Watch Live: Starmer to speak in Commons

Added: 2026-05-14

[00:00:00]governments continued.

[00:00:04]Hint, hint.

[00:00:06]The chief whip also told me that it was tradition to have an established MP propose the King's Speech and for a bright young thing to [laughter] second it.

[00:00:16]I have to say, Mr. Speaker, I'm not particularly bright. I'm not particularly young.

[00:00:22]But I'm definitely a thing. So, I can absolutely claim 1/3 of that description. [laughter] I actually think the chief whip asked me to give this speech because he was aware that on the last day of term, I failed to achieve my 400th contribution to Hansard.

[00:00:43]So, look, I want to thank everybody for being here so I can now do so. And I look forward in this parliamentary term making a further 400 contributions [laughter] with multiple references about Harlow, my mother's sterling career in HMRC, >> [laughter] >> and the fact I may have previously been a math teacher.

[00:01:04]>> [laughter] >> There is more though.

[00:01:07]I think we would all recognize, as His Majesty does, this King's Speech comes at an increasingly dangerous and volatile time. Which I honorable member honorable friends and honorable members, I've spent a great deal of time thinking about.

[00:01:21]It's during this turmoil that I've taken the time to reflect on what it means to be British, those British values, what our country is about, what is the real Britain. We say Britishness more and more, but it can mean any number of things to any number of people.

[00:01:35]When I think about what it means to be British, I think about my recent experience running the London Marathon.

[00:01:41]And just to be clear, I am not referring to when the honorable member for Basildon and Billericay with his Union Flag shorts on overtook me on mile 17 just like I hit the the metaphorical wall.

[00:01:53]>> [laughter] >> I have looked at the office two years younger than me, so I've got his kids.

[00:01:59]During the marathon around Mr. Speaker, or perhaps in my case I should say a marathon limp along the streets of London, I saw neither hate nor division.

[00:02:08]I saw unity.

[00:02:10]I saw people coming together to cheer on perfect strangers in their shared endeavor.

[00:02:16]I saw Gordon Ramsay randomly heckle me to carry on.

[00:02:20]And Mr. Speaker, I even got heck- I even got supported by a Man United supporter.

[00:02:27]I saw everyone, Mr. Speaker, man or woman, black or white, gay or straight, all laying the 26.2 mile course.

[00:02:35]And by the way, that 0.2 miles at the end is only made possible by those supporters.

[00:02:41]Mr. Speaker, that is the Britain I know.

[00:02:44]That is the Britain that I love.

[00:02:47]And that sense of supporting one another, of coming together as community as a community in hardship and celebration, is alive and well in Harlow. In fact, it's baked into the very foundation of Harlow when it first conceived as part of the new town revolution under the first majority Labour government in 1945.

[00:03:04]Harlow remains a strong community today.

[00:03:06]And when I think of Britishness, I think of Rainbow Services, which supports projects across Harlow by getting getting young people to build infrastructure for their community. I think of Streets to Homes, the homeless charity I work at, which supports the most vulnerable in our society. And I think about the Michael Roberts Charity Foundation, which runs the local food bank.

[00:03:25]As I mentioned, Harlow itself is a post-war new town designed by Sir Frederick Gibberd to be a place of neighborhoods and communities. It was built as a solution to the problem of overcrowding in London. Harlow sought to alleviate this pressure while keeping communities tightly knit together.

[00:03:39]You can still see remnants of that today.

[00:03:41]People from Walthamstow move into the Stow in Harlow, giving people a fresh start in life with all the comforts of their community.

[00:03:48]To this day, Harlow is one community built by lots of smaller and close communities. Communities like Potter Street, Bush Fair, Church Langley, and Little Parndon.

[00:03:59]As Harlow grew into its new town, so too did its pioneering spirit. And just two year two weeks ago, I was lucky enough to recognize one of those pioneers by unveiling a blue plaque in memory of Harlow race scientist Dr. George Hockham, one of the key brains behind the invention of the fiber optic cable.

[00:04:16]Fiber optic cable created Harlow, revolutionized modern communication, not just in Britain, but across the world.

[00:04:23]For me, George Hockham and many others like him from Harlow could be an inspiration for Harlow's next generation, a generation that deserves a government on their side. I think of inspirations like Professor Hannah Fry and Paralympian Anne Strike. These inspirations are a reminder of what it means to be British, to achieve so much, and to have such a proud community behind you.

[00:04:42]Harlow has a history to be proud of and a future to be excited about, too. As a former teacher, I don't know if I've mentioned that, I am filled with pride when I visit schools across Harlow and see the incredible young people learning there. That is why I'm proud that education is at the heart of this government's offering in the King's Speech, building on the work done by the previous parliamentary session.

[00:05:02]Looking to the future session, the government will tackle the broken SEND system, giving every young person with SEND the support they need, and supporting parents, not leaving them to break to battle a broken system.

[00:05:15]This cuts across this House, as I'm sure everyone will remember can recall a constituent coming to me broken with nowhere to turn, at their wits' end with an SEND system that benefits no one. I know I certainly can.

[00:05:27]I also welcome the government's commitment to review the national curriculum to make it broader, as well as recognizing the importance of citizenship, of financial education, and the dangers of online harm.

[00:05:38]What our younger genera What our younger generation learns is so important. If I could achieve one thing when I look back on my time serving Harlow, I want to achieve for the young people in Harlow, the aspiration they deserve. Every young people now, every young person now sitting in a classroom in Harlow, primary or secondary, should have the opportunity to aspire to achieve whatever they want to do.

[00:05:58]That is what I want for Harlow. So, might say that I'm standing here giving this maiden speech means anyone can achieve anything if they are resilient enough.

[00:06:07]>> [laughter] >> Because let me tell you I can rub with the punches and believe me in my journey to these green benches, I hasn't been without being knocked down along the way.

[00:06:17]What I say now directly to you, the young people of Harlow, is do not give up on your dreams.

[00:06:24]Do not let someone tell you you can't do it. I say to you, if you really want something and you are willing to work hard for it, you can achieve it.

[00:06:33]I'm proof of that and I know this government in this government you have a Prime Minister dedicated to give that opportunity to others because he is even more proof of it than I am.

[00:06:44]I would be remiss, Mr. Speaker, if I didn't take an opportunity to mention a personal focus of mine in this place and that is supporting young carers and young adult carers. And I would take this opportunity to once again call on the government to ensure support for these particularly incredible young people is a golden thread which runs through everything that they do.

[00:07:01]But of course, Mr. Speaker, Harlow is about more than just its young people and my community has not been immune to the pressures from the cost of living crisis. I welcome the work already done, the freezing of the rail fares and prescription charges, the lifting of the two-child benefit cap and the raising of minimum wage. But I am pleased most of all this government recognizes in this King's Speech that is more to do to support families in Harlow.

