so obviously there are about. so so obviously there are biological women. there are also trans women who need to be treated with a bit of respect and not use as a political football. >> oh, emily, do you think it was a bit misleading of keir starmer yesterday when he was asked on the television, has he spoken to rosie duffield.7 he says we talk, we're friends. she then responded to a journalist sort of tweeting that out, saying how.7 how are we supposed to be talking telepathy? it seems that rosie duffield doesn't think that she's got a very good relationship with keir starmer , even though he says starmer, even though he says that he has a relationship with her. >> well, i think that, you know, rosie, is that rosie is a backbenchen rosie, is that rosie is a backbencher, keir is the leader of the party, and keir does his utmost to engage with with backbenchers throughout the party. and that's the right thing to do. >> and some people would say who are watching , actually what they are watching, actually what they really hate about politics is when politicians ask a question and they turn it straight into and they turn it straight into an attack on their opponent. do you hear that? do you get why politics perhaps could be those people that say politics could

be done in a different way. >> maybe. but for me , >> maybe. but for me, understanding and knowing what a woman is as we're like 50% of the population is vital. safe spaces for children and looking after women in yesterday's appalling attack, such violence has no place on our streets. >> it is absolutely heartbreaking that a teenage boy has died , and i can't imagine has died, and i can't imagine what his family are going through, and we send them our heartfelt condolences and offer our very best wishes to all those injured. and i'd just like to reiterate my thanks to the police and other emergency first responders for embodying the highest standards of public service under such awful circumstances, and i know that our thoughts are also with those injured. this morning in an attack at a school in sheffield . attack at a school in sheffield. mr speaker, this morning i had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. in addition to my duties in this house.i addition to my duties in this house. i shall have further such meetings later today. >> kirsty nelson thank you, mr speaken >> kirsty nelson thank you, mr speaker. we already know that more than i in 5 teenagers are vaping with some experts describing this as an epidemic.

and yesterday, new research suggested that teenagers who vape could be at risk of exposure to toxic metals, potentially harming brain or organ development. i agree with the prime minister in his wish to reduce the harms caused by smoking and vaping with the tobacco and vapes bill. will he agree with me that permitting football strips to be sponsored by vaping companies sends entirely the wrong message to young people, and that it is now time to ban vape companies advertising on sports strips here? >> well, mr speaker, can i thank the honourable lady for her question? obviously, your decisions about kit sponsorship will rest with individual teams, but i do, but i do, but i do. but i do agree with her that it is important we do everything we can to tackle the scourge of teenage vaping, which is why i'm glad that she supports our bill, which will clamp down on the marketing availability of flavours targeting point of sale purchases, but also improving

funding for trading standards to clamp down on those selling vapes illegally to children. >> doctor lisa cameron, you may . >> doctor lisa cameron, you may. >> doctor lisa cameron, you may. >> yeah, many thanks, mr speaker . my husband is a veteran and the defence of the country is the defence of the country is the government's first duty to protect people across the united kingdom. so can the prime minister reassure the house that he has a plan in place to back our world leading armed services? and does he know why the party opposite refused to back his plan ? back his plan? >> well, i can i start by paying tribute to my hon. friend's husband and all our veterans for their service to our country, and she's right in the most uncertain times since the cold war, that it is right that we build our security, protecting our values, our interests, and indeed our nation. that is why this government has taken the step to increase defence spending to 2.5% of gdp, making us the biggest spender in europe

under nato. and when the leader labour leader stands up, i hope that he stops dithering. does the right thing and confirms that he will back our plan to increase defence spending . increase defence spending. >> vie leader of the opposition keir starmer. >> mr speaker, i join with the prime minister in his words, about yesterday's awful events at hainault . about yesterday's awful events at hainault. i am sure the whole house will want to commend the first responders and send our deepest condolences to the family of the 14 year old boy who was murdered, and i join with the prime minister in his remarks about the attack in the school in sheffield as well. i know everyone in this house will be delighted to see his majesty the king returning to his public dufies the king returning to his public duties and looking so well, and we all wish him and the princess of wales the best in their continued recovery. i would also

like to welcome the member for central suffolk and north ipswich to his place on these benches. ipswich to his place on these benches . after nearly two benches. after nearly two decades as a tory politician and an nhs doctor. mr speaker , he's an nhs doctor. mr speaker, he's concluded that if you care about the future of our country and our nhs, then it's time for change. it's time for this changed labour party and as of today, as of today , he's our today, as of today, he's our newest labour mp. >> but i'm sure he won't mind me saying that. >> i hope he loses that title on friday. mr speaker, when a lifelong tory and doctor says that the only cure for the nhs is a labour government, isn't it the time the prime minister admits he has utterly failed ? admits he has utterly failed? hey, thank you mr >> well, mr speaker , i'm i'm

>> well, mr speaker, i'm i'm glad to actually see the honourable gentleman from central suffolk in the house today. central suffolk in the house today . and but that's but that's today. and but that's but that's because but that's because that's because he recently pointed out that residents of his local labour council are, and i quote in his words, charged much more in council tax but in return receive lower quality services. now he's he's been wrong about some things recently. but on that point he's absolutely right. and this week people everywhere should vote conservative chris kaba moving . conservative chris kaba moving. >> it comes out with all that nonsense. but he locks himself away in downing street bunker , away in downing street bunker, moaning that people aren't grateful enough to him . the grateful enough to him. the reality is tory mps are following tory voters in concluding that only the labour party can deliver the change that the country needs . and i

that the country needs. and i say to those tory voters, if they believe in a better britain, then they're safe with this changed labour party and it's for them . mr speaker, mr it's for them. mr speaker, mr speaken it's for them. mr speaker, mr speaker, in the two weeks since we last met at this despatch box, has the prime minister managed to find the money for his completely unfunded £46 billion promise to scrap national insurance? >> mr mr speaker , of course, we >> mr mr speaker, of course, we address that a few weeks ago, and i'm happy to address it again. but i know that economics is not his strong point, but but he might do well. he might do well, actually, to listen to his shadow education secretary. who who just this morning said, no, that's not how it works , mr that's not how it works, mr speaken that's not how it works, mr speaker. indeed, the ifs have also said the link between national insurance and public services funding is illusory, just like labour's economic plans , mr speaker, but it's

