Prime Minister Keir Starmer defends Britain's stance on US-Israel strikes in Iran, detailing F-35 deployments to Cyprus while rejecting war without lawful basis. Opposition members counter with £2.6 billion defence cuts and recruitment failures, criticizing delays in deploying Type 45 destroyers to protect attacked bases. The session also addresses rising energy costs from halted North Sea drilling, the Sarah Everard anniversary, leasehold reforms, and funding gaps in music education and homeless accommodation. Ultimately, the debate highlights tensions between strategic caution, fiscal constraints, and urgent domestic social needs. [Automatically generated summary]
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British Prime Minister Keir Starmer fielded questions from members of the House of Commons on the US-Israel military strikes on Iran.
Additionally, the Prime Minister was asked about the country's defence strategy, rising energy costs, and housing accessibility.
This week's Prime Minister's question time is about 40 minutes.
Before I come to Prime Minister's questions, and in light of recent exchanges in the chamber, I'd like to remind members of the need for good temper and moderation in the language that they use in this chamber.
As Speaker, I am not responsible for the specific questions asked by individual members or for the answer given by ministers.
So I encourage all members to engage in respectful debate, as our constituents would expect.
We now come to Prime Minister's questions.
Josh Fentonblin.
Number one, please, Mr. Speaker.
Prime Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The situation in the Middle East remains serious and volatile.
This government will be resolute in our focus, protecting British lives, bringing our people home, and safeguarding our national interest.
Mr. Speaker, today my thoughts are with the family and friends of Sarah Everard on this very painful anniversary.
Five years ago, I said her death had to be a turning point, and this government is committed to halving violence against women and girls.
We are acting in our schools, our police forces, online and offline, to keep women and girls safe, to prevent boys and men becoming abusers, and supporting victims to get justice and closure.
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 today.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I'd like to echo the Prime Minister's comments on Sarah Everard and the situation in the Middle East.
From the sound mixing desks made by Calweck in Hebden Bridge, which brought the world's Winter Olympics coverage, to the valves made by Black Hole Engineering in Brigh House, which bring water to New York City, Cold Valley's specialist manufacturing is recognised the world over.
It brings good jobs and sustainable work.
But with one-third of engineers over 60, the last government left our manufacturing workforce facing an existential crisis.
Will the Prime Minister please work with me to make sure that the new growth and skills levy will support good quality manufacturing jobs in Calder Valley and across the country?
Well, my honourable friend is right to champion brilliant manufacturers.
Our modern industrial strategy is driving up standards, investment, jobs, and growth.
And our growth and skills levy ensures we have the skills we need, supporting more short courses in critical sectors, including engineering.
We're investing over £700 million to support thousands more young people into apprenticeships, in stark contrast to the 40% falling apprenticeships starts under the party opposite.
Kevin Baird, not the Leader of the Opposition.
Mr Speaker, can I pay tribute to our brave servicemen and women in the Middle East during this very difficult period?
Our bases in Cyprus and Bahrain have now been attacked.
The US has taken offensive action to destroy missile launch sites to defend British territory.
Why will the Prime Minister not allow the RAF to do the same?
Mr. Speaker, can I make clear this is obviously an extremely serious situation and I know the whole country is worried about the potential for escalation.
They're worried about the impact on their lives, particularly when they see what's happening with energy.
The family and friends of those who are caught in the region will be worried sick about them.
And of course, we've got civilians and military personnel at risk in the region.
We need to act therefore with clarity, with purpose, and with a cool head.
The protection of UK nationals is our number one priority.
We're taking action to reduce the threat with planes in the sky in the region, intercepting incoming strikes, deploying more capability to Cyprus, and allowing US planes to use UK bases to take out Iran's capability to strike.
What I was not prepared to do on Saturday was for the UK to join a war unless I was satisfied there was a lawful basis and a viable thought-through plan.
That remains my position.
That wasn't the question I asked him.
Nobody wants to see an escalation.
The fact is, Mr. Speaker, our bases, in case they don't realise, our bases have already been attacked.
Iran is trying to kill our servicemen and women.
