Keir Starmer MP: speeches

Speeches

• 15 Jan 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  The hon. Member is right that the ferry services for his constituents have simply not been good enough. I know that both he and my hon. Friend the Member for Isle of Wight West (Mr Quigley) share a commitment to ensuring that their constituents receive a better service. The Maritime Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Wythenshawe and Sale East (Mike Kane), has met the ferry and hovercraft operators, the leader of the council and other stakeholders. There will be further meetings, and I will ensure that the hon. Member is fully informed by the Minister on progress on this issue for his constituents.

• 15 Jan 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising this case. It is appalling that Hamas continue to detain Avinatan and other hostages, including Emily Damari. I know that the hon. Gentleman has spent time with the families—it is nothing short of torture what they are going through. We will do absolutely everything in our power to ensure that we make progress to bring these hostages home—I am sure that I speak for everybody in the House. We will do everything to try to make sure that we get those hostages home.

• 15 Jan 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  We took the right and difficult decisions in the Budget—decisions that the Conservatives did not have the courage to take, which left us in the mess in the first place. When it comes to tax, the Leader of the Opposition knows very well the limits of what I can say from this Dispatch Box, but we have an iron-clad commitment to our fiscal rules. We cannot just tax our way out of the problems that they left us, which is why we have put in place tough— [ Interruption. ] They were howling at the spending decisions. They would not take them, but we will stick to those spending decisions. Our focus is absolutely on growth, but their record— [ Interruption. ] They flatlined the economy. Their record is a mini-Budget that crashed the economy, the worst cost of living crisis in living memory, and leaving a £22 billion black hole. I am not taking lessons from them on the economy.

• 15 Jan 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for his dedicated campaigning on this issue. I am proud that the Government have overturned a historic injustice, boosting the pensions of over 100,000 former mineworkers. We are working closely with the coal staff scheme trustees to consider the proposal, and I will ensure that the Industry Minister keeps him fully updated.

• 15 Jan 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  The hon. and learned Member knows that controls apply only to EU goods moving into Great Britain. The overwhelming majority of goods moving between Northern Ireland and Great Britain will continue to enjoy unfettered access to Great Britain indefinitely. The hon. and learned Member has made much of mutual enforcement; the reality is that this is mutual agreement. I know that he has his proposal, but I think his proposal would lead in the end to a hard border—something that has been rejected across this House on many, many occasions, and for good reason.

• 15 Jan 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for raising that tragic case; it is a really important issue. We have seen an increase in violence in teenage relationships in the last decade, and I have been continually shocked by research that shows there is abuse in relationships at a younger and younger age. We do need to look at the earliest opportunity at how we properly protect girls.

• 8 Jan 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  We had to deliver a Budget to wipe the slate clean, to deliver a stable basis for our economy and, at the same time, to repair our public services. That is why we invested £25.6 billion over two years in the NHS, including additional funding for GPs and hospices. We are taking measures to ensure that funding is there to support our vital services.

• 8 Jan 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  The right hon. Lady is right to say it is one of the worst scandals; it is terrible. That is why I acted on it. Her recently acquired view is that it is a scandal, having spent a lot of time on social media over Christmas. Not once in eight years did she stand here and say what she has just said—not once in eight years. The previous Government did not act on the recommendations. They want a national inquiry. We had a national inquiry: the Jay inquiry. The report made 20 recommendations—not a single one implemented. She talked about doing two things at once. The Conservatives cannot kill the Bill this afternoon—wreck the Bill—and protect children. Everyone will remember the dreadful case of Sara Sharif. This is the girl who was taken out of school and abused by an abuser. This afternoon’s Bill fixes that gap. I am looking across the House, and I know there are hon. Members on the Opposition Benches who know very well that what is in this Bill is necessary, that it is the right thing to do, and would want to vote for the Bill. I urge them to think twice about following the short-sighted, misguided, bandwagon-jumping, non-leadership approach of the Leader of the Opposition.

