Parliament. I think the right thing to do, tom, is to look at the stats as they were and how, you know, weve got mayors in north yorkshire, the Prime Ministers a labour mayor in north yorkshire. Yorkshire. We are going to the house of commons. Its pmqs, amy dowden and Scottish First minister. I look forward to working constructively with him to deliver for the people of scotland. Mr speaker, this morning i had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in this house. I addition to my duties in this house. I shall have further such meetings later today. Kirsten osman, thank you, mr speaken last weeks Prime Ministers questions i highlighted the shocking rise in the number of teenagers trying vaping and asked the Prime Minister if he would take Decisive Action to stop vape advertising on football strips. He declined to do that since then, i have had an exchange with the scottish chief medical officer, professor sir gregor smith, during a session of the tobacco and vapes bill committee, and he said that where i become very uncomfortable and i am not supportive of, is where the massive attraction of Sports Companies is used in a way that promotes behaviours that are known to be unsafe or unhealthy. Can i ask the Prime Minister again, does he still think that it is right that Vape Companies should sponsor football kits . Yeah mr speaker, i am glad the honourable lady agrees with me and the government that we should do more to tackle youth vaping, and thats why we are bringing forward measures in the new to bill restrict the availability and appeal of vapes to children specifically, whether thats flavours or indeed marketing. Indeed marketing. As she knows, advertising of vapesis as she knows, advertising of vapes is already heavily restricted by uk regulations, including a ban on advertising on television and radio and most onune on television and radio and most online varne. Now weve seen football take positive voluntary action in the past on issues such as this, but i will say to her that the government will respond to the honourable lady specific amendment in the usual way. Way. Cheryl burke thank you, mr speaker. Speaken i speaken iguess speaken i guess my daughter is a serving officer in the armed forces in recent weeks. Mr speaker , my right honourable speaker, my right honourable friend has announced plans to control welfare and get people back to work to increase defence spending to 2. 5 of gdp and to pass legislation to get flights off to rwanda. Does he agree off to rwanda. Does he agree with me that these are all issues that real people like my constituents in South East Cornwall care about, and that the leader of the opposition should do the right thing and back them . Yes. Back them . Yes. Oh, mr speaker, my honourable friend is a fantastic champion for her local area. And can i also thank her daughter for her service in the armed forces . And service in the armed forces . And shes right. Im not surprised that the labour party dont back our plans to stop the boats. Im not surprised they dont back our plans to get people into work and reform welfare. But i do think that they should do the right thing when it comes to the security of our nation. And security of our nation. And thats back. Our plans to increase defence spending and give our Armed Forces Personnel the resources they need to keep us safe as we now come to leader of the opposition keir starmer. Of the opposition keir starmer. Hey, mr speaker, can i warmly welcome the new member for blackpool south after the representation that fine town has had recently, it is good to know they have got a proper champion back at last. Can i also warmly welcome the new labour mp for dover to these benches . Benches . Mr speaker, if one week a tory mp who is also a doctor says the Prime Minister cant be trusted with the nhs and joins laboun trusted with the nhs and joins labour, and the next week the tory mp for dover, on the front line of the small boats crisis, says the Prime Minister cannot be trusted with our borders and joins labour. What is the point of this failed government . Staggering on. Well, mr speaker, can i actually join him in welcoming his newest mp for blackpool . I must say he looks blackpool . I must say he looks a lot happier than the member who was sitting there last week. But let me let me also let me also join with him and let me join with him in congratulating all new and paying tribute to all former councillors, pccs and across the country. I mayors across the country. I hope his i hope his new ones do him as proud as i am of all of mine. Mr speaker, great leaders, great leaders like andy street, great leaders like andy street, great leaders like andy street, great leaders like andy street who leave behind a strong legacy of more homes, more jobs, and more investment in sharp contrast to the legacy left by the last labour government, which was a letterjoking the last labour government, which was a letter joking that there was no money left. Chris there was no money left. Chris kaba. Well, mr speaker, in addition to losing two tory mps in two weeks, the Prime Minister has been on the receiving end of some of the biggest by election swings in history. He has also lost 1500 tory councillors , half of his partys councillors, half of his partys mayors and a leadership election. To a lettuce. How many more times do the pubuc how many more times do the public and his own mps need to reject him before he takes the hint . Yeah, well, mr speaker, this time last year i reminded him of some advice. Actually , from his own actually, from his own mentor, tony blair, who had said who had said at the time he can be as cocky as he likes about local elections. But come a general election, its policy that counts. Mr speaker, now what what one year on, one year on from that advice, one year on from that advice, what does he manage . £28 billion of tax rises, 70 new business regulations, 30 u turns and a deputy leader under a police investigation. Nation chris investigation. Nation chris kaba. Well, im surprised he brought up a police investigation. I think his record is played one no, actually two. The seatbelt as well. Played two, lost two in relation to police investigations. But its police investigations. But its the same. The public keep telling him, the voters tell him its not good enough. Instead of listening, he keeps telling them everythings fine. If only they realise his greatness. Greatness. He just doesnt get it. He just doesnt get it. But at least after thursday night, mr speaker, he can go to the many places that he calls home and enjoy the fruits of his success in southampton or downing street. Hes got great Labour Councils. Yay at his mansion in richmond, he can enjoy a brand new labour mayor of north yorkshire. At his pad of north yorkshire. At his pad in kensington, he can celebrate a historic third term for the mayor of london. Yay now that he too can enjoy the benefits of this changed labour party , is he this changed labour party, is he really still in such a hurry to get back to california Prime Minister, mr speaker, i must say i was i was of course, surprised to see the honourable gentleman in north yorkshire, but probably, although probably, probably, although probably, probably not a surprise, probably not a surprise, probably not a surprise, probably not a surprise as he was when he realised he couldnt take the tube there. Mr speaker , but i can tell mr speaker, but i can tell him that the people of north yorkshire, the people of north yorkshire, the people of north yorkshire, believe in hard work, secure borders, lower taxes and straight talking. Common sense. Mr speaker, theyre not going to get any of that from a virtue signalling lawyer from north london. Mr well, it was great to be in northallerton , where they just northallerton, where they just voted to reject the Prime Ministers proposition. Mr ministers proposition. Mr speaken ministers proposition. Mr speaker, hes finally found something in common with the british public, no matter where he calls home, all his neighbours are backing this changed labour party. Yeah, and they keep rejecting him because they keep rejecting him because they have sussed him out. They know theres nothing behind the boasts. The gimmicks, the smug boasts. The gimmicks, the smug smile. Hes a dodgy salesman desperate to sell them a dud. Now, mr speaker, 16 days ago, when he held a press conference claiming victory on rwanda, he said the next few weeks will be about action. People want deeds, not words. So lets test that. Not words. So lets test that. How many small boat crossings have there been since he said that . 