Any member who wishes to submit questions for the record may do so within seven days.
And with that, we're adjourned.
And we've done it all without a cent of government funding.
C -SPAN exists for you, viewers who value transparent, no -spin political coverage.
And your support helps keep our mission alive.
As we close out the year, we're asking you to stand with us.
Your gift, no matter the size, goes 100 % toward supporting C -SPAN's vital work, helping ensure that long -form, in -depth and independent coverage continues to thrive in an era when it's needed more than ever.
Oh, you think this is just a community sensor?
No.
It's way more than that.
Comcast is partnering with 1 ,000 community centers to create Wi -Fi -enabled lift zones so students from low -income families can get the tools they need to be ready for anything.
Comcast supports C -SPAN as a public service, along with these other television providers, giving you a front -row seat to democracy.
Next, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer comments on the fall of the Assad regime in Syria at the start of this week's Prime Minister's Question Time.
The Prime Minister also responds to questions from members of the House of Commons on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and increased funding for the national health system.
We now start with questions to Prime Minister Andy MacDonald.
Number one, Mr. Speaker.
Prime Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Can I start by welcoming the fall of Assad?
The people of Syria suffered for far too long under his brutal regime.
Mr Speaker, what comes next is far from certain.
We've been talking to regional and global allies to ensure that it is a political solution that protects civilians and minorities and absolutely rejects terrorism and violence.
Mr Speaker, 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 on today.
Thank you very much.
That the spending review will not simply end but will unwind austerity and provide the resources councils need to properly serve our communities.
I join him in paying tribute to the Mayor and all local representatives across the country who do a fantastic job even when funding was cut to the bone under the last 14 years of the Tory government.
Mr Speaker, we're boosting local government funding by £4 billion, investing £1 .6 billion to improve roads.
And I was proud to see the work on the carbon capture cluster in Teesside, which will create 2 ,000 new jobs.
Mr Speaker, last week, the Prime Minister didn't seem to want to talk about appointing fraudsters to his cabinet.
In fact, he seemed to want to talk about immigration.
So let's talk about immigration.
He has relaunched yet again.
Many new targets, six milestones, five missions, but why was cutting immigration not a priority?
Speaker, I'm glad she now wants to talk about immigration.
Last week she said she didn't, and for good reason.
Because the previous government presided over record high levels of immigration.
The figures just a few weeks ago, nearly a million on net migration.
That is unprecedented.
A one nation experiment in open borders under the last government.
And she was the champion.
She stood up.
And praise the then Tory Home Secretary for listening to her on removing caps on migration visas.
So she was applauding it.
Now she's furious about what she was campaigning for.
We will drive it down.
We will drive down lawful migration.
We'll drive down illegal migration.
Mr Speaker, he talks about open borders.
He was the one campaigning for free movement.
I was in this house asking for a lift on skilled migration.
He was there supporting all of the people who should not have been in this country.
He wanted us to relax immigration.
But as he's so keen to talk about the past, let's look at his record.
Four years ago, the Prime Minister signed a letter demanding that foreign criminals be allowed to stay in Britain.
Dozens of Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs repeatedly signed these letters, insisting that rapists and murderers be allowed to stay here.
One of those criminals, Ernesto Elliott, had 17 convictions, including for knife crime.
After his deportation was blocked, Elliott went on to murder someone.
He was able to stay here and murder because people like this man campaigned against deporting criminals.
We apologise for signing these letters.
Mr Speaker, I'd firstly remind her that the number now under their watch of migrants coming to this country, nearly a million,
is over four times the number when we're in the EU.
They lost control of the borders.
And the particular example she puts to me is an example of failure under her government to take the necessary measures to keep our country safe.
Mr Speaker, this is a ludicrous assertion.
He is the one who was repeatedly signing letters.
He even asked us to pause all deportations.
He asked us to pause all deportations.
He doesn't want to talk about his past, Mr Speaker, but that letter is just the tip of the iceberg.
There is more.
The Prime Minister actually complained that the immigration system was working to deter migrants rather than provide support.
He said, and I quote, that he was proud to have served as Jeremy's shadow immigration minister.
He boasted that he took the last Labour government to court for cutting benefits for asylum seekers.
He said he would never set a target -based approach to immigration.
He wants to talk about immigration?
Let's talk about his record.
We can talk about it all day.
Mr Speaker, the Prime Minister says he wants to talk about immigration.
I have committed to a cap on migration.
Why won't he?
Mr Speaker, she talks about my record.
For five years I was the chief prosecutor prosecuting people who went to prison, many of whom were then...
