Providers, giving you a front-row seat to democracy.
Next, Deputy British Prime Minister Angela Rayner fields questions for members of the House of Commons during the weekly question time in the British House of Commons.
Prime Minister Keir Starmerer was in Samoa with King Charles for the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting, a biannual gathering with the leaders from all British Commonwealth nations.
The economy, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, immigration, infrastructure, investment, and protections for healthcare workers were among this week's question time topics.
We now come to questions to the Deputy Prime Minister Adam Jogi.
Question one, Mr. Speaker.
Deputy Prime Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
And I've been asked to reply.
My Right Honourable Friend, the Prime Minister, is in Samoa to discuss shared opportunities in the Commonwealth, including how we work together to deliver economic growth.
With increasing threats facing Britain, it's vital that we also strengthen the defence, security, and cooperation with our allies.
And that's why today this government signed a landmark defence agreement with Germany, which will help people safe and create hundreds of jobs.
Mr. Speaker, I know the whole House will join me in sending our best wishes to Sir Chris Hoy and his wife, Zara.
He is a true sporting legend, and the courage and positivities they have shown will inspire many others.
Mr. Speaker, I also send our condolences to those affected by the train crash in Palace.
Mr. Speaker, this morning I have had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others, and in addition to my duties in this House, I shall have further such meetings later today.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
For 14 years, my constituents in Newcastle-underly had suffered flatlining wages, in-work poverty, and a vast economy that served nobody.
Can I urge the Deputy Prime Minister to use the employment rights bill to turn the page on the last 14 years, to give our businesses the support they need, and to finally restore dignity, prosperity, and opportunity to the good people of Newcastle-underly?
Can I thank my honourable friend and welcome my honourable friend to his place?
When this government took office, we promised the biggest upgrade to workers' rights in a generation: a new deal for working people.
We said that we would introduce a bill within the first hundred days, and we've kept that promise.
This is a Labour government led by working people for working people.
Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Oliver Dowden.
Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Can I join the Deputy Prime Minister in paying tribute to the bravery of Sir Chris Hoy?
He truly is an inspiration to us all.
And I also echo her comments about the train crashing powers.
Mr. Speaker, what is the Deputy Prime Minister's definition of working people?
Deputy Prime Minister.
Well, first of all, let me start by welcoming the Honourable Gentleman to his new place.
Today is our first exchange, Mr. Speaker, since he pushed for a July general election.
And if his own side hasn't offered him a peerage, I'm Turn Hilly Woodolf.
And Mr. Speaker, definition of working people are the people that the Tory Party have failed for the last 14 years.
Oliver Dowden.
Well, the Deputy Prime Minister stood on a manifesto promising not to raise taxes on working people.
It now appears she can't even define who working people are.
I'll give her another go.
There are five million small business owners in this country.
Are they working people?
Mr. Speaker, I don't know how the shadow Deputy Prime Minister can stand there with a straight face when it was the small businesses, the working people of this country, that paid the price of them crashing the economy, sending interest rates scoring.
I think he needs to learn his own lessons in opposition.
Well, I think the whole House will have heard the Deputy Prime Minister disregard five million hard-working small business owners.
These are the publicans, the shopkeepers, the family running a local cafe.
None of those count as working people to her.
Now, Labor gave a clear commitment not to raise national insurance.
The independent IFS have given their view on this.
They say that raising employer national insurance is a tax on working people.
Even the Chancellor said that raising employer national insurance was a jobs tax that will make each new recruit more expensive and increase the cost to business.
So does she agree with the IFS and her own Chancellor?
Mr. Speaker, I remember the party opposite what they said to business.
What was it?
F to business?
Whereas this party held an investment international investment summit last week which brought £63 million into our economy.
We're pro-business, pro-worker and getting on with fixing the mess that they left behind.
So I think we can take it from that answer that the Deputy Prime Minister doesn't agree with the IFS and I suppose it shouldn't come as a surprise that she doesn't agree with her Chancellor, but does she agree with this?
And I quote, working people will pay when employers pass on the hike in national insurance.
Mr. Speaker, these are her words.
So does she at least agree with herself?
Mr. Speaker, what I'm incredibly proud of is this week this government brought in a new employment bill which will raise the living standards of 10 million workers.
Would the shadow deputy prime minister like to apologise for the hiking taxes, 70-year hiking taxes that he put on working people, the crashing of the economy and the disaster that he left behind?
Well, she mentions her policy.
Let's be clear, it's a £5 billion hit to the British economy, and that's her own assessment.