He is catching arrows rather than stopping the archer.
That's what we're talking about.
Why is he asking our allies to do what we should be doing ourselves?
I would say to Labour MPs, we are in this war whether they like it or not.
What is the Prime Minister waiting for?
Mr. Speaker, let me give a little more detail because for a number of weeks now, we've been pre-deploying our capabilities to the region.
In doing so, we've been liaising very closely with the United States, as the House would have expected.
Therefore, radar systems were pre-deployed, ground-based air defence was pre-deployed, counter-drone systems were pre-deployed, and F-35 jets were pre-deployed.
Mr. Speaker, that is why, since Saturday morning, multiple F-35s and Typhoons have been in operation not just in the Middle East but across Cyprus.
Further missions were flown overnight, typhoons defending, in particular Qatar, and F-35s defending other regional parties.
We're resupplying our air defence missiles today.
Wildcat helicopters with anti-drone capabilities will be in Cyprus this week.
And HMS Dragon will be deployed to the Mediterranean.
And of course, in agreement with the ES, they're using our bases to conduct the operations to strike Iranian missiles and launchers.
Mr. Speaker, that is the action that we are taking.
That is the agreement that we've reached with the United States to protect our nationals.
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has read out a long list.
It is not enough.
He says that we are pre-deploying.
The one ship which we are sending, HMS Dragon, is still in Portsmouth.
The fact is the Type 45s cannot take out incoming missiles.
This is not enough.
He's read out a long list.
The people who understand know it is not enough.
He should be doing more.
Yesterday, the Chancellor could have given more money to defence.
Instead, I don't know why they're laughing.
I don't know why that's funny.
That's not funny.
Yesterday, the Chancellor could have given more money to defence.
Instead, she gave more money for welfare.
Their priorities are all wrong, Mr. Speaker.
Their priorities are all wrong.
They can shunter as much as they like.
The fact of the matter is that the war in Iran is happening now.
Order.
Order.
Mr. Bailey, I don't like that.
I don't think it becomes you either.
An officers and gentlemen, I expect more.
The fact of the matter, Mr. Speaker, is that the warp read as well.
So please, let's learn something.
If not, you'll learn the way out.
Mr. Speaker, the country is not going to be distracted by Labour MPs moaning.
The fact of the matter is that the war in Iran is happening now.
But the OBR says the government won't hit 3% on defence for five years.
The war is happening now.
There is no urgency from the Prime Minister.
Why is he leaving the job of funding our armed forces to the next government?
I'm not going to take lectures on defence from the party opposite.
They came into office, and what did they do?
They cut the defence budget.
They missed army.
Order.
Mr. Philip, you've moved from there to the.
You're even low to here, so I'll think twice.
Prime Minister.
Not only did they cut the defence budget, they missed army recruitment targets every year for 14 years.
They left morale in our armed forces at an all-time low, and our forces hollowed out.
That's the words of Ben Wallace, the former Defence Secretary.
Labour, by contrast, is delivering the biggest boost to defence spending since the Cold War.
£270 billion over this parliament.
And we're doing that because we're focused on what matters.
And she's right.
The war is, of course, happening now.
We have to focus on that.
Across the country, people are worried about those that are trapped in the region.
And Mr. Speaker, that is why we're taking action.
And I can update the House.
I can update the House that yesterday more than 1,000 British nationals arrived back in the UK on commercial flights from the UAE.
A further eight flights are due to leave the UAE to the UK today.
I can confirm that the first charter flight is expected to leave Oman later today and two more will come in the coming days.
The country really does want to know this.
I'm sorry.
Family and friends are worried sick about people who are caught up and will not be put on.
I can announce we will lay on additional charter flights in coming days.
British Airways are now laying on an extra flight from Oman and the Foreign Secretary will have further discussions today.
Can I urge all those in the House who have constituents who are caught in this to make sure that they do register their presence so we can do whatever we can to help them get home safely?
Mr. Speaker, I wasn't asking about evacuations.
I was asking about defence spending.
He needs to focus on the question he's being asked, not the statement that was prepared in the bunker.
