Keir Starmer MP: speeches 2026

Speeches

• 1 Jul 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  The hon. Member obviously did not pay as much attention as he should have to what I said yesterday on the plan, the capability, the record investment that we are putting in and how we are funding it. I do agree that we need to work more closely with the EU on defence and security, as well as on trade and the economy. That is precisely what we agreed at the EU-UK summit last year, and we have been building on that. I am proud to say that in the last two years, the relationship between the UK and the EU has been transformed into a much better, trusted relationship. It is very important that, as Prime Minister, I leave the country in a better state than I found it, and I do.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for raising this subject. Baroness Amos’s findings show a deeply disturbing picture of deep fragmentation and an overly complex system, with women and families not being listened to, no proper accountability, and discrimination driving inequalities in treatment and outcomes. We will deliver the change that is needed. We will look at the urgent recommendations of Baroness Amos and Donna Ockenden and deliver them. I thank my hon. Friend for leading from the front as the first maternity adviser, working with families and the NHS to deliver safer and better care for every mother and baby. I know that her son Billy will be very proud of her.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  That is from the party that thinks we should give up the nuclear deterrent, and the hon. Gentleman stands there to talk about defence. We need no more advice and sanctimonious nonsense from the SNP. Before he or any of them give any more advice to me or this House, let us have some home truths. Their chief executive has just been jailed for five years for embezzlement. They are all pretending they did not know anything about it. They could not even see the motorhome parked in the driveway, apparently. And now they are blocking an inquiry in the Scottish Parliament. Before they offer any more advice, they should look in the mirror.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  It is just all talk. What did the Conservatives actually do? They cut defence, from 2.5% to 2.3%, in their 14 long years. And what did they do on welfare? They put the bill up by £88 billion, so we will take no lectures from them. They failed in the first duty of Government, and they will not defend their record, will they? Never do they stand here and defend their record, because they cannot—14 years of failure. They do not get up and apologise, which is what they should do, because they would have to admit what we all know—how much they failed—so they just sit there pretending it did not happen. Well, it did happen. You hollowed out the armed forces; we are correcting that now. I will tell you what else. When we came into power, public services were on their knees. Today we have seen the fastest fall in NHS waiting lists for 17 years. When I became Prime Minister, we inherited a broken economy. Today we are outperforming the other G7 economies. When I became Prime Minister, our international alliances had been shredded. Now other countries are looking to us to lead on defence and security—foundations of a stronger and fairer country. Britain is in a better state than we found it. That is the difference a Labour Government make.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  This is the most significant upgrade in defence spending since the 1980s. The Chief of the Defence Staff has been clear that the plan accelerates the transformation we need for our armed forces. The First Sea Lord said that it funds the capability we need to fight and win, and the Chief of the Air Staff said that it strengthens our contribution to NATO. The Leader of the Opposition must have missed that yesterday, the Secretary-General of NATO welcomed the plan. Those are all people who know what is in the plan and welcome it. We can contrast that with the Conservatives’ record in government. They hollowed out the armed forces. Their record is cutting defence spending; my record is raising it to £300 billion and rising. Their record is cutting frigates by a quarter, cutting minehunters by a half and leaving 47 out of 49 defence programmes delayed or over budget; my record is the biggest boost to defence investment since the 1980s. Their record is missing Army recruitment targets every year for 14 years. We have given our armed forces the biggest pay rise for 20 years and increased defence funding by £15 billion a year. That is a record I am proud to stand on.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Lady for raising the case in Belfast that concluded last week and, like her, salute the courage of the victims to come forward. It must have taken extraordinary courage; it does in every single one of these cases, but particularly when they involve powerful people and institutions, it takes even more courage to do so. We salute them for their own acts, but also because that will, I hope, have helped others to see that if they do come forward, they will be believed and justice can be done, notwithstanding the difficulties. On grooming, we have set up the inquiry and it is very important it goes wherever the evidence should take it. That is an absolute guiding principle of the inquiry.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  We are determined to transform mental health services so that everyone gets the support they need. I am pleased to say that we have recruited 8,700 extra mental health workers. We have opened the first of six 24/7 neighbourhood mental health centres and ensured that nearly 800,000 more children and young people have access to a mental health support team at their school or college. There is more to be done, but this is a real step forward.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  First, I join the right hon. Member in his comments about the Scotland team and the Scotland fans, and in wishing England well. I am not sure about his gag. He was getting a bit better the other week, but he has gone back down—I am afraid that one is a red card. Our defence investment plan gives our country what we need to fight now and into the future, with the capability that has been assessed through the strategic review. Bonds, which we looked at very closely, are simply borrowing by another name, and we are already borrowing in a way that requires us to spend £1 in every £10 on servicing the interest. I would gently point out, before the right hon. Member carries on with any criticism of our plan, that he sat in a Cabinet that cut defence spending by 22%.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  When I became Prime Minister two years ago, this country spent £54 billion a year on defence. Because of the decisions we have taken, that will rise to £80 billion a year by 2029. That is a real-terms increase of 27%, transforming our armed forces. We are not going to take any lectures from the Conservatives. They cut defence spending. They hollowed out the armed forces. That is what their Defence Secretary admitted they did. [Interruption.] They do not like it. They will not defend their record, because they cannot. They will not apologise for it, because that would be to admit what we all know: it is a total failure. They just try to pretend that the 14 years during which they were in power never really happened. We are in power. We have record investment in defence and security. I am proud of this Labour Government, and any Labour Prime Minister would stand behind this plan.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  The hon. Gentleman’s NHS trust has identified its preferred site for the new Frimley Park hospital, and detailed technical work can now start. Let us be frank about this hospital. The Tories promised 40 new hospitals with no funding and no delivery plan, and we have had to fix that. Thanks to Labour investment, the hon. Gentleman’s hospital is at the front of the queue. It will be one of the first in the country to be rebuilt, but his approach has been, on the one hand, to demand a new hospital, and then to oppose actually building it. He has urged his constituents to oppose it because, to quote him, “if this hospital goes ahead, there will be no golf course.” Labour is building new hospitals, and the hon. Gentleman is standing up for golf courses. I cannot think of anything more Lib Dem.