Mr. Speaker, I think that following these answers, there will be millions of working people now even more worried about the tax rises coming their way in next week's budget.
But as this is our last exchange across the dispatch box, I'd like to turn to somebody I hope we can all agree is a hard-working person, His Majesty the King.
Will she join me in sending him best wishes ahead of the Commonwealth Summit in Samoa?
In particular, will she confirm that this government recognises the unique role played by the Commonwealth and will she commit to deepening this relationship so that under His Majesty's leadership we build upon possibly the greatest legacy of the late Queen?
I will miss our exchanges.
And in that spirit, Mr Speaker, I will agree with my right honourable friend.
The King does a tremendous job, and so did the late Queen.
The Commonwealth is very important, and that's why the King and the Prime Minister at the moment are working together.
Thank you.
Oliver Dunn.
Well, I thank the Right Honourable Lady for that answer.
Our Commonwealth family is brought together by historical and cultural ties.
Indeed, much like the pair of us.
But I will resist, Mr Speaker, the temptation to replicate that.
But as we look to the Commonwealth's future, we now have the opportunity to deepen our economic relationship.
Will she therefore assure the House that the Prime Minister will use this summit to continue the work begun by the last government in building deeper economic ties with our Commonwealth friends and allies?
Well, Mr. Speaker, we talk about economics.
The architect of the 2024 Tory general election campaign doing his victory lap before retiring with the hereditary peers that he fought so hard to protect.
He leaves behind the Tory party in utter denial, heads in the sand, refusing to accept the rejection by the British public.
Their plan for Britain, Mr. Speaker, includes scrapping the minimum wage, cutting maternity pay, and tax breaks for the big oil companies.
Mr. Speaker, this Labor government is elected to end the Tory chaos.
Dr. Edmonds, you've got a sore neck.
I wish it was your throat a little.
Come on, Dr. Tommy.
Mr. Speaker, they don't like to hear it, but this Labour government was elected to end the Tory chaos, and that's exactly what we're doing.
£600 more in the pockets of insecure workers, 30,000 new dads giving paternity leave, and 10 million working people better off.
While their so-called leadership candidates argue about what went wrong, this Labor government is getting on with rebuilding Britain.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I, like many NPs, have heard many heart-rending stories of constituents who have had poor end-of-life support.
Yet, had palliative care been available alongside an end-of-life plan, their experiences could have been so different.
Would the Deputy Prime Minister agree to set up a commission for palliative and end-of-life care so that everyone can access the very best support when terminally ill and have a peaceful and dignified death?
And will she meet to discuss it?
I thank my right honourable friend for raising what is an emotion subject on both sides of this House.
I know from my own work in this area before I was in this place what an incredible work this is and the honour it is to be there for somebody at the end of their life.
Discussions have begun now on how to improve access to palliative and end-of-life care, and I'll ensure that she gets a meeting with the relevant minister to discuss this issue.
Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Daisy Cooper.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
May I associate myself and the Liberal Democrats with the Deputy Prime Minister's remarks about Chris Hoy and all those involved in the train crash.
Our NHS is bracing itself for a winter crisis.
And one of the causes of the winter crisis every year is that there are thousands of people in hospitals who are fit to go home, but they can't be discharged because there are not the care workers in place to enable people to recover at home or in a care home.
Will the Deputy Prime Minister consider the Liberal Democrats' idea of an NHS winter task force to winter-proof our NHS, end this cycle of the winter crisis, and put to an end the scandal of hospital patients paying the price of the social care crisis left by the Conservatives?
I thank the Honourable Lady for her comments and I share with her her desire to ensure that care workers are given the respect and the importance that they deserve.
They are critical, in my opinion, to solving the problems within our national health service.
It's the Labour Party that will create a national care service and we're launching our first ever fair pay agreement for care professionals to boost recruitment and retention.
We must get the NHS back on its feet after the disaster of the Conservatives and my right honourable friend the Chancellor will have more to say in the budget.
Thank you Mr. Speaker and I thank the Deputy Prime Minister for her answer.
We stand ready as a party of constructive opposition to work with the government to fix our social care system.
However, one of the measures that could make it harder for us to keep the carers that we so desperately need would be an increase in employers' national insurance contributions.
Were that measure to go ahead, it would affect millions of small businesses, including 18,000 small care providers.
Can I ask the Deputy Prime Minister to assure this House that there will be nothing in the budget that makes it harder for vulnerable people to access the care workers and the care that they desperately need?