plans, mr speaker, but it's crystal clear there's one party that's going to deliver tax cuts for working britain, and it's the conservative party >> well, that was a long, rambling order. >> whoever's banging the furniture will have to pay for if you damage it. can we have less of it? we are not at the sixth form. no. come on. prime. >> well, that was a long, rambling non—answer to the question, which was has he found the money to fund his £46 billion promise to abolish national insurance? and whenever he's asked about the date of the election or people's pensions, he acts as if answering straightforward questions is somehow beneath him. but pensioners and those who are planning their retirement deserve better than his contempt for their questions. because if £46 billion were cut from its funding , the value of the state funding, the value of the state pension would almost half . so pension would almost half. so i do not apologise for asking him again . again. >> although, mr gillis, you've

got the next question. you're not going to reach. you've got a ten minute rule, bill. i'd be quiet for a while if i were you, prime minister. sorry. leader of the opposition. >> so i don't apologise for asking on their behalf again, whether he will finally rule out cutting their state pension to fulfil the enormous black hole in his spending plans. mr >> mr speaker, of course we can rule that out, and the honourable gentleman should stop scaremongering because it's thanks. it's thanks to the triple lock that we've increased pensions by £3,700 since 2010, and they will rise in each and every year of the next parliament. but it's labour that always hits pensioners hard. it's his mentors , blair and it's his mentors, blair and brown, that broke their promises, raised pension taxes by £118 billion and delivered an insulting £0.75 rise in the state pension . as one former state pension. as one former labour adviser just said, brown destroyed our pension system.

they did it before . they'll do they did it before. they'll do it again. labour always betray our pensioners . they our pensioners. they >> mr speaker, it's clear he can't answer the question where he's going to find this £46 billion. he said. luckily for him, that that's what he said. it's not coming from. it's not saying where it's coming from. luckily for him, one of his peers, lord frost. yes him again does. he says to solve the tories spending plans. the state pension age should be raised to 75. now, understandably, that will cause some alarm. so will the prime minister rule out forcing people to delay their retirement by years and years in to order fulfil his £46 billion black hole ? black hole? >> mr speaker, i've answered this multiple times to the honourable gentleman. i'm happy to say again, this is the party that has delivered and protected the triple lock. but i know, mr speaker , ultimately he's not speaker, ultimately he's not worried about any of this

because we all remember that he's got his very own personal pension plan. i think we all remember it, mr speaker. indeed, it comes with its very own special law . it was called the special law. it was called the pension increase scheme for keir starmer tuc. it's literally one law for him and another one for everyone else . everyone else. >> he wants to abolish national insurance. it will cost £46 billion and he won't tell us where the money is coming from. no closer to an answer. i'm going to persevere because last year the prime minister was apparently drawing up plans to remove the winter fuel allowance from pensioners. his paymaster general went a step further. he said these are the sorts of things that we need to look at. so will he now rule out taking pensioners winter fuel payments off them to help fund his £46 billion black hole? yes mr >> mr speaker, it was this

government that just this winter provided double the winter fuel payment to support pensioners. but what is crystal clear? mr speaken but what is crystal clear? mr speaker, is that we believe that the double taxation on work is unfair. mr speaker, we believe that hard work should be rewarded. and that's why this week we're cutting taxes by £900 for everyone in work. but in contrast, mr speaker , it's contrast, mr speaker, it's labour's newest tax adviser who thinks pensioners should be taxed more. that's his words. mr speaken taxed more. that's his words. mr speaker. this adviser calls them codgers. he thinks that supporting them is a disgrace. and he believes that their free tv licences are ridiculous. mr speaken tv licences are ridiculous. mr speaker, it's labour who hit pensioners with tax after tax and they would do it all over again . again. >> mr speaker, is it any wonder that his mps are following tory voters in queuing up to dump his party? and even even the

measures that he's apparently pinning his political survival on, do not want to be seen anywhere near him because until he starts setting out how he's paying he starts setting out how he's paying for his fantasy economics, he's got a completely unfunded £46 billion promise that puts people's retirement at risk. how does it feel to be one day out from elections with the message to vote tory, risk your pension , prime minister? well, pension, prime minister? well, mr speaker , tomorrow voters will mr speaker, tomorrow voters will have a choice and it will be a choice . choice. >> it will be a choice between mayors like andy street and ben houchen who are delivering, or mayors like sadiq khan who who just simply virtue signal. mr speaker , it's higher taxes, more speaker, it's higher taxes, more crime and ulez with labour or it's lower taxes and better services with the conservatives that's the choice from west midlands to teesside to london, there is only one choice vote conservative. >> mr speaker , we concede the

>> mr speaker, we concede the rwanda deterrent is working and we have now deported our first illegal migrants. >> but unsurprisingly , labour >> but unsurprisingly, labour just don't care. >> the shadow home secretary is busy posing for pics, encouraging more boats to come over. >> oven >> the leader of the labour party said he would cancel the rwanda flights. he took a knee when signing letters, stopping us deporting illegal foreign national offenders who committed crimes like murder and rape and he do a deal with the eu surrendering our borders to 100,000 legal migrants. >> isn't it right, prime minister that only the conservatives will stop the boats and cut legal migration ? boats and cut legal migration? well, my honourable friend is absolutely right, mr speaker, our plan is working legal migration. the latest figures show down by 24, student dependants down by 80. but we all know labour's big idea. it's to scrap the rwanda plan even when it's operational. mr speaker . but when it's operational. mr speaker. but as one senior labour adviser said to andrew

marr just yesterday, we can't just come in, tear it up and have nothing to put in its place. i'm sorry to break it to them, but that's exactly their policy. well, we're getting on stopping the boats. all labour would do is stop the planes. >> snp leader stephen flynn thank you, mr speaker. on monday the armed forces minister was neither able to confirm nor deny that uk troops may soon be deployed on the ground in the middle east. now the public watching will be hoping that members of this house do not have a short memory when it comes to the potential deployment and involvement of our military in the middle east. so can i ask the prime minister to provide some much needed clarity ? is he giving active clarity? is he giving active consideration to the deployment of uk forces in the middle east? yes or no? hear, hear! >> mr speaker, you wouldn't expect me to get into any operation planning details, but

