Ed Davey MP: speeches

Speeches

• 12 Mar 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  I would like to begin by giving a shout-out for Young Carers Action Day, which is today, but I promise the House that I will not sing. The Prime Minister has rightly spoken about the need to get more people into work—he has repeated that today—so that people have more dignity, we can get the economy going, and we can cut the benefits bill after the disgraceful legacy left by the Conservatives. Does the Prime Minister recognise that the best way to help many disabled people into work is to support them properly, through more special equipment, training, better healthcare and so on? Will he also today calm anxieties that he himself has raised for many of us by saying that disability benefits for people who simply cannot work will not be cut?

• 12 Mar 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Turning to international issues, can I congratulate the Prime Minister on helping to secure the restoration of US military and intelligence support for Ukraine? Can I press him on progress to persuade President Trump against the damaging metal tariffs that are already hitting British industry? The Prime Minister knows that we on the Lib Dem Benches believe that we must be more robust with President Trump, like the Europeans and the Canadians. Will the Prime Minister fly out to Canada as soon as possible to show its new Prime Minister and the Canadian people that Britain stands with its Commonwealth allies against Trump’s threats and Trump’s tariffs?

• 5 Mar 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  The Prime Minister knows that we all support him in that effort, but may I take him back to President Trump’s reliability? Four British women have accused Andrew Tate of rape and human trafficking. British police have issued arrest warrants. The Tates have tried to escape justice, first to Romania and now to the United States. I am delighted that Florida has, thankfully, opened a criminal investigation. Does the Prime Minister agree that people who are wanted by British police for such appalling crimes should stand trial in our country? Given his assessment that President Trump really is a reliable ally, will his Government request an urgent extradition of the Tate brothers?

• 5 Mar 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Yesterday I visited Kingston’s Army Reserve centre and met members of the Royal Army Medical Service who had served bravely in Iraq and Afghanistan, so I associate myself with the Prime Minister’s initial remarks. On Monday the Prime Minister rightly said that a minerals deal only was not a sufficient security guarantee for Ukraine. The Trump Administration has since said that a minerals deal is the only guarantee on the table, and President Trump has removed military aid from Ukraine and said that the British cannot share American intelligence with Kyiv. Both those decisions mean that more brave Ukrainians will die, while further emboldening Vladimir Putin. Will the Prime Minister tell the House whether he still believes that President Trump is a reliable ally? If Ukraine does not get a sufficient security guarantee from the White House, what is the Prime Minister’s plan B?

• 3 Mar 2025 · Ukraine · Hansard source

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  I thank the Prime Minister for advance sight of his statement. We were all horrified by Friday’s scenes in the Oval Office. President Trump’s attack on the brave and dignified President Zelensky left everyone shocked and appalled—except, it seems, the hon. Member for Clacton (Nigel Farage). Nobody else watching those scenes could fail to understand that we have entered a new era—one in which the United States prefers to align itself with tyrants like Putin, rather than its democratic partners. On these Benches, we have supported the Prime Minister’s actions and leadership—Britain leading the world, as we have so many times in the past, bringing together Europe and Canada in London to work towards a just peace that guarantees Ukraine’s sovereignty and security—but we need to reduce our dependency on the United States. With deep regret, I fear that President Trump is not a reliable ally in respect of Russia. In that regard, did the Prime Minister discuss with our European allies our proposals for a new rearmament bank and for seizing the tens of billions of pounds-worth of Russian assets to support Ukraine? In his conversations with the Canadian Prime Minister, was he clear that we stand with our Commonwealth ally in the face of President Trump’s threats? Many of us were confused by Lord Mandelson’s comments yesterday, so can the Prime Minister confirm that they do not represent Government policy? Does he agree that the British ambassador should not be freelancing on American TV? The Prime Minister will have our support if the UK continues to lead with our European and Commonwealth allies for Ukraine’s defence and our collective security.