Well again I won't speculate on the budget, not least with the Chancellor that sat at the side of me.
But what I will say, and I'll reiterate what the Chancellor has said and what the Prime Minister has said, this will be a budget that recognises that working people of this country and the enterprise in this country has been hard hit by the 14 years the Conservatives.
We will rebuild Britain and we will grow our economy to pay for our public services.
Chris MacDonald.
Thank you Mr. Speaker.
This next year marks the 200th anniversary of the Stockton to Darlington Railway but the rail industry in my area is currently in peril with hundreds of jobs at risk at Hitachi Rail as a consequence of a lack of action from the previous government.
Will my Right Honourable Friend the Deputy Prime Minister join me and our honourable friend the member for Newton Aycliffe and Spenny Moore with workers' management and trade unions to ensure that no stone is left unturned as we fight for the future of this Hitachi Rail factory?
I thank my right honourable friend for that question and welcome him to his place.
He's been a champion for workers at Newton Aycliffe from day one.
I know he's met with the Transport Secretary and I can assure him that we're in close contact with Hitachi on operations to secure a sustainable future for Newton Aycliffe and we're committed to a long-term industrial strategy for rolling stock seeking to support British manufacturing and end the volatility of recent years.
In today's spirit of cross-party working, will the Deputy Prime Minister join me in applauding the brave Labour staff members who've travelled across the Atlantic to campaign against Donald Trump?
Mr. Speaker, I'm loving this, loving.
I don't often get it.
What I say to the honourable gentleman is that people in their own time often go and campaign, and that's what we've seen.
It happens in all political parties.
People go and campaign and they do what they want to do in their own time with their own money.
Like many in my constituency of Cowdenbeath and Kirkauddy, my family knows what it means to raise and support a disabled child.
Charities like the Yard and Kirkawdi do an amazing job providing vital additional help to disabled children and their families.
Last month, a survey found that our country is so broken that three-quarters of parents of children with special educational needs and disabilities have been forced to give up work or cut their hours.
Does the Deputy Prime Minister agree that our Labour government must tackle this intolerable reality?
I absolutely agree with my honourable friend and pay tribute to those that work with children with special educational needs and disabilities.
I myself have my amazing son who does tremendously well given his challenges that he faced in life.
I know from personal experience the system is just not working for children and families.
Future funding decisions will need to be taken as part of the upcoming spending review, but we will work with the sector to deliver our shared mission and restore parents' trust.
Thank you Mr. Speaker.
Just three months into this Labour government, we have seen brutal cuts to support for pensioners.
We have seen the taxing of education and we have seen just this week £5 billion of additional pressure put on British businesses.
Why does this government have such a problem with aspiration?
Mr Speaker, Mr Speaker, the Honourable Member might not have been in this place, and I welcome him to his place now, during the last Parliament, but it was his government that left a £22 billion back.
It was his government that left us with the biggest housing crisis.
It was his government that crashed the economy and it was his government that saw interest rates, inflation go to 11%, where pensioners were worse off than they are now.
Thank you Mr. Speaker.
Deputy Prime Minister, I watched in horror and condemned the act on October 7 by the terrorist group Hamas.
A year later I watched it in horror as 42,000 people are killed in Gaza, 11,000 of them children, people burned alive, attached to drips, aid workers killed and now families are starving.
Our Right Honourable Friend the Prime Minister has said that the world will not stand by and see this humanitarian lack of humanitarian assistance.
If the Israeli government will not listen to our Prime Minister's words, what tangible, measurable actions will we take as a UK-British government?
I thank my honourable friend for raising this really serious and important issue.
The humanitarian situation in northern Gaza is dire and we need an immediate ceasefire and much more aid allowed to flow in and an immediate release of all the hostages.
We have suspended UK export licences to Israel for items which might be used in the current conflict and this government has concluded that there is a clear risk that items exported to Israel might be used in serious violations of international humanitarian law in Gaza.
This does not change our position and instead support for Israel's security but we will always do so in a manner consistent with our obligations to domestic and international law.
Mr Speaker, our child protection services have had to deal with a number of cases where parents and carers have argued that their fatal actions were lawful punishment.
So, I'd like to ask the Deputy Prime Minister: will she bring forward legislation bringing the rest of our country into line with Scotland and Wales so that all children enjoy an ambiguous protection in law against violence?
I think it's a very important point that the Right Honourable Gentleman raises, and I'll make sure that the Minister has a meeting with him.
But the first job of any government is to protect the citizens, and that includes our children, and we'll make sure we work across the House to deliver that.
