Keir Starmer MP: speeches

Speeches

• 29 Jan 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

  More

  I thank the hon. Lady for raising this important issue. Of course we will look at the report, but I do not join in her description—we will look at the report.

• 29 Jan 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

  More

  My hon. Friend has been relentless in seeking to boost growth and investment in Ipswich and Suffolk. The gridlock his constituents face underlines the failure of the Conservatives to deal with that when they had the chance to do so. We will fast track decisions on at least 150 major economic infrastructure projects to kick-start growth, and I will ensure that my hon. Friend gets a meeting with the relevant Minister to discuss the issues of concern to him.

• 29 Jan 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

  More

  I wish my hon. Friend and his wife well with their new arrival. We are conducting a review into parental leave, because we cannot grow the economy if parents have to choose between work and their children. Thanks to the Employment Rights Bill, which the Conservatives oppose, 30,000 more fathers will get paternity leave. That is the difference: the Leader of the Opposition wants to roll back parental rights; we are extending them.

• 29 Jan 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

  More

  I think the hon. Gentleman should talk to his party leader. Net migration went through the roof under the previous Government—by nearly 1 million; it quadrupled—and who was cheering it on? The Leader of the Opposition. The hon. Gentleman’s constituents are right to be concerned about the loss of control by the previous Government. We are taking control; we will bring those numbers down. But the record is absolutely clear, and it sits right there on the Opposition Benches.

• 29 Jan 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

  More

  I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for raising this really important issue. All those who serve our country deserve our fullest respect and gratitude. That is why we are righting the historic wrongs inflicted on LGBT veterans, already significantly increasing the compensation available and enabling them to get their ranks restored. I know that this is a real issue for the Foreign Secretary. He is looking at it, and I will make sure that she gets to talk to him about it. We do need to deal with this historic injustice; she is right about that.

• 29 Jan 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

  More

  Communities across the United Kingdom have been hit hard by Storm Éowyn. I spoke to the leaders of the devolved Administrations in Scotland and Northern Ireland over the weekend to discuss working with them on the support that is required, and to pay tribute to all those responding on the frontline. Kick-starting economic growth is the No. 1 mission of this Government. It will put more money in people’s pockets and will deliver on our plan for change. Today the Chancellor announced our next steps to deliver that plan: a new Oxford-Cambridge corridor, redeveloping Old Trafford, and supporting a new runway at Heathrow. We are removing the barriers to investment, supporting innovation, and going further and faster to boost growth. This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House, I shall have further such meetings later today.

• 29 Jan 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

  More

  I am grateful to the hon. Member for raising this matter. As he knows, local councils received an increase in their settlement this year, so they have more money to deal with the problems that they face. They were underfunded and broken by the previous Government. We have now put that support funding in place. That is the right thing to do.

• 29 Jan 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

  More

  I understand that the Leader of the Opposition likes straight talking: she is talking absolute nonsense. She knows, and anybody who understands anything about the Bill or any employment law will know, that you cannot start in the morning and go to a tribunal in the afternoon. We know she is not a lawyer, she is clearly not a leader, and if she keeps on like this, she is going to be the next lettuce.

• 29 Jan 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

  More

  I thank the right hon. and learned Gentleman for raising that. As he says, the Health Secretary is looking at it. I assure him that I will also look at it with the Health Secretary, and we will get back to him as we do so.

• 29 Jan 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

  More

  I join the right hon. Gentleman in his comments about the Holocaust survivors that we met earlier this week. It was incredibly moving, as it always is, and I was struck by the fact that there were so many in the gathering. We are unlikely to see so many in one place like that again. We must never, ever forget. On the question of hospitals, I think people across the country are right to feel angry, betrayed and frustrated at the last Government’s plan, or non-plan, for hospitals. It was unachievable. It was unfunded. It was empty promises. Under them, these hospitals would never have been built. Our funded plan, backed by the investment we have put in, will deliver them. We will take such steps as we can on hubs etc, to advance quickly on waiting lists and operations, and I am more than happy to make sure that all constituents and Members can meet the relevant Ministers.

• 29 Jan 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

  More

  We are proud of, and totally committed to, the Good Friday agreement. Northern Ireland matters to this Government, and it matters to me. The hon. and learned Gentleman will know that I worked there for five years with the Police Service of Northern Ireland. I want to see Northern Ireland secure and safe for all communities and thriving in the future. I believe that it can be, and we will do everything to make sure that it is.

• 29 Jan 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

  More

  I extend my sympathy for what the hon. Member experienced—it must have had a profound impact on him and his family. I, too, have seen the power of restorative justice, which enables victims to receive answers and perpetrators to face the human costs of their crimes. Under the victims’ code, all adult victims must be told about restorative justice and how to access it. We can always do more and I will ensure that he gets the meeting that he wants with the relevant Minister.

• 29 Jan 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

  More

  First, I assure the right hon. Gentleman that we will continue to work with the leaders in Northern Ireland to ensure that we deal with the storm, which has been devastating for very many people who are still without power and who have all the associated problems. I thank the right hon. Gentleman for raising the Omagh bombing inquiry. It was a heinous and cowardly terrorist attack, and it shocked the world. Our thoughts are with the family members who are taking part in commemorative hearings this week. I welcome the Irish Government’s commitment to co-operating with the inquiry. The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has raised with the Irish Government the importance of working together on addressing these and all legacy issues, and I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for raising this very serious and important issue.