So while she's talking, I was actually doing the hard yards of convicting those that should be in prison.
And she presided over record numbers of asylum seekers in this country.
A record number of lawful and irregular migrants.
That is 14 years when they lost control of the borders.
They set a cap for each of those 14 years.
It wasn't hard.
It didn't stop people coming.
And it got a record number.
They should apologise for what they've done with their open borders policy.
Mr Speaker, he did not answer a single...
Do you want to leave?
If you've not got the guts to stand up to the comments, you shouldn't be in here.
Mr Speaker, he did not answer a single question.
He never answers questions.
He wants to talk about the past.
The fact is we've acknowledged where things went wrong.
He will never take responsibility.
We're good to go.
I think?
The MPs are complaining about having to house asylum seekers.
So can the Prime Minister tell the House how much more his government will spend on hotel accommodation because he scrapped the deterrent?
Mr Speaker, I'd invite her to tell us what went wrong under the last government, but it'd take us all afternoon.
Mr Speaker, we are going to smash the gangs that are running this bile trail.
We signed a landmark agreement with Germany this week.
Mr Bill, you've been very loud.
I think now we're going to have a little bit of silence from you, Prime Minister.
We have powers to take enforcement action across the continent where it is needed.
We've set up the border security command.
We've committed £75 million on top of the existing £75 million.
We're extending the powers so they're counter -terrorism -like powers.
We've retained 9 ,400 people who shouldn't be here.
A record flight got off.
They talk about getting the flights off.
They did it for years.
They didn't succeed.
We got the flights off.
Mr Speaker, he says he wants to smash the gangs.
The only thing he's smashed is his own reputation.
The fact that he has been agreeing is not going to do anything.
The cost of the Iraq agreement is half a million pounds.
That wouldn't even buy a house in his constituency.
Many of the things he's taking credit for are our agreements.
Let's talk about what he put in his manifesto.
The Prime Minister promised to end asylum hotels.
He promised.
He's the Prime Minister now.
He promised.
But in Altringham and Peterborough, his government is expanding the use of asylum hotels because he unilaterally disarmed the deterrent.
In fact, Mr Speaker, in fact...
A man who arrived by small boat told Sky News he was happy Labour were in power.
That man said the Conservatives, and I quote, wanted to deport us, but Labour are making the procedure easier for us.
He's right, isn't he?
Mr Speaker, I really thought she should welcome the Iraq deal.
Anybody who wants to deal with this vile trade would have welcomed it.
She should also welcome the German deal that we did this week.
Many of the boats that are finding their way to the Channel are coming through Germany.
That is well documented.
There's been a difficulty in taking enforcement action, which if she spent more time researching that than her terrible jokes, she would know about.
We have signed an agreement to smash and take enforcement action in Germany to stop those boats getting to the coast.
That is effective action.
She should welcome it.
It's really good news.
All law enforcement think it's a good thing.
Why does she think it's a bad thing?
Because the numbers are going up, Mr Speaker.
The Prime Minister has consistently backed criminals over law -abiding British people.
Now he has appointed her defence lawyer as his Attorney General.
Mr Speaker, events in Syria mean we may see more small boat arrivals.
For once, will he take the side of the British people and strip citizenship from jihadi terrorists and supporters of Assad who want to come back and destroy this country?
Mr Speaker, I was Director of Public Prosecution for five years.
Unlike anyone on their benches, I was prosecuting for five years hundreds of thousands of criminals.
That includes huge terrorist gangs, rapists.
I was working for three of those five years with the then Home Secretary, Theresa May, who commended the work that I did at the end of those five years.
So for her to stand there and say, I haven't done anything in law enforcement, I dedicated five years of my life to law enforcement, locking up criminals, which is more than she can say.
And it would be easier to take...
Mr Speaker, since In the last couple of months since I spoke to the Prime Minister here about the need for social and industrial investment in Cornwall,
we've had a fresh tranche of shared prosperity funding, a huge boost to international interest in our cleanest energy industries, and we've had a roadmap to greater political autonomy that reflects Cornwall's unique national identity.
Will the PM join?
Prime Minister.
Mr Speaker, I thank my honourable friend.
He's a champion of the extraordinary potential of Cornwall, particularly in our transition to clean power by 2030.
Next week we'll publish our English devolution white paper, setting out our ambitions to move power from Westminster into every part of England, including Cornwall.
And I know he and his colleagues are meeting the Deputy Prime Minister to discuss this next week.
Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Sir Ed David.
