Keir Starmer MP: speeches 2026

Speeches

• 4 Mar 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Anas Sarwar has been asking the hon. Gentleman’s party to be honest about the political pressure it applied at the Queen Elizabeth university hospital and to take the action needed to reassure patients and families. That scandal shows how much Scotland deserves change with Anas Sarwar.

• 4 Mar 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  The Conservative party left one in eight young people not earning or learning. We are not doing so, and we will tackle it: more apprenticeships, more careers support, a jobs guarantee to provide paid employment, a youth guarantee to get more young people into earning or learning, and over 360 youth hubs to help young people access opportunities. My hon. Friend makes a strong case, which I know my right hon. Friend the Work and Pensions Secretary has heard. I hope there will be good news for her later this year.

• 4 Mar 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Baroness Longfield is now beginning the work of the inquiry, with victims and survivors at the heart of the process. Under this Government, convictions are at their highest level ever, and we are introducing mandatory reporting on child sexual abuse and putting a legal duty on police to collect ethnicity data. But forgive me if I do not take suggestions from the hon. Lady, who said that people legally settled here should “go home” to ensure that the UK is “culturally coherent”. That is a grotesque way to talk about our friends and neighbours. I rather suspect that when she next asks a question, she will be sitting on the Benches up there.

• 4 Mar 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  This Labour Government are changing the planning regulations so that we can get on and build the homes we need across our country. The Conservatives’ failure was the failure to do so. But I must applaud the hon. Gentleman, because at least he has had the decency to accept some of the failures of the last Government. On special educational needs and disabilities, he said: “my Government didn’t do enough on this.” and, “it’s awful.” He said his party “should hang our heads in shame”. He is absolutely right about that.

• 4 Mar 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  I thank the right hon. Gentleman for raising this, because I know it will be a concern to the public, who are watching what is going on and are very concerned about the impact it will have on their lives. It is important that I emphasise the actions we have been taking urgently this week with our allies and energy agencies across the world, and the work we are doing to ensure the safe passage of energy across the world. We will continue to do that. I was glad that we were able to bring energy bills down by £150, as announced just the other day. We will keep a very close eye on this. I know how important it is for the British public.

• 4 Mar 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for her question. We hosted the International Women’s Day event on Monday, where I spoke to so many women who are concerned about this issue. It is totally unacceptable that women have waited sometimes up to a decade for an endometriosis diagnosis. We are renewing the women’s health strategy, improving training for doctors and cutting wait times for gynaecology services, which will be prioritised through NHS Online. We are also investing in research on how to improve diagnosis and treatment.

• 4 Mar 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising this case, which will be a real concern for his constituents. I am sure the Conservatives will have heard the reality of what they did over 14 years, destroying everything in this country. We are fixing that and I will ensure that he gets a meeting with the relevant Minister to discuss this further.

• 4 Mar 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Hannah Deacon’s campaign for her son, Alfie, was remarkable, and I know how much she is missed. I thank my hon. Friend for continuing to campaign on this matter. We are investing £8 million in clinical trials on cannabis-based medicines for conditions such as drug-resistant epilepsy. I want to see patients accessing safe, effective medicines and new treatments as quickly as possible.

• 4 Mar 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for her question. We inherited an appalling situation, with a record number of households in temporary accommodation. Every child deserves a safe and secure home. We are investing £950 million in the local authority housing fund to increase the supply of quality accommodation. We are banning section 21 no-fault evictions, introducing a new stronger decent homes standard and investing £39 billion to deliver the homes that families need.

• 4 Mar 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  The situation in the middle east remains serious and volatile. This Government will be resolute in our focus, protecting British lives, bringing our people home and safeguarding our national interest. Today my thoughts are with the family and friends of Sarah Everard on this very painful anniversary. Five years ago, I said that her death had to be a turning point, and this Government are committed to halving violence against women and girls. We are acting in our schools, our police forces, online and offline to keep women and girls safe and to prevent boys and men becoming abusers, and we are supporting victims to get justice and closure. This morning, I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in this House, I shall have further such meetings later today.