[00:07:22]When we talk about living pressures, it is easy to get lost in the numbers and as a mathematician mathematician at heart, this is even easier for me. But to bring it home, when I think of the reality facing hard working and proud families in Harlow, I think of my friend Jamie. He works six days a week to pay the bills, to put food on the table for his two-year-old son, to provide his family to provide for his family, and he yet the end of the month he has very little if anything. He cannot enjoy himself. He cannot treat his family.

[00:07:51]So, this parliamentary session, Mr. Speaker, must be defined by being the one where we see living standards improve for everyone in our society and not just the privileged few. That is what will be in the mind's eye when I cast my votes in this place.

[00:08:03]I am sure my honorable friend from Oldham is waiting anxiously for me to point out that as as I sit stand here in this place as I'm not just standing here as just a Labour MP, I am a Labour and Cooperative MP.

[00:08:15]I am proud of the Cooperative Party and the work it's been doing alongside the government to empower local communities like mine in Harlow through community ownership. I hope this next session will bring even more cooperative opportunities for people in Harlow.

[00:08:29]Though, of course, like many honorable members in this place, my constituency name does not encompass the full nature of my area. Harlow constituency does not end at the town boundary. I represent incredible villages, too, with some incredible histories. I represent Roydon, a village that first appeared in the Domesday Book. Bordering Roydon are Lower Nazeing and Dobbs Weir, which are home to the Lea Valley Growers, some of the biggest vegetable producers in the country. I represent Sheering, which with one of its most notable residents being Rod Stewart.

[00:08:57]And for the first time, Harlow includes Hatfield Heath and Hatfield Broad Oak. I know the Leader of the Opposition will vaguely remember these places.

[00:09:04]Incredible communities with a strong sense of what it means to look after your neighbor. I've got a neighbor's record in for the Media and Culture Sport Secretary. Yeah. Um >> [laughter] >> Harlow and Clacton, one of my predecessors, Bill Rammell, actually moved out of Harlow to one of these villages. Though Harlow was not keen on this, so it expanded its boundaries to include him back in the constituency, and he welcomed [laughter] it.

[00:09:27]Part of the fun, Mr. Speaker, of representing such a diverse community with its healthy share of rural and urban is the mix I get to experience as their MP. I can visit local businesses in the morning, talk to a group of students in the afternoon, then round out the day with a community event. I've attended my fair share of community events, Mr. Speaker, although I'm not convinced it was a great idea to run the Matching Village 10K a week after the London Marathon.

[00:09:49]Didn't see the member for Billericay in Basildon there just now.

[00:09:52]>> [laughter] >> He'd already finished, YEAH.

[00:09:58]>> [laughter] >> ON THE POINT OF RUNNING, MR. SPEAKER, when I took part in the London Marathon, I received a card from my parliamentary team wishing me luck. With one member of my team commenting, "You've run enough elections, so a marathon should be easy."

[00:10:13]>> [laughter] >> Which brings me, you'll be pleased to know, to my conclusion. In conclusion, and to a line that I want to end with from one of my former teachers. Did I mention I was a teacher? Um >> [laughter] >> Mr. Feely used to teach me science, although I'm never really sure he We did learn a lot of science in his lessons, he had.

[00:10:27]However, um I think, Mr. Speaker, this line I think perfectly sums up this government, and that is we should always remember it's a marathon and not a sprint. And I would respectfully remind members of that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

[00:10:45]The question is that the humble address be presented to His Majesty as follows.

[00:10:53]Most gracious sovereign, we, your Majesty's most dutiful and loyal subjects, the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled, beg leave to offer our humble thanks to your Majesty for the gracious speech which your Majesty has addressed to both houses of Parliament.

[00:11:15]I now call the leader of the opposition.

[00:11:18]Right honorable Keir Starmer.

[00:11:24]Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

[00:11:26]>> [clears throat] >> This King's Speech is taking place against the most extraordinary backdrop.

[00:11:33]We knew the carriages were booked, the horses were ready, the King was coming, but would we have a Prime Minister?

[00:11:41]So, Mr. Speaker, it is such an honor to be the leader of the opposition who gets to respond today.

[00:11:49]May I start by congratulating the proposer and seconder of the loyal address on their excellent speeches. And can I also congratulate the whips for finding two backbenchers prepared to support the Prime Minister at this time. [laughter] The honorable member for Bradford West gave a moving and funny speech. I especially appreciated her comments about black and brown faces on TV.

[00:12:18]Uh or as my children say, "Oh, look, it's Mommy again."

[00:12:22]>> [laughter] >> She only touched lightly on the fact that she is someone who has faced one of the most challenging heart childhoods imaginable.

[00:12:30]And yet through the strength of her character has made it to this place.

[00:12:35]She's made of tough stuff.

[00:12:36]And that is something we need more of in this house. Anyone who can boast of chewing up and spitting out George Galloway in an election is clearly is clearly formidable.

[00:12:52]>> [laughter] >> I also congratulate the member for Harlow on successfully delivering a humorous and warm-hearted speech.

[00:12:59]Uh as he noted, he is my constituency neighbor and he also, yes, did run the London Marathon last month raising money for St. Clare Hospice, which cares for both our constituents. And so, I would like to take this opportunity to thank him for doing that.

[00:13:14]So, I've become a a big fan of his after listening to his speech, especially after he was so generous in his comments about the Harlow Conservative's successful election campaign and my council's outstanding work regenerating the town center.

[00:13:27]Uh and I would say to him if things on that side of the house are getting a bit much, he would be very welcome to cross the floor and help conservatives carry on that work.

[00:13:37]Mr. Speaker, I think we can say that the proposer and seconder of the loyal address have upheld the best traditions of the house.

[00:13:47]I would of course like to pay tribute to His Majesty the King.

[00:13:51]His Majesty has served through a period of great personal difficulty and throughout he has exemplified the virtues of grace, dignity, humor, modesty, and resolve in the face of adversity.

[00:14:06]Virtues which were on full display during his hugely successful state visit to the United States. And I'm sure the whole house will have admired his skillful speech to Congress.

[00:14:16]It was a speech full of the wisdom and courage needed for our times.

[00:14:20]Of course, we would never have got to hear it if we'd listened to some people in this house who called for the King's visits to be cancelled. But thank goodness no one listens to the leader of the Liberal Democrats.

[00:14:32]>> [cheering] >> As for the Prime Minister, when he was young, he called for the end of the monarchy. So I'm glad that the right honorable and learned gentleman has seen the error of his ways because previous King Charleses took a much dimmer view of that kind of thing.

[00:14:56]I'm only sorry that this new found appreciation of the monarchy and our country's traditions have come too late because this is the first parliamentary session ever without the hereditary peers.

[00:15:07]And their departure will be keenly felt.

[00:15:11]Will be keenly felt and our parliament will be poorer for it.

[00:15:16]Especially, especially Mr. Speaker, when you consider some of the people that Labour have been replacing them with.

[00:15:24]Yeah. People who've already had the whip removed before they've even taken their seats.

[00:15:30]Mr. Speaker, I know the convention is for this to be a light-hearted debate.

[00:15:35]But as I've already said, this is a highly unusual moment.