Caroline Hurricane, last Friday was International Menopause Day, and the government announced Mariella Frostrop as the new menopause employment ambassador.
Mariella will be working across Whitehall to ensure every department recognises the need to support women through their menopausal years.
Hopefully, Mr. Speaker, the Deputy Prime Minister will join me in celebrating this appointment and confirm that this government will do all they can to keep menopausal women happy, healthy, and wonderful.
Absolutely, Mr. Speaker, and I thank my honourable friend for all of her work in this area.
This government will boost protections for women experiencing menopause symptoms at work, and I'm proud that we've appointed Mariella Fosser Post a new menopause employment ambassador.
She is a powerful champion who will work with employers across the country to raise awareness, improve workplace support for women, and help them stay in work and progress in their careers.
Monica Harding.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Charlie from my constituency of Eastram Walton is an eight-year-old boy with an autism diagnosis who has been out of school for almost a year.
He is one of 1,800 children in Surrey missing school because of a lack of appropriate special educational needs provision.
Will the government commit to ending this scandal by properly funding special educational needs provision in next week's budget so that children like Charlie in my constituency of Eastram Whalton and beyond are no longer let down?
I thank the Honourable Member for her very important question and I'm sorry to hear about what Charlie and many other children with special educational needs have gone through.
We know we've inherited a really dire situation.
Many members across this House have raised this issue and that I'm sure the Chancellor have heard what she said and that she will be upcoming in the budget.
Mike Chupp.
Thank you Mr. Speaker.
This morning we woke to more tragic news of deaths in the Channel, something that we're hearing far too often.
Just last month we saw the death of a pregnant woman and children.
Children, Mr. Speaker.
I'd like to ask the Deputy Prime Minister what this government is doing to take on the evil smuggling gangs who are trading in human misery.
I thank my honourable friend and welcome him to this place and his expertise within the National Crime Agency and he knows that we inherited an asylum system in chaos and as he quite rightly, as he quite rightly says, these are people, women, children.
We are putting in place a credible plan to protect our borders and remove those with no right to be here by setting up our Border Security Command backed by £75 million of investment and we're working with our international partners to target and disrupt the criminal smuggling gangs.
Will the government please continue to work closely with West Lindsay District Council and myself to ensure that RAF Scampton is sold off in a timely fashion at a fair price so that we secure the future of the runway, the spaceport and the heritage centre rather than maximise value and cover it with housing?
I thank the honourable member, the father of the house, for his question.
My right honourable friend, the Home Secretary, is taking urgent action to clear the backlog of cases, reducing the use of asylum accommodation and saving millions for the taxpayers.
I will ensure that the Right Honourable Member is kept fully updated as the decommissioning disposal process of Scampton is followed.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, in my constituency, hundreds of leaseholders, tenants and shared owners are living in properties with cladding and other defects in their properties and thousands around the country.
Their lives are on hold.
Many are facing bankruptcy or delaying having children unable to move.
We've had another change in ministerial responsibility.
Will the Deputy Prime Minister take a personal lead on keeping on top of this?
Because after the years since Grenfell, they're still living in limbo and need some hope of change.
I thank my honourable friend for this really important question.
I say from the outset the pace of remediation has been too slow.
I do take a personal lead in this.
Seven years on from the Grenfell Tower tragedy, it is unacceptable that so many buildings still have unsafe cladding.
I'm meeting with developers, mayors, regulators, and national building safety bodies to press the urgency of this work.
I will make sure action is being taken to make sure that homes are safe.
Shropshire's farmers have been suffering from flooding following 18 months of incredibly wet weather, topped off last Wednesday in 24 hours by the month's worth of rain.
They weren't eligible for the Farming Recovery Fund and a Freedom of Information request by Farmers Weekly found that only £1.2 million of that £50 million has been handed out to farmers.
Will the government consider extending the eligibility of that scheme so that we can keep farmers going when they're damaged by flood water?
I'm really sorry to hear the plight of the Shropshire farmers and we inherited the flood defence programme in disrepair.
Thanks to 14 years of mismanagement and failure, communities are unprotected and families and businesses are forced to pay the price.
We launched a flood defence task force to turbocharger delivery and coordination of flood defences and we're investing £1.5 billion this year to scale up flooding national resilience.
Now make sure she gets a meeting with the minister.
Thank you Mr. Speaker.
The government has delivered on its manifesto commitment to introduce the employment rights bill in its first year.