16 days ago . Yeah mr speaker, mr speaker, actually, just before we go on to that , he talked about to that, he talked about a change. He talked about he talked about a change labour party, thats important because he talked about a change labour party. He talks about it a lot. But just this morning and he also talked about his new mayor in london. So just this morning weve learned that the labour mayor in london believes, and i quote, that there is an equivalent choice between the brutal terrorist attack of hamas and israel defending itself. And and israel defending itself. And let me be Crystal Clear, there is absolutely no equivalence between a terrorist group and a democratic state. So can i ask him now, will he take this opportunity to demonstrate, to demonstrate that that labour party has changed . And will he condemn those comments from the labour mayor well, i know that was the last run out before the general election, but hes getting ahead of himself in asking me questions. But he. Mr speaker, i questions. But he. Mr speaker, i nofice questions. But he. Mr speaker, i notice he didnt even attempt to answer the question. He knows the answer. Since he claimed victory 16 days ago, there have been a staggering 2400 small boat crossings, 2400 . Thats a gimmick , not a deterrent. And gimmick, not a deterrent. And those 2400 will be added to the tories asylum perm backlog, which is forecast to rise to 100,000 by the end of this year. Now the Prime Minister pretends he will remove them to all rwanda, but rwanda can only take a few hundred a year. At that rate, the Prime Ministers grand plan would take over 300 years to remove them all. Mr speaker, thats tens of thousands of people with their claims going unprocessed who are going to be here for their entire lifetime, living in hotels at the taxpayers expense. It is absurd to call that anything other than an amnesty handed to them by the tory party. Isnt it finished . Tory party. Isnt it finished . Well, mr speaker, he had the opportunity to condemn the comments of his mayor and mayor, who said that there is an equivalence between hamas and israel. He equivalence between hamas and israel. He did not do that. And everyone will see what that is. Thatis everyone will see what that is. That is the change. Labour party, mr speaker, right there. But since i became Prime Minister, small boat crossings are down by a third. Thats because weve doubled ncaa funding, increased enforcement rates, closed bank accounts, deported 24,000 people, processed more claims and mr speaker, when it comes to border control, there is a crucial difference between us. We want secure borders. He is happy with open borders. Happy with open borders. Mr speaker, the whole country knows that removing less than 1 of Asylum Seekers is not stopping the boats. It is granting an amnesty , a tory granting an amnesty, a tory amnesty. But if he thinks the voters are wrong, if he thinks his own mps joining the labour party are wrong, if he thinks anyone believes any of the nonsense that he spouts, why doesnt he put it to the test and call a general election Prime Minister mr speaker, he talks about removing people this is a person who campaigned, who person who campaigned to stop the deportation of Foreign National offenders. Mr speaker, it shows how out of touch his values are with the british people. But, mr with the british people. But, mr speaken with the british people. But, mr speaker, its yet another week where we hear nothing about his plan to do anything on the issues that matter to the country. Meanwhile, were getting on reforming welfare and getting on reforming welfare and getting people into work. He opposes it. Were controlling migration, legal and illegal. He opposes it and as we heard, mr speaken opposes it and as we heard, mr speaker, we are boosting defence spending to strengthen our country. He opposes it. And thats the difference , he sniped thats the difference, he sniped from the sidelines. The conservatives are building a brighter future. Brighter future. When it comes to small boat crossings, theres a lot of talk of human rights. But surely the only human right and life that matters is the life of children who are being taken across the channel. In this respect , will the in this respect, will the government now do the only thing that will actually be a real deterrence, and that is to arrest and detain all those who land illegally on our shores and then offshore them promptly , so then offshore them promptly, so that once and for all we can save lives and end this cruel and callous trade. Yeah yeah. Well, mr speaker, my right hon. Friend is right that these crossings are incredibly dangerous and they risk peoples lives. Just weeks ago, a seven Year Old Girl died attempting the crossing. And thats why, as a matter of basic compassion, we must do everything we can to break the cycle of the criminal gangs. And thats why, mr speaken gangs. And thats why, mr speaker, you need a deterrent. Thats what the National Crime agency say. Thats how we dealt with Illegal Migrants from albania, because its only by removing people who shouldnt be here that we remove the reason for them to come in the first place, and that is how well control our borders. And its control our borders. And its clear that its only this party that not only has a plan to stop the boats, but has a plan to stop the tragic loss of life in the channel two snp leader stephen flynn. Stephen flynn. Thank you, mr speaker. May i begin by also congratulating the fantastic john swinney on becoming scotlands first minister . Our opponent should be careful, very careful what they wish for. Mr speaker, as we await the imminent israeli incursion into rafah, where 1. 2 Million People are sheltering, including 600,000 children, it has been reported that the United States has paused an arms shipment to israel. The uk will now follow suit. We want it now follow suit. We want it here, here, here. Mr speaker, the right honourable gentleman may not realise that the uk government doesnt itself directly provide arms or ship arms to israel. And when it comes, when it comes to the situation in rafah, ive been very clear that we are deeply concerned about a full military incursion of rafah, given the devastating humanitarian impact ive made that position and point specifically to Prime Minister netanyahu whenever weve spoken, and will continue to urge all sides to focus on the negotiations at hand to bring about a pause in the conflict, to release hostages and get more aid in stephen flynn. Mr speaker, let us be clear the confidence that israel has shown in its military ambitions in in rafah stems from the silence which has been shown from its allies on the front benches in this place and indeed elsewhere across the world. Now we know, we all know that uk arms and tech is supporting israels activities in gaza and will be used in any attack on rafah, knowing that and the devastation which is going to occur , surely the time has come occur, surely the time has come to end our complicity and to halt arms sales to israel. Absolutely. Mr speaker , of course we take mr speaker, of course we take our defence export responsibilities extremely seriously, and thats why we operate one of the most robust licensed control regimes anywhere in the world. We periodically review advice on israels commitment to International Humanitarian law, and ministers always act in accordance with that advice. And thatis accordance with that advice. And that is Crystal Clear for the house to understand our position with regard to export licensing is following the most recent assessment is unchanged , and i assessment is unchanged, and i know that he will join me in urging all parties to engage in the negotiations that are happening so we can see a pause in fighting to get more aid in hostages out, and then bring about a sustainable ceasefire to this conflict. This conflict. Walter vickers, thank you, mr speaken walter vickers, thank you, mr speaker. My constituents in rural villages and on the fringes of the Grimsby Cleethorpes urban area are very concerned about overdevelopment. They recognise that the Highway Infrastructure and Public Services are already overloaded. Could my right hon. Overloaded. Could my right hon. Friend consider amending Planning Guidance so that local plans and decisions taken by local planning authorities are not overridden by planning inspectors, and theyd be greatly encouraged if he would agree to meet with me and my colleagues from the neighbouring gainsborough and grimsby constituencies to discuss this further. Further. Prime minister friend is right that Sustainable Development must be at the heart of the Planning System and thats why were committed to meeting the needs for housing by building the right homes in the right places and protecting the Environmental Assets that matter most. The National Planning policy framework is clear that we should be responsive to local circumstances. I we should be responsive to local circumstances. I know we should be responsive to local circumstances. I know that the circumstances. I know that the relevant local plan and my hon. Friends area is due for further consultation later this year , consultation later this year, and that hell engage with that process, but i will happily meet with him and colleagues to discuss his his situation further. Further. Ed davey. Ed davey. Thank you, mr speaker. Thank you, mr speaker. The abuse suffered by 88 year old ann king at the hands of staff in her care home was captured on a hidden camera. The footage is stomach churning and died in october 2022, and it took nearly a year before the cqc launched a criminal investigation. Now anns children are working to protect other care home residents from being subjected to such appalling abuse. Her son came to see me as his mp to ask for my help in their campaign. So will the Prime Ministerjoin me in backing annes law, a proposal to include a National Register to professionalise the Care Workforce and hold those staff who are abusive to account and will he meet with annes family and myself to discuss this idea , the Prime Minister. This idea, the Prime Minister. Mr speaker, can i first of all extend my sympathies to annes family for what she went through . Obviously, thats not appropriate , and ill make sure appropriate, and ill make sure that the department engages with him and annes family on the proposed law. And hes right to say we should have high standards across the care industry, and were walking towards more investment to support our care home staff, making sure that they have training qualifications to development. And we have a regime in place that can hold everyone to account for delivering the high standards that we would all expect. Sarah dunns thank you, mr speaken sarah dunns thank you, mr speaker. Does my right hon. Friend agree with me that one of the greatest things that these backbenches bring to westminster is plain, Old Fashioned common sense and its derbyshire common sense. Derby sheer common sense. Derby sheer common sense. That means that the good people of ashbourne and surrounding villages reject the Sadiq Khan Ulez rules, and even the 20 miles an hour welsh. Will he join with me and perhaps ask his neighbour if he will pay for the ashbourne bypass . Hey well, mr speaker, i know my honourable friend has been a dedicated campaigner for the ashbourne bypass and the government is committed to investing more in the midlands, particularly investing every penny of the £96 billion from xh2 back into the local area. And shes right that we will focus on drivers and their priorities, not continue the war on motorists, which is waged waged by the labour mayor in london, but also the labour party in wales, with both ulez and 20 mile an hour speed limit. Its this party that is unashamedly on the side of the motorist and mooloolaba. Motorist and mooloolaba. Thank you very much, mr speaken thank you very much, mr speaker. Our child of the north Cross Party Group found that expectant mothers were terminated unwanted pregnancies as they could not afford another mouth to feed. Recent figures show infant and child death rates have increased in the most depnved rates have increased in the most deprived areas, and 50 children have died alone in unregulated accommodation. Is this his plan for a brighter britain in action . Mr speaker, obviously what the honourable lady has described is tragedy. Nobody wants to see children grow up in those circumstances, and thats why im proud that the government has overseen a significant fall in poverty , but significant fall in poverty, but particularly child poverty, since 2010, for a range of measures. And ill make and ill make sure that she is aware for her constituents of all the support that is in place, both through the department of health and through the department for work and pensions and local authorities, to provide support to the most vulnerable families in our communities. John penrose , mr speaker, john penrose, mr speaker, Weston Super Mare is a growing town, so local Health Services are rightly growing to western hospital is treating more patients for a wider variety of problems than before. Gp surgeries are offering thousands more appointments this year than last, and our new diagnostic centre means faster tests and treatments. But theres a fly in treatments. But theres a fly in our nhs prescribed ointment. Our nhs prescribed ointment. Dentistry isnt fixed yet. The new dental Recovery Plan is very welcome. But when will it mean appointments that were estonians can book . Can book . Well, mr speaker, our dentistry Recovery Plan will make Dentist Services dental services faster, simpler and fairer for patients. Funding around 2. 5 million more appointments. And i was pleased to note that access is improving in my honourable friends area with almost 10 more children seeing a dentist in june last year than the previous year. But we are going further. The new patient premium that was announced last year is ensuring that more nhs dentistry will be provided and since then, at the end of january, 500 more practices have said that they are now open to new patients. Chris law yeah , yeah. Chris law yeah, yeah. Chris law yeah, yeah. Thank you, mr speaker. Its now been over a month since the parliamentary ombudsman delivered a long awaited report on pension injustices. Yet women born in the 1950s and my constituency of dundee and indeed every constituency in this house across these islands are still waiting to hear if the uk government will listen to these recommendations and deliver compensation. Mr speaken deliver compensation. Mr speaker, i was proud to see the Scottish Parliament support a motion last week calling for compensation to be delivered without delay, but utterly dismayed to see members of the conservative party and the labour party abstain. So can the labour party abstain. So can the Prime Minister finally set out when waspi women