[00:15:41]The Prime Minister is in office, but not in power.

[00:15:45]Everyone is trying to pretend it's all right. It's not all right. In the past 48 hours, nearly 100 Labour MPs have called for the Prime Minister to resign.

[00:15:58]Four Ministers have quit. It is clear his authority has gone, and that he will not be able to deliver what little there is in this King's Speech.

[00:16:09]This is a government less than two years in office, which has already run out of ideas and run out of road.

[00:16:17]So, how did we get here?

[00:16:19]There is a great line in the musical Hamilton, Mr. Speaker. Winning is easy, governing is harder.

[00:16:26]Everything that has gone wrong in Labour's first two years comes back to one problem. They came into office with no plan. They did not understand the difference between winning an election and governing a country.

[00:16:41]It was very easy to make promises in opposition, promises to freeze council tax, promises to take 300 pounds off energy bills, promises to the waspy women. Hundreds of Labour MPs took photos with them to post on their Facebook pages and their websites and their election leaflets, but at no point did they bother to think how would they deliver any of it?

[00:17:03]They didn't spend their time in opposition thinking deeply about the country's problems. They assumed that governing in the 2020s would be like governing in the 1990s, but it isn't.

[00:17:15]Britain is facing new structural problems.

[00:17:19]We have an aging Might help you.

[00:17:28]Might learn something. Mr. Speaker, they'll shout at me. I know they can't wait to get back to their plotting, but it's quite important [laughter] that we hear what is going to be said because we have an aging population, a falling birth rate, and a welfare bill that is spiraling out of control.

[00:17:45]We have an information revolution in the shape of AI that threatens to unravel the world of work as we know it, and the cost of energy is driving industry out of the country.

[00:17:57]Labor were taken by surprise that we are living in a more competitive and increasingly hostile world. Their manifesto was just a set of misleading promises. They promised no new taxes on working people. Fail. They promised to crack down on illegal immigration. Fail.

[00:18:14]They promised to tread more lightly on people's lives. Epic fail.

[00:18:20]They made promises without knowing how anything works. Let's look at housing.

[00:18:25]Just after Labor took office, when I was Shadow Housing Secretary, I stood at this dispatch box and warned the former Deputy Prime Minister that she had been stitched up.

[00:18:36]That the 1.5 million new homes Labor promised had been hung like a millstone around her neck. I knew that they wouldn't be able to meet that target because they didn't understand why more houses weren't being built. Sure enough, they are already more than a third down on their target and well behind what we delivered.

[00:18:58]Of course, Mr. Speaker, in the end, it wasn't one and a half million homes that did for the former Deputy Prime Minister. It took just one flat in Brighton to bring her down.

[00:19:11]Mr. Speaker, it is so obvious. It is so obvious. I know they don't want I know they don't want to hear it, Mr. Speaker, but this I know they don't they they don't they they don't want to hear it. Look at them. They are so arrogant. They want to lead our country. They can't even lead a coup. It is so obvious, Mr. Speaker, that they cannot handle being in government. They cannot handle it. They hate the responsibility. They hate having to take tough decisions. They prefer scratching the itch is that they had in opposition. Giving inflation busting pay rises to the unions. 28% for the doctors who are still striking.

[00:19:51]Nearly 2 years, they are still striking.

[00:19:54]Handing out more benefits to the only people who will still vote for them because Labour don't understand that poverty isn't created by a lack of benefits. It's created by a failing economy.

[00:20:08]We spent, Mr. Speaker, we spent the last session listening to Labour MPs telling us how great everything was going. No doubt, we will hear lots of grandstanding speeches this week telling us what a fantastic job they did. How absurd, given the number of them demanding that the Prime Minister stands down.

[00:20:29]We counted, Mr. Speaker, there were 24 U-turns in that first parliamentary session. Winter fuel, family farms, grooming gangs, welfare reforms, social media for under 16s, day one workers' rights. The list goes on and on. And every single one of these U-turns had at its core a single issue, the Prime Minister's total lack of judgment.

[00:20:53]This is a man who, faced with a crisis of vision, charisma, and electoral success, sent for Gordon Brown.

[00:21:02]>> [laughter] >> Leadership, Mr. Speaker, is about having a vision for this country. It's about having the courage to take difficult decisions, persuading your party that those difficult decisions will pay off in time, and taking responsibility for your mistakes.

[00:21:23]He has failed on every count. We've had pillars, promises, four-point plans, five-point plans, missions, none of it achieving anything. Reset after reset after reset.

[00:21:37]Even if the Prime Minister does last long enough in office to deliver this gracious speech, the bills announced today do not remotely come close to what the country needs. I know that they're chuntering, Mr. Speaker. Not a single one of them actually dares to intervene on me in this speech.

[00:21:55]I do, Mr. Speaker, however, want to welcome I do want to welcome the government's ongoing support to Ukraine and its commitment to NATO.

[00:22:06]In this increasingly dangerous world, it is more important than ever that we stand with our allies in the fight against tyranny.

[00:22:14]I also commend the government for its commitment to speed up the delivery of infrastructure, such as new nuclear.

[00:22:21]Too many governments have been frustrated in their attempt to deliver nuclear projects quickly, and we will support efforts to make this process simpler, faster, and cheaper.

[00:22:34]I also want to be generous to the Home Secretary, because I can see that she is trying to do something about illegal immigration.

[00:22:44]But the elephant in the room is that she almost certainly won't be Home Secretary for much longer.

[00:22:51]Sadly, no one else in the Labour Party looks remotely interested in bringing down illegal immigration.

[00:22:59]The rest of this offering in the King's Speech, Mr. Speaker, makes it clear that they have learned no lessons from their mistakes in government so far. All we have is a load of re-announced policies, hounding our brave veterans through the courts, legislating for digital ID, a policy they told us they dropped, banning trail hunting, just more class war that makes no one's life better, scrapping NHS England, something the Prime Minister announced 14 months ago.

[00:23:27]But then I suppose the Health Secretary has been a bit distracted lately. He hasn't he?

[00:23:31]Hasn't he? Yeah. He's chuntering now.

[00:23:34]Why don't you just do your job? Do your job.

[00:23:37]Even worse, Mr. Speaker, even worse, Mr. Speaker, is what isn't in the gracious speech. There's no point in giving me dirty looks. We all know what he's been up to.

[00:23:47]>> [laughter] >> We know.

[00:23:48]We know.

[00:23:50]Even worse, Mr. Speaker, is what isn't in the gracious speech.

[00:23:57]There is no defense readiness bill because apparently it isn't ready.

[00:24:02]>> [laughter] >> Where are the plans for welfare reform?

[00:24:05]There are none because Labour MPs blocked them. Where is the plan to make savings? There isn't one because Labour don't know how to make savings. They only know how to spend money, other people's money.

[00:24:19]Where is the plan to support businesses?

[00:24:21]There isn't one because they don't understand that it is business that creates growth, not government. They have no answers to what really matters, the problems that must be solved to get Britain working again.