what i will say, what i will say is we are absolutely committed to supporting international efforts to get more humanitarian aid into gaza, which is something i think the whole house would support by land , sea house would support by land, sea and air. we've obviously tripled our aid commitment. and air. we've obviously tripled our aid commitment . and right our aid commitment. and right now, together with the us, cyprus and other partners , we're cyprus and other partners, we're setting up a new temporary pier off the coast of gaza to get aid in as securely and quickly as possible. >> stephen flynn mr speaker, let's all be in no doubt aid is required in gaza, and it is required in gaza, and it is required because when people are not being bombed, they are starving to death. the solution to that is a ceasefire and the opening of safe ground air routes, not the involvement on the ground of uk military personnel. these are dramatic and potential dangerous developments. so will the prime minister confirmed to the house today that before he makes a decision, all members will be

afforded a vote? >> yes, mr speaker , i'm not >> yes, mr speaker, i'm not going to apologise for our armed forces playing a leading role in supporting international efforts to get more aid in. and indeed, we are sending royal navy support ship rfa cardigan bay to the region to support that effort. but when he talks about this conflict , the fastest way this conflict, the fastest way to end this conflict is to ensure that we have a hostage deal that gets hostages out, aid in and for there to be a sustainable pause in the fighting. and it seems clear that there now is a workable offer on the table. so i hope he joins with me in encouraging all parties, including hamas, to accept that deal. so we can move towards a sustainable solution. >> will wiggins , my right hon. >> will wiggins, my right hon. >> will wiggins, my right hon. >> friend's decision to cancel hsz >> friend's decision to cancel hs2 two led to £207 million for herefordshire's potholes and transport infrastructure . transport infrastructure. hereford hospital has a new ward, new wards, more beds and a new diagnostic centre on the way

. £35 million has been allocated bill has been passed and defence spending is increasing. does my right hon. friend agree with me that if he carries on like this, he's going to win the next election? yes >> well, mr speaker, i'm thankful for my hon. friend, in highlighting the work that the government is doing , whether government is doing, whether thatis government is doing, whether that is increasing our defence spending to keep us safe, securing our borders with our rwanda act, cutting taxes by £900, raising the state pension by £900. | £900, raising the state pension by £900. i am also pleased that locally in herefordshire we are filling in potholes, helping to save the river wye and improving local health services. it shows crystal clear that it's the conservative government that has a plan and is delivering a brighter future for our country. >> caroline lucas , thank you >> caroline lucas, thank you very much, mr speaker. >> in february, his foreign secretary said it would be difficult for a ground offensive

on rafah to avoid harming civilians and destroying homes. >> just yesterday , his deputy >> just yesterday, his deputy foreign secretary admitted he was struggling to see how such an attack could be compliant with international human korean law. all the signs are that netanyahu is about to defy the international community. an attack on the 1.5 million palestinians sheltering in rafah is imminent. if that attack begins, will that be the moment when the prime minister finally finds the moral backbone to ban arms exports to israel ? and if arms exports to israel? and if not, how much more suffering has to happen before he acts to prevent further uk complicity in crimes against humanity? yes >> well, mr speaker , what the >> well, mr speaker, what the honourable lady did not acknowledge at all is that israel suffered an appalling terrorist attack that killed hundreds of its citizens, and it does have the right to defend itself. now, of course, as i've been crystal clear, we want to

see humanitarian law respected and adhered to by all parties. too many civilians have been killed , and we do want to see killed, and we do want to see israel take greater care to avoid harming civilians. i've made these points repeatedly to prime minister netanyahu, specifically about the impact of any military incursion into rafah. and we continue to say to the israelis at all levels that we want to see more aid going in and bring about a hostage deal so we can move towards a sustainable ceasefire. >> andrew sloan, the 60% increase in funding for special educational needs and disabilities is extremely welcome . welcome. >> but the challenges around the recruitment of community paediatricians mean that some children in leighton buzzard, dunstable and houghton regis are waiting too long for an assessment. what can the nhs do to attract more of the 39,000 additional doctors recruited under this government into community paediatrics as a speciality, which is incredibly rewarding and important? >> yeah, yeah , well, my hon.

>> yeah, yeah, well, my hon. >> yeah, yeah, well, my hon. >> friend is right and i know he joins me in welcoming the significant action that we've taken already to improve children's health, whether that's reducing sugar in children's foods. that's reducing sugar in children's foods . but the £600 children's foods. but the £600 million we've also invested to improve the quality of sport and physical activity in schools, the nhs has established a special group to ensure that the recovery of paediatric services keeps pace with that of adult elective care too, and i know that he will be pleased that the nhs long term workforce plan that we have fully backed doubles the number of medical school places in england, increases speciality training places and that will increase the size of the pool from which community paediatricians can be drawn in the future. >> alistair carmichael, drawn in the future. >> alistair carmichael , thank you. >> i know that you, mr speaker, want to join me in sending condolences to the friends , condolences to the friends, family and colleagues of our former colleague, lord andrew stunell, who served with exceptional diligence and grace as mp for hazel grove in this house and who passed away very suddenly on monday. mr speaker,

when the bbc ends, long wave radio transmission next year, they will also end access to electricity tariffs like total heating, with total control relied on by almost 1 million households across the united kingdom. switching to smart metres is not going to fix this for most people. not least because the rollout programme is so far behind so will the prime minister or possibly his secretary of state for energy get the energy companies, the regulator and the customer groups together so that we can stop passing the blame around and find a solution that does not, yet again , leave people in not, yet again, leave people in the highlands and islands behind and out in the cold. >> well, mr speaker, i understand that an agreement has now been reached to ensure that radio tele switching services will continue until june of next yean will continue until june of next year, and ofgem are also engaging with energy suppliers on their plans to support consumers through the transition. whilst households that are currently covered by the service shouldn't be