He stands there telling us that he's spending more money on defence.
Is saying it.
No, no, he isn't.
In fact, they are cutting defence spending by £2.6 billion from the MOD budget this year.
And that's why there are no Royal Navy warships in the Middle East, Mr. Speaker.
In June last year, in June last year, he should ask his Defence Secretary for the numbers, because that is what's happening.
In June last year, Mr. Speaker, the government promised that its plan for funding our armed forces would be ready by autumn.
In autumn, they promised it would be ready by the end of 2025.
It is March 2026 and still nothing.
So, can the Prime Minister tell the House when his defence investment plan will finally be published?
Well, I'm sorry she's not interested in how people caught in the region are going to get home.
I think for the vast majority of people watching this PMQs, that'll be the single most important thing on their mind.
They cut defence spending, we're increasing defence spending, and we're doing that because we've stabilised the economy.
Yesterday, the Chancellor announced inflation was down, interest rates down, borrowing down, debt down, investment living standards growth up.
Now, I know the Leader of the Opposition doesn't understand that.
The Shadow Chancellor clearly doesn't understand that.
Although I do have to thank him that in what's been a very difficult week, he provided some excellent unintended stand-up comedy in his response to the Chancellor yesterday.
Mr. Speaker, he doesn't want to talk about the Defence Investment Plan because he doesn't know.
He doesn't know what is going on on any policy, so he reads statements that are pre-prepared irrespective of the question.
And the whole country can speak to it.
The truth is that because they spent money on welfare, there is no defence investment plan.
Because there is no defence investment plan, they are not ordering enough missiles.
The fact is that this crisis goes beyond defence spending.
They can chant as much as they like.
They are pathetic, spending money on welfare instead of defence spending.
Sorry, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, they're not just pathetic, they are also weak.
This crisis goes beyond defence spending.
It is also about the cost of living.
This war is interrupting the supply of oil and gas.
That is driving up the cost of petrol and making it more expensive to heat our homes.
Yet he is stopping drilling in the North Sea while importing the same oil and gas from Norway.
Does he think that at a time of geopolitical crisis, it makes sense to kill our oil and gas industry and give up that ready supply of energy?
The question of the energy supply right now is a serious question, and we are doing all we can with allies to make sure that that is preserved.
It's vital that we keep trade flowing through the Straits of Hamuz, Mr. Speaker.
Energy Bills and National Security00:14:33
The Energy Secretary met the International Energy Agency yesterday, and the Chancellor is meeting oil and gas companies today.
We're keeping in close contact with our allies and key industry players.
Again, I think the country wants to know what we're doing now in relation to what's happening in coming days.
Mr. Speaker, oil and gas will be part of our energy mix for many years to come.
But if Ukraine and the last few days have taught us anything, it is that all the time we're on the international market, we are vulnerable to these changes.
That is why renewable energy, where we have our independence and security, would take us off those markets and give us the security that we need.
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister again does not understand the energy transition.
You do not need to stop drilling in oil and gas to get renewables.
This is basic stuff.
He doesn't understand his policy.
He's got a sea of orcs and goons who have no idea how anything is working at all.
Mr. Speaker, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Speaker, they can complain all they like, Mr. Speaker.
The fact is, they are letting down the people out there.
You can't do a point of order in the middle of Prime Minister's question.
Mr Speaker. Time to do the questions anyway.
Mr. Speaker, the situation in Iran shows this Prime Minister has the wrong priorities.
When it comes to defence, it's someone else's job.
When it comes to welfare, they find the money.
When our bases are attacked, they call the lawyers.
When our energy security is under threat, they stop drilling in the North Sea.
Mr. Speaker, the truth is, Mr. Speaker, after last week's by-election, isn't the truth that he isn't the truth?
They might not like to hear it, but they are going to hear it, Mr. Speaker, whether they like it or not.
Is it not the truth that he is prioritising his job security over our national security?
Mr. Speaker, I spent the week protecting British lives and our national interest.
And Mr Speaker, moments like this define a leader of the opposition.