will receive the compensation they rightly deserve. Here mr speaker, i understand the strong feelings across the chamber on this topic and the desire for urgency in addressing them. However, following the ombudsmans five year investigation, it is imperative that we take the time to thoroughly review the comprehensive findings that have been published. An update to the house will be provided once the reports findings have been fully considered. More broadly , fully considered. More broadly, we are committed to ensuring pensioners have the dignity and security in retirement that they deserve and most recently, increasing the state pension by £900 thanks to the triple lock. Sir philip davies. Sir philip davies. Thank you very much, mr speaken is the Prime Minister as appalled as i am at reports of militant Civil Servant trade Union Political activists seeking to find ways not to implement the rwanda deportations does he agree with me that if they are not prepared to implement the will of the government and act of parliament that was passed by both houses of parliament, that they should conclude that being in the Civil Service is perhaps not for them, and maybe they can look for alternative employment at other left wing organisations that masquerade as being impartial. Masquerade as being impartial. Well, maybe they could try the bbc or channel 4 news. Yeah yeah yeah. Yeah yeah yeah. Yeah yeah yeah. Mr mr speaker, you know, my expectation is that Civil Servants will continue to be committed to supporting our priority of stopping the boats and deliver in accordance with the Civil Service code. Hell know that we made specific changes to ensure compliance with that code as we push through with our plans. But i agree with him more broadly that we are the only party that has a plan to stop the boats, and we will face down all the obstacles in our way to deliver on this crucial priority for the british people and whoever stands in our way, whether its the labour party or others , we will deliver party or others, we will deliver for this country on this vital issue. Issue. Sir malcolm macdonald. Sir malcolm macdonald. Mr mr speaker , china has now mr mr speaker, china has now hacked the data of defence personnel , the electoral personnel, the Electoral Commission and various other pubuc commission and various other Public Institutions and is targeted many members of this house and yet plans by chinas largest wind turbine manufacturer , Mingyang Smart manufacturer, Mingyang Smart energy, to build its largest european facility right here in the uk. Advance at pace with the facility set to be built in scotland. Given widely shared scotland. Given widely shared concerns about the involvement of hostile states such as china in the uks Critical National energy infrastructure, does he not agree that now is the time for this project to be paused, to be reviewed by the government on National Security grounds . And if not, what message does he think that sends . Think that sends . Well, as ive said repeatedly, china is a country with different values to ours and is acting in a way that is increasingly authoritarian at home and assertive abroad. Its right that we take firm steps to protect ourselves against that, particularly in the area of economic security, which is why this government passed the National Security and investment act precisely so that we can screen transactions without commenting on individual ones. Of course, to protect this country and we have used those powers, not least to block Chinese Investment in a sensitive semiconductor company, but also to ensure that the Chinese StateNuclear Company had no part in the future of our nuclear power. So he can rest assured that were alive to the challenges and have passed laws that give us the powers to protect against them. Shall these foreign. Thank you, mr speaker. A five year old you, mr speaker. A five year old Benedict Blythe was a lovely little boy who attended a Primary School in my constituency. Sadly, however, he constituency. Sadly, however, he died of anaphylaxis, a severe allergic reaction. The coroners allergic reaction. The coroners inquest has not yet reported. Inquest has not yet reported. But speaking generally, on average , two children in every average, two children in every class have a food allergy. An allergic reactions take place more in school than in any other setting outside the home. Severe allergic reactions are on the rise and can be fatal , yet there rise and can be fatal, yet there is no explicit legal requirement for schools to have allergy medication and allergy policy or other recommended safeguards being made available. There is only guidance. Will the prime only guidance. Will the Prime Minister meet with me and benedicts parents, helen and pete, so that we can discuss a way forward to ensure that children who suffer from allergies in schools can be more safe, including schools having an allergy policy, adrenaline pens and staff who know how to use them. Use them. Well, firstly, can i extend my sympathy to benedicts family . Its a tragic always to hear about the loss of a child, and we fully understand the seriousness of severe allergies, and believe that children with medical conditions should be properly supported to enjoy a full education and be safe at school. Now there is a legal duty on the governing body of schools to make arrangements for supporting pupils , including supporting pupils, including setting out what needs to be done, symptoms, treatment. But i done, symptoms, treatment. But i will ensure that my right honourable friend gets a meeting with the Health Secretary to discuss how we could further support pupils with serious allergies. Allergies. Omicron speller. Yeah omicron speller. Yeah yesterday his chancellor confirmed that his government policy to abolish national insurance, a £46 billion annual cost and no indication of where the money is coming from. So can the money is coming from. So can the money is coming from. So can the Prime Minister rule out further freezes on tax allowances for an ap increase in income tax to pay for it . Income tax to pay for it . Well, mr speaker, is total nonsense. And of course i rule nonsense. And of course i rule that out. And let me just say there is no unfunded policy. What we have said is that we have a long term ambition to keep Cutting National Insurance, to end the unfairness of the double taxation on work. We will make progress towards that goal in the next parliament, just as we already have in this, by Cutting National Insurance by a third in six months, delivering a £900 tax cut at the same time is increasing investment in the nhs and increasing the state pension. But its increasingly clear what this reveals is that the labour Party Opposes tax cuts for working people. Arne slot richardson. Arne slot richardson. Arne slot richardson. Thank you. Empowering local pharmacies is a key part of this governments plan to cut waiting lists in guildford. We recently lost two neighbouring pharmacies, but good news, mr speaken pharmacies, but good news, mr speaker. I am pleased to report that by working diligently with local pharmacists, concerned residents, the minister and the ice, i residents, the minister and the icb, i have helped to secure a new pharmacy in burford. Will my new pharmacy in burford. Will my right honourable friend join me in welcoming this new pharmacy . And does he agree that it is vital residents should have access to a good, efficient and above all, local pharmacy . Yes well, mr speaker, i care deeply about the future of our community pharmacies. Im very pleased to hear about my honourable friend success in securing a new pharmacy for her constituents. Joining the 10,500 others across the country. And shes now right about the Important Role that our local pharmacies can play. Thats why pharmacies can play. Thats why were