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  I am very proud of the fact that after net migration reached almost 1 million under the Conservatives, we have brought it down by 82%. The hon. Gentleman references the asylum system; asylum decisions are being made at record levels, the backlog is down, removals are up 41% and we are closing asylum hotels. The Conservatives lost control of our borders, but small boat crossings are now coming down, and we have deported 70,000 people with no right to be here. The hon. Gentleman likes to ask questions. He should be asking some questions of the leader of his party, the hon. Member for Clacton (Nigel Farage), who is sitting next to him—he received £5 million from a crypto billionaire and then privately lobbied the Bank of England on digital currencies. Did the Reform leader carry out paid lobbying? Why did he keep his £5 million gift secret? Are Reform Members happy with their leader earning £20,000 an hour flogging gold bullion? They need to ask questions across the Reform Bench, but they never do.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for raising this matter. I am pleased that we have delivered over 1.8 million additional courses of NHS treatment, because no one needing urgent care should be left in pain and waiting for help. We have already made early reforms, including embedding urgent care into the contract so that people get fast access to NHS care, and delivering the first sustained expansion of dental school places in nearly 20 years to get extra dentists trained. We will consult on a reformed dental contract soon, and I will make sure that Ministers update my hon. Friend on that.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  We are talking about £1 billion a year over four years. The decisions at the last Budget gave us more than £22 billion in headroom, so we can take the decisions the country— [Interruption.] The Conservatives do not understand this, because they crashed the economy. We built a headroom of £22 billion. The very reason for the headroom is so that we have the credibility to take decisions outside the Budget and outside the spending review. The Conservatives do not understand it because they lost control of the public finances. In addition to doing more for defence and security, we have taken control of the public finances. That is why we have headroom to take credible decisions like this. We have £1 billion a year over four years and headroom of £22 billion because of the decisions that we took in the last Budget, which allow us to take these decisions.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  In relation to the hon. Gentleman’s hospital, he knows that those decisions are taken at a local level, based on expert advice. We are committed to prioritising women’s health as we reform the NHS, including through our women’s health strategy. In his area alone we are investing £57 million to transform care. That is money we provided at the Budget. He actually voted against it, along with the rest of the Lib Dems. They cannot complain about the lack of investment and then, when we put the money forward, vote against it. That, again, is very Lib Dem.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for raising this really important issue and drawing it to the attention of the House, and I am glad that we are joined in the Gallery today. It is really important that we keep our focus on violence against women and girls, and I will make sure the meeting she requested is set up.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Our commitment to space in the defence investment plan reflects how we are preparing our armed forces for the conflicts of the future. When I see apprentices working in our defence industries, I see this investment creating more opportunities in many constituencies, including in my hon. Friend’s. It underlines exactly what our investment delivers: 60,000 new jobs, investing in British skills, promoting our brilliant industries abroad and driving growth in the UK.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  What the Conservatives did was cut defence spending. When they came to power, defence spending was 2.5%. What did they do? They cut it to 2.3%—a cut! On welfare, what did they do? They put it up by £88 billion. So we will take no lectures from them about either welfare or defence. This is £15 billion of new investment for defence, delivered outside a Budget and outside a spending review. That is about £1 billion a year over four years. Because of the decisions at the last Budget, we have had headroom of £22 billion. That is precisely so that we can take decisions like this. We delivered it outside a Budget and outside a spending review, just as we did with special educational needs, outside a Budget and outside a spending review, and just as the last Government did when they announced their five-year NHS plan in 2018, outside a Budget and outside a spending review. And what did they say when they were challenged about it? “We will be able to explain exactly where every penny is coming from but we will do that in the Budget.” That was the right hon. Member for Godalming and Ash (Sir Jeremy Hunt), then the Health Secretary and later the Chancellor of the Exchequer. When the Conservatives published their integrated defence review in 2020, what did they do? They set out the funding at the next spending review. So let us drop the faux outrage and focus on what matters: the biggest sustained increase for 40 years and the biggest increase for 45 years, providing what is needed to keep the country safe.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  I thought the next few weeks were about to get quite interesting, Mr Speaker. We all wish England the best of luck this evening. Every time those players step on to the pitch, they represent the talent, ambition and diversity of this country. We are proud to be supporting the next generation, investing £400 million in grassroots facilities and over £1 billion in school sports. And if Thomas Tuchel needs any advice on penalties, he should ask David Seaman, who slotted one past him just a few weeks ago.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  I thank the right hon. Member for raising this. It is really important, because our politics is becoming more divisive, and racism and intolerance are permeating everywhere. We have to deal with it, because it is tearing our societies apart, it is keeping good people away from politics because they do not want to be involved in it and it should be called out by every single person who is a politician at any level in this country. Mr Speaker, I say this looking at the plaque to Jo Cox, and of course we have David Amess’s plaque behind me too. We had a Jo Cox 10-year reminder—it was 10 years ago, just a week or so ago, that we lost Jo—when I held a reception in Downing Street with her parents, close friends and relatives. We read out Jo’s words again, but the very sad thing is that I was not able to say that, in the 10 years since Jo’s death, things have got better, because sadly they have got worse. That is on all of us to fix—every single Member of this House, whatever their party—and anybody who flames it should be absolutely ashamed of themselves.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  I am proud that this Labour Government have delivered two major funding increases in just two years in government. The first, which was funded by overseas aid, took us to £270 billion over the spending review period. That is a record. The defence investment plan gives us the capability we need for the future and sets a new record of £300 billion over the next four years. That will be invested in drones and autonomous weapons—the largest ever investment—strengthen the UK’s nuclear capability, upgrade our naval bases in the most significant way for 45 years, and confirm our commitment to the next generation of fighter jets. That is what is needed to keep our country safe.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  I thank the right hon. Gentleman for raising this important point—I am enjoying our weekly exchanges! Every veteran who served our country should be looked after and better able to access any compensation that they are entitled to. We have dedicated pathways for veterans in every jobcentre to provide support with benefit claims and complex cases. I can assure and reassure him that anyone coming forward will get tailored support, and we will seek to resolve any issues swiftly and fairly to see where we can improve. If the right hon. Gentleman or other Members have any specific cases, they can pass the details to us, and we will look at them. I noticed that the BBC reported on the right hon. Gentleman’s question last week as being almost certainly his last to me as Prime Minister—a reminder that you shouldn’t always believe everything you read in the news! I look forward to seeing him—same time, same place—next week.