They can either step up, act in the national interest and show that they're fit to be Prime Minister, or they can expose their utter irrelevance.
She has chosen the second.
Uma Kumara.
Thank you Mr. Speaker.
Can I thank the Prime Minister for his leadership and his core head on the situation in Iran?
Prime Minister, the leasehold system is legalised extortion.
Last week I met with dozens of my constituents, their leaseholders and their tenants-residence associations.
They're all telling me the same story.
Every single month they're paying hundreds of pounds while their service charges keep skyrocketing.
They're trapped between bad managing agents and a system that is broken.
Can the Prime Minister tell me what this Labour government is doing to right this wrong once and for all?
Well I know my honourable friend has been fighting for her constituents and holding management companies to account.
Our reform bill will end the broken, outdated leasehold system and make the dream of home ownership real.
Mr Speaker, we're capping ground rents, delivering transparency on service charges and scrapping the presumption that leaseholders pay landlords' legal costs.
Our focus is on saving people money and giving them more control of their home and creating a fairer housing system.
Leader of the Liberal Democrats.
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Can I associate myself with the Prime Minister's remarks on Sarah Everard and the need to do far more to tackle violence against women and girls?
And can I also associate myself with the Prime Minister's remarks on Iran?
As we rightly debate how to make tax exiles pay their fair share, it is absolutely right that the Government does everything it can to get all British citizens to safety.
Mr Speaker, experts are warning that families could see their energy bills rise by £500 a year as a result of Trump's illegal war.
But millions of families and pensioners are already struggling to keep their heads above water thanks to years of a cost-of-living crisis.
When Putin invaded Ukraine, he and I campaigned for months to get the Conservatives to act on energy bills.
This time, will the Prime Minister save families that anxiety and give a cast-iron guarantee today that he will not let energy bills rise by £500 this year?
Prime Minister.
Can I thank him for raising this?
Because I know this will be a concern to the public who are watching what's going on.
I'm very concerned about the impact it'll have on their lives.
It is important that I emphasise the actions we've been taking urgently this week with our allies, with the energy agencies across the world, and the work we're doing to make sure the safe passage for energy across the world.
We will continue to do that.
I was glad that we were able to bring energy price bills down by £150 announced just the other day.
We will keep a very close eye on this.
I do know how important it is for the British public.
Sir Ed Davey.
Well, I thank the Prime Minister for his reply, but I hope he will act if energy bills do go up by £500.
Mr. Speaker, Donald Trump's war on Iran has not only brought more chaos across the Middle East, it's increased the threat to our national security here at home.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard has previously plotted several failed terrorist attacks in the UK, targeting Iranian journalists, British Jews, and members of this House.
Now they are more desperate and dangerous than ever.
We've called for the IRGC to be prescribed as terrorists for years.
The last government failed to do it, and so has his.
So, will the Prime Minister table emergency legislation to better protect our country from Iranian terrorists?
Will he do it this week?
Prime Minister.
Can I just again thank you for raising this?
It is very important, I say to the House, that as he would and the House would expect, we are working 24-7 on dealing with any threats to this country.
I spoke on Monday about the 20 Iran-backed threats that we had successfully dealt with, and we continue to do so.
We're working on it 24-7.
So, it's important that I say that.
In relation to the IRGC, obviously, we've put in place a number of sanctions already.
We don't comment on prescription, but we have made the case that there needs to be legislation to deal with state-backed terrorist groups, and we're looking into that.
Sam Richard.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The surge in the global cost of oil and gas has the risk of pushing up food and energy prices, which is a real concern for my constituents in Bishop Auckland, just as we're turning a corner on the cost of living crisis.
Doesn't this show the importance of ignoring the parties opposite and investing in secure renewable energy that we control and backing our farmers to produce the food for our nation, such as those that I'm hosting here today from County Durham?
Mr. Speaker, and will the Prime Minister ensure that both energy and food security are a core mission of this Labour government?
Well, energy security is critical to food security, and the sprint to clean energy is the only way to get off the volatile international fossil fuel markets, cut bills, and deliver energy security.
