Badenoch urges Burnham to condemn defence investment plan
Badenoch says the government is facing a moment of danger unlike anything seen when they were in power. She says Burnham should come out and condemn this plan if he does not want to be seen complicit in it. If Labour cannot defend the country, what is the point of them?
Starmer says the Tories won’t defend their record, because they can’t. And they won’t apologise either. They sit their pretending it won’t happen.
He says NHS waiting lists are falling at their fastest rate for 17 years.
Key events
Carla Lockhart (DUP) says last week a former MP (the former DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson) was convicted for child abuse offences. She praises the courage of his victims. But she says thousands of girls were victims of Pakistani grooming gangs. Will the PM ensure the grooming gangs inquiry goes ahead?
Starmer also pays tribute to the courage of Donaldson’s victims.
On the grooming gangs inquiry, he says it should go wherever the evidence takes it.
Starmer questions whether Farage has been involved in paid lobbying on behalf of cryptocurrency industry
Lee Anderson (Reform UK) says in his constituency four nurses were removed from a HMO (house in multiple occupation) and replaced by four illegal migrants, one of whom went on to rape someone. Does the PM agree all illegal migrants should be detained and removed?
Starmer says migration is down.
And he says Anderson should be asking questions of Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, who is sitting next to him. He accepted £5m from a crypto billionaire and then went on to lobby the Bank of England for changes to crypto policy.
That is a reference to this story.
Starmer asks if that amounted to paid lobbying, which is banned for MP.
And why was the donation kept secret?
And he asks if Anderson is happy about Farage earning £20,000 an hour for promoting gold.
Sarah Russell (Lab) asks about the contract for NHS dentists. A new one is promised. She urges the government to start work on that quickly.
Starmer says some reforms have already been implement. The consultation on the new contract will start soon.
Catherine West, the Labour former Foreign Office minister who briefly threatened to be a leadership candidate against Starmer, pays tribute to his leadership, and says Foreign Office staff appreciated his service.
Starmer thanks West, and pays tribute to her too.
Desmond Swayne (Con) says injured veterans only get a year to put their compensation in a trust. Will the government ensure that they can get more time?
Starmer says the government will seek to resolve any difficulties. He urges Swayne to let him know of any specific cases.
Michelle Welsh (Lab) asks about the two recent reviews of maternity services. Does the PM agree the system is failing, and cruel. Will the Hillsborough law be introduced in full so families can get the justice they deserve?
Starmer agrees that the Amos review showed the system is not working. The recommendations of the Amos and Ockenden reviews will be delivered.
Dave Doogan, the SNP leader at Westminster, said he was gravely concerned that the PM keeps citing recent trends in defence spending to defend his plan, when the underlying situation is more serious. He calls the plan “paper thin”.
Starmer says the SNP want to get rid of the nuclear deterrent, and he accuses Doogan of “sanctimonious nonsense”. He says the SNP’s former chief executive has just been jailed for five years. And the SNP claim not to know what was happening. They say they did not see the motorhome parked in the drive.
Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, says the wars in Ukraine and Iran show the threat from drones. The UK needs the best possible missile defence system. But the Dip plans fall short. Why has the PM left the UK so vulnerable? And why hasn’t he adopted the Lib Dem plan for defence bonds
Starmer says the Dip gives the UK what it needs to fight now and in the future.
He says he has looked at the defence bonds plan, but they are just borrowing by another name.
And he says Davey sat in a cabinet that cut defence spending by 22%.
Davey says Starmer will share his concern about the way race hate is being normalised by people in this country, including some people in this house.
He talks about a friend of Indian ancestry who had Reform UK activists come to their house and say, under a Reform UK government, their citizenship should be revoked.
Starmer says racism should be called out by all MPs in this country.
He refers to the plaque in the Commons commemorating Jo Cox, and says at a recent event to mark the 10th anniversary of her death he had to say that he did not think the situation had got better over the past decade.
Badenoch urges Burnham to condemn defence investment plan
Badenoch says the government is facing a moment of danger unlike anything seen when they were in power. She says Burnham should come out and condemn this plan if he does not want to be seen complicit in it. If Labour cannot defend the country, what is the point of them?
Starmer says the Tories won’t defend their record, because they can’t. And they won’t apologise either. They sit their pretending it won’t happen.
He says NHS waiting lists are falling at their fastest rate for 17 years.
Starmer says budget headroom will enable government to fund £5bn black hole in defence investment plan
Badenoch says Lord Dannatt, the former head of the army, said yesterday the plan was inadequate. She says Badenoch. is in this mess because he would not cut welfare. The only way to get the money is to increase taxes, increase borrowing or cut welfare.
Starmer says the last budget had more than £22bn of headroom. That gives the government the abillity to take these sorts of decisions. He says the Tories do not understand that because they lost control of the public finances.
Starmer won’t confirm that Burnham has agreed to fund defence investment plan
Badenoch says the funding should have been in the last budget. She quotes from the Times criticising the defence investment plan.
And she asks again if Burnham knew about the £5bn black hole.
Starmer says he won’t take lectures from Badenoch on this. They hollowed out the armed forces. The Tories are just trying to pretend their 14 years in power did not happen.
He says any Labour PM would stand behind this plan.
Starmer accuses Badenoch of ‘faux outrage’ over £5bn shortfall in defence investment plan funding
Badenoch says the chief of the defence staff is an honourable man making do with very little. Poland and Germany have increased defence spending. And Russia is spending 10% of GDP on defence.
Has Andy Burnham agreed to fund the £5bn shortfall?
Starmer says the Tories cut defence and increased welfare spending by £88bn.
He says he has found £15bn more for defence outside a budget and outside a spending review.
He says the last Tory government announced an NHS investment plan, while saying they would explain the funding at the next budget. He accuses Badenoch of “faux outrage”.
Badenoch says this settlement is not fair for our troops.
John Healey said, when he resigned, that he was having to take decisions that would make the country less safe. How can the PM stand there and say this is enough?
Starmer says this is the biggest upgrade to defence capacity since the 1980s. He quotes the defence chiefs welcoming it, and the Nato secretary general too. He says the Tories cut defence spending. He has boosted defence spending, he says. The Tories missed recruitment targets. Labour has put defence pay up, he says.
Kemi Badenoch says she agrees with Starmer about Venezuela – and the Lib Dems.
She says the armed forces said they needed £28bn for defence. Why is Starmer only giving them half of that?
Starmer says the government is making a record investment in defence. It is what is needed to keep the country safe.
Al Pinkerton (Lib Dem) says a site chosen for a hospital relocation in his Surrey Heath constituency is unsuitable.
Starmer says this hospital is in the front of the queue for new projects. But Pinkerton has demanded a new hospital while objecting to the site. He says Pinkerton complained the new site would remove a golf course. He jokes that demanding a hospital but standing up for golf courses is very Lib Dem.
Keir Starmer starts by saying MPs are thinking of the people of Venezuela.
He says Sunday marks the 70th anniversary of the NHS. He says waiting times are falling, and he welcomes the deal with resident doctors on pay.