backing them with £645 million of additional funding through pharmacy first. So that you can now go straight to your pharmacist, receive treatment for seven of the most common ailments, saving you time and ensuring that patients get the care they need quicker and closer to home. The varne mishra mr speaker, last friday, the guardian reported major structural deficiencies at stepping hill hospital in stockport. Stepping hills major outpatients, building the Radiology Department and the Critical Care unit have all been condemned. In march, i met with senior officials at stockport nhs trust. They were very clear that a sustained lack of Capital Investment is the root cause of problems at my local hospital. Mr speaker , does does the prime mr speaker, does does the Prime Minister believe that our hospitals , quite literally hospitals, quite literally crumbling . Is the price worth paying crumbling . Is the price worth paying for the 14 years of successive conservative failure . Successive conservative failure . Mr speaker, we fully recognise the need to invest in Health Infrastructure across the country, including at stepping hill hospital, and thats why we are currently spending around £4 billion a year for trust to spend on necessary maintenance and repairs, on top of the £20 billion new Hospital Programme and the additional funding that was put aside to deal with rat maintenance. But he talks about a legacy of the nhs. All he needs to do is look at the party. His partys record in wales, where people currently are experiencing the worst a e performance and the longest wait times anywhere in great britain. Times anywhere in great britain. Thank you, mr speaker. Thank you, mr speaker. Mr speaker , nottingham city mr speaker, Nottingham City Council is expecting to fall short of its housing target by 6000 new homes. Last time this happened , last time this happened, rushcliffe, as a Neighbouring Authority was forced to take thousands of homes on top of its own housing target , which led to own housing target, which led to huge pressures on our green spaces and Public Services. So, can my right hon. Friend reassure me and my constituents that the changes we have made to the Planning System will mean that this time we will be protected from labours failure in nottingham. Yeah. In nottingham. Yeah. My hon. Friend makes an important point and y on this while on this side of the house, a conservatives bill believe in building the right homes in the right places with local people having a say or labour would do is impose top down housing targets on areas decimating our precious countryside. And in nottinghamshire, as she says, you can see the difference, mr speaken you can see the difference, mr speaker, between the well run conservative county council compared to the bankrupt nottingham council, which has left residents to pick up the bill from their profligacy. Bill from their profligacy. Caroline lucas, thank you very much , mr speaker. Very much, mr speaker. Untreated sewage was pumped into english waterways for more than 3. 6 million hours last year and into the sea off sussex beaches three times in the last 24 hours alone. Yet since privatisation, the Water Companies have been allowed to rack up debts of over £64 billion and their shareholders to pocket 78 billion in dividends, the majority of the public, including 58 of conservative and 80 of labour supporters , and 80 of labour supporters, want a turf out. The profiteering polluters. They want water brought back into public hands. When is he going to listen to them and end the legalised scam of privatisation . Hear, hear. Privatisation . Hear, hear. Well, mr speaker, our plans have gone to tackle this, have gone further than any other previous government. In fact, we now monitor 100 of overflows, up from just 7 under the labour party. Were investing a record £56 billion into our Water Infrastructure , and we have infrastructure, and we have enshrined in law strict targets and introduce unlimited fines for Water Companies holding them and their bosses to account. So its Crystal Clear that the record shows that there is only one party who has a clear plan to tackle this issue for the environment, and its the conservative party. My no question, macvicars. Thank you, mr speaker. Thank you, mr speaker. Everybody knows that stockton is a great place with great people and a great Football Team i my right hon. Friend recently visited the mighty stockton town to see the incredible work that they do in the local community, and heard about their promotion battle. Im sure hell want to join me in congratulating mikki dunwell and the mighty anchors on their promotion. Yeah well, mr speaker, it was fantastic to visit soccer town fc with my hon. Friend, who was a brilliant champion for his local community, which i see firsthand on a weekly basis , and let me on a weekly basis, and let me join him in congratulating everyone at the club on their well deserved promotion. And i hope some of their good luck rubs off on southampton in the coming weeks. That completes Prime Ministers questions. Ministers questions. That was Prime Ministers question time for another week, but it began with high drama as Natalie Elphicke, the conservative mp since Natalie Elphicke, the consethe ive mp since Natalie Elphicke, the consethe words since Natalie Elphicke, the consethe words from e Natalie Elphicke, the consethe words from natalie have the words from Natalie Elphicke that you can bring us . Absolutely. This was released at midday, just as mps were preparing for Prime Ministers questions, just as the Prime Minister got to his feet. Natalie elphicke said today i announced that i have decided to join the labour party and that i will sit in parliament as a labour mp. When i was elected in 2019. The conservative party occupied the Centre Ground of british politics. The party was about building the future and making the most of the opportunities that lay ahead for our country. Since then, many things have changed. The elected Prime Minister was ousted in a coup led by the unelected rishi sunak under rishi sunak, the conservatives have become a byword for incompetence and division. The Centre Ground has been abandoned and key pledges of the 2019 manifesto have been ditched. She goes on to write about how the labour party has changed from the leadership under jeremy corbyn, and changed from the leadership underjeremy corbyn, and points to what she sees as policy failures from the conservative party on migration and house building. So lets cross now to our panel so lets cross now to our panel. Well start by getting some reaction to the conservatives the health minister, helen whately. I mean, you must have known natalie. Obviously she was a colleague, perhaps a friend, even. Did you perhaps a friend, even. Did you have any inkling that she wasnt happyin have any inkling that she wasnt happy in the conservative party i do, of course, know natalie, and im really, really disappointed to see the decision that shes taken. But im also pretty surprised because for dover , immigration is a really dover, immigration is a really big issue. Small boats is a really big issue. Shes been very critical of herself, of labours policy on immigration. She said herself dont trust labour on immigration. They want open borders. So its not clear to me how she will explain to her constituents in dover for as long as she represents them. This decision shes made when immigration is such a big issue , immigration is such a big issue, to cross the floor and join a party that doesnt have a plan on immigration, that doesnt want to control our borders, would you like her to call a by election . Is that what youre suggesting . Well, what im my reflection on the question you asked me, which is in my reaction to her, crossing the floor is considering her position in the past on immigration, and she