>> democracy is always unfinished. >> democracy is worth dying for. >> we are in the sanctuary of democracy. >> great responsibilities fall two great democracies. >> democracy is bigger than one person. >> democracy must... be constantly guarded and protected. this is a massive victory for democracy, for freedom. ♪ >> british prime minister keir starmer answers questions from members of the house of commons up next. addressing national defense, support for ukraine and humanitarian concerns in gaza. this runs just under 40 minutes.

>> we now come to prime minister's questions. >> number one, mr. speaker. prime minister. >> thank you, mr. speaker. today we're investing $15.6 -- investing 15.6 billion pounds in infrastructure in the north and the midlands. mr. speaker, we're decisively tushing the page on a low impact spend and backing talented prospects of the whole country and over coming weeks we'll have further investment and renewal. our strategic defense review shows this government will never gamble with our national security. through the biggest estate increase since the cold war we'll transfer our defense, strengthen our nation and invest in jobs and industry across the united kingdom. mr. speaker, this morning i have meetings and i shall have

further such meetings later today. >> mr. speaker, we all remember the glorious sumner 2012 when the world's greatest athletes came to london to compete in the olympics and the paralympics. showcased britain at its best, not just through track and field but also as a country that can host major cultural and sporting events. my right honorable friend has been written to by over 200 top athletes, some of them are members of cambridge and my constituency, and they are are calling for the government to support the bid for the 2029 world athletics championships to take place in london. if successful, it will lift the whole nation -- if successful it will lift the whole nation, it will inspire a generation of new athletes, it will showcase britain on a world stage, put 400 million pounds into our economy. what's not to like? >> i think the race is finished.

>> i thank my right honorable friend. one of the greatest achievements was the 2012 orich i thinks in london. we all remember. can i -- can i pay tribute, can i pay tribute to the extraordinary contribution of tess jail to that games. a brilliant, huge, one of the benefits of hosting major sporting events as well as the legacy. >> the leader of the opposition. >> mr. speaker, three weeks ago, policy was set in stone. then the prime minister u-turned. on behalf of pensioners who want to know, can the prime minister be clear with us here and now, how many of the 10 million people who lost their winter fuel payments will get it back?

>> i'm glad to see she's catching up with what happened two weeks ago. [laughter] mr. speaker, the budget, we took the right decision to stabilize the economy. because of the 22 billion pound -- we took the right decisions. growth figures are up. interest rates are cut. we've got free trade deals. we will look again as i said two weeks ago as the eligibility for winter fuel and of course we'll set out how we pay for it. but because we stabilized the economy, mr. speaker, we on this side are committed to the triple lock, including increasing pensions. on their side they say that's unsustainable and wants to means test it.

>> the prime minister clearly has selective amnesia. i asked him three questions about the winter fuel payment three weeks ago and he was floundering. he hasn't answered the question i asked him. he can't tell us who will get the payments. all we see is u-turn after u-turn. his head must be spinning. will he apologize now for taking payments away in the first place including to his own back benchers and can he tell us how he's going to pay for this. >> we took the right decisions at the budget because we needed to stabilize the economy. she needs to apologize for the fact that they left the economy in a terrible strait and their budget that blew up the economy we were left with a $22 billion pound black hole. when she gets up perhaps she should apologize for that. >> mr. speaker, the o.b.r. said there was no such black holes. he's just given away $30 billion, that's his black hole.

he hasn't stabilized the economy. borrowing prices are higher now than any time in the last parliament. he has not stabilized the economy. he has no clear answers on what he's doing. it's just say chaos, chaos, chaos. he keeps making announcements with no detail. let's move to another area of confusion. can we get a simple answer. will the government keep the two-child benefit cap? >> mr. speaker, i'm absolutely determined that we will drive down child poverty. that's one of the proudest things of the last labour government. that's why we've got a task force. that's why we've got -- we drive child poverty down. under them poverty always goes up. >> i didn't ask him about a task force. skid him if he will keep the two-child benefit cap and he doesn't know. it's just chaos and uncertainty. he has no details. he is briefing something and causing a lot of confusion to the people out there. but on that two-child benefit