• 29 Jan 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

  More

  I thank my hon. Friend for reminding the House of this case. I know that the condolences of the whole House remain with the families of these brave soldiers. We will never forget the vital role they played in supporting the coalition operation in Iraq. I also thank my hon. Friend and pay tribute to his service. We are immensely proud of our armed forces and their courage and dedication as they keep our country safe.

• 29 Jan 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

  More

  I thank my hon. Friend for raising this. I know she is deeply concerned about this issue and campaigns on it. The rise in poverty caused by the mismanagement of the economy by the Conservative party is unacceptable. Our approach to social security will ensure that work is accessible to as many people as possible, as a route out of poverty. That includes the new Connect to Work programme, which is expected to help 100,000 disabled people find and stay in work.

• 29 Jan 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

  More

  It is good for working people, and it is good for the economy. The right hon. Lady should keep up: the CBI has welcomed our positive steps this morning. The Chancellor has given a brilliant speech on the economy, fixing the mess the Conservatives left and growing our economy, and the CBI has said it celebrates this “positive leadership and a clear vision to kickstart the economy”. That is the difference. We are growing the economy; the Conservatives left it in a complete mess.

• 29 Jan 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

  More

  The right hon. Lady has got a nerve. The Conservatives broke the economy and completely destroyed it. They broke the health service and completely destroyed it. They ruined the prisons and everything else you can mention. They failed on every front. They are in no position to give us lectures on anything. She says that she accepts they failed and they are changing, but they have learned absolutely nothing.

• 29 Jan 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

  More

  I think the proposition that the Conservatives left a golden inheritance was tested on 4 July, which is why they are standing over there. The Leader of the Opposition asked what we are doing. The Office for National Statistics says that we have the highest investment for 19 years. PwC says that this is the second-best place to invest in the world. The International Monetary Fund has upgraded our growth, predicting that the UK will be the fastest-growing major economy in Europe. Wages are up and inflation is down. However, there is more to do. We are reforming planning and regulation, building the new homes that we need, and supporting a third runway at Heathrow. As the Leader of the Opposition admitted to the CBI in November, “there is no point in me just complaining about Labour when it was obvious that we Conservatives lost the confidence of business.” We are not taking lectures from them.

• 29 Jan 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

  More

  I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for raising this matter on behalf of his constituents, so I will speak and his constituents will hear the answer. There was not a plan for the building. It was a pretend plan; it was a fiction. It was unfunded and undeliverable. It only existed in the head of Boris Johnson. There is the frustration for his constituents and I really understand it. They thought—because they were promised—that they were going to get something, which the Conservative party knew was never going to be delivered. That is absolutely unforgiveable. We will pick that up. We have put in place a funded scheme to build as quickly as we can, but it has to be funded and it has to be deliverable. That is the difference between the approach that we are taking and the approach that they took. Of course I will ensure that a relevant Minister meets the hon. Gentleman and his constituents to explain that more fully to them.

• 29 Jan 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

  More

  What a contrast to the SNP: a strong Labour voice championing economic growth in Scotland. The AI developments this week show why we are right to put artificial intelligence at the heart of our plan for change. We have already secured £39 billion of AI investment, which will create 13,000 jobs across the UK. I agree with my hon. Friend that Scotland has real potential for AI growth zones. I will make sure that he can meet the relevant Minister to discuss that.

• 29 Jan 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

  More

  The Conservatives have a lot to answer for in the failing system that they left behind. We have taken immediate action to ensure that consumers insulating their homes are not let down again. We are investing £3.4 billion in our warm homes plan to upgrade 5 million homes.

• 29 Jan 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

  More

  I thank my hon. Friend for raising that. She is absolutely right: the damage that the Conservatives did to the NHS was absolutely unforgiveable. We are taking steps to ensure that more GP appointments will be available, we are getting the waiting lists down, and we are putting investment into the NHS. As with everything else, we are clearing up the mess that they left behind.

• 22 Jan 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

  More

  Growth is at the heart of our plan for change, which will fund our public services, create good jobs and raise living standards across the country. My hon. Friend is right to champion one of the largest brownfield sites in the UK, which could create more than 11,000 jobs on site and add £1.2 billion to the economy. It underlines the importance of this Government bringing economic stability, creating the national wealth fund and driving up growth.

• 22 Jan 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

  More

  The hon. Gentleman must have missed recent reports. The Office for National Statistics has just said that we have the highest investment in 19 years; PwC has just said that this is the second-best place to invest in the world; and the International Monetary Fund has just upgraded growth, now saying we are predicted to be the fastest growing major European economy. Wages are up and inflation is down—that is after just six months.

• 22 Jan 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

  More

  Let me start by recognising the hon. Lady’s dedicated work and campaigning on this issue for many years. NHS England is expanding eating disorder treatment services, including crisis care and intensive home treatment, and, as she knows, the Online Safety Act 2023 will prevent children from encountering harmful content that promotes eating disorders to services. Obviously, we will look very carefully at the report and consider its recommendations.