• 26 Feb 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  I hope the Prime Minister is successful in keeping the US on board with our European allies. I am glad that he is talking about finance and defence. If he were to push this European rearmament bank at the summit of European leaders on Sunday, I think that he would be pushing at an open door. Certainly, Prime Minister Tusk is supporting the idea from the Polish point of view. Let me turn now to domestic matters, with the cost of living crisis hitting so many of our constituents. Families in my constituency are really angry that Thames Water is sending them bills this April that will cost them £150 a year more. Thames Water has already let down so many people, whether it is through leaking pipes or pumping its filthy sewage into our rivers. A third of customers’ bills are already used just to pay the interest on Thames Water’s debt, and now the company will borrow £3 billion more. Is it not time to stop making people pay for bailing out the vulture funds that are drowning Thames Water in debt? Will his Government just put this firm out of its misery and put it into special administration, so that we can sort out that mess and the mess left by that lot on the Conservative Benches?

• 26 Feb 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  May I start by wishing the Prime Minister well on his trip to the White House? It will not be an easy meeting, but we are all behind him for the sake of our national interest. It is already clear that, sadly, under President Trump, we will not be able to rely on the United States to help ensure our security against Russian aggression, which is why we strongly welcome the Prime Minister’s decision to increase Britain’s defence spending. But Europe must do far more to rearm in the face of Putin’s threat and the UK must lead on that. That is why we back the idea of a new European rearmament bank, so that we can finance a big increase in manufacturing capacity without the need to cut Britain’s vital soft power. Will the Prime Minister look at this idea, work across this House and across Europe, so that we can make a European rearmament bank happen?

• 26 Feb 2025 · Future Skills Programmes: Universities · Hansard source

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  I have listened to the Minister’s speech. I was really impressed by all that she and her colleagues are doing, and I am delighted to know that she studied at Kingston University—she would be welcome back. I know that she is going to extend the invitation to her noble Friend, but could she also extend it to the Secretary of State? Part of the reason why Kingston University wants to partner, work and roll these programmes out with other universities is that it knows that there are a number of potential partners in the north and the north-east, which would be particularly pleasing to the Secretary of State.

• 26 Feb 2025 · Future Skills Programmes: Universities · Hansard source

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  I beg to move, That this House has considered Government support for future skills programmes at universities. It is really a pleasure to speak in your presence, Sir Desmond. I also thank the Minister, who knows that my aim in this debate is to give the Government a present—a present in the form of an idea that would revolutionise higher education, boost skills across our economy and be an engine of real growth. But it is more than that; it is an idea that could enhance the quality of life of millions of people, as it is also about social mobility and social justice—equality of opportunity in action. It is an idea that has already been fully and professionally researched, with thousands of businesses across the UK inputting into the completed research. This well researched idea has also been piloted and tested on real, live students. Moreover, it is an idea in its third year of practical roll-out. This is happening now, and it is being fully evaluated as it is put into action. It is a present that is, shall we say, oven ready.

• 26 Feb 2025 · Future Skills Programmes: Universities · Hansard source

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  I am very happy to have that sign of support from the Government Benches already; we are making progress. After the navigate and explore phases, the final stage of the future skills programme for third-year undergraduates is called apply. Students take stock of what they have learned with the nine skills, and refine and tailor their learning of future skills towards their careers. The apply stage of future skills is being piloted, tested and finalised with some students as we speak, with a full-year roll-out for all third-year Kingston students from September 2025. I hope that that quite long description of Kingston University’s future skills helps the Minister and others to see that it is a well-thought through, properly researched and piloted programme, and it is happening. There is lot that Ministers and their officials can come and see for themselves, so I repeat my invite. If what I have said so far has not convinced the Minister—I find that hard to believe—here is another major argument. Big UK and international businesses, brands and organisations are coming to Kingston University because they love future skills.