• 8 Jan 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising this matter. We are committed to building those 1.5 million homes, which includes 4,500 new homes every year in Cornwall. I do recognise the point that the hon. Member makes, which is that excessive concentrations of short-term lets and second homes in places such as Cornwall can impact the availability and affordability of homes. That is why we will enable councils to charge a premium on the council tax bills of second homes, abolish the furnished home lettings regime and introduce a registration scheme for short-term lets. I am happy to make sure that he and his Cornish colleagues get the meeting that they want with the Housing Minister to discuss that further.

• 8 Jan 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for her question. We all owe an extraordinary debt of thanks to those who serve. By reacquiring over 36,000 service family homes, including 1,700 in her constituency, we can rapidly transform substandard accommodation. The deal we have done also saves the taxpayer around £230 million per year in rent and follows the largest pay rise for the armed forces in over 20 years. There is, of course, still work to do, but this is a major step forward.

• 8 Jan 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  This is an important issue, and we have to focus on the victims and survivors. The lies, misinformation and slinging of mud do not help them one bit. The right hon. Lady raised a victim’s question, and quite rightly too. I accept that victims and survivors are in different places on this. Those I have spoken to are worried about the delay of a further inquiry. The last inquiry took seven years, which would take us to 2031. Among the issues that have been raised with me—the right hon. Lady has been speaking to victims, and they will have raised this with her—is that it is very hard for victims and survivors to come forward to explain what has happened to them. They do not want to be rushed through this process, which is why the last one took seven years. It is not sensible to suggest that it can be done in a hurry, on the cheap and comprehensively. That would take us to, let us say, 2030 or 2031. The victims I have spoken to want action today. I agree with them on that, but what I genuinely do not understand is why anybody would vote against the children’s wellbeing Bill, which will protect children who are vulnerable today. It will kill the Bill. It will stop the provisions for children at risk today. I implore the Opposition to vote for the Bill. Do not wreck it in this misguided way.

• 8 Jan 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  The right hon. Lady says that the last Government accepted the recommendations, but they did not act on them. One of the central recommendations was for mandatory reporting, and it still has not been enacted. I called for it 11 years ago. Opposition Members have been tweeting and talking; we have been acting. The Leader of the Opposition has been a Member of Parliament for, I think, eight years, and her party were in government for seven and a half of those eight years. She was the Children’s Minister. She was the Women and Equalities Minister. I cannot recall her once raising this issue in the House, or once calling for a national inquiry. It is only in recent days that she has jumped on the bandwagon. In fairness, if I am wrong about that and she has raised it, I invite her to say so now, and I will happily withdraw the remark that she has not raised it in the House in the eight years she has been here, until today.

• 8 Jan 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Yes, absolutely. My hon. Friend is right; family courts must never be a tool that domestic abusers can use to continue their appalling abuse. That is why we are expanding the number of new pathfinder courts to provide dedicated support to survivors and protect the welfare of children. We are reviewing the presumption of parental involvement and will set out our position in due course. I will make sure that he meets the relevant Minister to discuss this further.

• 8 Jan 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for raising this question. Businesses in his constituency have been badly let down by the deal made by the last Government. We are resetting and strengthening that relationship, on the economy, energy and security, to deliver the growth we need. I know this is an issue of considerable frustration to his constituents. The decision in question is ultimately for Eurostar, but we are keen to see international services reinstated to Ashford as soon as possible and I will be happy for the Rail Minister to update him on the latest discussions.

• 8 Jan 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Lady for her question. May I express to her something that I should have expressed to the Leader of the Liberal Democrats, which is our condolences about Jenny Randerson? I apologise; I overlooked that earlier. The hon. Lady raises the failure of the SNP and the legacy of the Tories. I am proud that this Labour Government delivered the largest budget settlement for Scotland since devolution. That means, in answer to her question, that 100,000 workers in Scotland benefit from the increases to the national minimum and living wages each year. An estimated 3.2 million people in Scotland will benefit from the extension of the 5p cut in fuel duty, which of course comes on top of the £125 million to set up Great British Energy in Aberdeen. It reinforces the point that the SNP has the powers but has a terrible record, and the Tories left a terrible legacy. We are getting on with delivering for Scotland.

• 8 Jan 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  The City Minister has acted appropriately by referring herself to the independent adviser. We brought in our new ministerial code to allow Ministers to ask to establish the facts, and I am not going to give a running commentary on that important exercise.

