Keir Starmer MP: speeches 2025

Speeches

• 23 Apr 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Let me be clear: I welcome the Supreme Court ruling on this issue. It brings clarity, and it will give confidence to women, and of course to service providers. The Equality and Human Rights Commission will now issue updated guidance. It is important that that happens, and that all service providers then act accordingly. This Government’s approach, and my approach, has been as follows: to support and implement the Supreme Court ruling, and we will; to continue to protect single-sex spaces based on biological sex, and we will; to ensure that trans people are treated with respect, and we will; and to ensure that everybody is given dignity in their everyday lives. I do think this is the time to lower the temperature, move forward and conduct this debate with the care and compassion that it deserves, and I think that should unite the whole House.

• 23 Apr 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  I can only assume that that sounded better when the right hon. Lady said it in the mirror earlier. The truth is, it does not really matter what she says, because nobody—none of them behind her—believes that she is going to lead them into the next election anyway. It will be the shadow Justice Secretary, who is away plotting—that is why he is not here today—and the hon. Member for Clacton fighting over the bones of the Tory party. The Conservatives think Reform will give them its votes without changing their policy—absolutely no way. The hon. Member for Clacton will do what he always does: eat the Tory party for breakfast.

• 23 Apr 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  The right hon. Member raises an important issue. I visited Port Talbot a number of times and heard at first hand from the workforce. She may or may not know that even in opposition, before the election, I was talking to the owners to try to persuade them to delay their decisions, because I knew an election was coming. That is how important I thought it was. I remind her that at the same time, the then Prime Minister refused to pick up a call to the First Minister even to discuss the issue. I took a different approach, because I realised just how important it was. The right hon. Lady compares the situation with the decision we took last week, but I remind her that the blast furnaces were turned off in January last year and the coke ovens in March 2024, which was before the election. That was the very thing I was trying to ensure did not happen, for reasons that she and the workforce will understand, and I was talking to the workforce throughout. Since then we have been able to negotiate an improved deal with Tata that means better terms for the workers, and we did that within 10 weeks. We are working hard to maximise opportunities from the £1.25 billion investment in an electric arc furnace, we are supporting those facing job losses with £80 million of funding to learn new skills, and we are supporting the supply chains and protecting communities. The right hon. Lady talks about protecting working people, but she voted against the biggest devolution settlement since devolution. That includes more money for public services, including the NHS, and her party voted against it.

• 23 Apr 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  The net zero transition is a huge economic opportunity for this country, despite the naysayers on the Opposition Benches. We have had almost £44 billion of investment since July, which will deliver jobs across the country, including in my hon. Friend’s constituency—investment that the Opposition presumably do not want. We are ensuring we have the skilled workers that we need, launching Skills England and our new growth and skills offer to encourage even more apprenticeships, and supporting the industry-led plan for hydrogen to deliver the workforce needed for the industry of the future.

• 2 Apr 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is right. More than 60,000 Scots have been stuck waiting for tests or treatment for over a year. That is a 46% rise in one year. I had to check that figure because it is so staggering. Despite the backlog, nearly 50,000 fewer operations are being performed than were performed before the pandemic. Let us compare that with the situation in England, where we have driven down waiting lists with more than 2 million extra appointments, and have scrapped NHS England to cut bureaucracy. Scotland’s NHS is in desperate need of reform, but the Scottish National party has no strategy, no plans and no ideas.

• 2 Apr 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  We are taking a calm, pragmatic approach and keeping our feet on the ground. Constructive talks are ongoing on a wider economic prosperity deal with the US. That is really important at this moment. We are working with all sectors that are likely to be impacted, and we are guided by our national interest at all times, and that is why we have said we will not rule anything out, but it is important at a moment like this that we do not have knee-jerk reactions and that we are cool-headed about this. That is why we will not rule anything out. The right hon. Lady was the Trade Secretary who failed to get a trade deal with the US.

• 2 Apr 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  I am grateful for my hon Friend’s question. We will unlock growth across the country in partnership with local leaders, giving power to those with skin in the game, and we will fix the north’s broken transport system—another thing that the Conservatives left in a complete mess—through nearly £1.7 billion for local buses, roads and trams, an additional £415 million to upgrade the trans-Pennine route, and fixing millions of potholes. Obviously, I will consider my hon. Friend’s kind invitation.

