia Affairs with the bush administration, she is now here to talk about the new Prime Minister of britain, Boris Johnson who just came to power this week