disadvantaged by the switch off, its energy suppliers, who are best placed to advise on tariffs . for those who have been switched to a smart metre, however, i will make sure that the right hon. gentleman does get a meeting with the relevant minister to ensure that his constituents are not left behind dunng constituents are not left behind during the transition . during the transition. >> peter aldous, thank you . >> peter aldous, thank you. >> peter aldous, thank you. >> thank you. thank you very much, mr speaker. the east of england is playing a lead role in delivering the uk's energy security. and without our contribution, the country will not be able to successfully transition to a renewable energy supply system. in recent months, our coast has taken a battering and projects like the lowestoft flood defence scheme have been postponed. will my right hon. friend ensure that government departments are fully coordinated so as to provide the region with good supporting infrastructure, proper protection for coastal communities and every opportunity for local people to take up exciting new jobs. instead >> mr speaker, we are levelling

up across the united kingdom and investing in places that need it most, including , as my most, including, as my honourable friend rightly highlights, our coastal communities . almost £1 billion communities. almost £1 billion of levelling up funding has been allocated to the east of england, including 75 million for coastal places. i know that he welcomes the town deal for lowestoft in particular, but i will ensure that my hon. friend gets a meeting with the relevant minister to discuss how we can further support his region, its role in our energy security, but particularly its coastal communities . communities. >> deirdre brown mr speaker, the greenpeace group unearth found 36 supposed grass roots campaign groups which were actually administered by conservative staff and activists and were forums for vile racism, anti—semitism and islamophobic attacks on sadiq khan. >> now one hears about such coordinated efforts. around anti 20mph zones in wales can the prime minister shed some light on these shady groups spreading abuse, their funding, their links to his party and whether

he is aware of similar operations existing elsewhere in the uk? if he won't, will he at least commit today to investigate and take action to tackle the sources of this grubby gutter politics? mr sunak review mr >> mr speaker, i'm not aware about about the topic that the honourable lady raises, but but but i'm not going to make any apology for conservatives pointing out the record of whether it's the snp in scotland or the labour government in wales, because that's exactly what democratic process is about. she might not like it when we highlight their record, but we will keep doing so that we can deliver for people across the united kingdom. neil hudson thank you, mr speaker. >> i welcome our government's commitments to boosting defence spending and supporting ukraine, made possible by this conservative prime minister's international leadership and sound management of the economy. my sound management of the economy. my constituents have been doing

us proud, supporting ukraine like the pot place, garden centre, delivering ambulances, medical equipment and supplies and steve hodgson providing vital aid. would the prime minister join me in paying ministerjoin me in paying tribute to my constituents and people up and down the land for their support for ukraine and reaffirm that we will continue to stand with for ukraine the sake of freedom, democracy and global security . we. yeah. global security. we. yeah. >> i join my honourable friend in thanking people up and down the country, including the fantastic work of his constituents in supporting the ukrainian community in the face of putin's illegal invasion. we remain steadfast in support of ukraine. and in total, since the war began, we've pledged over £12 billion of aid to ukraine. last week, we announced an additional half £1 billion of funding, which will be used to deliver much needed ammunition, air defence and engineering support and drones. but more importantly and president zelenskyy welcomed this. we are

able to now say that we will continue with this level of support for as long as it takes because of the historic increase in our defence spending, and it's crystal clear that on this side of the house, we can say that our support to ukraine will never waver . neve i“ wave r. >> never waver. >> and paul bremer, thank you, mr speaker . mr speaker. >> in 1969, my constituent georgina jacobs gave birth to a baby boy who she named robert. sadly, robert was born asleep, and in those days the hospitals would ask the father to collect the baby's body, take it to the cemetery and leave it there for burial. for 53 years, georgina didn't know exactly where robert was buried. when she eventually found him, she shared her story on social media and other mothers who'd been through the same experience got in touch. since then, georgina has located over 60 babies on behalf of grieving parents and has deservedly been presented with a wirral award for her achievements . will the prime achievements. will the prime minister join me in congratulating ministerjoin me in congratulating georgina on her award and on having brought comfort to so many parents and families? and will he, on behalf of all previous governments,

apologise for this former practice which left grieving parents with nowhere to visit their buried children ? their buried children? >> yeah, well, can i thank and commend the honourable lady for raising this case and just pay tribute to georgina for what she is doing. i often say that one of the most incredible things about doing this job is meeting people like georgina, who have suffered tragedy in their lives , suffered tragedy in their lives, but then use that to campaign and inspire and bring about a better life for everyone else. she's a prime example of that. she's a prime example of that. she deserves nothing but our praise and admiration, and i'm so pleased that she's brought comfort to so many other people too. >> palsy. thank you, mr speaker. mr speaker, since i was elected in 2010, rugby seen employment grow by nearly 6000 with 10% more of my constituents in work , more of my constituents in work, much of which has been driven by investment from advanced manufacturing in places such as ansty park, where we've got the manufacturing technology centre, which the prime minister visited, high temperature research centre, rolls—royce, parker, meggitt, fanuc and the

london electric vehicle company. >> given that every labour government has left office with unemployment higher than when they came in, can the prime minister see any reason why anybody would want to put this fantastic progress at risk ? fantastic progress at risk? >> yeah, yeah, yeah. >> yeah, yeah, yeah. >> my, i was pleased to see for myself on a recent visit that my hon. friend is a great champion for his constituents in rugby, and i was very pleased to see the thriving local technology and manufacturing industry, which will help us deliver on our ambitions to make the uk a science and technology superpower. and he's right that we do have a record with 1 million fewer workless households, unemployment, near record lows, and he's also right that we need to stick to that plan, because that's how we'll deliver the long term change that our country needs and deliver a brighter future for families up and down the country, including in his constituency . constituency. >> carla lockhart. >> carla lockhart. >> thank you, mr speaker. >> thank you, mr speaker. >> hypocrisy needs called out and everyone in this house will recall the former irish prime minister in brussels with a

photograph of a bombed customs post lamenting that any border between northern ireland and the repubuc between northern ireland and the republic of ireland was unworkable. it was in breach of the belfast agreement and could result in such troubles again , result in such troubles again, the hypocrisy of the irish government from such a position has not been lost, with the irish police now tasked to patrol the border, protect from the unsubstantiated, unfounded 80% figure of asylum seekers who supposedly make their way to the repubuc supposedly make their way to the republic of ireland from the uk via northern ireland, when actually the reverse is true. will the prime minister challenge and call out these actions and confirm what representations he has made to the irish premier and the justice minister to respect the integrity of our here, here, here? >> well, the house will be aware that we have made commitments to avoid a hard border on the island of ireland, and the honourable lady makes a very