• 4 Mar 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Energy security is critical to food security, and the sprint to clean energy is the only way to get off the volatile international fossil fuel markets, cut bills and deliver energy security. Since we came into office, over £90 billion of investment into clean energy industry has come in, powering millions of homes. The Tories and Reform would throw all that away and cling to the failed policy that put everyone’s bills up throughout their reign.

• 4 Mar 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for raising that matter. Everyone deserves a safe place to call home. Let me pay tribute to all the organisations that are working to tackle the problem. We are investing a record £3.6 billion into our national plan to end homelessness. That includes boosting the supply of temporary accommodation, record funding for tackling rough sleeping, and ending the inappropriate use of bed-and-breakfasts for families and no-fault evictions, which we know drive people to homelessness.

• 4 Mar 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member for raising both the individual and the general case and reassure her that we are working on the issue.

• 4 Mar 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

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• 2 Mar 2026 · Middle East · Hansard source

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  I strongly agree with my hon. Friend that the future of Iran is for the Iranian people, and we must absolutely establish that as a founding principle, and that it is our duty to de-escalate in the region and globally. Of course, it is important that we are acting with our allies, and that is why I talked to both the Germans and the French over the course of the weekend on a number of occasions.

• 2 Mar 2026 · Middle East · Hansard source

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  Let me be absolutely clear that the action that we have authorised from our bases is to take out Iran’s capability to launch these attacks, which of course means taking out the launchers and the infrastructure that sits behind them.

• 2 Mar 2026 · Middle East · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member for raising the matter of the west bank; it is a cause of great concern, which is only intensified by actions in recent days, and I am not surprised that they have caused deep concern in the west bank. As far as the UK is concerned, I have clearly set out what our strategy is, and the basis for the actions that we are taking.

• 2 Mar 2026 · Middle East · Hansard source

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  We are obviously discussing all matters with the US, all the time. I am absolutely clear what our plan is, and what the basis for our decisions is, and I have set them out to the House.

• 2 Mar 2026 · Middle East · Hansard source

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  We talk to our allies all the time, as the hon. Gentleman knows and would expect, and we talked to them extensively over the weekend in response to the situation as it developed.

• 2 Mar 2026 · Middle East · Hansard source

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  Yes, we are working at speed on that. It is an important point, and it is important that we do so. I remind the Conservatives that they hollowed out our armed forces. It was this Government that increased defence spending over the course of this Parliament.

• 2 Mar 2026 · Middle East · Hansard source

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  I have been absolutely focused only on British nationals this weekend. That has been the total focus of my attention, and the right hon. Gentleman does himself a disservice by suggesting otherwise.

• 2 Mar 2026 · Middle East · Hansard source

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  My point is simply that in the end, there will ultimately have to be a negotiated outcome when it comes to nuclear weapons. At what point that happens is obviously unclear, particularly after the past few days. That is why it has for years been the consistent policy of both our parties that this should be a negotiated outcome. It was the hon. Gentleman’s party’s policy until Friday of last week.

• 2 Mar 2026 · Middle East · Hansard source

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  The hon. Lady raises an important point. We are working at pace to deal with the drones and are working with our Ukrainian colleagues, who have been facing this for four years. We have been working with them on that, and we are working with them to help to protect allies who are under attack in the region.

• 2 Mar 2026 · Middle East · Hansard source

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  This is the Government who have increased defence spending. I can assure the hon. Lady that our service personnel are working very hard as we speak to keep us safe and to protect the region, and we thank them for doing that.

• 2 Mar 2026 · Middle East · Hansard source

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  My focus has been on the protection of the 300,000 British nationals in the region, who are at risk. It is our duty to take steps to reduce that risk and bring them to safety and security.