Mr. Speaker, since we came into office, over £90 billion of investment into the clean energy industry has come in, powering millions of homes.
Tories and reformers throw all that away and cling to the failed policy that put everyone's bills up throughout their reign.
Mr. Speaker, can I associate myself and my colleagues with the Prime Minister and his remarks around Sarah Everard and Iran?
Mr. Speaker, my colleagues and I support our armed forces, but we lament how diminished the UK appears over the last week amongst our allies and within the Middle East.
The Prime Minister is not responsible for our armed forces being able to squeeze into Wembley Park and to Ibrox, but he is responsible for our posture.
He is responsible for ignoring the request to deploy a Type 45 destroyer two weeks ago into the region.
And we now learn that HMS Dragon will not leave, hasn't left, and won't be in to defend Cyprus for over a week.
Will the Prime Minister understand that I welcome the commitment for increased defence spending, but if we're only planning to get to 2.5% by 2027, it's not enough.
It needs to be reconsidered.
He needs to go faster where others before him did not.
And he needs to take these steps, not just for protection of our values across the world, but also for the protection of our consumers who are impacted by this conflict today.
Well, he'd have heard me set out what we did by way of pre-deployment, working in conjunction with and liaising with the US, so that he understands the context in which those pre-deployments were put in place.
And I think they speak for themselves as to why they were put in place in the places that they were.
In relation to defence spend, obviously we're increasing it to 2.6% of GDP.
That's £270 billion over the parliament.
But as I said in the speech I gave in Munich just a couple of weeks ago, we're going to have to spend more and faster after the years of under-investment and troop cuts.
They were the ones that hollowed this out.
They were the ones that reduced the size of the army.
They were the ones that didn't spend what was necessary on defence.
Like everything else they left in such a mess, we're clearing it up.
Through our strategic defence review, we'll make Britain safer.
Jonathan Davis.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
Prime Minister, I had the transformative benefit of a music education as a young person, although he had his some while before I had mine.
In a decade of declining music in schools, the government's new National Centre for Arts and Music Education and measures coming through the Curriculum Review will ensure that more young people benefit from the opportunities that my right honourable friend and I both had.
So can you tell us how will the new National Centre make a difference for our young people and what is the government doing to address funding shortfalls currently facing England's music education hubs, including mine in Derbyshire?
English loves the bike benches, Prime Minister.
Mr. Speaker, my life was changed by the opportunity to study music yes very many years ago.
I believe that every child deserves that opportunity.
The party opposite cut those opportunities.
That particularly excluded poorer children.
And now they call creative arts courses a dead end.
I totally disagree.
They're the lifeblood of the creative industries that showcase Britain around the world.
The new National Centre will launch this year and Labour is investing in music hubs so every child has the same opportunities to enjoy music, to learn music and to learn the skills that music brings them for life.
In my constituency, the Lib Dem on Three Wheels District Council has failed for years to submit an adequate local plan.
They now have a ministerial direction and prime Greenbelt land faces a serious threat from this government's harmful planning policies.
How does the Prime Minister expect me to explain to my constituents that while I consistently defend our Greenbelt, the Lib Dem's incompetence has made it vulnerable to its destruction by this Labor government?
Mr. Speaker, this Labor government is changing the planning regulations so we can get on and build the homes that we need across our country.
Their failure was the failure to do so.
But I must applaud him because at least he's had the decency to accept some of the failures of the last government.
On Send, he said, my government didn't do enough on this.
It's awful.
And he said his party should hang their heads in shame.
He's absolutely right about that.
Dr. Rosenna Arlencal.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
The suitability and financing of temporary accommodation needs addressing urgently.
Children arriving on my shifts in AE with breathing problems due to moldy rooms and their temporary accommodation has become a grim reality.
Since 2019, 74 homeless children have died due to the conditions of their temporary accommodation.
And meanwhile, councils are facing a £4 billion black pole funding hole, a huge hole, if the government subsidy remains frozen.
Every death is a tragedy.
And I'm sure the Prime Minister will agree with me that an urgent review needs to happen to investigate the financial shortfall and help guarantee safe homes for every child in this country that is in temporary accommodation.