[00:24:34]Now, Mr. Speaker, I will say that I do feel very sorry for Labour backbenchers.

[00:24:39]I do. I do.

[00:24:42]They arrived here not that It's true. I do feel sorry for Labour backbenchers. I do. They arrived here not that long ago with such high hopes. Some of them, in fact, were so talented they were made ministers before ever speaking a word in Parliament. So talented. Although one of them has just resigned, I mustn't forget that. One of them has just resigned. We have watched, Mr. Speaker, their growing horror day after day, week after week, as this hope descended into total chaos. The dread as they are sent out yet again to defend the indefensible. The injustice at feeling like pariahs in their own constituencies. Banned from pubs, banned from hairdressers, which is presumably which is presumably why all the women on the front bench have the same hairstyle.

[00:25:31]>> [laughter] >> The realization, Mr. Speaker, that their legacy is just going to be Now, I wasn't uh they can complain as much as they like. I wasn't expecting to be this to be comfortable for them.

[00:25:47]They're the ones who are trying to unseat their Prime Minister. They should face that. The realization, Mr. Speaker, that their legacy is just going to be breakfast clubs and Peter Mandelson.

[00:25:59]Labour MPs have been treated as disposable by their leadership. Sacked for backing the two-child benefit cap, sacked for opposing welfare changes, sacked for supporting farmers. The Prime Minister then U-turned on all of them.

[00:26:14]It must be tough when you take a principled stand and have the whip removed only for the government to confirm six months later that they agreed with you all along.

[00:26:25]It is no wonder, Mr. Speaker, that nearly 100 Labour MPs have now called for the Prime Minister to go.

[00:26:32]I know that there's another 100 who claim to be supporting him, although some of them didn't even know that their names were on that list.

[00:26:39]>> [laughter] >> When you can only get a quarter of your MPs to publicly back you, the game is up. And so the starting gun for the Labour leadership contest has been fired.

[00:26:50]So let's have a look at the runners and riders.

[00:26:56]We have the former Deputy Prime Minister speak Mr. Speaker, former Deputy Prime Minister who has given up vaping. She's not here. She's given up vaping but still hasn't paid her taxes. We have the Health Secretary who accidentally sent his takeover plans to number 10. Almost as incompetent as leaving them on the photocopier.

[00:27:16]>> [laughter] >> And we have And we have Mr. Speaker, the mayor of Manchester. The mayor of Manchester Mr. Speaker, a self-proclaimed winner, self-proclaimed winner who has twice failed to win the Labour leadership including against the member for Islington North.

[00:27:41]>> [laughter] >> As one Labour MP said about all the candidates in this race, and I quote, we have to face up to the fact every single one of them is, I apologize Mr. Speaker, F-star-star-star-star-star-star-useless.

[00:27:58]I do feel sorry for the poor Labour MPs who will now be subjected to months of peacocking by leadership candidates while the country is not being governed.

[00:28:10]I have some advice for whichever of them eventually takes over.

[00:28:15]Getting to number 10 is not an award for being in a game show. This is not Strictly Come Dancing and despite appearances, it's not Traitors either.

[00:28:24]>> [laughter] >> If you are a Housing Secretary who can't work out her housing taxes, if you are a Health Secretary who can only cut waiting lists by deleting names from the waiting list, if you are Gordon Brown's former Chief Secretary to the Treasury and you think the bond markets are a hoax, I can assure you that being Prime Minister is going to be a lot tougher.

[00:28:45]Too many have failed because they thought winning an election or a leadership contest was the success. It is not. The work doesn't end when you get the job. That's where it starts.

[00:28:58]It is absolutely preposterous that the government is here laying out a program as its ministers are resigning and a large proportion of the of the party is saying that the Prime Minister needs to go. The whole thing is totally illogical. Either Labour MPs agree with this agenda, in which case why are they trying to get rid of the Prime Minister, or they don't agree with this agenda, in which case what on earth are we ALL DOING HERE?

[00:29:27]IT IS TIME TO BE brutally honest, Mr. Speaker. It is time to be brutally honest. The country is angry with the entire political class, all of us here.

[00:29:37]They are not happy with how we have been doing politics.

[00:29:42]It is time to get serious. I will give way.

[00:29:47]The right honorable lady seeks to lecture us on why it is that everyone is so fed up with the political class, but uses this opportunity not to lay out what the Conservatives would do.

[00:30:00]That's not her time insulting everybody on this side. Surely that's not the way to proceed.

[00:30:09]Oh, I'm not done yet.

[00:30:11]There is plenty more coming.

[00:30:16]There is plenty more coming.

[00:30:18]And the uh the honorable lady says she's getting a lecture. She is getting a lecture. She is getting a lecture. We're all getting a lecture because we are legislators of the United Kingdom. We were sent here to fix difficult things, not focus on our personal hobby horses ranging from the petty to the puerile. I would say to members opposite I would say to members opposite you don't need to be scared of the member for Clacton.

[00:30:43]I'm not. He is not the cause of Britain's problems. He is a symptom.

[00:30:49]He >> [cheering] >> He is They are still Mr. Speaker, they are still delusional. They are still delusional, Mr. Speaker. I'm not going to I'm sorry to puncture the bubble. I am not here to pretend that what is happening is not happening. They can all pretend and live in la-la land. I'm going to speak the truth to you then.

[00:31:10]He is not the cause of Britain's problems. He is a symptom of the failure of the political class to focus on what matters. If you fix If you fix the problems that people care about, he goes away.

[00:31:24]But you I will give way. I will give way. I'm very glad very glad that she's given way and she's saying that the honorable member for Clacton is a symptom of the problems. But would she agree that what she and he both have in common is that she very loosely agreed that we should race into war with America in Iran?

[00:31:43]And then And then just a week later she thought, "Maybe that's not such a good idea." And doesn't that prove why she and he are totally unsuitable on this on this side of the house?

[00:31:55]That was a nice try. It's not going to work.

[00:31:57]You cannot [clears throat] solve these problems, Mr. Speaker.

[00:32:00]You cannot solve the problems of the country unless you have a plan to fix the civil service, the regulators, the legislative straightjacket, powers transferred from Parliament to the courts. Unless you fix structures of government, everyone will continue to fail. Britain is not ungovernable and it is not broken. The reason we published an alternative King's Speech, I'll say to the honorable lady who was asking what the plan was. We have published an alternative King's Speech.

[00:32:30]Is because we need to take tough decisions to get the country out of the mess we're in. Cutting wasteful spending, funding defense, securing our borders, reducing the cost of energy. If you want to bring down bills for families and bring industry back to this country, you need a plan to scrap the net zero legislation strangling industry and making energy costs higher. That's why we're proposing a cheap energy bill to do just that. If you want businesses to employ people, you need to stop crushing them with thousands of pages of employment laws and stop handing power to the unions. You need to You need to stop hammering businesses with tax rises. That's why we're proposing a Get Britain Working Bill that would scrap laws that are no longer fit for purpose and are killing jobs. If you want to get a grip on illegal immigration and remove foreign criminals from the country, you must have a plan to leave the ECHR and repeal the Human Rights Act. You must.