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
While Syrians are rejoicing at the overthrow of the brutal Assad regime, many people there and around the world are worried about what comes next, as the Prime Minister indeed said, with the threats of extremism,
ISIS terrorism and unsecured chemical weapons.
Only an open...
Political process can bring peace and stability, but that will require the full backing of the international community.
So does the Prime Minister share my concern that present -elect Trump said about Syria, and I quote, the United States should have nothing to do with it.
If America walks away and steps away, will he step up and work with other allies to provide British leadership over Syria?
Prime Minister.
He's right to say this is a very serious moment.
We all welcome the fall of Assad.
I hope this can be a turning point for Syria, a much needed turning point, but that is by no means guaranteed and that is why we've been speaking intently.
Sir, Ed Davey.
Can I thank the Prime Minister for that reply, and I hope we can continue to work on a cross -party basis to do Britain's role in securing peace and stability in the Middle East.
But moving on to another subject, Mr Speaker, British farmers are the best in the world.
They are the best in the world because of our tradition of family farms, where from generation to generation a commitment to high -quality food, to our precious environment, animal welfare, is...
Thank you.
So will the Prime Minister change course and recognise the vital role that British family farms play?
Billion pounds into farming over the next two years.
That's a record number under the budget.
Last week alone, £350 million to support farmers in the United Kingdom.
That does contrast with the last government, who was an underspender of £300 million in relation to farmers.
In relation to inheritance tax, as he knows, in a typical family case, the threshold is £3 million, and therefore the vast majority of farmers will be unaffected, despite the fear -mongering of the...
We're going to party opposite.
Speaker, places of worship are vitally important not just for practicing one's faith but also for local heritage.
The government's places of worship grant scheme currently provides much needed tax relief for religious buildings in need of renovation but is scheduled to end next year.
What assurances can the Prime Minister provide my constituents that the government will continue to support restoring our much cherished places of worship such as Holy Trinity Church in Horwich?
I thank you for that question and recognise the important roles that these buildings play at the heart of communities, particularly, Mr Speaker, at a time like Christmas.
There are a wide range of funds available for maintenance and restoration, including the National Lottery Heritage Fund's Places of Worship scheme.
Details will be confirmed in the usual way by departments at the Spending Review.
Mr Speaker, last week my neighbours Omar and Delnock Al Shashkaki, who serves South Belfast as a doctor and a classroom assistant, received the news that they have been dreading.
Dalal's mother and brother were among 23 Gazans killed in their tent by an Israeli airstrike in the so -called humanitarian zone of Al -Mawassi and other family members are fighting for their lives in a barely functioning health system.
Prime Minister, the crisis in Gaza is getting worse and not better.
None of us in this chamber can end their nightmare but we can do more.
This government have rightly used every tool at their disposal.
Sanctions on arms and trade and officials against Prime Minister.
Can I start by saying I'm sorry to hear of the dreadful loss of the families of her constituents.
There have been far too many examples.
I was pleased to see that there's now ceasefire in Lebanon.
We desperately need that now.
Thank you.
Thank you Mr Speaker.
My constituents in the east of Kirkintilly are experiencing a housing emergency.
Not enough houses for families or for those fleeing domestic abuse and what houses there are are in drastic need of repair.
Does the Prime Minister agree with me that Scottish Government should be prioritising repairing this housing emergency but also the funding of local authorities?
To address this crisis of their own making.
Prime Minister.
Well, I'm grateful to her for raising this, because in Scotland, house building is ground to a halt, homelessness is at record numbers, children in temporary accommodation, record numbers, and that this budget was the biggest settlement for Scotland since devolution.
So they've got the powers, they've got the money, what they haven't got is any more excuses.
The people of Thornbury have been promised a new health facility for more than 20 years, but have seen every proposal fall by the wayside.
That's why it was a great relief to residents when the Health Minister confirmed to me in writing that the funding to rebuild the centre would be made available.
However, we are still months away from seeing the final plan signed off, never mind having spades in the ground.
So what reassurances can the Prime Minister give me and my constituents that this isn't just another hollow promise and that the proposals will be approved swiftly once they hit the House Secretary's desk?
Well I'm grateful to her for raising that and it's obviously a cause of concern for her constituents and we are determined to fix the broken NHS that we inherited from the party opposite and we've set out our targets in the plan for change last week.
As she knows the Department for Health, NHS England, Local Care Board are working together to deliver for patients in her constituency.
It is important that she'll appreciate that we go through the proper business case as part of this rebuild but what I can make sure is she gets some...