Special Relationship in Action00:07:06
Well, I thank her for her question.
We inherited an appalling situation with a record number of households in temporary accommodation.
Every child deserves a safe and secure home.
Mr. Speaker, we're investing £950 million in the Local Authority Housing Fund to increase supply of quality accommodation.
We're banning Section 21 No-Fault Evictions, introducing a new, stronger, decent home standard, and investing £39 billion to deliver the homes that families need.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Last month, I visited my old school, Woking High.
I saw classrooms built in the 1960s that were meant to last 20 years but are still in use and being held together by gas tape.
I visited my old music classroom.
I visited my old music classroom.
I nearly fell through the floor and I saw a hole in the roof.
I can still remember the stench of mould.
That classroom was condemned last year.
Please, will the Prime Minister agree to come to Woking High with me to see how bad it really is and ensure that my old school urgently gets the financial support it needs to ensure that in the 21st century my young constituents can be educated in a school they deserve.
Can I thank him for raising this case, which will be a real concern for his constituents?
I'm sure the party opposite will have heard the reality of what they did over 14 years of destroying everything in this country.
We are fixing that and I'll make sure that he gets a meeting with our minister to discuss further.
Mr. Speaker, after decades of failing policies under both Conservative and SNP governments, I welcome this Labour government's major drive to get young people earning and learning.
In my constituency of Ayr Carrington, come down by working with Ayrshire College and the Pride and Place Board, we have finally a chance to break this cycle and bring real youth-focused regeneration to our high streets through the DWP Youth Initiative.
Will he meet with me to discuss this important issue and will he support making Ayrshire a priority for a DWP youth hub?
Mr. Speaker, the party opposite left one in eight young people not earning or learning.
We're not and we'll tackle it.
More apprenticeships, more career sport, a jobs guarantee to provide paid employment, a youth guarantee to provide more young people into earning or learning, and over 360 youth hubs to help young people access opportunities.
My Honourable Friend makes a strong case which my Honourable Friend the Work and Pensions Secretary I know has heard and I hope will be good news for her later this year.
Mr Speaker, the United States of America is our most important international strategic ally.
Does the Prime Minister believe that his dithering and equivocal response to events in the Middle East this week has made that relationship stronger or weaker?
Mr. Speaker, the American planes are operating out of British bases.
That is the special relationship in action.
British jets are shooting down drones and missiles to protect American lives in the Middle East on our joint basis.
That is the special relationship in action.
Sharing intelligence every day to keep our people safe.
That is the special relationship in action.
Hanging on to President Trump's latest words is not the special relationship in action.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
In 2018, this House legislated to allow the prescription of medicinal cannabis for children with drug resistant epilepsy, a campaign spearheaded by my good late friend Hannah Deakin for her son Alfie.
Yet many families are still paying around £1,300 a month due to conflicting guidance from multiple agencies.
Does the Prime Minister recognise that this isn't the will of the House and will he agree to work with me and the Secretary of State for Health to secure a modest £2 million required for an observational study to relieve these families of this unacceptable burden?
Minister.
Hannah Deakin's campaign for her son Alfie was remarkable and I know how much she's missed and I thank my honourable friend for continuing to campaign.
We are investing £8 million in clinical trials on cannabis-based medicines for conditions like drug-resistant epilepsy and I want to see patients accessing safe, effective medicines and new treatments as quickly as possible.
The government's proposed terms of reference for the inquiry into rape and grooming gangs are fatally flawed as victims and survivors have pointed out.
They won't address the role that race and religion played in motivating these crimes.
They won't lead to prosecutions for those involved in the cover-up and they won't even investigate all cases, only a select few.
The consultation on these terms ends this Friday.
If enough people call for changes, including through groominggangjustice.uk, will the Prime Minister please assure us that the final terms of reference will reflect these concerns?
Baroness Longfield is now beginning the work of the inquiry with victims and survivors at the heart of the process.
Under this government, convictions that are their highest level ever, we're introducing mandatory reporting on child sexual abuse and putting a legal duty on police to collect ethnicity data.