[00:33:33]Efforts to get them control of our borders have been frustrated because power has been taken out of the hands of ministers. We need to bring that power back so that we don't have murderers staying in our country because the courts stop us from deporting them.

[00:33:50]Our alternative King's Speech shows how it can be done, letting the government, not the courts, decide who comes and goes.

[00:33:59]Prime Ministers are going to keep running into problems until they deal with activist lawyers and international agreements that tie the government's hands against the interests of the British public. Oh, Mr. Speaker, they're chanting They're chanting that it Mr. Speaker, they're chanting They're chanting that it's Does someone want to stand up and tell us who they're supporting? Is it the plotters or the PM? Is [laughter] it? Because I know that's what they really want to get to.

[00:34:26]They're not interested in hearing what a plan for the country should be because they're too focused on Labour Party problems.

[00:34:32]Mr. Speaker, we will keep running into these problems until we deal with activist lawyers and international agreements that tie the government's hands against the interests of the British public.

[00:34:44]Next, we must reduce welfare spending.

[00:34:47]It is eating every penny that we generate in income tax and more. We must spend much more on defense. Even former Labour defense secretaries are pleading with the government to do this. That's why we're proposing a sovereign defense fund which will overhaul Britain's defense industrial base. That's what the alternative could be.

[00:35:07]That alternative King's Speech makes difficult choices because that is what leadership is.

[00:35:14]We have laid out these plans now because we are more than happy for Labour to take them.

[00:35:21]They might be our political opponents, Mr. Speaker, but we are all citizens of this country. We recognize the enormous challenges facing Britain. We want to see these problems solved and so do our constituents.

[00:35:38]Time and again, I have offered the Prime Minister support to pass difficult legislation.

[00:35:50]Time and again, I have offered the Prime Minister support to pass difficult legislation. Time and again, he has turned it down.

[00:35:58]It might be too late for him now, but it's not too late for his successor.

[00:36:03]It is time to get serious. It is time to deliver. That is what the British public expect. That is what the Conservative Party WILL DO.

[00:36:15]I NOW CALL the Prime Minister, SIR KEIR STARMER.

[00:36:22]MR. SPEAKER, CAN I SAY WHAT A PLEASURE IT is to welcome the gracious speech of His majesty and the radical agenda of this Labour government that will tear down the status quo that has failed working people and build a stronger, fairer Britain.

[00:36:38]Mr. Speaker, in light of the abhorrent attacks in Golders Green 2 weeks ago, let me start by briefly addressing that directly.

[00:36:47]It was the latest in a series of appalling anti-Semitic attacks.

[00:36:52]A normalization of hatred that leads terrorists with warped Islamist ideologies to attack people they've never even met simply because they are Jewish.

[00:37:07]A hatred that leads some to march calling for the murder of British Jews and not to think there might be something wrong about that.

[00:37:20]Mr. Speaker, I fought this hatred in my own political party.

[00:37:24]I've sat with others as they describe what it means for them.

[00:37:29]The fear.

[00:37:31]The sense that maybe they shouldn't wear something or do something that might reveal their Jewish identity.

[00:37:41]Just in case.

[00:37:43]Mr. Speaker, it is time for the silent majority in this country to speak up.

[00:37:48]To stand with British Jews and defeat this hatred once and for all.

[00:37:55]Just as we will take on any form of hatred from left or right that seeks to divide us.

[00:38:03]Mr. Speaker, in the words of the gracious speech we will defend the British values of decency, tolerance, and respect for difference under our common flag.

[00:38:15]Mr. Speaker, that is also why when far-right agitators try to come here this Saturday to spread their poison of hatred, this Labour government will block them this time and every time.

[00:38:31]Mr. Speaker, the gracious speech was brilliantly proposed by my honorable friend, the member for Bradford West.

[00:38:39]Members across the house will have read her remarkable new book.

[00:38:44]Her list of endorsements is truly impressive, reaching well over 100 members. At last, Mr. Speaker, a list that we could all get behind.

[00:38:55]>> [laughter] >> And Mr. Speaker, it's not the first time they've shown her ability to bring people together.

[00:39:05]She united her city and many in this house when she sent George Galloway packing.

[00:39:12]And Mr. Speaker, the house will know that she is passionate about the measures this government is taking to lift half a million children out of poverty, as we all are on this side of the house. It is the pride of these benches.

[00:39:26]But the house might not know about her remarkable effort to get Marcus Rashford to champion free school meals and speak to pupils in her constituency.

[00:39:38]Now, most of us would have attempted this, Mr. Speaker, uh via the complex world of agents and managers.

[00:39:45]But my honorable friend had a different idea.

[00:39:49]She spoke to, as you do, the sister of Cristiano Ronaldo.

[00:39:56]Now, I can imagine the Ronaldo household is used to fielding some pretty big offers.

[00:40:01]Multi-million pound transfers, billions in brand sponsorships, Piers Morgan calling for the eighth time that day.

[00:40:10]>> [laughter] >> But I cannot imagine the confusion in the Ronaldo family when they heard my honorable friend say, "Not is Cristiano Ronaldo available, but can you give me the number of Marcus Rashford?

[00:40:25]I want to invite him to a primary school in Allerton, and have some porridge in our free breakfast club."

[00:40:32]Mr. Speaker, on a much more serious note, I know the whole house will join me in paying tribute to my honorable friend's extraordinary courage, together with her mother, brother, and sister.

[00:40:47]This story is utterly harrowing.

[00:40:51]Their strength to survive, and the deep-rooted determination to fight for change, is an inspiration for all of us, and the very best of who we are.

[00:41:02]Honorable friend brings a lived experience to our politics, an empathy, a compassion, a humanity, an understanding of how easy it is to slip from a stable and secure life into one gripped by terrible deprivation.

[00:41:18]As she writes in her book, "Behind every word we utter must lie the foundation of real human experience."

[00:41:26]And in that spirit, I'm sure she will welcome the measures in this King's Speech, which will deliver change grounded in that lived experience, and the tireless campaigners who fought for justice, from remediation for those living in homes with unsafe cladding, to banning abusive conversion practices, from our mission to harbor violence against women and girls, to the Hillsborough Law, which will bring justice for all.

[00:41:50]As she says so powerfully, equality, fairness, and justice must belong to all of us. That is the driving purpose of our party, and her speech was in the finest traditions of this house.

[00:42:05]Mr. Speaker, His Majesty's speech was also brilliantly seconded by my honorable friend, and member from Harlow. Now, we are all proud to represent our constituencies, but few of us so relentlessly name our constituency >> [laughter] >> as those who represent Harlow.

[00:42:24]Members from previous parliaments will remember my honorable friend's predecessor, Robert Halfon, who seemed to get Harlow into pretty well all of his contributions.