Thank you Mr Speaker.
Following years of real -terms cuts to their funding, St Catherine's Hospice, serving my constituency of Crawley, has recently made a number of redundancies.
Palliative care is hugely important to our communities and I pay tribute to them for their work.
Can the Prime Minister join me in thanking the work of St Catherine's and outline how the Government will look to support palliative care moving forward?
I will join him in that and recognise the vital role that hospices play in providing support to people at the end of their life and understand the challenges that they face.
Most hospices receive funding by providing NHS services and funding will be set out in the usual way.
Thank you.
Losing a farm is not like losing any other business.
It can't come back.
Now those are the words of the Prime Minister, those that he said to the NFU in order to get their votes.
So can the Prime Minister understand why farmers in Broadland and Fakeland and around the country now think that his administration is duplicitous?
Mr Speaker, I think everybody welcomes the £5 billion over the next two years that we put in the budget to...
Well, they shake their heads.
I'm afraid that they do.
£350 million in the last week alone, compared with the £300 million underspend by the last government.
On the threshold, as he well knows, in an ordinary family case, the threshold is £3 million, and that means the vast majority of farmers will be unaffected.
14 years of the party opposite gutting local government.
My constituents were recently shocked when Cannock Chase District Council proposed the closure of the Museum of Cannock Chase and the Prince of Wales Theatre.
Can the Prime Minister ask the Culture Minister and his officials to please meet with me to see what can be done to save our museum and theatre?
They groan at the question.
The Leader of the Opposition was saying they're coming to terms with their failures.
Well, they're obviously struggling.
I understand this will be a huge loss to his constituency.
Councils across the country were at the front line of the last government's ruinous economic failure.
We announced £4 billion in additional funding for local government, a real -terms increase in core spending power.
We will continue to do so, and I will make sure that he gets a meeting with the relevant Minister.
Chris Law.
These last months have shown that cruel Westminster governments of whichever party continue to target...
The weakest in society, while the Scottish Government will continue to protect them.
Whilst the Labour Party have voted to continue the two -child benefit cap from the Conservatives, the SNP are abolishing it.
While the Prime Minister picks the pockets of pensioners of their winter fuel allowance, Scotland's First Minister, John Swinney, has reinstated it.
Given support for Labour is plummeting, and support for Scottish independence is once again leading in the polls, who does the Prime Minister believe makes the best decisions for Scotland?
Those that were elected in our general election on the 4th of July, they're sitting here.
The three rivers that converge on the centre of Carlisle have made the city highly defendable against invading armies.
However, in 1985, 2005 and 2015 those same rivers overpowered the city, leaving thousands devastated by flooding.
What assurances can the Prime Minister give my constituents that the flood defences that the Conservatives promised but failed to deliver will be completed under this Government?
Can I start by wishing her a happy birthday?
She raises a really important matter for her constituents who've faced appalling flooding too many times and the last government left our defences in a state of absolute disrepair.
Mr Speaker, we're investing £2 .4 million this year and the Environment Agency are currently studying options to improve protection in Carlisle and I'll make sure she gets a meeting to discuss the specific options.
Speaker, in recent weeks the former head of MI6 Sir Richard Dearlove has warned that conflict between Russia and the West is no longer coming, it has already come.
With Russia poised to spend more than 6 % of its GDP on its military next year, the time for reviews and roadmaps is over.
Will the Prime Minister recognise the urgency of the situation and commit to spending at least 2 .5 % of GDP on defence without further delay?
Mr Speaker, she's right about the importance of national security, particularly at the moment.
At the Budget, we delivered £2 .9 billion increase in the MOD Budget.
We're pleased to deliver the largest pay rise for our armed forces in 22 years, and we'll set out the path to £2 .5 billion in due course.
That target, of course, was last met under the last Labour government.
It wasn't met once in the 40 years that they were in power.
Right, back now, Lee.
Mr Speaker, in October 2023 my constituent Mark Somerville received the shattering news that at 43 he had motor neuron disease.
Since then he has set up the Mark Somerville Foundation and is doing incredible work.
Well, I thank my honourable friend for raising this Casey,
he mentioned it to me last night and I do pay tribute to Mark who's in the gallery and the work of his foundation.
This diagnosis can so obviously be absolutely devastating.
And it's testament, if I may say so, to his bravery and compassion that he is raising awareness of the condition.
I think many of us would question whether we're capable of doing what he's doing, given the diagnosis that he's had.
Last week, of course, Mr Speaker, I paid tribute to the inspirational Kevin Sinfield, another incredible champion.