• 26 Feb 2025 · Future Skills Programmes: Universities · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is absolutely right. He is a real champion for his university and the students there. My hon. Friend backs up my point that major businesses are loving the future skills programme at Kingston. The home-grown talent and skills are what employers actually need. I am talking about the likes of IBM, Adobe, Deloitte Digital, John Lewis, Formula 1, and Salutem Care and Education, to name but a few. Public sector managers are also coming to Kingston for the programme, from the NHS to the Met police and the Civil Aviation Authority. They are helping to shape the future skills curriculum, to innovate and to identify talent. I am sure that the Minister will be unsurprised at the excited interest in the AI element of future skills, where Kingston is linking digital competency with an understanding of the human aspects of exploiting AI—the added value of being a human, if you like. Another reason why I would like the Minister to visit soon is that the idea from Kingston University is already exciting interest from around the world. I fear that if someone in the Department for Education does not run with it now—frankly, this year—it will be yet another example of a great British innovation that is developed here but exploited elsewhere, because there has been interest from Korea and Singapore already. Education and political leaders in Korea and Singapore are engaging. Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, ranked 15th globally, is conducting research through its prestigious Centre for Cross Economy. It is speaking to thousands of businesses in the same way that Kingston University did in the UK, but Nanyang has far more resources and it is working at speed. But Kingston University is smart: it is partnering with Nanyang to explore international and business skills from perspectives in the east. With Korea and Singapore at the cutting edge of digital and AI innovation, the partnerships that Kingston is building have huge potential. That is just another aspect of the present I am bringing to the Government today. I should perhaps declare another constituency interest. Along with my hon. Friend the Member for Wimbledon (Mr Kohler), who is in his place, I represent more British Koreans than any other Member. As trade Minister between 2010 and 2012, I helped to push the EU-Korea free trade agreement, which had a major impact on international trade discussions at the time. If only we could resurrect such trade moments now. I would like to quote some students who have been living the future skills programme, and then I have a few more asks of the Minister. First, Abdurrahman, a computer science student, said: “Taking part in the Future Skills programme has helped me understand just how important and necessary these skills are for everyone to progress in their chosen career pathways. From simulating how to talk to employers in industry to prototyping a start-up company, it’s brought to life how to use these skills in an employment or business setting.” Paulina, a forensic psychology student, said: “Future Skills has been integrated so well into my different modules and all my different modules really highlight the importance of these skills. It has reignited the passion I came to university with, by enabling me to reflect on why I started my forensic psychology course and giving me a deeper insight into the career I want in the future.” Two Kingston University students, Amber and Rahman, are in the Public Gallery listening to the debate. They would be pleased and excited to talk to the Minister, or indeed other hon. Members, about their experience of the future skills programme after the debate. This is a full-on lobbying exercise. I will turn to my final asks of the Minister and Department. The main ask remains: please visit. Please engage soon. I invite the Minister to ask herself, “Is this a present? Is this an idea we can accept and get behind?” If she wants to get properly behind it, just a bit of cash would really help Kingston University to take it forward. So far, it has been funded by a combination of philanthropic support from the fabulous Mohn Westlake Foundation and the university itself. The Mohn Westlake Foundation has a commitment to making education accessible to the most disadvantaged students, and I put on record my thanks. I hope that is another reason why the Minister and the team at DFE will want to look at future skills at Kingston University: the role that it can play in social mobility, social justice and equal opportunity. I have some final suggestions for things that the Minister might consider when the team visits Kingston University—I hope she noticed the “when”. First, is there a way for the Government to help even more businesses to engage with Kingston University on future skills, perhaps by using the apprenticeship levy or the existing UK Research and Innovation budget? Secondly, will the Government help Kingston University as it continues to evaluate this approach and secure a long-term evidence base that can be shared with other higher education institutions? I am talking about something like a small research and development grant, which might cost as little as £500,000 over the next five years. Thirdly, will the Minister consider making a small innovation grant to enable a pilot expansion of the future skills programme into a secondary school or, indeed, another university? This approach could be taken down into secondary education, and it must surely be tried in other universities. Kingston has already identified potential partners in secondary and tertiary education, so deploying this idea elsewhere really will not cost much. It would be great to trial it with others. Fourthly, will the Minister request that the Office for Students fund some competitions to support others in higher education that might wish to consider developing and rolling out their own version of Kingston’s future skills? Finally, perhaps after a visit to Kingston University, which I know is going to happen, will the Minister and her team join me in the House of Commons on 18 June, when Kingston University will be launching its research with Nanyang to leading UK and international businesses, policymakers, academics and students? [ Interruption. ] That is 18 June—I see that the Minister is writing that down. I am sure that the Minister will see this idea as a very special present, and I want her to enjoy it with some amazing students and businesses. I thank you, Sir Desmond, and the Minister; I hope that she is as excited by the future skills programme as I am.