This includes a historic fair pay agreement for care workers and will benefit all those who care for older and disabled adults like those in my constituency of Shipley.
Will the Deputy Prime Minister agree with me that care workers deserve pay and conditions that match the amazing work they do to support our loved ones to have a fulfilling life?
I thank my honourable friend and welcome her to her place.
As a biased form of care worker, I'll always champion carers and the complex quality and professional work that they do.
I absolutely agree that care workers deserve the pay and conditions to match their enormous contribution to our community and I'm proud to say that we're delivering that fair pay agreement that will give the carers the recognition that they deserve and will make sure that those carers are able to deliver the best possible care to our loved ones.
Last month a widely reported study from Aston University Business School showed that UK goods exports to the EU are 27% down and imports 32% lower than they would otherwise have been thanks to the Conservatives' failed Brexit deal.
Will the Deputy Prime Minister tell me what steps this government is taking as part of their reset with the EU to cut Brexit red tape for small businesses to help our economy get growing again?
Well, I welcome the right honourable member to his place and he's right to advocate for small businesses.
They are the backbone of our economy.
This government is turning the page on their relationship with Europe, reinvigorating alliances and forging new partnerships rather than reopening the divisions of the past.
We will improve the UK's trade and investment relationship with the EU, tearing down unnecessary barriers to trade.
This will not involve rejoining the single market customs union or reintroducing freedom of movement, but we will get that relationship better.
Rachel Blake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
27,000 people in the cities of London and Westminster live in the private rented sector.
After 14 years of neglect and delay, they face damp and mould in their homes.
They risk no-fault eviction and out-of-the-blue rent hikes.
Does the Deputy Prime Minister agree with me that the renters' right bill currently in committee will transform life for private renters and finally rebalance power between tenants and landlords?
I thank my right honourable friend and I welcome her to this place.
I'm incredibly proud of the renters' rights bill that we're pushing through Parliament because too many renters are being exploited by a minority of unscrupulous landlords unable to challenge bad practices because they could be evicted at any moment.
The party opposite Chunters, they promised the electorate this.
They failed to deliver.
We will deliver.
Late Stevenson.
Thank you Mr. Speaker.
Communities across the country including in Bedfordshire recently experienced widespread flooding.
The village of Malden in my constituency has experienced an increase in flooding following cumulative housing development.
As the Deputy Prime Minister requires communities across the country to build more homes, will she also ensure that those new developments do not increase flooding risk?
Again, I thank the Honourable Member for raising and also welcome him to his place.
We recognise the devastating impact flooding can have.
I know the flooding minister visited Bedfordshire in September to meet with volunteers and residents.
We inherited flood defences that are in disrepair and behind schedule.
We've launched a flood resilience task force and when it comes to the planning reforms needed to deliver the 1.5 million homes this country needs, we will ensure that the right infrastructure is in place and communities are resilient.
Kim Johnson.
Thank you Mr. Speaker.
Zoe's place in the West Derby area of Liverpool is a hospice providing support to sick children and their families.
It's been threatened with closure, has to find 5 million by the end of the year.
Does the Deputy Prime Minister agree with me that hospices like these need to be on a statutory footing and not reliant on charitable funding?
I thank my honourable friend for that question and the hospice situation in this country has faced significant challenges because of the 14 years of devastation under the Conservatives.
The Health Secretary has already raised these issues and knows that this is of importance and I'll make sure she gets a meeting.
Final question, Sir John Days.
Thank you Mr. Speaker.
The Deputy Prime Minister will know that my constituency in Lincolnshire as whole is the breadbasket of Britain, producing 12% of the food that's consumed across the entire nation-30% of the vegetables, 20% of the sugar beet and so on.
She will know that's because of the Grade 1 and 2 land in Lincolnshire.
And yet Lincolnshire faces an invasion of giant pylons down the east coast and huge solar developments.
So will she meet a delegation of colleagues from Lincolnshire and nearby, including my reflection from the Louth and Sleetford and the Fargo Health?
So that we can establish that energy security must never be the competitor with food security.
Well, I thank the Honourable Member for his question.
He will know that we launched a consultation on the national planning policy framework.
We will protect agricultural land.
We will ensure that we have renewable energy so we have energy security in this country and we will get Britain building again.
The election completes prime minister's questions and let the front benches change over.
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National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan outlines the U.S. international economic agenda and talks about the opportunities and challenges with strategic investments in clean energy, artificial intelligence, high-tech manufacturing, and critical minerals.
His remarks come during an event hosted by the Brookings Institution in Washington, Washington, DC.