[00:42:36]Well, my honorable friend will not be outdone. He has inherited the great Harlow shoehorn, >> [laughter] >> and indeed he is He's already recognized across this house as a one-man tourist board.

[00:42:50]>> [laughter] >> And I have to thank the member for Huntington, caught in Hansard, referring to my honorable friend as the trade envoy to Harlow.

[00:43:00]>> [laughter] >> A rare example of a good idea from the opposition.

[00:43:05]Because no matter the debate, my honorable friend will find the local connection. From championing the role of Harlow College in climate change to praising the the invention of fiber optic cables in Harlow, and telling us how Harlow doubled for Paris during episode of The Crown.

[00:43:24]Um, Mr. Speaker, I remember very clearly my honorable friend saying to me that wherever he goes in the world, he is always thinking about Harlow. Mr. Speaker, he's he's quite right.

[00:43:36]Um, and can I congratulate him on his amazing fundraising at this year's London as has been mentioned.

[00:43:43]I do understand his disappointment at being overtaken by the right honorable member for Basildon and Billericay.

[00:43:50]All I can say is there is no shame in losing to someone whose training was so extensive that involved running all the way from Northwest Durham to Billericay.

[00:44:11]>> Mr. Speaker >> [laughter] >> As a secondary school math teacher for 15 years, it is perhaps no surprise that my honorable friend brings an eye for detail, boundless energy, and ability to handle these occasionally unruly benches.

[00:44:30]But he also brings a real passion for young people, a deep and personal understanding of the invaluable role that young carers play, and a total conviction in the power of education to change our country.

[00:44:44]So, I know he will welcome the education bill in [clears throat] the gracious speech.

[00:44:48]And when the next series of Educating Essex is made, my honorable friend will rightly be the star. And I thank him for yet another fantastic speech today.

[00:45:00]Mr. Speaker Let me also thank the leader of the opposition for the usual warm and generous nature of her contribution.

[00:45:21]In difficult days, her input is always a ray of sunshine.

[00:45:25]>> [laughter] >> I I particularly getting tips from her on how to win friends.

[00:45:33]This [laughter] is from the person Mr. Speaker who previously called us orcs and goons.

[00:45:39]Mr. Speaker, I am a gooner, and so as usual she is less than half right.

[00:45:45]>> [laughter] >> But we do have one thing in common.

[00:45:49]Our parties both had tough results in the local elections last week.

[00:45:53]The difference is she hasn't noticed.

[00:45:56]>> [laughter] >> And Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker, the There's another difference, Mr. Speaker.

[00:46:08]We are in government and they are no longer even the opposition.

[00:46:15]Mr. Speaker, this King's Speech is a strike against the status quo that has failed working people. It's a King's Speech for the young people whose gifts lie in their hands, who work hard, want their talents to be recognized, and just want an opportunity in their community.

[00:46:34]A King's Speech for the children who under the party opposite had to go to school without breakfast, hungry, cold, and tired when they should be focused on their learning.

[00:46:46]And Mr. Speaker, it's a King's Speech for the backbone of this country, for working people who worry about the cost of living, want their town centers to thrive, their public services to work, their government to be on their side, and Mr. Speaker, we are because the heart of this program is a plan to make Britain stronger and Britain fairer.

[00:47:08]Mr. Speaker, right now across the country, people turn on their television and they see bombs falling.

[00:47:16]They go to the petrol station and see prices rising.

[00:47:20]And they're worried sick about the consequences.

[00:47:23]We cannot stand here in this house and pretend that this is new.

[00:47:29]Britain has been buffeted by crisis for decades now.

[00:47:33]The 2008 financial crash, the austerity that followed it, Brexit, COVID, and the war that still rages in Ukraine.

[00:47:44]And the response, their response, is always the same, a desperate attempt to get back to a status quo, a status quo that failed working people, decimated their public services, and made them pay the price.

[00:48:00]Our response this time must and will be different. A complete break.

[00:48:06]We will not simply slump back to the old ways because this King's Speech gives us the strength we need, the economic security, energy security and national security to control our future in a chaotic world.

[00:48:21]It is an agenda of radical reform across our major public services. An urgent activist Labour government that tilts power back to workers, renters and the less fortunate.

[00:48:34]Gives voice to the working class and to all those that the status quo has repeatedly ignored and dismissed in favor of a Britain where everyone, whatever their background, can go as far as their talent and effort takes them.

[00:48:49]Where people have a pride in where they live and hope in what lies ahead.

[00:48:54]That is the change of a Labour government and this King's Speech delivers it.

[00:48:59]Mr. Speaker, we will deliver on economic security.

[00:49:04]And let me be clear, as the conflict in Iran unfolds, we are in a better position because of the action that my right honorable friend the Chancellor took last year getting inflation down, borrowing down and mortgage costs down.

[00:49:19]And that's why we've been able to cap energy bills, raise the living wage, strengthen workers' rights and end the shameful two-child benefit limit lifting half a million children out of poverty.

[00:49:32]And Mr. Speaker, faced with challenges, we don't retreat from our Labour values.

[00:49:37]We use them as our compass. Strength through fairness. So, we will keep supporting those who need it most including by creating a new national program to redistribute surplus food so that no one in this country needs to go hungry because of the conflict overseas.

[00:49:55]We also need to strengthen our sovereign capabilities because the days when this country turns its back on our critical industries, they are over. And we've seen that, Mr. Speaker, with British Steel. And we will see it with new legislation to clean up our waterways. A failure in the water industry that has been going on for decades.

[00:50:16]It is a disgrace and this Labour government will tackle it.

[00:50:21]And, Mr. Speaker, we will take that moral urgency to every part of our nation with bills to increase the pace of change in our NHS, in law enforcement, in controlling our borders and more.

[00:50:33]Because whilst immigration is down, we need to do more. Whilst violent crime is down, it needs to be lower. Whilst NHS waiting lists are down, we must go further. A rewiring of the state so the working people of this country feel that it serves their interests.

[00:50:52]And, Mr. Speaker, we will also build in this country sovereign power in the industries of the future that will give us great control in a world being reshaped by artificial intelligence.

[00:51:04]We will tear down the barriers to growth on planning, on faster infrastructure development, on business regulation, helping our great businesses large and small. And, Mr. Speaker, we will as a defining act of this government rebuild our relationship with Europe.

[00:51:22]Britain back at the heart of a stronger Europe.

[00:51:27]That is good for growth. It will reduce the cost of living and strengthen our security. There is no good reason to oppose it. So for So for our economic security, for our Labour values, this government will act.

[00:51:42]Uh yes.

[00:51:44]Prime Minister, in my part of the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland, we have been subjected now for some years to the humiliation of being governed by laws we don't make and can't change.

[00:52:00]And yet you, Prime Minister, now you seem to want to impose that same denial of democracy in the whole United Kingdom by by becoming a subservient rule taker from a foreign parliament. Why is that in the interest of democracy?

[00:52:19]Can I just say to him, remember, he's been here long enough to not blame me for the problem. I am not you, Prime Minister.