• 26 Feb 2025 · Future Skills Programmes: Universities · Hansard source

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  It is always a pleasure to take an intervention from the hon. Gentleman, but I am going to push back a little bit, because I do not think any university is doing what Kingston University is doing—it might be partially —so I hope that he will listen to the rest of my remarks. I think that this idea can be rolled out across England and, indeed, the whole UK and that it has the potential to help our schools, too. If that is not enough to intrigue and interest the Minister, I am not sure what is, but here is the icing on the cake: it will not cost very much. I hope I have got the Minister’s attention now. It is an idea that is very affordable. I am super-proud to say that this idea has been researched, developed, piloted, tested and rolled out in the fabulous university in my constituency—Kingston University. I am about to unwrap this present, but in advance of the reveal, let me be clear that I have one main, simple ask of the Minister today. Please can she or her ministerial colleagues come to Kingston University to hear more from the academics involved, but above all to listen to the inspiring students who are already benefiting? And please come soon, before decisions are made in the spending review later this year, because I think students across the country can benefit from this. Here is the present. Kingston University has developed a programme that it calls Future Skills, with the future skills being ones identified by business through a major research programme. There are nine skills in all. They are creative problem solving, digital competency including AI, adaptability, having a questioning mindset, empathy, collaboration, being enterprising, resilience, and self-awareness—something we could all do with in this House. The Minister will recognise, I hope, that these are essential life skills, but they are rarely taught, at least not directly. There is no undergraduate course with all these skills in the curriculum, yet they are the future skills that businesses say they want people to have. Some people in other higher education institutions might say, “Well, we do that. We teach those skills, but in other ways. There’s nothing special to see here.” They would be wrong. Kingston University has developed modules for all these skills and insists that every single undergraduate takes these modules, whatever their main subject. They might be studying engineering or fashion—Kingston University, by the way, is in the top five in the UK, and is top in London, for fashion and textiles; I thought I would just get that in. They might be studying computer science or cyber-security, or nursing. Whatever the degree, students at Kingston University now study these nine future skills as well. What is more, Kingston University has structured the teaching of these future skills across three years of undergraduate study in phases called navigate, explore and apply. A first-year undergraduate will experience those future skills in a programme called navigate, which is designed to support the student’s transition into university life. It involves workshops that show that these future skills are not abstract but real skills with huge significance. These workshops help students to navigate how they match up to the skills already. Are they naturally empathetic? Have they mastered AI? Are they good at collaboration and problem-solving? I guess the first-year undergraduate experience of the navigate phase of future skills could be described as self-assessment, where the student is offered relevant guidance and learning resources to develop all those skills. That first-year navigate phase was rolled out, after testing, for all Kingston University students in September 2023, reaching 5,300 students this academic year. This September’s Kingston freshers will be the third cohort to experience navigate and future skills. Students in their second year take future skills forward in a phase called explore. That involves students working directly with employers to build their knowledge of these future skills and an understanding of what they mean in practice. They do that in a variety of ways: in mock assessment centres and live projects, and through placements and site visits. Some people would say they do that already, but they do not. Explore has been tested for two years and rolled out for one. The full second year of Kingston students have been experiencing explore from last September, reaching more than 4,400 students. To take one example, an exercise developed with the John Lewis Partnership focused on Waitrose. Waitrose worked with Kingston students on actual questions and challenges that the business is facing, working with 600 second-year students from the university’s faculty of business and social science and the faculty of engineering, computing and the environment to help them to solve real problems. Students are devising a system to make it easier for Waitrose to capture and interpret data from its suppliers. Other students are shaping a business-to-business marketing communications strategy for Waitrose to encourage suppliers to adopt appropriate use of artificial intelligence to support data insight.