• 8 Jan 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for raising this issue. I was pleased that the first increased payments to mineworkers’ pension scheme members were made at the end of November. I understand the strong feelings on the British coal staff superannuation scheme, which is why the Minister for industry met the trustees last year. We will work with the coal staff trustees to consider their proposals once the new mineworkers’ pension scheme arrangements have been agreed.

• 8 Jan 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  That case never crossed my desk.

• 8 Jan 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is right to raise that important issue. I have to say, when he said that there were cuts to police and somebody opposite said “Boring!”, that tells us everything we need to know about the last 14 years. My hon. Friend is right: we need to crack down on those committing vile acts in our communities. That is why our plan for change puts 13,000 extra police and police community support officers into neighbourhood policing, and includes a 3.5% real-terms increase and tough new respect orders. Where they lost control, we will take back control and deliver safe and secure communities.

• 8 Jan 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend describes an appalling housing situation, and one that will be familiar to a number of MPs on both sides of the House. That is why we will deliver the 1.5 million homes that we desperately need across the country. The Budget announced £500 million for the affordable homes programme—that is hugely important—£100 million of which will go the Greater London Authority. We will also reform the right to buy, to deliver a fairer, better value and more sustainable scheme where long-standing tenants can buy their own home.

• 8 Jan 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  First, I thank the right hon. Lady for her condolences, and I thank her for reaching out over the Christmas period when I lost my brother. I really did appreciate that, and I appreciate it today. On the question of a further inquiry, there have been a number of inquiries, some of them localised, including the Mayor of Manchester’s recent inquiry. The national inquiry Professor Jay carried out took seven years. It had 20 recommendations, none of which were actually implemented by the Conservative party when it was in government. This is a really serious issue and we must focus, obviously, on the victims and survivors. There is no fixed view on the victims and survivors about a further national inquiry. There are mixed views. But there is a view, and I share this view, that what is needed now is action on what we already know. We already know—myself from personal knowledge when I was chief prosecutor—that warped ideas, myths and stereotypes about victims are at the heart of this. We have known that for a decade. The Jay report called for mandatory reporting; I called for it 11 years ago. What we need now is action. What cannot be tolerated is the idea that this afternoon Opposition Members will vote down a Bill that protects children— [Interruption.] Let me just say this. One of the provisions in that Bill is to protect vulnerable children today, who are out of school, to prevent abusers from ever taking those children out of school. I implore Opposition Members to defy the misleading leadership of the Leader of the Opposition and vote for a really important Bill.

• 8 Jan 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for raising that. Antisemitism is completely abhorrent and has no place whatsoever in our society. I recently met Jewish community leaders in Downing Street to discuss what further we can do to combat antisemitism, and that includes allocating £54 million for the Community Security Trust to continue its vital work, committing to building a new Holocaust memorial and learning centre and providing at least £2.2 million to continue the funding for Lessons from Auschwitz. I look forward to working with others on those important proposals.

• 8 Jan 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Lady for raising that important and challenging case. Community pharmacists like Dipak play a vital role in our health service. As she knows, the Department of Health and Social Care sets drug tariff prices and regularly assesses what pharmacies are reimbursed to ensure that overall they are paid fairly. If the hon. Lady is prepared to share the details further with me, I will have a review carried out by the team of the case she has raised.

• 8 Jan 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  I think we all had a smile on Sunday when the hon. Member for Clacton (Nigel Farage) said how cool it was to have the support of Musk, only for Musk to say he should be removed just a few hours later—that is the rough and tough of politics. Of course, we are looking at the question of funding more generally.

• 8 Jan 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  I will call out any aspect that has prevented anybody from coming forward, or any case from going forward, when it comes to violence against women and girls, child abuse or child sexual exploitation, as I have been doing for the best part of 15 years. Yes, some people will say there should be a further inquiry—I accept that—but that means all the victims and survivors who give evidence need to be in a position to do so, and not all of them are. I have been speaking to them. Some think they are, but it will take time. All of the institutions will have to give evidence; that will take time. This will delay things until 2031. We already know what the major flaws are. My argument is that we should get on with that action. That is why we are bringing forward the Bill this afternoon.