But forgive me if I don't take suggestions from the honourable member who said people legally and settled here should go home to ensure that the UK is culturally coherent.
That is a grotesque way to talk about our friends and neighbours.
And I rather suspect that her next question will come from her sitting up there.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Nine years, four months ago, Britain was basking in its success of the Rio Olympics, but each day, month, and year since, women have lived with the chronic pain of undiagnosed endometriosis, according to Endometriosis UK's new report.
The UK's average wait time for diagnosis has worsened since 2020, with women in Scotland waiting even longer, with an average wait time of 10 years and two months.
At the start of endometriosis action month, will he commit to reduce diagnosis wait times and end the lost decade for women living with endometriosis?
Can I thank her for this and tell her that we hosted the International Women's Day event on Monday and I spoke to so many women who are concerned about this issue?
It is totally unacceptable that women have waited sometimes up to a decade for endometriosis diagnosis.
We're renewing the women's health strategy, improving training for doctors and cutting wait times for gynecology services.
Ending The Lost Decade00:03:48
These will be prioritised through NHS Online or investing in research on how to improve diagnosis and treatment.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
After his inept and failed coup against the Prime Minister, last week Anna Sarwa announced Labour's Scottish new campaign slogan.
It wasn't into the abyss, it was rather the inspiring hold your nose and vote to Labour.
But with the stench of the Mandelson scandal still in our nostrils and the stink still emanating in the Labour Together affair and just a general whiff of rot hanging over this doomed Prime Minister after his hammering at Gorton and Denton, isn't it the case for Scottish voters that some smells are simply too unpleasant to ignore?
Prime Minister.
Anasawa has been asking his party to be honest about the political pressure they applied at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital and taking the action that's needed to reassure patients and families.
This scandal shows how much Scotland deserves change with Anasawa.
In my constituency of Watford last week, several amazing charities held their annual sleep out.
They raise awareness of homelessness with people signing up to sleep outside at Watford Football Ground.
Over 120 people raised over £15,000 of vital funding and over 200 attended, including the volunteers.
Watford FC Community Sports Education Trust, New Hope, Hearts Young Homeless, OneYMCA, Dens and Hand on Heart did a fantastic job.
Britain's Got Talent semi-finalists, Electric Umbrella, were on hand to give a performance to participants.
Will my Right Honourable friend congratulate their efforts and outline what the government is doing to end the scourge of homelessness?
Can I thank him for raising this because everyone deserves a safe place to call home.
And let me pay tribute to all of the organisations working to tackle this.
We're investing a record £3.6 billion into our national plan to end homelessness.
That includes boosting the supply of temporary accommodation, record funding for tackling rough sleeping and ending inappropriate use of BNBs for families and no-fault evictions, which we know drive people to homelessness.
A little question, Zoe Franklin.
My constituent, Hannah, tragically ended her life using a substance purchase from overseas.
Following her death, the coroner issued a Prevention of Future Death report containing specific recommendations.
Since 2019, Molly Rose Foundation has identified at least 65 similar cases where coroners have made recommendations to separate government departments.
Progress on these issues has been slow and vulnerable people continue to be left at risk as a result.
Will the minister set out what steps the government will take to ensure systematic oversight of coroners' reports and their findings?
And will he support proposals for an independent national oversight mechanism to track trends in preventable deaths and ensure lessons are learnt so that future lives can be saved?
Prime Minister.
I thank her for raising the individual case and the general cases and reassure her we are working on the very issue that she's raised.
Point of order, Mr Speaker.
I believe the Prime Minister has inadvertently misled the House.
I seek your guidance on how to get him to correct the record for claiming I said something I in fact did not.
We can continue the debate.
Maine Lobster Boat Trips00:04:49
What I can say is quite rightly you've put your view down, but I'm not responsible for the Prime Minister's answers.
If inadvertently it wasn't right, it is up to the individual to correct it.
Right, we now come to the statement.
C-SPAN, official media partner of America 250, commemorating 250 years of American democracy.
America 250 is traveling the country to honor the voices that define our nation.