• 25 Feb 2025 · Defence and Security · Hansard source

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  I thank the Prime Minister for advance sight of his statement. Three years ago, Putin began his brutal full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and as we watched Russian missiles rain down on Ukrainian cities, we feared he might have struck a decisive blow to Ukraine and its sovereignty, yet Putin underestimated the strength of the ideals we share with our Ukrainian friends of democracy, truth and liberty. He underestimated the courage and grit of Ukrainian soldiers, who have spent three years heroically resisting Putin’s war machine. Britain stood together with our allies in support of Ukraine, and families up and down the country opened their doors wide for Ukrainian refugees, because we know that Ukraine’s fight for democracy and liberty is our fight, too. In this House, we stood strong together, and yet three years on, the future of Ukraine and security in Europe seems even more perilous. Then, Washington was clearly on our side, but now, the United States is voting with Russia, Belarus and North Korea in the United Nations. President Trump labels President Zelensky a “dictator”, but not Vladimir Putin. After the second world war, Britain came together with allies around the world to establish NATO and, with America, agreed to underwrite security on this continent, recognising that a threat to the security of one nation was a threat to the security of all nations. The events of the past few days are clear: that era is over. We may be watching before our very eyes the betrayal of our Ukrainian allies by America, and with it, the potential betrayal of Europe and of Britain, too. We must respond. Now it is up to the United Kingdom to lead in Europe. As a nation, we must seize this moment. It is for our national interest that Liberal Democrats have supported the Prime Minister’s proposals on Ukraine, including British troops joining a reassurance mission in Ukraine if a just settlement is reached. That is why we strongly support the Prime Minister raising defence spending to 2.5%, preferably using seized Russian assets to pay for extra defence support for Ukraine. We will scrutinise all aspects of the Government’s spending plans carefully, but I hope that moving at pace to 2.5% means that Ministers will shortly announce the reversal of the Conservatives’ short-sighted cut of 10,000 troops from our armed forces. The Prime Minister is right: we must go further, so will he initiate talks between all parties in this House to establish the vital consensus needed to take us to spending 3% of GDP on defence as soon as possible? The Prime Minister will know that for months, we Liberal Democrats have urged the Government to seize frozen Russian assets, which amount to over £20 billion, and repurpose those funds for Ukraine’s defence. Will he take immediate steps to gather European leaders and begin the seizure of Russian assets, so that we can support Ukraine no matter what America does? Will he, on his trip to Washington, try to persuade President Trump to do the same—to make Russia pay? The Prime Minister will know that the whole country will be willing him on, hoping that he might be able to persuade Donald Trump to change his mind on Ukraine. We on the Liberal Democrat Benches think he is right to try, but should that not work, will he be clear where the United Kingdom then stands? Will he make it clear that, if absolutely necessary, it will be with Ukraine and our European allies, not Putin and Trump?

• 12 Feb 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  It seems to me that, given the way in which President Trump and his ally Musk are operating, they need to hear of strong measures and hear strong words even from their allies. Let me move on to the subject of Ukraine. If it is forced to surrender its own sovereign territory to Russia, that will be the greatest betrayal of a European ally since Poland in 1945, but President Trump says Ukraine may end up Russian, and he wants American money back. I think we all fear where this could end, and the dangerous implications for our defence and our security. Can the Prime Minister reassure the House that he and other European leaders have given sufficient support to President Zelensky so that he cannot be bullied by Trump and Putin into accepting a deal that would effectively hand victory to Russia?