• 2 Apr 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for raising that. I do take a personal interest. A short while ago, I went to Scunthorpe to talk to the management and workers to understand the challenges at first hand and how deeply worrying this will be for those working there, their families and the community as a whole, which is why negotiations are taking place. I call on the company to accept the offer of financial support that has been advanced, so that we can achieve a sustainable future for the workforce, the industry and the local community, because I believe that there is, and needs to be, a bright future for steel. As I have said, I do take a personal interest in this.

• 2 Apr 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  I think the right hon. Lady must have picked up the script she was using a few weeks ago, because only then she was saying that we were going to put up taxes in the spring statement. The situation in Birmingham is completely unacceptable, and I fully support the council in declaring it a major incident to resolve the situation. We will put in whatever additional support is needed. When the Conservatives were in government, we lost more days to strike action than in any year since the 1980s. NHS workers were on the picket line, not on the frontline, and that sent waiting lists through the roof, so we will take no lectures on industrial harmony from the Conservatives.

• 2 Apr 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  The right hon. Lady must be the only person left in the country who actually thinks the Tories did well on the economy when they were in power. That was what was tested at the last election. Living standards were the worst on record, and inflation soared up to 11%. The NHS was on its knees. She is so obsessed with talking down the country that she has not read the OBR forecast properly. Growth is up in 2026, in 2027, in 2028 and in 2029. That is thanks to our planning reforms, the largest growth measure the OBR has ever costed. What did the Tories do when that Bill came before Parliament? They abstained. We do not grow the economy or build houses by abstaining. They are the same old party. They have not changed. Nothing’s new.

• 2 Apr 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for raising this appalling case, and I absolutely agree with him that there must be maximum penalties for anyone falling into that category. I saw many of these cases for myself, at first hand, when I was a prosecutor for five years, and worked with the police on really terrible cases, and I know the impact that such crime has on victims. I thank him for raising this.

• 2 Apr 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  The right hon. Lady says that the triple lock “was” a Conservative policy. The Conservatives were once thought to be the party of sound finances, but they blew all of that. She asked what we are doing. We are clearing up the mess that they left, we are dealing with global instability, and we recognise the pressures that are bearing down on businesses, individuals, and working people. That is why we are rolling up our sleeves. Yesterday, I was pleased to announce the national living wage increasing by £1,400. That is a pay rise for millions of workers. We have announced £150 for the warm home discount, now extended to 6 million households, which is one in five families. Wages are going up faster than prices. Never forget: under the Conservative party there were the worst living standards on record, inflation up to 11%, and public services left on their knees.

• 2 Apr 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  I believe it is best for communities when their leaders have skin in the game. Helen Godwin grew up in Stapleton, went to college in Filton and has a great record fighting for the community where she is raising her family. Our plan for change has delivered record funding for the west of England: more money for better buses, potholes and getting young people into work. That is the difference a Labour mayor working with a Labour Government delivers for the west of England.

• 2 Apr 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for raising this appalling incident, and our thoughts remain with the families of Jim, John Chapman and James Kirby. Attacks on aid workers are never justified. The families deserve justice, and we are pressing the Israeli Government to accelerate their investigation, including into whether criminal proceedings should be initiated. Israel must stop blocking aid to Gaza, the hostages must be released, and we must have an urgent resumption of the ceasefire.

• 2 Apr 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  To pick up on your comments, Mr Speaker, on Monday night I spoke to President Zelensky. He wanted me to pass on his thanks to you for attending in Ukraine, particularly on the third anniversary of the massacre at Bucha. I have been to Bucha, and this is a terrible, terrible third anniversary. We have been preparing for all eventualities ahead of the confirmation of US tariffs later today. Let me be clear with the House: a trade war is in nobody’s interests. The country deserves, and we will take, a calm and pragmatic approach. That is why constructive talks are progressing to agree a wider economic prosperity deal with the US. It is why we are working with all industries and sectors likely to be impacted. Our decisions will always be guided by our national interest. That is why we have prepared for all eventualities and will rule nothing out. Our deepest sympathies are with the people of Myanmar and Thailand. We are sending immediate lifesaving support to assist their efforts. May I also extend my personal condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Christina McKelvie? She was much loved and will be sorely missed, especially by our Scottish National party colleagues here and in Scotland. 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.

• 2 Apr 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  The hon. Gentleman and I share a love of the Lake district. We still go back there with our children. This is obviously a serious issue, which is why we put a record amount into farming at the Budget and also set out our road map. I will happily make sure that he gets a meeting with the relevant Minister to go through that and to take on board any points he has to make in relation to it.