[00:52:26]>> [laughter] >> Mr. Speaker, I'm I thank you for his intervention. I'm very very well aware of the tensions in Northern Ireland, the issues that have to be dealt with in relation to relations with the EU. But we have to face the fact that promises were made about Brexit, which were not true, which haven't borne fruit.

[00:52:49]It is in our economic interest and national interest and defense interest to be closer to Europe. Of course, we will navigate carefully and taking on board the issues in Northern Ireland as he would expect, but it is in our interest to be closer to the EU. That is what we are doing and we will go further.

[00:53:06]Mr. Speaker, this moment also demands even greater radicalism on energy security.

[00:53:13]The British people should not have to pay more in their bills and their living standards should not be hit because of a war that they did not vote for, that Britain is not involved in, happening thousands of miles away. That is a fundamental argument of this government.

[00:53:31]And the party opposite has no answer to it because for decades they ducked the long-term decisions to make our country, our energy, and our economy stronger.

[00:53:44]So, we are going to take control. We are going to declare Britain's energy independence.

[00:53:50]That does not mean, and it will not mean, that we turn off the taps in the North Sea. Oil and gas will be part of the max mix for decades.

[00:54:00]But, we have to move so much faster on clean energy. A whole society effort, everyone playing their part as we take control of our energy security.

[00:54:11]And, Mr. Speaker, I will.

[00:54:15]I'm very grateful to the Prime Minister for giving me He talked about energy security, and he should know that Scotland currently exists in a state of energy surplus. We generate more electricity than we use, and he should know that under conditions of surplus, prices go down. But, in Scotland, because we have to be stuck in the GB energy market, we pay for the scarcity of energy in England, but not just to the equal to the detriment, higher prices for energy in Scotland. Can he explain why that dysfunction exists, and what's in this King's Speech to fix it?

[00:54:52]Well, what's in this King's Speech to fix it is moving faster to our energy independence. That is the way that we get off the international market. That is the way that we take control and reduce bills for people across the country.

[00:55:05]Mr. Speaker, we will, of course, also strengthen our country's defense security. That starts with the fundamentals and a recognition that it is not in the interests of this country to rush into a war without any thought of the consequences.

[00:55:22]That is my position. That has always been my position, regardless of the pressure.

[00:55:28]A test of judgment which some in this House have failed.

[00:55:34]It continues, Mr. Speaker, with our commitment to NATO, the most successful defensive alliance in history.

[00:55:41]A proud achievement of this party that others would throw away.

[00:55:47]Today, faced with even greater threats, we need to strengthen NATO. We need to invest in our defense capabilities. And we need to strengthen the European element of NATO. Because this nation is stronger when it stands with others, not just in word, but indeed.

[00:56:06]We are prepared to lead from the front, to bring nations together in this moment of danger, to support Ukraine, including through the coalition of the willing, and to act with our allies to reassure shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

[00:56:23]Because, Mr. Speaker, we're not merely content to manage the fallout of the Iran crisis.

[00:56:29]Instead, we're building an international effort to solve it and end the economic harm.

[00:56:37]And of course, Mr. Speaker, standing up for the defense and security of the United Kingdom depends on one thing above all else, ending 14 years of Tory defense austerity. With the biggest sustained investment since the Cold War.

[00:56:53]And we will go further with the measures outlined in the King's Speech with our upcoming defense investment plan.

[00:57:00]And Mr. Speaker, we did we will develop the capabilities our nation needs. We will also deepen our partnerships to fire up our industries and make sure that British skill, British pride, and British resolve are converted into British jobs in a stronger, fairer Britain. Yes, I will.

[00:57:18]I'm grateful to the Prime Minister for giving way. He's used a lot of words about the defense investment plan, which was I think due in the autumn of last year. So, when's he going to sign it?

[00:57:27]Yeah. I'll take no lectures from the party opposite.

[00:57:32]They hollowed out defense spending.

[00:57:35]Defense spending was 2.5% when they came into power, 2.3% when they left power.

[00:57:41]The investment plan is being finalized and will be published soon.

[00:57:45]But, Mr. Speaker, the strength is the foundation.

[00:57:49]That's the way we maintain our control even in the storms of the world. I will give way.

[00:57:54]I mean, the Prime Minister quite rightly prioritized the defense of the country.

[00:57:58]We have defended for We have defended for decades on the courage, honor, and loyalty of our soldiers. They, of course, some of our best units are now losing soldiers because this government is undermining them and allowing them to be prosecuted and persecuted for alleged crimes that were not carried out decades ago in the Northern Ireland bill.

[00:58:21]Mr. Speaker, he knows very well that the provi- the provisions in Northern Ireland are intended to strike the right balance between what needs to be done and protecting our veterans. We are of course proud of all those that have served and do serve our country, but the legislation that was put forward by the last government was struck down leaving no protection whatsoever.

[00:58:46]Because, Mr. Speaker, I'll give way.

[00:58:49]I'll make some progress.

[00:58:51]Uh the way we change our country rather make our progress.

[00:59:01]He will know that in the recent Supreme Court Dillon judgment, the court ruled that our Legacy Act overwhelmingly was not incompatible with the Human Rights Act. He knows that.

[00:59:17]But, he referenced the awful events in Golders Green, rightfully.

[00:59:23]And he defended the police officers against attacks on the leader of the Green Party, rightfully, and said they had to take split-second decisions.

[00:59:33]So, if Northern Ireland veterans had to take split-second decisions to uphold the rule of law in Northern Ireland, what's the difference?

[00:59:43]I have been in control rooms in Northern Ireland watching decisions being taken on the use of fatal force. I'm well aware of the nature of the decisions that have to be taken, the circumstances in which they're taken, and how difficult those decisions are. That is not the same as the issues in this bill, and he knows it.

[01:00:04]Mr. Speaker, strength is the foundation.

[01:00:08]It is the way we maintain our control even in the storms of this world. The way we change our country rather just manage the crisis. And more than anything, change means a Britain where every child can go as far as their talent or effort allows.

[01:00:23]It is a beautiful idea, one that I know is shared across the house.

[01:00:29]But we need, as representatives of this country, to see the country as a whole, to make sure we see every child, including the children who are growing up in poverty, the children have special educational needs, and the young people who can't get a job, and the people who are ignored, excluded from our highest aspirations because they don't want to go to university. This is a King's Speech to change that, Mr. Speaker, once and for all.

[01:00:58]But Mr. Speaker, my late brother had difficulties learning.

[01:01:03]And he had to fight every day just to be seen.

[01:01:09]And there are millions of people like him, people who are ignored by a system, a status quo that has no expectations for them.

[01:01:22]This King's Speech will make sure no child is left behind because everyone has something to contribute to the success of this nation.

[01:01:31]And every child must succeed if we're to build a stronger, fairer Britain.

[01:01:36]That is how we tear down the status quo preserved by the party opposite, a status quo that failed working people, a status quo that left Britain's economy exposed, a status quo that made our country weak.