• 12 Feb 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Eighty years ago this week, the allies began a pincer movement against German forces between the Ruhr and the Rhine. British and Canadian troops attacked from the north, Americans from the south. British, Canadian and American soldiers were fighting shoulder to shoulder to defeat fascists. Eighty years on, President Trump seems to have forgotten all that. His tariffs against steel and aluminium will hit Canada the hardest, but they will also hit jobs and the cost of living in our country. In reminding President Trump who America’s true and long-standing friends and allies really are, will the Prime Minister also prepare a plan for tariffs in return, starting with tariffs on American electric cars?

• 5 Feb 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  I am grateful for that reply. The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions wrote to me and was not interested in engaging, so I hope the Prime Minister will be. Turning to foreign policy, last night many of us were alarmed to hear President Trump speak about forcibly displacing 1.8 million people from Gaza. The Prime Minister has spoken to the President on several occasions now. Does he personally believe that Trump recognises the dangers of statements like this to the fragile ceasefire in Gaza and, indeed, to the security of both Palestinians and Israelis? I am glad that the Foreign Secretary has confirmed that the Government’s position is still a two-state solution—I think that has support on all sides of the House—but will he reassure the House that this position and our concerns on these dangerous statements from the President will be communicated to the White House directly and firmly?

• 5 Feb 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Can I associate myself with the Prime Minister’s remarks about the terrible murder of the 15-year-old in Sheffield and say that we support any effective action against knife crime that the Government propose? At his first Prime Minister’s questions, I told the Prime Minister about my constituent Andrea. A full-time carer for her mother, Andrea is one of thousands of carers caught up in the carer’s allowance scandal, hounded by the Department for Work and Pensions for repayments. The Prime Minister accepted that there was a problem and set up an independent review, and we welcome that. But two months after the announcement of the review, Andrea received a letter summoning her to a tribunal next week. Her mother’s health has been deteriorating—she has had to go into a care home—and this is the last thing Andrea needs. Will the Prime Minister step in and do the right thing and cancel Andrea’s tribunal and all proceedings against carers like Andrea, at least until the review is concluded?

• 29 Jan 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Last week, the Prime Minister told me that it would be three years before social care reforms can be implemented. Now he is saying that urgent hospital rebuilds will take more than a decade. My hon. Friends and I will keep coming back to this issue. The Chancellor has now admitted that we need to go further and faster in the pursuit of economic growth, and we agree, but the Prime Minister knows that we believe that means setting aside his objections to a UK-EU customs union so that our country can go further and faster in rebuilding our trading relationships with our European neighbours, especially with the threat to world trade posed by Trump’s tariffs and trade wars. If the Prime Minister will not change his mind today on a customs union, will he confirm to the House that when he goes to Brussels on Monday he will open negotiations for the UK to join the pan-Euro-Mediterranean convention so that we can start removing the growth-damaging trade barriers set up by the Conservatives?

• 29 Jan 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  I take this opportunity to thank the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust for all its work in commemorating the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, and to say what a privilege it was to meet Holocaust survivors at the Guildhall event. When my hon. Friend the Member for North Devon (Ian Roome) and I recently visited a hospital in Barnstaple, a surgeon there told us that it was like a ticking time bomb. He explained that a hospital of that size needs 12 operating theatres to meet demand; it has just four. The last Conservative Government promised to rebuild it, but we all know that that was a hollow promise. Now the North Devon district hospital is one of nine across the country whose urgent rebuild programme has been postponed for over 10 years. Will the Prime Minister meet hon. Members whose constituents’ lives being are harmed by this delay, to see if there is any way we can bring these urgent projects forward?