cap i'll tell him this. i believe in family. i also believe in fairness. on this side of the hughes, we believe that people on benefits should have to make the same choices on having children as everyone else. what does the prime minister believe? >> i believe profoundly in driving down poverty and child poverty. that's why the subsidy is in place. she talks about heads spinning, there's only one leader, mr. speaker, who has been praised this week by the russian embassy. and if she carries on echoing kremlin talking points like this, they're going to be sending her an application form for membership. >> mr. speaker -- mr. speaker, i asked the prime minister, i asked the prime minister what he believes in. he had to look in his folder to find the answer. his m.p.'s, his m.p.'s behind him know what they believe in. he doesn't know.

mr. speaker -- mr. speaker, he has been in government for nearly a year. it's only going to get harder, it's only going to get -- he's been in government only a year. it's only going to get harder and harder. the canned forced laughter, the planted questions, all of this is going to disappear because at every single point -- at every single point things are getting worse. he has to ask morgan mcsweeney what it is he believes in but the fact is that chaos is being felt in the economy. the chancellor said she would not be coming back with new tax rises but she will have to pay for all of these u-turns which he's announcing out there, isn't she? >> mr. speaker, i'm going to look in my folder here i've got the quote she had on sky news. i will read it, thank you.

the lead of the six said was this. sky news, mr. speaker. israel is fighting a proxy war on behalf of the united kingdom just like ukraine is on behalf of western europe against russia. that was certainly noticed in the russian embassy. because they said, they put out a statement saying the leader of the opposition has finally called a spade a spade. ukraine is indeed fighting a proxy war on behalf of western interests. they went on to say the illegitimate created finance and armed by the west is being at it since 2014. they want the data. i've given the quote. that's what russia said in response. she asked me what i believe in. i believe in standing by ukraine, calling out russia as the aggressor. >> mr. speaker, it was our government that stood behind ukraine and led the way in europe. everything he has said, everything he has said this afternoon is total nonsense.

obfuscation. avoiding the question. he doesn't have any answers. it's disgraceful. i asked him, i asked him, mr. speaker, i asked him, mr. speaker, about the two-child benefit cap. he's talking about the kremlin. he's saying everything he can to distract if the mess he's making of our economy. he oecd, the oecd has downgraded growth for the next two years. he can't rule out tax rises. the police chiefs are saying they don't are the money they need to keep the public safe. just as he's releasing more criminals on to the streets. his cabinet are squabbling -- squabbling with each other. they said they lost control of the borders. but he still managed to find $30 billion -- managed to find 30 billion pounds to give away. two weeks ago he was crowing about his historic trade deal and how he got zero percent tariff osen steel. now the steel industry will face tariffs unless he does what president trump tells him to. it's chaos, chaos, chaos.

and the root of the chaos is this prim minister, his decisions and his judgment. >> the only advice, mr. speaker, the only -- she gets up, never does any -- we're the only country in the world that isn't paying a 50% tax on steel. that will be coming down. she -- we are working on it to bring it down to zero. that's going to happen. >> please, let's listen to the answer even if you don't believe you're getting one. >> she opposes the u.s. deal. she opposes the india deal. she opposes what we're doing with the e.u. and she opposes diego garcia. that's of vital intelligence and strategic capability. absolutely clear that legal uncertainty would compromise that capability in a very short time.

no responsible prime minister would ever let that happen. we have secured the long-term basis for the base, that has been welcomed by the u.s., nato, australia, new zealand, india. they're our allies. it's been opposed by our adversaries, russia, china and iran. and into that column we have reform, presumably following and tariffs following reform. >> anybody who saw the 6-year-old girl fleeing the flaming shelter where her family were killed by an israeli air strike will carry those horrific images with them forever. these are very dark days. gaza is a stain on the soul of humanity. and it is a further shame that there's more moral clarity coming from ms. rachel on youtube than from many world leaders who are complicit in silence. the prime minister said this week that britain must be ready