• 2 Apr 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We can commit to the triple lock because we have restored stability after the Conservatives crashed the economy. That means that, next week, 12 million pensioners will receive up to £470 more—that is an extra £1,900 over this Parliament—including 1 million pensioners in Scotland. The contrast could not be clearer. The shadow Chancellor, the right hon. Member for Central Devon (Mel Stride), called the triple lock “unsustainable”, and the Leader of the Opposition wants to means-test the state pension so that she can cut it.

• 2 Apr 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  I thank the right hon. Gentleman for raising this issue, which is of real importance to his constituents and to everybody in Northern Ireland. It is a very serious issue. That is why we need to be calm and pragmatic, and that is what workers and businesses in Northern Ireland would want to see from this Government at a time like this. We are, as he would expect, looking carefully at the details of any retaliatory tariffs announced by the EU, if they are announced, and what impact they might have on businesses. As he knows, where goods do not enter the EU, businesses can claim a full reimbursement of any EU duties paid, but I reassure him that the interests of Northern Ireland are at the forefront of our decisions. He may want to know that this morning the Business Secretary spoke to the Northern Ireland Executive, because this is a serious issue and we need to work together to resolve it in the interests of everybody in Northern Ireland.

• 2 Apr 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  The Deputy Prime Minister is saying, “Absolutely”, in my ear. We will end the feudal leasehold system which has left millions of homeowners subject to unfair costs and unreasonable practices. Our reforms include clear standards for repairs and maintenance, and that will give homeowners a greater say in how their homes are managed. I know the Housing Minister will have heard what my hon. Friend said.

• 2 Apr 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  As I said in our previous exchange, obviously the unfunded promises—the fantasy promises —of the Conservative party meant that the hon. Gentleman’s hospital would never have been delivered. [ Interruption. ] Conservative Members should not moan; they should apologise to the hon. Gentleman’s constituents. We had to take tough decisions to make the programme deliverable, which is what we have done. We will continue to support the trust to maintain facilities in advance of the new hospital investment, and the Minister for Secondary Care will be visiting that hospital, which I hope will be an opportunity to have the necessary discussions.

• 2 Apr 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Every week the right hon. Gentleman tries to tempt me to make what I think is a false choice between our relationship with the US and our relationships with other countries, particularly in Europe. I think that is the wrong choice on defence, on security and on intelligence, for reasons that we have rehearsed across this Chamber. I also think it is wrong on trade and on the economy. We have a good deal of trade—a balanced trade relationship—with the US, and I believe that our interests are best served by calmly trying to secure a deal that is in our national interest, while at the same time preparing and leaving all options on the table.

• 2 Apr 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  The Conservatives tried an open borders experiment; we are now tackling illegal migration. They talked about flights; we have already removed 24,000 people with no right to be here. Under their Rwanda scheme, which was only ever supposed to return, I think, 300 people a year, what we have achieved in nine months would have taken them 80 years. We have replaced a gimmick with a real deterrent.

• 2 Apr 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising that tragic case, and I pay tribute to the families. When it comes to cases such as this, I often find it hard to think how I would respond if I were a family member in such circumstances. I am not sure that I would have the courage that those families have to campaign in the way that they have done, and I pay tribute to them for it. We need to get to the bottom of all these issues, wherever they may lie, and that is what we will do.

• 2 Apr 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  The right hon. Lady’s fantasy figure is about as much use as Liz Truss’s economic planning. She turns up every week to carp from the sidelines about decisions that we made in the Budget. Yesterday, she held a press conference and could not say whether she would reverse the decisions that we made at the Budget. I understand, because she cannot bring herself to say that she does not want the investment of an extra £26 billion in our NHS. I am not surprised at that, as that is 2 million extra appointments, 1,000 more GPs, a pay rise for nurses, and so on. Let me get her position right, if I can follow it: she wants the extra £26 billion in the NHS, which was paid for by the national insurance rise—she wants that—but she does not want to reverse the national insurance rises. She is now reduced to this absurd position of voting against a Budget—carping against a Budget—that she actually agrees with.

• 2 Apr 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  I have said that the situation in Birmingham council is completely unacceptable, but the hon. Gentleman might want to tell his constituents that we have delivered 2 million extra appointments for the NHS, so waiting lists are coming down for them. We have delivered a £1,400 increase in the national living wage, including for his constituents, and we have got record investment into this country, growing the economy, including for his constituents.