important point that the irish government must uphold its promises to . we can't have promises to. we can't have cherry picking of important international agreements . and so international agreements. and so the secretary of state, so the secretary of state is seeking urgent clarification that there will be no disruption or police checkpoints at or near the border. and i can confirm that the united kingdom has no legal obugafion the united kingdom has no legal obligation to accept returns of illegal migrants from ireland. now it's no surprise that our robust approach to illegal migration is providing a deterrent. but the answer is not sending police to villages in donegal. it is to work with us in partnership to strengthen our external borders all around the common travel area that we share. >> sir desmond swayne, mr speaken >> sir desmond swayne, mr speaker, i was the lord commissioner that signed the right hon. >> gentleman's special pension into law . he owes me one. into law. he owes me one. >> but the prime minister is right. >> labour seat £0.75 wasn't

inqu >> labour seat £0.75 wasn't insult to pensioners yet. >> last year our triple lock afforded pensioners the highest increase in 30 years. the prime minister is going to continue to deliver for dignity in retirement . retirement. >> isn't he ? >> isn't he? >> isn't he? >> well, my right honourable friend is absolutely right that we will provide dignity to all those in retirement. that is why we introduced the triple lock. and that's why this year the state pension is rising by £900. i'm also proud of our record to bnng i'm also proud of our record to bring 200,000 pensioners out of poverty . and i can also say, as poverty. and i can also say, as i've said previously, that the state pension will increase in each and every year of the next parliament. and as he reminds us about the £0.75 increase, unlike labour pensioners in this country can trust the conservatives >> thomas, you, mr speaker, in only one of the 194 local authority areas in england are

nhs ambulances meeting the national response time targets for responding to potential heart and stroke victims. does the prime minister know which one it is? >> mr speaker, when it comes to ambulance waiting times in a&e of course there's more work to do, but the place where they are the worst in the country is in labour on wales. mr speaker , labour on wales. mr speaker, thanks to our plan, we've seen an improvement in a&e and ambulance times this winter. over last winter we have 800 more ambulances on the road, faster discharge out of our emergency care centres and 10,000 virtual wall beds. now virtual ward beds of course, as i said, there is more to do, but the contrast to labour on wales is crystal clear. the worst a&e performance anywhere in great britain. >> stephen crabb thank you, mr speaken >> for six months thousands of my constituents have lived with foul polluted air from the withy hedge landfill site. >> the company is owned by somebody with previous convictions for environmental crimes and who a few months ago

gave £200,000 to help vaughan gething become first minister of wales after another of his other companies was loaned £400,000 from the development bank of wales , overseen by the then wales, overseen by the then economy minister, vaughan gething. does the prime minister agree with me that this serious matter demands an independent investigation? it's not some internal labour party matter and ultimately that company needs to get out of my constituency and let people in pembrokeshire have their quality of life back. yeah well my right honourable friend bnngs well my right honourable friend brings up an incredibly important issue. >> and i know that people in wales are concerned about the relationship that he mentions. and i also agree with him on the need for transparency and an investigation regarding the welsh labour leader, because it's very clear that the situation is the situation is not at all transparent and answers are needed. yeah, that's one worse. one woi'se. >> one worse. >> yes, very much. >> yes, very much. >> mr speaker. mr >> yes, very much. >> mr speaker . mr speaker, it's >> mr speaker. mr speaker, it's been revealed by the observer

newspaper that the conservative candidate for the mayor of london is actually a member of the six facebook groups which was mentioned by the member for edinburgh north, and they are full of islamophobia, anti—semitism and the most disgraceful incitement to damaging property and the worst bit for those of us who are in the house when our members of parliament were taken death threats to the current mayor of london, mr khan will he close down these facebook's which have been begun by conservative members of staff, began by conservative members of staff and will he investigate the role of the current candidate and her membership of those disgraceful racist facebook ? racist facebook? >> well, mr speaker, the election tomorrow will be fought on the substance of the issues that london has faced and the labour record is crystal clear. house building in london has collapsed. knife crime is

rising, mayoral taxes are up 70% and drivers have been hit with ulez charges. and the labour mayor just ulez charges. and the labour mayorjust simply panders to mayor just simply panders to unions and has decimated london's night time economy . london's night time economy. that's his record. that's how he'll be judged and conserve people across london know that they will be safer with the conservatives, with lower taxes and better services . and better services. >> and karen bradley, thank you very much, mr speaker . very much, mr speaker. >> today, mr speaker, is staffordshire day, where we celebrate all the brilliant things about the county of staffordshire. >> so would my right hon. friend join me in paying tribute to our brilliant police, fire and crime commissioner ben adams and encourage the people of staffordshire to vote for ben tomorrow to make sure we keep staffordshire one of the safest places to live , work and visit. places to live, work and visit. >> yeah, well, i wish everyone a happy staffordshire day and she mentions the pcc elections and i think it's right that she does because under this conservative and previous governments, we've cut crime by over 50, delivered