for world. i ask, after tens of thousands of deaths, after a generation of gazans stunted by hunger and trauma, when will it be ready for peace? when will it help to stop this genocide? when will it hold the israeli government to account? when will it recognize the state of palestine? >> mr. speaker, i am grateful to her for raising this. she's absolutely right to describe this as dark days. israel's recent action is appalling and in my view counterproductive and intolerable. we have strongly opposed expansion of military operations and violence and the blocking of humanitarian aid. mr. speaker, you'll have seen, we have suspended the f.t.a. talks and sanctioned extremists supporting violence in the west bank. we will keep looking at further action. but let me be absolutely clear we need to get back to a ceasefire. we need the hostages who have been held for a very long time

to be released. we desperately need more aid at speed and at volume into gaza. it's an appalling, intolerable situation. >> thank you, mr. speaker, can i start by welcoming reports that the chancellor will give winter fuel payments to more pensioners this winner, because we're awaiting details, we reserve our full judgment. can i recognize the efforts of the prime minister to pull out all the stops to avoid president trump's damaging tariffs. a letter from the king, offering to water down online safety law, even trying to send the open to one of trump's golf courses. the prime minister thought he'd secured nought percent tariffs for british steel but now president trump is threatening tariffs unless we comply with his deadline. this is classic trump, changing

the terms of a deal he had already agreed. does the prime minister share my fear that nothing will stop trump messing the u.k. around short of budgeting a few hundred million pounds into his trump coin? >> mr. speaker, we have a deal, we're implementing it, and within a very short time i'm confident we'll get those tariffs down in accordance with the deal. i'll come back to him and update the house in due course. i think the house will be pleased at the outcome of that. but because of the approach -- no, no, no. wait. this is zero tariffs on steel. he says no they wouldn't. let's come back to this in a couple of weeks when we've implemented this. they obviously don't want this. we back steel on this side of the house. they laugh at attempts to back steel on their side of the house. that's a big part of the problem. >> mr. speaker, i had hoped we'd now be seeing the sort of man

trump is and start getting tough on him. we will come back to this issue. but moving on, mr. speaker, i welcome the remarks of the prime minister on gaza because i'm sure all of us are appalled by the latest scenes, starving people, desperate for food, water and medicine, met with chaos and violence. the u.s.-israeli program is clearly failing. and nothing short of lifting the full blockade on aid will do. but given the netanyahu government refuses to do that, will the prime minister take more decisive action today? will he push at the united nations secure council for humanitarian corridors to get the desperately needed aid urgently into gaza. >> can i give him my assurance, this is a very important issue, that we are working at pace with our allies on that very issue to take whatever measures we can to get that humanitarian aid and in

doing that, intensively over recent weeks. i can give him my assurance we'll continue to do that. that aid needs to get in at speed, he's absolutely right about that. >> for two decades since the labour government banned the cruel practice of fur farming but the job is not done. real fur and fur products are still being imported into the u. conform. i did a petition with over 10 million signatures to ban. this does my right honorable friend agree it's time to close the loopholes, and put the fur trade out of passion? >> can i thank her for her campaign. i know the environment minister will have heard her representations. we have commissioned the expert animal welfare committee to produce a full report on responsible sourcing of fur to inform the next steps that need to be take on a and we're committed to publishing an animal welfare strategy rate they are week.

>> mr. speaker, my constituent molly is a single mother caring for a child with cancer. she cannot work because of the care and responsibilities. since january, she has tried to claim disability allowance universal credit but faced constant d.w.p. bureaucracy. this bureaucracy is continuing right up until yesterday when she received yet another frustrating letter from d.w.p. will the prime minister assure molly and others like her that his government is doing all it can to help and visit to see these challenges first hand and work with me to find a solution. >> i thank her for raising this case. i'm deeply sorry to hear about molly's situation. we are improving lives of those that need it but what i'll do with her permission, the secretary -- secretary of state just said i'll look into the case. if she can provide the details i'll make sure it gets proper attention so we can deal with