really cared about this issue. Rightly so. Its an important issue to her constituents is how can she become a labour party mp when keir starmer doesnt have a plan on immigration . If anything , its a plan for an amnesty. Well, steve reed, i want to show you some tweets that Natalie Elphicke has put up in the last year or two. Lets see if we can play these now , if we can play these now, because it does seem that, she has had a lot to say about keir starmer saying, starmer has no plan, that he has no plan to stop the boats. He didnt even mention stopping the boats in his speech. Hes been very critical of the shadow home secretary, yvette cooper, pointing to astonishing interviews and the lack of plans, saying just working with france wont work , that labours france wont work, that labours small boat policy is a policy for open door immigration. These are the tweets of your new labour mp very , very critical of labour mp very, very critical of your shadow home secretary, very, very critical of your party leader. Why on earth is she in your party . Well, first of all, id like to welcome her to the labour party. Thats the second defection in as many weeks. Party. Thats the second defection in as many weeks. Dan poulter last week, an nhs doctor. And today, natalie, whos the mp for dover, where literally the small boats are landing. Now, of course, shes been a conservative mp, so she would have been pumping out the things that the tory party is handing her out to, to tweet. Of course she has. But what shes saying today is shes reached the end of her tether with this party. Rishi sunak has broken so many promises, particularly on the things she really cares about housing. Weve got a housing crisis in this country and the conservatives are refusing to tackle it. But small boats as well. Literally the mp for well. Literally the mp for doven well. Literally the mp for dover, the small boats are landing on the beaches at dover. She is sick to the eye, teeth of a government that has only coming up with gimmicks, not a deterrent. And we know thats deterrent. And we know thats the case because since rishi sunak passed his latest piece of legislation and they passed a new piece every, every few months, it always, it always fails and you always vote against them too , but they against them too, but they always fail. Thats why, gloria, 2400 people have arrived since they passed their rwanda act. Because they know, just like i know, rwanda is not a deterrent. Its a gimmick. Youve got to get a plan which is going to smash the gangs to pieces that are getting people across , are getting people across, across the channel. And that is the thing theyre refusing to do. Weve just read their repeated plea. Natalie elphicke has been critical of labours plans to just work with the french. Just go after the gangs. No policy to stop people actually coming across the channel. Just going after the plan upstream, she says. That plan upstream, she says. That wont work. Was she lying then or is she lying now . She was clearly being given handouts from the conservative party that she retweeted. But on reflection, she has had enough of a party that is lying through their teeth and failing to tackle the problem of rwanda because they havent got a clue how to do it. Youve got to smash the gangs. Were going to come to on immigration in a second. I want to ask you this question and this. I havent looked at social media, but i can pretty much imagine what the left of your party are saying, that you, keir starmer , have that you, keir starmer, have done everything to marginalise legitimate left wing socialist voices in the labour party. Yet you welcome tories. What do you you welcome tories. What do you say to those, you can probably guess who they are. Some of them who would make that argument to you. We want to be a party that can bring this country back together after the tories have divided it. Every single tory mp and every single tory voter that comes over to the labour party is more than welcome, because they are backing a changed labour party, unrecognisable from the labour party that lost the last general election , the last general election, offering the country its future back after these years of failure under under the conservatives, i mean, Natalie Elphicke is only doing what a lot of conservative voters have done. If north yorkshire, we won the mayoralty there. That used to be rock solid tory heartlands. All the, the home of the british army, Rushmoor Council voted a Labour Council for the first time last week. So tories are coming across to labourin tories are coming across to labour in their droves because theyve given up on their partys failure and theyre investing their hope in Keir Starmers changed labour party. Starmers changed labour party. Helen whately more time in her statement of Natalie Elphicke statement is spent talking about construction , talking about construction, talking about construction, talking about construction, talking about building than it is talking about migration. She is talking about migration. She says that the conservative party in 2019 was about building the future. She says that under keir starmer, the labour party is about building a britain of hope, and she devotes paragraph after paragraph about plans to build more houses. In fact , this build more houses. In fact, this is something that hasnt really been published. Underneath her statement , we get been published. Underneath her statement, we get reams of information about tory failures on housebuilding. Just how much of this defection do you think is actually less to do with migration , and more to do with migration, and more to do with the failure of the conservative party to pass planning reform . So i know that natalie cares about housing. Its something that shes been interested in in many years, but she will also know that the progress that we are making on housing and that we are seeing houses built across the country, but we are also taking the choice to, for instance, make sure that we protect our countryside and look after the green belt. Unlike keir starmer party, which threatens the green belt. So its important to build in the right places. I mean, the other thing is i think labours record on housing is a strong one. For instance, i get lots of complaints in my constituency in kent that because the, the mayor of london, sadiq khan, hasnt been building in london, were seeing building outside london, in the countryside. So actually, i think she should be thinking twice again if she thinks shes going to labour to get get housing. But again, i mean, the number one thing im really surprised about is because her position has been so strong on immigration that actually that she has crossed the floor even when labour has no plan on immigration. Lets bring your messages in now. So, paul, by the way, some Great Questions here. Please, in future tell us where youre from. We like to be able to visualise and know where our family is watching all across great britain. But paul says the agenda of any tory mp defecting to labour is purely to save their jobs and to labour is purely to save theirjobs and has nothing to do with policies. So paul theirjobs and has nothing to do with policies. So paul is incredibly cynical about a move like this. Does paul have a point or is she just a in it to save her own bacon, even though shes not standing again . Shes not standing again . Well, i think weve got everything to fight for the general election. Its paul, right . Its paul, right . Is it cynical . Theyre just is it cynical . Theyre just doing it. Theyre nothing to do with policies. Theyre just like, oh, ill just go and save my job, i couldnt, i couldnt read natalies mind as to why shes done what shes done. I know that theres a theres a, theres a fight on in dover. Christian wakeford. Christian wakeford. Christian wakeford. So