side. presumably from the labour side. and at some point kemi badenoch will get in on the frontbench. we can see yvette cooper, the home secretary. we can see that's the justice secretary, shabana mahmood. oh, and he's got the chancellor of the exchequer next to him. i think he needs that, doesn't he, to show how supportive he is of the chancellor of the exchequer, rachel reeves? >> she looks quite happy sitting there chatting. >> she's relieved that the inflation rate fell slightly from 2.6% to 2.5%. but if the fall was based on cost, fallen price of tobacco and hotels, hotel costs, so people who are doing their weekly shopping won't have seen much change, i'm afraid. >> and also, as i said earlier at christmas, december sales were not impressive across the board retail sales particularly that will have helped inflation. people just didn't really spend anything. i'm not sure she can. she can take much credit for that. >> people wait for the sales as well, don't they? >> trevor said, come on bev, you don't have a by—election for resigning from government. i know you don't, trevor, but that's my point, is that maybe in this situation, if you are,

if you have to step down because you're head of the ethics committee and you're stepping down on an ethical issue, should you keep your seat as an mp? i don't think you should. >> i know the local tories in that constituency have put out a statement saying, right, you've resigned as minister, now resign as an mp, let's have a by—election. and of course she won't do that. so the speaker's up, which means we're now going over to the chamber in the capable hands out tom and gloria. >> we'll see spiritually. right. let us start with questions to the prime minister, joshua reynolds. >> question one. mr speaker. >> question one. mr speaker. >> prime minister. >> prime minister. >> thank you, mr speaker. i know members across the house will want to extend our thanks to president biden for his steadfast leadership and warmly congratulate president elect trump ahead of his inauguration. mr speaker, in my conversation with president elect trump, we have underlined our shared commitment to the special

relationship in the years to come. mr speaker, this week we launched our i opportunities action plan, which will ensure we seize the opportunities of ai we seize the opportunities of al to benefit working people as part of our plan for change that will boost productivity, transform public services, deliver £39 billion of investment and over 13,000 jobs. mr speaker, this morning i had meetings with ministerial colleagues. in addition to my dufiesin colleagues. in addition to my duties in this house. i shall have further such meetings later today. >> joshua reynolds thank you, mr speaken >> joshua reynolds thank you, mr speaker, with almost 4.5 million entries and exits in the last yean entries and exits in the last year, maidenhead train station is a busy transport hub, but with crowded gate lines, flooded underpasses and a drop off facility that isn't fit for purpose, the station needs major upgrades to give maidenhead commuters what they deserve. so does the prime minister understand how maidenhead residents face at the station, and will he commit his government to fixing these issues in this government's? >> prime minister, thank you for his question and i'm pleased that his constituents are

benefiting from the upgrades at the station, including, i think, new lifts to make the station fully accessible. the issues he raises are faced by passengers right across the country, and thatis right across the country, and that is why we are bringing rail services back into public ownership, setting up great british railways and making ticketing simpler and fairer to ensure a better service for all passengers, including in his constituency. >> the sadiq khan. >> the sadiq khan. >> thank you, mr speaker. >> thank you, mr speaker. >> i recently visited mid—kent college, which serves my constituency of gillingham and rainham and where valuable construction skills are taught to young people. however, i was also informed that the college faces significant challenges in recruiting teachers to deliver those courses. >> does the prime minister agree with me that proper skills training and having the teachers necessary to deliver it is absolutely vital to growing our economy and building the homes we need for the future? and will he agree to set up a meeting with the relevant minister to discuss the recruitment challenges that some colleges face?

>> the prime minister, mr speaken >> the prime minister, mr speaker, skilling up the next generation is, of course, vital to kick starting economic growth and our plan for change will rebuild britain by delivering 1.5 million new homes. that is why we have established skills england reforming our planning system and training the workforce. i will ensure that she gets the meeting that she wants with the relevant minister. >> we come to the leader of the. opposition, cammy birrell. he. >> mr speaker, on friday, while borrowing costs hit levels not seen since labour was last in government, i met business owners and their employees in chesterfield. one of them told me that his business will not exist in four years time. because of this government's policies. it might not even exist next year. >> the prime minister may try to blame his inheritance or blame global factors, but why should anyone trust? why should anyone trust a word he says over the

businesses who are saying again and again that his budget means fewer jobs, lower growth and again that his budget means fewerjobs, lower growth and higher borrowing costs? >> mr speaker, as she knows, the global economy is experiencing volatility and higher borrowing costs. that is why it was vital that we took the tough and right decisions in the budget to get our finances back in order. we had to deal with the £22 billion black hole that they left. we made difficult cuts, raised taxes to invest in health, pubuc taxes to invest in health, public services and housing vital to stability, vital to growth. and we have got an ironclad commitment to our fiscal rules. and she will welcome, no doubt, the inflation figures from this morning. but contrast that with the party opposite. they weren't brave enoughin opposite. they weren't brave enough in government to take those difficult decisions. they have opposed all of our measures to stabilise the economy and promote growth. back to the magic money tree. she wants all

the benefits of the budget, but she can't say how she is going to pay for them. they haven't changed. they're still economic vandals and fantasists imagine where we'd be if they were still in charge. they do not. >> mr speaker, just today the british retail consortium says two thirds of businesses will have to raise prices to cope with his tax hike. his chancellor ignored all the warnings and ploughed ahead with an unprecedented borrowing spree, leaving all of us more vulnerable. now we have businesses saying they will raise prices to cover his jobs tax. we have an energy policy that will drive up bills and all the while we are spending more day to day on debt interest than we do on schools and universities. the prime minister, the prime minister, refused to repeat his chancellor's promise that she wouldn't come back for more. will he now rule out any new tax

rises this year? >> the prime minister, mr speaken >> the prime minister, mr speaker, we took the right and difficult decisions at the budget, decisions that they did not have the courage to take, which left us in the mess in the first place. >> when it comes to tax, she knows very well the limits of what i can say from this dispatch box. but we have an ironclad commitment to our fiscal rules. we can't just tax our way out of the problems that they left us, which is why we put in place tough. they were howling at the spending decisions. they wouldn't take them. and we will stick to those spending decisions. and our focus is absolutely on growth. but their record, their record, they flatlined the economy. they record, they flatlined the economy. the mini—budget that crashed the economy, worse cost of living crisis in living history. and they left a £22 billion black hole not taking lessons from them on the economy. >> kemi badenoch mr speaker, the prime minister knows very well that the obr found no such black

hole and he is talking he talks about he talks about, he talks about he talks about, he talks about a budget three years ago, the borrowing costs last week are at a 27 year high for 30 year gilts. the chancellor is apparently promising. the chancellor is apparently promising to be ruthless in reducing spending. let me suggest something that he should cut. there is no way that we should be giving up british territory in chagos, he is rushing a deal which will be disastrous, and which will land taxpayers with a multi—billion pound bill. why does the prime minister think british people should pay to surrender something that is already ours? >> prime minister? mr speaker, we inherited a situation where the long term operation of a vital military base was under

threat because of legal challenges. so the negotiations were started under the last government. the then foreign secretary came to this house to say why he was starting negotiations and what he wanted to 1530 00:09:17,544 --> 00:09:1