20,000 more police officers . but 20,000 more police officers. but people with a labour, police and crime commissioner are more likely to be victims of burglary twice as likely to be victims of robbery. and as i said last yean robbery. and as i said last year, knife crime in london went up year, knife crime in london went ”p by year, knife crime in london went up by 20. the facts simply speak for themselves, vote conservative for safer streets . conservative for safer streets. >> yes, that completes prime minister's questions . we'll let minister's questions. we'll let the front benches clear. >> well, there we have it. that was the prime minister, rishi sunak, taking questions from mps in the house of commons. lots was covered there, but we're still joined in the studio by cabinet minister esther mcvey and shadow attorney general emily thornberry. you have been sending in some fantastic questions to us. >> you can keep doing that. it's gbnews.com slash your site. this programme is all about your questions. not as being clever so and so's no , not that we'd so and so's no, not that we'd ever dream of being clever. >> so—and—sos shall we start then, with stephen's question? he got in touch to say , when is

he got in touch to say, when is the prime minister going to get to grips with the cost of elderly care? care home fees are rocketing , stephen's parents rocketing, stephen's parents savings are virtually disappearing . esther. a lot of disappearing. esther. a lot of people really suffering here and this is one of the biggest issues of our time. >> absolutely . we are living >> absolutely. we are living longer. lots of people will have multiple , disabilities and multiple, disabilities and illnesses. and that is something that we have to do. we have put billions into social care and the care sector. but there are, you know, there is more to do. and i totally agree with that. and i totally agree with that. and that has to be a key pledge for us to do now that we've put significant amounts into the nhs. i mean, billions of pounds extra into the nhs. we need to do that there, too. emily thornberry, would things be any different for stephen under a labour government, care home fees are rocketing , my parents fees are rocketing, my parents savings virtually disappearing? >> yes, we need to have a long term plan in relation to this, and it is something that can't be fixed overnight. i mean, it

is a shame that over the last 14 years so little has happened. i remember i was shadow social care minister, i think about 13 years ago, and i went into number 10 and we went in for cross—party talks and we said, yeah, we're happy to work with you. and nothing, nothing came of it, because it is something that needs to be sorted without a doubt. and it goes hand in hand with the national health service. we can't fix the problems in the national health service without fixing the problems in social care. and so the sort of things that we've been talking about is making sure that we work together, not just with the people who own the own these homes, but also the unions. we need to make sure that we have a proper workforce plan, because part of that is that we don't have enough people going into working in social care, and people just end up coming in on work visas and being paid less. coming in on work visas and being paid less . and so we need being paid less. and so we need to make sure that we address that. to make sure that we address that . we need to make sure that that. we need to make sure that we're doing that without the actually people because i mean, it's the cost of it, but it's also that there's such a high

turnover of people. my dad was in a in an old people's home, and he used to work in the united nations. and he, he thought that he was still in the united nations as he as he's developed his dementia developed because there were all kinds of people kind of coming and going, you know, and he didn't really know where he was, and as i say, people from all over the world, i think you need to have consistency of care. you need to have people who are properly trained up and people who have who really who are valued and valued themselves because they do such an important job. >> a lot of people will think, what a great idea to have parties sit around and agree and come up with a solution. but they'll look at the last ten years and they'll look at when solutions have been put forward and been turned into political footballs. almost immediately, theresa may in 2017 came forward with a solution not a particularly popular solution, but a solution immediately. it was turned into a tax, i think, i think, and then boris johnson came forward with a national insurance, insurance contribution rise. and that was immediately discussed as a tory tax rise. i mean, whenever there's a solution that's been

brought forward, it seems it's been turned into politics. well, rather than so. >> so the first thing i'd say is thatis >> so the first thing i'd say is that is that the solutions that were put forward, first of all, i would say if you wanted to get labour buy in, you should bring them into the conversation and you should bring them into the creating of that policy. and secondly, if you want and they didn't even need labour buy in because they had such huge majorities, but they never went forward with it. so, you know, you can't really turn the tables on us and say it's our fault when they've been in government for 14 years and they've had such a large majority over such a long period of time, if they had wanted to deal with this, they could have dealt with it and they didn't. and if they'd wanted, as i say, i mean , i wanted, as i say, i mean, i remember sitting around the table, we went to a number of meetings and we just sort of twiddled our thumbs and just saying, okay, well, so what are you suggesting? let's talk about it. and it was just like, i just felt as though i was involved in some sort of performance. >> was it sort of revenge then that you sort of then turned it into a bit of a political attack? no, no, no. dementia tax and tory tax rises. >> if during an election, if dunng >> if during an election, if during an election, a prime minister suddenly comes up with something, first of all, she

hadnt something, first of all, she hadn't even talked to her own backbenchers. so her own backbenchers. so her own backbenchers were going, what is all this? and she most definitely hadn't told us, if you want, if you're serious about wanting to introduce a major policy like this, it's a goodidea major policy like this, it's a good idea to have a discussion on, to engage the public, to engage the opposition and to see and to move forward, but to but to not try and kind of click your fingers and go, oh, it's a wet thursday. let's, let's change, let's change everything in relation to social care. it's not going to work. i want to bnng not going to work. i want to bring esther mcvey in here because there was another issue that was discussed at prime minister's question time, something else that we'll all have to rely on. >> and that is pensions both of the leaders and some of the backbenchers to trading blows, saying your pension will not be safe if delete is appropriate. keir starmer is prime minister there's another conservative government what what needs to happen to the state pension in your view? >> so first of all, the conservative government brought in the triple lock. it is keeping the triple lock. i don't know whether labour will, but we are and we have and that's what

we've done. equally everyone knows which i can't believe that keir starmer is leaving with his chin. everyone knows that national insurance contribution isn't ring fenced for pensions and the nhs, but he's talking £6 billion. >> then something is going to have to. >> and he said you will can't. national insurance contributions when we can afford it. and with things like inflation coming down and we must remember rishi is an economist, a finance. so he knows we've brought inflation down. so there's headroom there. we've now risen to the fourth biggest exporter in the world. we've now got billions, £30 billion last year of investment in the uk. so what we're doing is growing the country as we come out of that, pandemic situation, which affected the world. so what i will say is our government has always protected pensions. i think, rishi said their pensions have had a £3,700 increase since we've been in government. and we all remember that labour did raid the tax, pensions and funds and they did

gordon brown give a 75 pay raise. so i think you have got to do what has the conservatives done? what have they pledged to do. and that is keep the triple lock. and who have we always looked after? we have looked after the pensioners. >> it is true to say both parties are saying they'll keep the triple lock. it is also true to say that only 15% of pensioners households now live in relative poverty. it used to be a lot, lot higher. it's now just 15. that compares to 27% of pensioner households that live in millionaire households . emily in millionaire households. emily thornberry is it right to keep this as a universal benefit, where even the very, very richest get the same increase as the very, very poorest? >> yes, yes . i the very, very poorest? >> yes, yes. i think that people who've contributed to our country, who have put their life, who've who've spent their lives working, should have a pension. and the problem with means testing things is that you don't get the same take up. so i think that it should be something which is universally available, and we just need to be completely clear about that.