• 22 Jan 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  I still do not think the Prime Minister is giving social care reform the priority that it needs. It is urgent, so I will keep coming back to that to hold him to account. Turning to the United States, can the Prime Minister guarantee that he will not sell out Britain’s fantastic farmers to Donald Trump in a trade deal that undermines our high food and animal welfare standards, in the way that the Conservatives sold them out in the Australia and New Zealand deals?

• 22 Jan 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  I echo the Prime Minister’s opening remarks about the Southport killings and Holocaust Memorial Day, and I particularly join him in expressing our immense relief at the release of Emily Damari and in celebrating that she is back with her mum Mandy and the rest of her family. Let us hope that all the hostages are released as soon as possible, and that the ceasefire turns into a lasting peace. Last week, I urged the Prime Minister to speed up the social care commission, to implement the changes that people need this year. The very next day, it was announced that the chair of the social care commission was also going to chair another important inquiry, into grooming gangs. The Prime Minister said that the job of chairing the commission is so enormous that it cannot be completed within three years, yet he also said the chair of that commission, Baroness Casey, has enough free time over the next few months to chair another inquiry. How can both those things be true?

• 15 Jan 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  May I echo the words of the Prime Minister about President Biden? I hope that his team and the team of President-elect Trump can work together to bring the peace in Gaza that we so desperately need so that the hostages can be released, we can get aid in, and the killing can stop. As the hon. Member for Dartford (Jim Dickson) just said, patients are suffering through the worst NHS winter crisis on record. Last month alone, 54,000 people waited more than 12 hours in A&E. Over 63,000 were stuck in ambulances for over an hour before they could even get into hospital. There is no doubt that the flu season has made the winter crisis worse, but we see these winter crises year after year, following years of neglect of the NHS by the Conservatives. NHS leaders say that we will never put an end to these winter crises unless we fix the crisis in social care. I asked the Prime Minister this question last week, and I was disappointed by his reply, so I will try again. Will he scrap the three-year timetable that he has given the Casey commission so that we can fix social care this year, implementing reforms by the end of this year at the latest?

• 15 Jan 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  I continue to be disappointed by the Prime Minister’s position on social care, and I am going to keep coming back to this issue, because unless we fix it, we will not fix the NHS. Turning to the economy, though, I have an idea for the Chancellor to grow the economy. As President-elect Trump prepares to take office next week, there are reports that a number of wealthy, high-skilled Americans are looking to come to the UK for fear of what he will do to their country. However, because the Conservatives so broke the immigration system, many of them are finding that there is no visa they can apply for. I know that the Prime Minister is rightly seeking to reduce immigration from the record highs of the Conservatives, but does he agree that if people like this want to come to our country—to bring their money and their skills, so that we can grow our economy and pay for our public services—they should be able to?

• 8 Jan 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Happy new year, Mr Speaker. I join others in offering my personal condolences to the Prime Minister on the loss of his brother. May I take this opportunity to express my sadness at the passing of a much-loved member of the Liberal Democrat family, Baroness Jenny Randerson? Fixing the care crisis is urgent for the millions of elderly and disabled people who are not getting the care they need, for the millions of family carers who are making huge sacrifices to fill the gap, and for the NHS, when over 12,000 people are stuck in hospital beds and cannot get out of hospital because the care is not there for them. The Prime Minister is right to say that we need a cross-party approach, but as Sir Andrew Dilnot has said today, that need not take three years. Will the Prime Minister please speed up that work so that 2025 is the year we finally rise to the challenge of fixing care?

• 8 Jan 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  If the Government do not bring in long-term social care reforms this year, their NHS reforms in this Parliament will fail, so I hope the Prime Minister will revisit the timetable. Moving on, while the hon. Member for Clacton (Nigel Farage) may miss out on his big allowance from Elon Musk, the spectre of the richest man in the world trying to buy a British political party should give us all pause for thought. After years of the Conservatives taking millions of pounds of Russian money, will the Prime Minister now work with us to bring in long overdue reforms to party funding, so that power in this country lies with the voters, not wealthy overseas oligarchs?