And I say to both of them, all those campaigning, we stand with you in this fight.
Sir Ian Duncan -Smith.
Mr Deputy Speaker, Ryan Cornelius has been detained in Dubai for 17 years.
His property was seized in what is a very unjudicial process.
The Prime Minister has been to UAE.
I want to ask the Prime Minister whether when he went there, did he now demand that Ryan Cornelius was freed, given that the United Nations came to the conclusion that his detention was arbitrary and in violation of International law and following that,
would you now make Magnitsky sanctions deliverable on those who are responsible for this after he is released?
This is an important case, and of course it's been raised by the government a number of times, including by the Foreign Secretary as part of the trip that I was on.
I myself raised human rights issues, but it is a serious case.
We'll continue to press for the outcome that I know he and his family desperately want.
We're good to go.
Does the Prime Minister agree that in light of this sudden departure of the CEO, Stellantis should review this decision, do what's right by our town, stay put for good, or until an alternative is found to ensure Luton's manufacturing history is also our future?
Thank you for raising it, which is obviously an issue of grave concern.
to her constituents and the government is totally committed to supporting the workers and their families at this uncertain time and the industry minister will meet the company this week to discuss plans for workers and the site to ensure that dedicated support is in place.
We'll continue to do so because I know it's an issue of considerable concern to her constituents.
Ben and Henry, otherwise known as the Ocean Oarsmen, will be roaming across the Atlantic next year for Alexander Devine Children's Hospice in Maidenhead, with a target of raising £50 ,000.
This hospice, Thames Hospice and many others though, are struggling with rising costs and the planned increase in employers' national insurance.
So will the Prime Minister join with me in wishing Ben and Henry the best of luck on their journey and take this opportunity to scrap the NI rise for hospices?
Well, can I pay tribute to Ben and Henry and everybody supporting their campaign.
It's obviously an important issue.
The funding arrangements will be set out in due course.
For retail workers in Bolton North East, the busy Christmas season is overshadowed by shoplifting, which Usdal's latest survey identifies as the leading trigger of abuse, threats and assaults.
As the police drop in in Bromley Cross, officers welcomed this government's commitment to clamping down on low -level shoplifting and prosecuting repeat offenders.
What more can the government do to tackle shoplifting and support retail workers and businesses during their critical holiday season?
I've spoken to many who work in our shops who are very very concerned about
Thank you very much Mr Speaker.
We've awarded millions of pounds to remote train stations like Hedge End and Swanwick in my constituency under the Accessibility for All scheme.
In the first two weeks of this government, that was scrapped.
Will the Prime Minister use his good offices to give my constituents and stations across this country an early Christmas present and give us our money back, please?
I'm grateful for him.
This is an important issue for his constituents.
The problem is the last government made lots and lots of promises, but they never set aside the money to pay for them.
That's why we picked up a £22 billion black hole.
They made promises in relation to infected blood, promises in relation to Horizon.
They didn't put aside the money to pay for it.
We've had to inherit that to clean it up.
We will get on with delivery, but we had to balance the books and stabilise the economy first.
Lizzie Collins.
Thank you Mr Speaker.
This past weekend one of my market towns, Kirby Lonsdale, suffered a devastating fire resulting in the loss of a local man's life.
The whole town centre was closed and many local businesses have been affected.
Sunday was meant to be a day of celebration with Christmas markets, family games and community events and instead the town faced a tragedy.
Can the Prime Minister tell me how the Government can support communities like Kirby Lonsdale To rebuild and recover after tragedies such as this.
Prime Minister.
I'm grateful to her for raising this awful situation and I think all of us can only imagine the impact that this must have had on the town.
Final question, Ellie Jones.
This week I was contacted by my constituent Sally.
She's a GP and she'd called 999 on Monday for a critically ill patient to try to get an ambulance but couldn't because they were all stuck outside Hereford A &E waiting to unload their patients.
At the same time we know that across the country medically fit patients are unable to be discharged because of the social care crisis.
Can I ask the Prime Minister, what is he doing to fix social care, to fix patient flow through hospitals, so that ambulances can get back to saving lives?
I'm grateful for raising this case, and it's an example that is all too common because of the fact that the last government broke the NHS.
She'll have seen the Lord Darzi report that we published on the state of the NHS.
They should be utterly ashamed of themselves.
But she raises a really important point.
That's why we've put a record amount into the NHS in the budget, £25 billion.
We've set out in our priorities what we need to do with the NHS.
We'll work at pace on this as hard as we possibly can.