i mean, rishi sunak was asked about how he was going to pay for the £46 billion, and he was asked in a very straightforward way , and, you know, said, you way, and, you know, said, you know, people need to be confident that they're not going to cut the state pension in order to pay for the 46 billion. he didn't say that they weren't going to raise the pension age , going to raise the pension age, which he was asked. so he was asked, wasn't he, that one of his ministers, lord balfe billion, is a bit like £350 million a week, isn't it, in that it's not really real, is it? do you know what we've got an election tomorrow, right? if the thing about politicians is, if you're going to say something, you need to mean it. so if you say you're going to, you're going to cut £46 billion. if you're going to get rid of national insurance, then you need to say when the money is coming from. just like, by the way, i did just explain what we've done with international investment and the country and exports. >> i know , but emily, come on to >> i know, but emily, come on to the boats now. >> there's a variety of questions coming up. we've got we've got illegal immigration, we've got illegal immigration, we've got illegal immigration,

we've got crime , and all i we've got crime, and all i wanted to say was this was that you must you must hold us to the same standard that you would hold the conservative government. >> right. if we say that we're going to spend money, then you ask us where we get the money from. if they say they're going to spend 46 billion, you need to ask them where they're going to get the money from. and we're asking that. >> we're asking where are they going to get the 75 billion for defence. >> i mean, there's all of these reasons because i did actually explain all of that with inflation coming down, with investment coming in with, i think exports going up. >> but equally, you know, you look at the huge holes in the labour budgets , 28 billion labour budgets, 28 billion a year for their net zero policies is what they're going to do. >> spending 28 billion after liz truss crash . the economy. truss crash. the economy. >> we're going to do when you put a 20 borrowing tax increase, the amount that it did because . the amount that it did because. >> okay, okay. >> okay, okay. >> please. >> please. >> you can't just say emily, just sort of like make stuff up. >> and the other 20% tax on private school. where are all those kids go to go to schools. that would probably cost another 7 billion. we also now look at

the anti—growth , sort of the anti—growth, sort of pro—union plans that we're doing. and businesses are saying, what are they going to do as that destroys the country. as you look at this anti—growth pro—union rights , lots of issues pro—union rights, lots of issues that's going on there and huge holes in the labour plans. >> okay. >> okay. >> we don't use of our viewers and listeners have taken the time to send in your questions. we're very grateful. they're fantastic as ever, and i want to come back to them. i want to go to michelle by the way, guys, and, you know, ladies and gentlemen , do let us know where gentlemen, do let us know where you're from because we like to know, you know, where in the build a picture. where in the country. yeah, of course. michelle says this. surely the royal navy having boats on the channel and knowing they'll not get to the uk , will be a bigger get to the uk, will be a bigger deterrent than rwanda and cost a lot less, too. what do you say to michelle? esther mcvey. so the royal navy, stopping people getting here, having boats on the channel and knowing that people will not be able to get

over here in the first place and saying that will be a trigger and we all know from all legal advice, actually , that isn't possible. >> so i know people like, you know, richard tice says this is what you can do. you can't. every legal opinion says you can't do that because you go straight from french waters to british waters. so you can't do that. and what we're saying is you need a third safe country, which is rwanda, because people who come over here illegally, who come over here illegally, who have destroyed their passports and identification, you can't send them back to a country because they've destroyed it. so you have to have a safe third country. and that's the rwanda policy. and labour don't have an answer for that, because what they're saying is they'll come into this country, they will have destroyed their , their, destroyed their, their, passports. so actually labour would keep them in the uk because they couldn't send them anywhere . and that's why you anywhere. and that's why you need rwanda. >> because emily, the labour party hasn't signed any or doesn't want to sign any deals with third countries. what do you do if you have an asylum seeker who's come to the uk, who

has no right to be in the uk, but can't go back to their original country? where where do you send them to if you don't have a rwanda type deal? >> remember that rwanda only deals with 200 people and that yes, it does. true and that 200 and i think 36 people arrived yesterday. so it's not an answer, right? it's not an answer. >> the government denies that it's 200 people. the government says it wants to send. >> it's unlimited now . yes. >> it's unlimited now. yes. >> it's unlimited now. yes. >> well, the amount of accommodation that they provided , i mean, they don't say what the number is and the and the highest court in the land says that the rwanda policy is only going to result in 200. right. so let's be generous . let's say three. >> so where are you sending them? let's say generous. >> let's say you're going to send 300 people. >> listen, given that given that more than a thousand people have arrived since january, it's not an answer. >> the answer is to have a proper returns policy. of course. and what we would do is instead of spending, look, course. and what we would do is instead of spending , look, they instead of spending, look, they have spent £450 million on rwanda and just one guy has got

going and they've had to pay him to go on top of all the money they've already spent. and they're giving him and they're giving him subsidised accommodation for five years. i mean , that's where we are the mean, that's where we are the day before, the day before an election. >> esther's question. >> esther's question. >> so to get to esther's question, i want i want to bring it. >> there is no answer like , i >> there is no answer like, i mean, i'm happy to answer it, i do, just because we're short of time. >> i do want to bring esther back in. linda, just. >> i don't get a moment. so i mean, i'm happy to do it. i have a five point plan. we have. >> we will spend the £450 million on smashing the boats on employing a thousand people whose job it will be to develop , whose job it will be to develop, to develop a return policy. all right. what they will be doing is they will be implanted in places like the embassy. >> i want to balance this. >> i want to balance this. >> i'm sorry. i'm sorry to interrupt, but we've got so little time left. linda, ask this very simple question. >> answer there. >> answer there. >> so, linda, ask a very simple question. rishi, why aren't the rwanda planes not taking off now? well, there will be, but we've just come through and i