Stories of identity, service, and community.
Here's one of them.
My name's James Gerland.
I'm the captain of the fishing vessel Julie Alice.
Been lobstering about three years now to catch the delicious meal everybody wants on their dinner plate.
I grew up in Antarctica fishing with my father since I was eight.
He wasn't a month old and we went and we put him in the boat and we said we're going to break him in right.
My father came from Norway.
He fished all his life.
I've fished out in Antarctica doing many, many years.
The first time he took me, I was too short to stand normally, so I had to stand out of like a milk crate.
We do day trips, usually about 12 hours.
I pretty much always get up by 3:30 in the boat by about 4:30.
About a two-hour ride out for a fish.
So the whole way out, the stern main and I ground, cutting up bait and bagging it for the day to put in lobster traps.
They try to haul 300 traps a day.
and we're driving to the fish market to deliver them my name is brendan alterio This is the Harris Seagate Luncheon Lobster.
That's a lobster company working waterfront in a restaurant.
This is our 56th season.
Our boat's laying down there in a lobster car, we call it.
We weigh them up.
They're in wet storage overnight.
It is the freshest of the fresh.
I get going on 6 a.m.
We work till all our work's done, usually around 5 o'clock or so.
Right here in our lobster pound, we normally go through about 5,000, 6,000 pounds a week.
Who doesn't want lobster, right?
We found the Lobster Shack at Two Lights, which has been a seafood restaurant in Cape Elizabeth since 1969.
136, please.
I started working here at 136.
There you are!
Last job.
I'm third generation and Hannah is one of my kids.
I have five brothers and one sister.
Two of the youngest are not old enough, but so far everyone else works either at the restaurant or at the gift shop next door.
I kind of take the ocean for granted, but I think when I'm in other places or more inland, I miss the calm and the peace.
And just like the people, like the friendliness and all that, I think that's also a major part that like makes Maine Maine.
All of the world's famous lobster rolls are made right here.
Someone orders a lobster, just scoop one up and put it in the boiling tank.
One at a time, made to order.
We toast it, put a little bit of lettuce, fresh lobster meat, and then a dollop of mayonnaise on top.
Fresh daily.
There's someone out there catching it.
Somebody bringing it to you.
You can go to a restaurant to get it.
It's just the American way.
The lobster industry is the number one driver for tourism.
It's a big thing.
We see a lot of people all summer long.
It is just part of the economy, but on top of that, it's just part of our personality.
If you're honest and work hard and show up, you can get ahead no matter what.
There's an incredible work ethic in Maine, hot chowder.
So all of that hard work goes into tourism and inviting people to come see what we all live here for.
My name is James Sherland.
My name is Brennan Alturio.
I'm Cal Charlotte.
I'm Katie Porch and I'm Hannah Porch.
The Hard Work Behind Our American Story00:01:34
And this is our American story.
C-SPAN, official media partner of America 250, commemorating 250 years of American democracy.
On Monday, President Trump addresses House Republicans during their annual retreat held at one of the President's golf resorts in Dural, Florida.
You can see his remarks live starting at 5 p.m. Eastern on C-SPAN, C-SPAN Now, our free mobile app, or online at c-span.org.
Congress returns as the Homeland Security Department remains partially shut down for a fourth week.
The Senate's back on Monday at 3 p.m. Eastern and will vote later in the day to advance the nomination of U.S. Army Lieutenant General Joshua Rudd to lead the National Security Agency and the U.S. Cyber Command.
Senators will continue work later in the week on affordable housing legislation to increase housing supply and make it less expensive.
This week, the House is in a district work period, allowing Republican lawmakers to attend their annual three-day policy retreat at the Trump National Dural Resort in Miami, beginning on Monday, when they're scheduled to hear from President Trump.
Members next return for votes on March 16th.
Watch live coverage of the House on C-SPAN, see the Senate on C-SPAN 2, and all of our congressional coverage on our free video app, C-SPAN Now, and our website, c-span.org.
Next, the Iranian ambassador to the United Nations held a news conference amid ongoing U.S.-Israel strikes against his country.