the particular problem she's raised, i'm grateful to her and i'm sure molly is, that she raised it and we tan cake action. mr. speaker, in wales we'll never forget how our steel industry was neglected by the conservative government. they made unfunded promises, they refused to make critical decisions and they left portal pot on a cliff edge. can i welcome the news overnight that this labour government has secure and exemption for our steel industry from the latest u.s. tariffs, a deal secured by this labour prime minister. can i ask the prime minister if he'll take this opportunity to update the house and what further work he's doing in order to support our steelworkers across wales and across our united kingdom? >> he's doing great work with the welsh labour colleagues to champion working people in wales. mr. speaker, the united kingdom is the only country in the world which won't be subject to the additional tariffs announced today. the only country in the world.

and we are working with the u.s. at this moment to swiftly implement the agreement we've reached which will see the 25% tariffs removed. we want that. they don't want that. and that's crucial. that's -- that is crucial for british jobs. we fought tooth and nail for our steel industry. saving jobs at british steel and improving the deal at portal bottle. we'll continue to do so. >> thank you, mr. speaker. the prime minister has repeatedly told this house that it's not for him or his government to determine what is and what is not a genocide. but that position is no longer tenable because at the high court recently, the prime minister instructed his lawyers to argue that in gaza, and i quote, no genocide has occurred or is occurring. so the truth is, his government has made a determinations. the question is, does he have the courage of his convictions and will he repeat from that

dispatch box what he told his lawyers to argue in the high court? that he believes that no genocide has occurred or is occurring in gaza? >> mr. speaker, i've said that we are strongly opposed and appalled by israel's recent actions, i've been absolutely clear in condemning them and calling them out. whether that's the expansion of military operations, settler violence or the dreadful blocking of aid it's completely unacceptable. we must see a ceasefire. hostages must be released. there must be aid into gaza. but he talks about peace and security, mr. speaker. compare their party as i understand it this moment of global instability as we go into a new era, what do they want to do? they want to get rid of the nuclear deterrent, the single most important capability that we have to keep the u.k. safe. harming the industry and harming the country. >> carnegie u.k. was founded by

andrew carnegie and found that people under 49 are twice as likely to be negatively impacted by the rising cost of living compared to those over 65. despite more tuns for young people and putting more money in their pocket, we saw the scottish government try to close off an opportunity by refusing to back a new plan from rolls royce. what is the prime minister doing to ensure that young people in scotland are served by the government? >> at a time of local conflict it's staggering that the policy is to block an 11 million pound investment for a new national welding center. to block it. i was there, mr. speaker, this week. i saw the huge potential for apprenticeships if job opportunities and for young people. i support it. they block it. in england, mr. speaker, we're backing 120,000 more apprenticeships and three billion pounds of funding as

part of our plan. despite the highest fundle settlement in history they're cutting college budgets, blocking opportunities, they have no plan for scottland's future. >> given the prime minister's desire to strengthen strategic alignment with our european neighbors, will he in the interest of public safety follow the lead of france, denmark, belgium and others and ban the burka? >> can i welcome her to her place -- i'm not going to follow her down that line. now she is here and safely in her place perhaps she could tell her new party leader that his latest plan to bet 80 billion pounds of unfunded tax cuts, no idea how he's going to pay for it, is liz truss all over again.

although considering she was a conservative member when liz truss was leader she probably won't. >> thank you, mr. speaker. during recess i visited scottish action rad hall wall garden that's operated for decades as a center supporting adults with mental health problems. like similar community and mental health service across scotland it's new under threat. faces potential closure due to con in-- chronic underfunding. because the prime minister agree that facilities like this should have been a priority for the s.m.p. when deciding how to spend their record funding settlement? scottish labour m.p.'s want for scotland. >> what my friend describes is how health services in scotland are utterly broken for people

