Speeches by Starmer.

“My hon. Friend makes a good point. The Conservative party wants to get rid of maternity pay, but keep hereditary peers. It is the same old Tories. This is an important issue that she has raised. The letters are honest, powerful and important, and I think they hold up a mirror to our country. We will deliver a Budget th…”

“The hon. Gentleman raises a really important issue. Dentistry was left in a shocking state by the last Government: I was shocked to hear that the commonest cause of A&E admission for six to 10-year-olds in this country’s children’s hospitals is to have teeth taken out, because of the failure of the last Government.…”

“Yes: the Employment Rights Bill is pro-worker and pro-growth, and proudly so. I do not believe we can build a strong economy by having people in insecure work. The Conservative party goes against every protection for workers—it was against the minimum wage, and it is against these new protections—but the vast majority …”

“I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for raising the question of SEND, because it is a really important issue—I think this is the fourth time in two Prime Minister’s Question Times that it has been raised, by Members on both sides of the House. I quibble with his suggestion that it is both parties, since his party was i…”

“I welcome my hon. Friend’s work with the new Labour police and crime commissioner. It is sad to say that in Cleveland, the number of full-time equivalent police officers fell by over 12% under the last Government; when you fail on the economy and growth, those are the types of things that happen across the country. As …”

“Yes, and that case, as the right hon. Gentleman will understand, is a priority for the Government. We call on the Hong Kong authorities to release immediately our British national. The Foreign Secretary raised this case in his first meeting with China’s Foreign Minister and we will continue to do so.”

“Yes. We have called for that in the past and we continue to do so. I hope that this is an issue where we can have unity across the House.”

“That is not correct.”

“I really do not think that party political points on security and intelligence—[Interruption.] Throughout the last Parliament, we stood with the Government on all questions of security and intelligence, because it was important to the outside world that we did so. I worked with the security and intelligence services fo…”

“Yes—we speak with one voice. The right hon. Gentleman speaks about the record of the last Government. That record was 14 years of failure. Six years of austerity, three years of Brexit logjam, then Johnson, Truss and the present Leader of the Opposition—utter failure. This Government were elected to do things different…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for her question, because years of underfunding have left councils facing huge budget pressures—[Interruption.] Opposition Members yawn; they do not know the impact that it has on working people up and down the country, who rely on public services. What has happened in Thurrock is shocking. We ar…”

“I thank the right hon. Gentleman for raising that really important issue, which is affecting a number of people. We have launched an independent review into the carer’s allowance overpayments, to look at the circumstances of the overpayments and see what went wrong and what can be done to put it right, because carers m…”

“We are looking at that, because those are obviously abhorrent comments, as the right hon. Gentleman rightly says, along with other really concerning activity in the west bank and across the region. The humanitarian situation in Gaza is dire: the death toll has surpassed 42,000 and access to basic services is becoming m…”

“I welcome Tom to the House. It is encouraging to see young people engaging in democracy. County lines is a real problem, and all of us will have experienced its effect and impact in our constituencies. Our county lines programme focuses on preventing young people from being exploited and lured into criminal gangs, whic…”

“The difference is that we now have a Westminster Government who want to work with the Welsh Government to deliver for the people of Wales. For 14 long years the Welsh Government were in a position where the then UK Government were in conflict with them. Now, we will work together, collaborate and ensure that we deliver…”

“I am grateful to the hon. Member for raising that. I do believe in transferring power out of Westminster and into the hands of leaders who know their communities best. Those with skin in the game know what is best for their communities. We are already making steps in the south-west by signing the devolution agreement f…”

“Yes, I do agree with those remarks, and we are constantly making representations on this with our partners. There is an urgent need, as there has been for a long time, for more aid to get into Gaza. It is a desperate situation, and Israel must comply with its international humanitarian law obligations. That is why we a…”

“Yes, I do, and I know this is a concerning time for families who rely on the brilliant work of Whitby InterActive. Children with special educational needs and disabilities have been failed for too long. It comes up repeatedly in the House, with parents struggling to get their children the support they need and deserve.…”

“The continued military activity in the strait is not conducive to peace and stability. Stability in the Taiwan strait is in all of our interests. On the wider point that he raises, we will co-operate where we can as permanent members of the UN Security Council on issues such as net zero and health and trade, compete wh…”

“Alex Salmond was a monumental figure in Scottish and UK politics. He leaves a lasting legacy. I know that the deepest condolences of the whole House are with Moira, his family and his loved ones. This week, we also remember our colleague and friend, Sir David Amess, whose kindness and commitment to public service conti…”