think they've said ten weeks and they will be taking off. linda, thatis they will be taking off. linda, that is a direct question. >> about ten weeks straight away that deterrent is already happening. people are saying there are more people arriving illegally now than they were last year . last year. >> that is not putting people off, emily. >> that's the numbers question. that's the numbers. >> that's the truth . >> that's the truth. >> that's the truth. >> i'm sorry. i know it's uncomfortable, but it is the truth. there's more people arriving now than there were last year. you're rwanda policy is in tatters, and it's our money. you've spent , is in tatters, and it's our money. you've spent, emily, is in tatters, and it's our money. you've spent , emily, the money. you've spent, emily, the labour party and the lords and we'll call them the lefty. >> lawyers have done everything to stop the rwanda policy . how to stop the rwanda policy. how many times have labour voted against the policy? oh, i've voted against it as many times as i possibly can, because it's as i possibly can, because it's a gimmick. nothing to stop immigration gimmick coming in. both legal and illegal. >> let's get to a question from bob . go on. because bob says bob. go on. because bob says that england should welcome back migrants that the republic of ireland are saying are now going from the uk to the republic of ireland . bob says that perhaps

ireland. bob says that perhaps we should take them back , we should take them back, because then that would encourage france to take back migrants that come to the uk. emily is labour looking at a returns agreement with the eu? >> yes , of course we are, there >> yes, of course we are, there used to be the dublin agreement, but the government haven't implemented it. >> the dublin agreement, of course, had more people coming into the uk than leaving, but it had, but it had a returns part to it and it would be, you know, it would be a partial answer to this. >> so of course we need to, we need to be able to have a, we need to be able to have a, we need to be able to have a, we need to have some safe and legal routes for people to be able to take. but as part of that we also need to have a returns policy. we can't. i mean, this chaos can't can't work. we can't continue as we are. >> and esther, your response to bob would, would the uk would you like a returns agreement with the eu? >> well, i was looking at the numbers for the dublin agreement, i think between 2015 and 2017. i think they took back 37 people. so that wouldn't be it. no. what we're saying is, you know , we won't be we will you know, we won't be we will keep it as, as it is. you know, we won't be we will keep it as, as it is . so we

keep it as, as it is. so we won't be doing that because there wasn't one that worked. okay. >> bill, i just want to ask a quick question. are you going to have to be really, really brief? we've probably got 20s each, bill. he says he lives in the red wall. no ifs, no buts. if you're caught with a knife in a pubuc you're caught with a knife in a public space, she gets six months detention. if you caught a second time, two years time, this will reduce the epidemic. goodidea this will reduce the epidemic. good idea from bill lester. >> i would be stopping it straight away. it's blooming. the labour mayor in london, where knife crime has gone up 38% under labour to have something immediate . something immediate. >> you caught with a knife in a pubuc >> you caught with a knife in a public space, you're going down. >> it has to be taken really seriously. and i think that if you are, if, if, if you've been caught multiple times, you need to go to prison, and only a third of people at the moment caught multiple times go to prison. >> wow. >> wow. >> okay, there we go. panel >> okay, there we go. panel >> panel, thank you both so much for coming in and putting. >> there's often lots of warmth in here. i'm not sure today. oh, i think it was i think it was spirited. it was warm debate last night lacking in answers from emily. >> i know that much because can't. >> they're still carrying on. you've been watching or

listening to pmqs live with tom howard and gloria de piero don't go anywhere because up next it's him. >> it's still me. stuck with me. i'm so sorry . i'm so sorry. >> of course the lovely emily carver will be here too. i hope you both come back. i mean, you are pretty feisty. >> and of course we'll be back. that because you know, three women. >> have you felt. how's it feel to be a minority? tom harwood. >> goodness me, i think, no, it's marvellous. marvellous >> three feisty women and the tory party know what a woman is. we'll end on that . we'll end on that. >> a brighter outlook with boxt solar sponsors of weather on . gb news. >> hello again. it's time to take a look at the met office forecast for gb news. a lot of cloud today and a few showers around, but many places will be dry and some places will even experience a bit of warm sunshine. low pressure is moving

away. that's the low that brought some rain in the west dunng brought some rain in the west during tuesday. the rain still there in places , but it's easing there in places, but it's easing and actually many places are cheering up now. a much drier and brighter day for western parts compared with yesterday. meanwhile, further east, more cloud compared with yesterday and some showery rain, especially for eastern scotland where it will remain cool. 11 to 12 celsius elsewhere, further west and south. actually much warmer than it has been up to 20 or 21 celsius in parts of the south—east especially where we'll get some cloud breaks. but we'll get some cloud breaks. but we will see a thickening of the cloud and some outbreaks of heavy, potentially thundery rain arrive overnight, particularly after midnight, especially for central southern england, then into the southwest and south wales. the risk of frequent lightning, heavy rain and hail in places . those thunderstorms in places. those thunderstorms will be hit and miss, but we'll see an area of fairly heavy rain across south wales and southwest england as we begin thursday. thundery showers in 1 or 2

places elsewhere. otherwise it's dner places elsewhere. otherwise it's drier further north and increasingly sunny for much of scotland, northern ireland northwest england, eastern scotland and eastern england . scotland and eastern england. seeing a lot of low cloud and feeling cool here. but much warmer elsewhere. up to 23 celsius in east anglia looks like things are heating up boxt boilers as sponsors of weather

gb news. >> well. >> well. >> good afternoon. britain. it's 1:00 on wednesday, the 1st of may. coming up on today's show , may. coming up on today's show, another stabbing has taken place. >> this time at a school in sheffield. it follows more shocking developments from yesterday's attack in london, which saw a 14 year old boy lose his life and take off. >> britain has removed the first failed asylum seeker to rwanda and breaking this afternoon, the government says the first wave of illegal migrants flagged for rwanda have now been detained

across the atlantic . across the atlantic. >> violence has erupted as riot police stormed columbia university and police respond to violent clashes at ucla . dozens violent clashes at ucla. dozens of pro—palestine activists have now been arrested . now been arrested. >> and question for you did the slave trade really make britain rich? kemi badenoch has said colonialism played only a minor role in britain's wealth and the empire might have actually cost more cash than it made. is she right? >> it was only yesterday that we were talking about all these migrants going missing, that the home office had lost track of potentially thousands of migrants . and now today we're migrants. and now today we're getting confirmation that actually detonation, detonation detection , detention, detention. detection, detention, detention. >> you can tell he's been on the telly for too long. >> detonation? that sounds like.

sounds like things are blowing