Speeches by Starmer.

“I do not want to be ungenerous, but I do not think I am going to be listening to the hon. Member or his party. They were the ones who put an £80 billion unfunded tax commitment before the electorate at the last election. They are the ones who talk about change and clean power, but every single time there is an infrastr…”

“If you cannot work, you must be supported and protected. The reformed welfare system that we are putting in place will be better for individuals, better for the taxpayer and better for the economy.”

“I pay tribute to my hon. Friend, who is a fantastic advocate for her constituents. She is right to highlight the important work by the defence sector in her constituency and, of course, right across the United Kingdom. We are investing £15 billion in our sovereign nuclear warhead programme. That will support nearly 10,…”

“This Saturday—[Interruption.]”

“Let me start by saying that free school meals matter on this side of the House. In relation to welfare, what we delivered last night was a Bill that ends mandatory reassessment of those with severe disabilities. That is the right thing to do. It rebalances universal credit—that is long overdue—and it sets out a pathway…”

“I think they were cheering more, Mr Speaker, and quite right too! This Saturday marks the 77th birthday of our national health service, and I want to begin by thanking our dedicated NHS staff for their service. In that 77th year, I am proud that this Labour Government have delivered 4 million extra appointments, 1,700 …”

“It is right that we do both, and that we do support agriculture. The right hon. Lady says that people across the country are concerned about solar, but they are also concerned about their bills coming down, after they went up under the previous Government. The only way to get them down is on renewables, and that is wha…”

“The answer is yes, we will look at the content of the Bill. I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising it. Across the House, we all have tragic experiences of suicide. Our thoughts are with Gabe’s family and friends. We will conduct a call for evidence on part K of the building regulations about minimum guarding heigh…”

“May I just start by congratulating Dawn Astle on her recent and richly deserved MBE for her work on behalf of former players? I do remember Michael Thomas very well—putting that goal in during injury time in 1989 to take the lead; it was a fantastic victory. I have had the pleasure of meeting him and discussing with hi…”

“Those are shocking statistics. Rail staff work incredibly hard to keep our country running and people safe. The abuse and assaults on staff are utterly unacceptable. We are taking measures to make sure they are safer. We want to encourage the use of body-worn cameras, which have been proven to reduce violence against s…”

“I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising that important issue. Decisions on services are matters for the integrated care board—that means they are taken locally, obviously—but I am glad he has raised it, because we agree that the sector needs reform. Unlike the Conservatives, we are investing in the sector, with £4 billi…”

“I thank the women in my hon. Friend’s constituency, through her, for their hard work on this initiative. Having 264 women MPs is really significant progress in this House. I am incredibly proud that at the last election 100 new female Labour MPs were elected, meaning that the number of female MPs in the Labour party is…”

“Yes, I can. My hon. Friend is right to raise the issue and describe it as she did. We are a leader on this and continue to be. We want to get our aid budget back up, but in the meantime I want to work with other countries to find other ways of financing that support as a matter of some urgency.”

“The hon. Member is right to emphasise the importance of overseas aid, and that was a difficult decision. I want to put it back up to 0.7%, rather than taking it down. In the meantime, I am exploring other ways that we can find funding for overseas aid, and working with other countries to that end, because I do not thin…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for raising the matter. She has campaigned hard on this. It is central that if there is to be a ceasefire and a lasting peace in Ukraine—and I hope that there is—it must involve the return of the children. We have discussed that many times, and will continue to do so.”

“I urge the SNP to back our defence spend and the jobs that brings with it, but also our defence stance. As I understand its position, the SNP is against the single most effective capability we have, which is our nuclear deterrent, at a time of the greatest volatility we have seen for decades. That is simply wrong in pr…”

“My hon. Friend is absolutely right that the Baltic states are incredibly nervous at the moment. That has been the case for the past three years or so. We engage with them regularly, and I engage with their leaders regularly. They have been brought into the coalition of the willing, and on the occasions when they cannot…”

“Yes, I do agree. That is why we have begun the hard work of reversing the damage done under the previous Government. My hon. Friend is right about the dividend that has been enjoyed, but we must now make sure that there is a defence dividend—that higher spending in that area is reflected in good, well-paid jobs in the …”

“I have said that we need to alleviate the threat, and that we have taken a huge step towards alleviating the threat. I have discussed that with G7 and NATO colleagues, and with President Trump. Everybody was very pleased that there was such unity on it.”

“I have long been an advocate of the international rules-based order, and I discuss that regularly with allies. NATO itself is a rules-based framework, and an important one at that. We need to maintain these rules-based systems to make sure that they are fit for purpose. I would add that the same is true for trade and t…”