waiting too long for mental health support in his constituency, a neonay tat unit in hamilton which the s.m.b. are threatening to downgrade. in 2021s.m.p. said they'd recruit more mental health workers and failed to do so. if they had a plan to fix scotland's n.h.s. they'd have done it by now. scotland need a change of direction. >> sir john cuniliffe's report laid out fundamental changes needed for our water sector. this is felt no more acutely that in my area, we have a harbor in unfavorable condition and sewage is blighting our tourism industry. with water bills rising 47% for my constituents can the prime minister still them when they can expect to see the real change this government promised and our waterways cleaned up for good? >> i share her anger and frustration at the broken water system we inherited with frankly

appalling sewage, higher bills and executives paying themselves huge bonuses. in the era of being rewarded for failure is over. we have launched a record 81 trillion investigations into more breaking water companies in england, introduced the water act with prison sentences for polluting bosses and banning unfair bonuses, will respond to the independent water commission in full following the publication of the final report. >> thank you, mr. speaker. the proposed hamill health campus, a rt partnership between n.h.s. and the council, presents a perfect opportunity to deliver on labour's commitment to deliver on neighborhood based care bringing services closer to where people live in facilities designed around their needs. it can also help to reyen rate our town center. does the prime minister agree with me that it's essential that all stake holders involved in the project are as ambitious as possible and work to deliver a community hospital that build on the services currently available

and reflects the evolving needs of our town? >> can i pay tribute to how he's bringing people together to deliver better care in the community that meets the needs of his constituents. the propose false the health campus will be open to public concentration, i urge the community to feed into that to ensure the best case is put forward. i'm pleased that waiting lists in his local trust have fallen by a fifth since march of 2024 because of the investment but put into the n.h.s. which was opposed by parties opposite. >> although the past few -- over the past few months i've been meeting with care providers in straited for upon avon who deliver essential and expert care to some of my most vulnerable constituents. like so many small businesses they are under huge financial pressures and the insurance is another bare behr many can't afford. i welcome the -- when we de--

when will the prime minister offer relief to care providers and other small businesses and u-turn on the punitive hike to national insurance? >> mr. speaker, we announced 502 million pounds to support local sports to manage the changes. we mu 3.7 billion pounds in additional funding for social care. doubles the disabilities facilities grant. and are introducing first ever fair pay agreement for professional carers including minimum standards for pay. i would generally say to her her party opposed the budget which provides the money for the funding. you can't keep asking for more spending and oppose a budget which raises the money. >> thank you, mr. speaker. the first constituent to reach out to me was a brave mommy who had waited for years five months

from rape to prosecution with three postponements and multiple suicide attempts. i will do everything i can to use this chamber to speak out for women that are being so badly let down. how will the prime minister support me to make sure that when these survivor, these formidable women across the country, come forward, they will get justice and they will -- and there will be space in our prisons for their perpetrators? >> i thank her for raising this case so powerfully and everything that she's doing on it. the case she's outlined is utterly shameful. and far too many victims are waiting too long for justice. we are delivering a record number of sitting day, reviewing criminal courts to speed up the hearing of these cases and have

a mission to halve violence against women and girls. she talked about prison system, the party opposite left the prison system on the brink of collapse, routinely operating at 99% capacity because in 14 long years they only added 500 extra spaces. we'll deliver 40,000 new prison places so the public are protected from these vile offenders. >> thank you, mr. speaker. the prime minister told us during the general election that he is a socialist. what's been more surprising is to find out in the last couple of weeks that the leader of the reform party might be one too. as think chancellor puts the spending review and locks it down, while the prime minister please remind her of mrs. thatcher's all too pertinent observation that the

trouble is with socialism that eventually you run out of other people's money. >> now he stands there to give lectures on economic prudence you couldn't script it. mr. speaker, the difference between the labour government and the parties opposite, reformist, we believe in properly costing our plans. they've got 80 billion pounds worth of unfunded commitments. liz truss 2.0. >> thank you, mr. speaker. brian rose uses his gym to tackle knife crime, anti-social behavior and give young people a safe space, demonstrating the significant impact of gyms.

