Speeches by Starmer.

“HMS Dragon was commissioned by a Labour Government, as it happens. The Leader of the Opposition stands there and says, “Please forget the fact that we hollowed out the armed forces. Please clear up our mess.” I went to the Gulf last week and thanked our armed forces for protecting British lives. She said that we should…”

“I thank the hon. Member. We are providing the West of England combined authority with over £750 million to invest in its priorities. That could include improving services and station facilities at Yate, and I know she will make her voice heard in relation to that. I am pleased that construction is already under way at …”

“My hon. Friend is a tenacious campaigner on this issue, and I thank her for that. We launched a major programme of reform of the UK’s product safety regulation. This will help tackle unsafe products being sold online, including non-compliant e-bikes and the batteries that power them. We are also giving the police new p…”

“May I start by congratulating Luton Town on winning at Wembley—having been coached, of course, by Jack Wilshere, a great ex-Arsenal star? I am delighted that my hon. Friend’s constituency is benefiting from a new youth hub, one of the 80 additional hubs that we are launching across the country. That is in stark contras…”

“I tell them that they were let down very badly by the last Government for 14 years, and we are clearing up the mess.”

“We are spending more on defence—record amounts—with £270 billion in this Parliament, and £5 billion extra. The Leader of the Opposition talks about the Chancellor. It is because of the decisions of this Chancellor that we have the biggest boost to defence spending since the cold war. We have also got the biggest pay ri…”

“Relevant Ministers are happy to discuss with the hon. Member the specific site she mentions in greater depth, and I can reassure her that we are committed to protecting our countryside. Our land use framework balances restoring nature with meeting the demands of homes and energy. We have just announced £60 million—a re…”

“I wish my hon. Friend a speedy recovery. He obviously speaks with great authority and experience on our NHS, and he is right to point out that waiting lists are at their lowest for three years, A&E waiting times are the best for four years and ambulance response times are the fastest for five years. That is because…”

“Let me be clear: violence against our NHS staff is despicable, and we are introducing a new offence to protect emergency workers from harassment. I congratulate and thank all our NHS staff for their hard work. They have delivered 5 million extra appointments in our first year in government. We are going further. This w…”

“I do not know the particular details of the hon. Gentleman’s hospital, but I will ensure that they are looked into. We have put record investment into the NHS, but now that he has raised it, I will ensure we look into the specific case he has raised here in this House.”

“My hon. Friend is a great champion for his constituents, and it is shocking that they have been waiting for over a decade for that practice. I agree with him, but sadly Reform’s leadership in Staffordshire is an absolute mess. [Interruption.] The hon. Member for Boston and Skegness (Richard Tice) says “Rubbish.” Reform…”

“I am concerned to hear about those examples. We have put in place support for small businesses and I will ensure that it is available to the hon. Gentleman to pass on to his constituents.”

“We are planning for all contingencies, but I emphasise once again that our absolute focus has to be on getting the strait open. Having spoken to those working in shipping, finance, insurance and so on, they are very clear with me that they are not going to be putting vessels through while there is a conflict, and there…”

“We have about 300,000 British civilians in the Gulf region, and they are at risk because of Iran’s actions. It is my duty to ensure that we protect them. That is why we have taken action in our own right, particularly with our pilots. It is also why I have allowed the bases to be used for defensive purposes to prevent …”

“A close relationship with the EU and Europe was in our manifesto in 2024, which was a very successful manifesto, and we have been working to that end ever since, which is why we had the first UK-EU summit last year, with 10 strands agreed. It is also why I have been clear that we want to go further this year, not just …”

“There is more we can do on defence and security, such as collaborating and co-operating about the particular capability, in addition to the amount of money that we are spending. That is what we are focusing on with our allies in the EU.”

“The first thing I would say is that it is very important that we defend NATO. It is the single most effective military alliance that the world has ever known, and we should do nothing to weaken it. I think there should be a stronger European element on defence and security—that is an argument I have been making for som…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for that. It is of course Iran that is putting the chokehold on the strait. That is wrong, and the strength of feeling across the Gulf last week was very, very clear to me. I can assure him that we are not getting involved in the proposal to blockade the strait. On the contrary, we are working wi…”

“The US is using the bases to attack the Iranian capability to fire missiles into the region, including at our citizens and our nationals. Members will have seen the images—going into hotels and the bases where our military are based. Is the hon. Lady seriously suggesting that we should reduce protection for our people …”

“I thank the right hon. Gentleman for reminding the House that we are reducing energy bills—we have done that already—by an average of £100 per household. That will remain the case until July this year. It is very important that people hear that message, because they are concerned. They are concerned to know that that w…”