Christian Wakeford did it, dan potter did it. You know, shes not the first. There have been three defections from the tory party to the labour party in this parliament, two in the last week. Are they are these cynical moves Christian Wakeford move to protect his job . Hes standing again. I mean, dan poulter was somebody we hadnt seen in parliament for months and months and months, and the first time we saw him for ages was actually sitting behind keir starmer. So there was , again, who knows there was, again, who knows exactly what his his motives are. Its between him and sir keir starmer. But what i would say, you know , if natalie was say, you know, if natalie was worrying about holding her constituency and we know we had a tough time in the local elections the other day, but actually weve got a way to go until the general election and were really delivering on the publics priorities. So one of the things i would say to her and she does have hold on, actually give us time to really see through the things that are working. You know, were clear on the publics priorities. The Prime Minister is clear. The economy, the nhs controlling our borders , and were making real borders, and were making Real Progress on those things. So were seeing inflation come right down on the economy. Were seeing growth in the uk compared to in other similar countries. We are seeing rates come down in the nhs. Im the minister with oversight of urgent and emergency care. Were seeing emergency care. Were seeing better performance in our our a e departments , better response a e departments, better response times from ambulances and we are recently that, waiting lists are longer now than when he took office. There were figures out this morning just saying that most trusts are failing to meet their nhs , waiting time targets. Nhs, waiting time targets. So we know that we have a long journey to go coming out of the pandemic to get the nhs back on track and bringing the waiting times down, its hard work, but weve made progress. So over the last five months, nhs waiting times have come down. Progress over the last five months, not so much over the last two years. I want to turn to steve read because as pauls comment is deeply cynical, i think it represents what many, many people think about politicians in general. Are we politicians in general. Are we about to see . We know that Natalie Elphicke is not going to stand again. Are we about to see her ennobled . Are we about to see baroness elphicke of dover and deal . Well, youve just answered your own question. Shes not your own question. Shes not trying to save her own job because shes not standing against labour offered her. Labours got a labour wont have offered her anything. Shes given her reasons. Shes sick to death of a conservative. Government has failed on housing and securing our borders. They made promises theyve been unable to keep. Shes looked at Keir Starmers labour party and shes seen labour offering the solutions on those issues now. And you know, as youre saying, this isnt the first time weve had dan poulter, defect last week. Weve had a load of tory voters all over saying here today that Natalie Elphicke has not been offered a single trinket or a single gong after the next election. Well, ive been sitting here in the studio with you, and the news came to me across the tv screen just as it comes. Im pretty sure thats not the case. Im pretty sure thats not the case, she said. Why . Shes why shes switching to labour. Because shes given up on this failed conservative party but so have millions of voters. We saw it across the country. Blackpool south 26 swing to labour. But this point is really important because people, some people, people want change. They want a general election instead of a government thats falling apart at the seams. We need that election as soon as possible to give the good people watching your show and right across the country the chance to choose who they want to take this budget. You want to assume this government from blackpool, jack from blackpool is jack from blackpool sco. And he would like to ask both of you actually , but were going of you actually, but were going to start with helen from the government. Was it a good idea government. Was it a good idea to get rid of Boris Johnson considering those local elections, so i was one of the ministers who resigned from bofis ministers who resigned from Boris Johnsons government. I was proud of the manifesto. We stood on 20 on in 2019 with bofis stood on 20 on in 2019 with Boris Johnson as our leader. Stood on 20 on in 2019 with Boris Johnson as our leader. And Boris Johnson as our leader. And weve been doing many things, particularly, for instance , the particularly, for instance, the work on levelling up, and we saw ben houchen successful in the elections. Wish he was still the other day, which is because were seeing progress in those areas and where people are actually seeing investment in their communities and making a difference. Do you wish, however well , what difference. Do you wish, however well, what happened, what happened . And i know personally because of what happened, i could no longer be a member of bofis could no longer be a member of Boris Johnsons government, which is why i resigned. Im absolutely confident that rishi sunakis absolutely confident that rishi sunak is the right leader for us at the moment, that he knows what peoples priorities are. Hes really committed on delivering and hes getting on with the job. Steve to jacks question, jack is clearly a fan of Boris Johnson. Hes a voter in johnson. Hes a voter in blackpool. Well, he wants to ask blackpool. Well, he wants to ask keir, was it a good idea to get rid of Boris Johnson . I mean, there were some reports that in labour hq people jumped for joy the day Boris Johnson resigned. The day Boris Johnson resigned. And i want to get rid of any tory Prime Minister because they failed our country. As Natalie Elphicke was just telling us, they failed on housing. Weve got a housing crisis. Ive got constituents that spend over 50 of their income on housing, and its not even good quality housing, and they failed on the small boats. Theyre coming across in record numbers since their latest gimmick , rwanda, their latest gimmick, rwanda, which is an expensive con trick, 2500 more people have come across. So its clearly not a deterrent. Now when youve got a government that is failing on everything, its time for a general election. And i think from last weeks local elections, people were coming out and they were voting in their millions for change because they want that election to come. We want this country to turn the page and start writing a new chapter in our national story. Because this chaos cannot go on. Patricia has written in to say that Robert Jenrick, she would vote for Robert Jenrick if there was a vote for pm today when Robert Jenrick was housing secretary, he put forward a planning white paper that was designed to do basically what keir starmer is promising to do today, i. E. Bulldoze the Planning System. Keir starmer, when that was proposed, voted , when that was proposed, voted, assiduously, campaigned against it. And the Boris Johnson it. And the Boris Johnson government in the end withdrew that legislation , why why the that legislation, why why the flip flop from labour on this jenrick was proposing a planning free for all he was going to deny , take away peoples rights deny, take away peoples rights to have a say over developments in the community, in the neighbourhood where they live. That is handing all money, all power over to the developers at the same time. At the same time. Not what keir starmer said about pylons. Just two months ago, at the same time he was doing that at the same time that we discovered that developers were the single biggest source of donations to the tory party. So