thousands of these gyms operate on a shoe string and can't afford to keep the lights on, relying on charities like maverick all-stars, empire chance and others. will the prime minister join me in thanking these charity, praising the volunteers in these gyms, and put a haymaker behind these gyms to give them the knockout support they need to continue their vital work. >> can i thank him, he's an amateur -- he's a champion consider how amateur boxing gyms can transform mental health and self-confidence in young people. we should thank them for it. england boxing is investing $9 million and g.b. boxing will receive more than 12 billion in the next cycle. i know my friend will be looking forward to liverpool hosting the world boxing championship in september. >> thank you, mr. speaker.

since july, health services in my constituency have got worse. the chase hospital may cleese in bolden the promised help has not arrived and in hazelmere we learned in patient wards are being closed because of a lack of g.p. cover. the prime minister promised hundreds of more g.p.'sel. could he send one or two of them? >> mr. speaker, i remind myself they left the n.h.s. on its knees. the last labour government brought the waiting list down to record lows. they drove them up to record highs. the last labour government had the highest possible confidence in the n.h.s., they dragged it down to the lowest ever levels. because of the money we're putting in we've done three million extra. pres. trump: s in the first year of labour government that's the difference labour makes in power. >> mr. speaker, the environment agency predicts that eight million homes, one in four in england, could be at risk of flooding by 2050.

but despite this, the party opposite presided over a tripling of the proportion of our flood defenses deemed not adequate. by contrast this labour government is investing over 2.6 billion in new flood defenses including in the greenway in my constituency. does the prime minister agree with me that it's a shame that not all parties share this government's determination to keep homes safe from flooding? >> i thank you for highlighting this. the party opposite left our flood defenses in the worst state on record. it's prisons, it's n.h.s. the economy, it's flooding, every single thing they touched they broke. we're investing 2.65 million pounds to build and maintain flood defenses. that means 52,000 more properties will be protected by march of next year. >> mr. speaker, gastonberry is experiencing a notable increase in anti-social behavior. st. john's church was forced to close its doors after

gravestones were used as counters for drug transactions. people have been targeted when collecting pensions with demand for money leaving them feeling scared an overwhelm. the lawlessness is deterring tourestists and business owners say trade suffering. as businesses start to arie ahead of the glass tonberry fest call could the prime minister assure my constituents that he'll give the police the additional resources they need to tack until threatening and menacing behavior to reduce the devastating crime wave sweeping through the town? >> she's absolutely right to raise this. anti-social may haver massively impacts individuals and their communities. that's why we're introducing 13,000 new neighborhood police and giving them better powers so they can actually deal with what they see on the streets effectively. it's very important we take this seriously. >> thank you, mr. speaker. this time last year, the football club almost went

bankrupt thanks to mismanagement by the former owner. on sunday th made it to wembley for the national league playoff finals. and despite being beaten by oldham athletic in the 11th hour it was like the phoenix rising from the flames to see them on the pitch. so will the prime minister join me in congratulating south end united on their outstanding recovery and give me an assurance that the government is doing all they can to make sure that no club ever has to go through what our club went through? >> let me congratulate south end on what was an incredible achievement, commiserations for the final result. one of the police officers on my team, mr. speaker, is an ardent south end supporter, so i know all about the team and the plans and the stadium and what it means. i should also and garage late oldham of course for their victory. as well. thank you. >> final question. >> thank you, mr. speaker.

in 1999, the prime minister produced a book on justice, recommending ways of preventing them and putting them right. but in 2014 people who had been wrongly imprisoned and then exonerated for only allowed compensation if they could prove their innocence beyond reasonable doubt. this ignored the decision of the court exonerating them and actually meant that 93% of people who had been wrongfully imprisoned often had their lives destroyed, got no so much says -- compensation whatsoever. this is an institutional miscarriage of justice. will he instruct the department of justice to review this matter and pay personal attention to actually getting this travesty of justice resolved? >> this is a really important issue that i'm obviously aware of. it is right that the victims of miscarriage can apply for

compensation and appropriately do so. i'll take away what he says and have it looked at. >> right. that completes prime minister's questions. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2025] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] >> tear in two live coverage of nationals park uniting democrats and republicans on the fields were camaraderie and competition. do not miss the historic match of on c-span, c-span now or

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