• 24 Jun 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Two years ago, I walked into No. 10 and found a broken economy, broken public services and broken trust in politics. Because of our decisions—my decisions—the country is moving in the right direction: a stronger and fairer Britain, ending austerity, investing in our public services, the fastest fall in NHS waiting lists for 17 years, more rights for workers, more rights for renters, standing with Ukraine, Britain’s reputation restored, and half a million children being lifted out of poverty. Change promised by a Labour Government, change fought for by a Labour Government, change delivered by a Labour Government.

• 24 Jun 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  I do like the right hon. Lady. When she talks about destroying legacies, I remember that she was the Chief Whip to Liz Truss. I am very proud that we are building the houses that we need so that everyone has a base camp for their opportunity and aspiration—something the last Government failed on and we are succeeding on.

• 24 Jun 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Thank you Mr Speaker. I was trying to do all this with as much good grace as I could, but I shall certainly miss these exchanges. I am very proud of every one of our MPs who, with a landslide Labour victory, come from all different backgrounds and different places across the country. We inflicted the biggest loss on the Tories in the history of their party. We have picked up our party and we turned it around. We had to address what went wrong, we turned it around, and we won a landslide victory. The right hon. Lady will not address or even talk about their failure after 14 long years.

• 24 Jun 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  That is a first duty that the last Government spectacularly failed at, because they hollowed out our armed forces. We have already delivered the biggest sustained boost in defence spending since the ’80s—that is £270 billion over this Parliament—and we will increase that with the defence investment plan, which will be published before the NATO summit.