in a way, this was sleaze. They were taking money from developers and then handing over communities. Hang on, hang on, hang on. I got a few minutes left. Robert jenrick if you want him , Robert Jenrick if you want him, as i want to bring jane in, and you can look forward to helen after the local election results. Shouldnt the Prime Minister call a general election now . Why not . Well, as i said a moment ago, were delivering in the Prime Minister delivering on a set of priorities for people. And this takes time. And we came through the pandemic that was tough on our economy, as it was for many countries. We saw inflation do countries. We saw inflation do what it did in the uk, along with similar and similar economies. Do you want to go as late as possible . November, december, january . November, december, january . Im not going to speculate on when, but i do think its important to point out. So, for instance, on the economy, weve brought inflation down from over 11 to just over 3, committed to bringing it down to the target, working with the bank of england on that, were seeing growth in the uk, unlike in many other similar countries. I just i just want is you just want to give it a bit longer to work pick up on what steve was saying. Its very easy vie for stephen, for labour and for keir starmer to say, well, lets have a general election now. It does mean that they can continue going out, repeating that mantra and not actually setting out any kind of plan for the country, thinking that they can get people to vote for them without having policy or theyve had the general election. If you hadnt really shouldnt take voters vote fact, take voters for granted, extended their time out, take voters for granted, extended their time out , would extended their time out, would that of because it would have been this may under the fixed term parliaments act. The general election would have been last week, but they extended. Extended. Were going to change the subject. Were going to change the subject because i want to bring karen in. Karen luftner, where are you from . Can the pubs open are you from . Can the pubs open longer for tennis . Why is football granted special status . I think thats a good idea. So this is the point that the home secretary said if we get to a certain stage in the eurozone , certain stage in the eurozone, not only on football, then he gets the semi final , the finals, gets the semi final, the finals, semi finals and then the pubs will be naturally you sort of. Yes. Okay. Why . Why is football special . Special . Well, its i mean its been allowed on special occasions for other things and football. Didnt we have something at the coronation . Are you a fan of having longer Opening Hours to watch the tennis . I think when there were special reasons to do it. If youve got a british player, i think they should be considered and looked at. Why not . Oh hell, why, why, why limit it to special occasions . Why not it to special occasions . Why not let pubs open when they want . Well, i think its worth the conversation. About what . Things conversation. About what . Things that, get extended hours, whether it was a coronation, whether it was a coronation, whether its for football or indeed other sports. Clearly youve got to balance People Living near a pub and closing and Opening Hours with the with the pub and what people want. So its about getting the right balance between communities. But i think its a good question about what occasions should get extended hours, i think. I think i might be with you, tom, within reason, within. Having to always apply for licenses seems it seems like a tough one, doesnt it . We think think of ourselves as a free market economy. And then. And then you realise that business has to apply for licenses. Licenses . Emma lewell buck is trying to, make that process simpler. Well have to well have to get back on this show and talk through it with her. Although i have to say in previous years it hasnt mattered if england get through to the semi finals, theres always a party at toms. There has been. There has been later Opening Hours when england has done less well than that in the past. We have to say thank you to our brilliant panel. Thank you for both being engaging and giving us your thoughts. Its tough. Tough day for you, helen. So thank you , Helen Wheatley so thank you, Helen Wheatley from the conservatives and shadow environment secretary steve reeves for having us. Well, thats been pmqs live. See you next week. See you next week. A brighter outlook with boxt solar sponsors of weather on. Gb news. Good morning. Welcome to your latest gb news weather update brought to you by the met office. Fog and mist should continue to clear through the rest of the day, bringing sunny spells for many of us. However in the north and west, some rain is likely to arrive across parts of northwest scotland. Thats because weather fronts are still approaching these areas , but approaching these areas, but elsewhere High Pressure is building in, so that should bnng building in, so that should bring plenty of dry weather and bright weather. The best of the sunshine will be across southeastern areas through this afternoon. There could still be some fog and low cloud lingering across eastern coast close to the north sea, and we could also see some low cloud across the south coast as well later on today. But in the best of the sunshine , highs of 22, possibly sunshine, highs of 22, possibly 23 across central areas of england, east and wales as well, it will be that much cooler underneath the cloud and rain though, across parts of the highlands and the western isles, and that rain will likely turn quite persistent overnight. And well push elsewhere into many areas of scotland. We could also see some drizzly rain across parts of the pennines, some other areas of Northern England as well. So a cloudier night for Northern Areas in the south, though it should stay dry and fairly clear that we could see some mist and fog around, but its likely to be another fairly mild start to the day on thursday , and i think thursday thursday, and i think thursday is going to be a warmer day than today. Therell be more in the way of sunshine for a wider area of the uk. Some mist and fog to start. That should clear much more quickly than it has done today. We will see a few more in the way of cloud bubbling up in the way of cloud bubbling up in the afternoon across southern areas that could allow a shower to develop, but i think most areas should stay dry and we could see highs of 24 degrees in the sunshine. Looks like things are heating up boxt boilers sponsors of weather on gb news. Well. Good afternoon. Britain. Its 1 00 well. Good afternoon. Britain. Its1 00 on wednesday, the 8th of may. Another conservative mp defects to labourin conservative mp defects to labour in a hammer to blow rishi sunak. Natalie elphicke says her former party has become a byword former party has become a byword for incompetence and division. For incompetence and division. Much more analysis and reaction to come and record high levels of immigration have failed to boost britains economy , and boost britains economy, and immigration should be returned to the tens of thousands. Thats according to a new report. Well speak to one of the senior tory mps who co authored said report and a. Co authored said report and a. Double royal snub for prince harry during his trip to the uk. First, hes told the king is too busy to meet, then discovers hed been replaced by Prince William as head of the army air corps. Yeah, not a great week. Yeah, not a great week. And we want your views and your reaction to the astonishing news that broke at 12 00 this afternoon. Another defection. The third. This parliament straight from the labour party to the conservative party. A sensational crossing the floor that really disrupted