[01:01:49]There are some in this country, some even in this house, who would feed the frustration with that status quo into [snorts] a politics of grievance and division.

[01:02:02]This King's Speech sets a different course, a more hopeful course, a course that sees the conflict in Iran, a war on two fronts, not as something to wring our hands about, but as an opportunity we must take to shape our country's future, to end the status quo that has failed working people, to build a stronger, fairer Britain. That is what this King's Speech delivers, and I commend it to the house.

[01:02:29]The leader of the Liberal Democrats, Sir Ed Davey.

[01:02:33]Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and may I start by giving my sincere thanks to His Majesty King Charles for his gracious speech on behalf of all Liberal Democrats. While we still believe President Trump should not have been rewarded for insulting British soldiers and the Royal Navy, His Majesty was superb on that state visit.

[01:02:58]And can I join others in paying tribute to the honorable members for Bradford West and for Harlow for their accomplished speeches proposing seconding the loyal address.

[01:03:08]Like myself, the honorable lady worked in a factory.

[01:03:12]For her it was crisps, for me it was pork pies.

[01:03:17]If we throw the honorable member for the Isle of Wight West, who worked in the soft drinks industry, together we are a meal deal.

[01:03:26]But may may I say she is the real McCoy.

[01:03:30]The honorable member for Bradford West has already had an extraordinary life and career.

[01:03:36]Talking from first-hand experience about how violence against women and homelessness touches millions of people.

[01:03:43]And we are in her debt for that and for her bravery and courage.

[01:03:49]Can I also congratulate the honorable member for Harlow for his speech?

[01:03:53]I hear he recently ran the London Marathon.

[01:03:57]Now, the house might be shocked to know I have more experience with crisps than long distance running.

[01:04:03]But I would add that it's a great pleasure to work with him on young carers and young adult carers, something we are both passionate about. And can I thank him for his leadership chairing the all-party parliamentary group.

[01:04:16]As others have mentioned, including himself, the honorable gentleman was a math teacher for many years and no doubt had to deal with bad behavior in the classroom. He may want to advise the Prime Minister on whether the health secretary should be put in detention.

[01:04:31]Mr. Speaker, there's a lot to cover in responding to this King's Speech. But I want to start by addressing directly the atrocious acts of anti-Semitism British Jews are experiencing at the moment.

[01:04:44]The insecurity and and fears the community now feel.

[01:04:48]Week after week, British Jews are being attacked, intimidated, and persecuted.

[01:04:55]Heaton Park Synagogue, Kenton United Synagogue, Finchley Reform Synagogue, Jewish Futures in Hendon, Hatzola ambulances, and now the Golders Green stabbings.

[01:05:07]When I visited Marble Arch Synagogue last week, members of the Jewish community questioned whether Britain is a safe place for them.

[01:05:15]Whether they must move abroad to be safe.

[01:05:19]No one should have to ask themselves this question in our country today. No one.

[01:05:24]The independent review of terrorism legislation Jonathan Hall is right to call these appalling levels of anti-Semitism a national security emergency.

[01:05:34]He's also right to say that existing laws must be properly enforced. That's why I welcome the government's initiative to bring forward a policing bill and urge it to ensure police and prosecutors receive the right training and support to pursue anti-Semitic crimes much more effectively.

[01:05:53]It's why we on these benches have long called for the IRGC to be prescribed as a terrorist organization to tackle the threat that these Iranian terrorists pose to British Jews. The legislation finally confirmed today, I believe, to prescribe the IRGC must be a top and urgent priority for legislation.

[01:06:13]Mr. Yes, I have the good work.

[01:06:16]Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

[01:06:18]Can I welcome what the Prime Minister is doing in the recent day IRGC, but he will be aware that some 30,000 individuals who protested in the streets of Iran are in jail. Some of those are in death row, about to be executed because of standing up for liberty and freedom. Does he feel that maybe government should perhaps in the Minister Prime Minister in particular should be taking action to try and get those people freed because now is the time to act. Thank you.

[01:06:44]Well, the honorable gentleman is right to mention those individuals in Iran who have been persecuted by the appalling Iranian regime, Mr. Speaker. I'm sure the Foreign Secretary will have heard that and will make as many representations as possible.

[01:06:58]Though I accept this is not an easy matter given the regime in Tehran.

[01:07:03]Mr. Speaker, this is the 23rd humble address I've listened to in this house.

[01:07:08]And it's the most surreal by far.

[01:07:12]Everyone in this house and everyone in the country know this Prime Minister may soon not be in power.

[01:07:18]Not in place for his own program.

[01:07:20]Not able to deliver these promises.

[01:07:23]Mr. Speaker, the votes on this King's speech ought to be interesting.

[01:07:27]Test of confidence in this government and this Prime Minister.

[01:07:30]We will be a voting against this King's speech, Mr. Speaker, but how many members opposite will? By my reckoning, if every Labour MP who's called for the Prime Minister to go voted that way, this government's huge majority would be at risk. Let's see if they have the courage of their convictions.

[01:07:49]We will be voting against not just because the Prime Minister is one of the weakest Prime Ministers in post-war history now, but because this King's speech does not offer the change our country needs. It does not offer the change needed to fix the insecurity people and businesses are increasingly fearful of.

[01:08:09]Change to deal with rising prices.

[01:08:11]People know inflation in food, energy, and fuel is set to rocket, but people don't think the Prime Minister has their backs on the economy.

[01:08:19]The financial economic insecurity stalking our country is hitting growth, investment, and jobs. And we were promised change.

[01:08:27]Promised a government with growth as its mission.

[01:08:30]Yet rather than change, we have continuity from the failures that came before.

[01:08:35]Faced with this calamity, what has the Prime Minister offered us today on growth? An EU reset bill that fails to reset.

[01:08:44]For a Prime Minister who knows a thing or two about failed resets, maybe we shouldn't be surprised with the Prime Minister's refusal to remove his red lines on a new EU-UK customs union. The Prime Minister's refusal to go further than his red lines on the single market.

[01:09:00]The Prime Minister's refusal to deliver a new deep trading relationship with our European partners with a proper youth mobility scheme, that all means he's consigning our country to high prices and lower growth.

[01:09:14]He's failing to address the economic insecurity plaguing our economy.

[01:09:19]Instead, we we've been given taxes on jobs.

[01:09:23]The employer the family farm tax.

[01:09:26]Now, if you fair to the government, uh not not for a second. Now, if you fair to the government, part of our current economic problems stem from President Trump and his reckless war in Iran.

[01:09:37]Let's be absolutely clear, Trump's war is stoking the cost of living crisis to new alarming levels. Fuel prices up at the pump, food prices set to go up even more, and people's holidays threatened.

[01:09:52]The Prime Minister's biggest success is not taking us into Trump's damaging war with Iran when the Conservatives and Reform were urging him to do so.

[01:10:02]Yet, by failing to build new and deeper economic alliances with Europe and the Commonwealth, as we have been urging, this country is set to be hit far harder by the inflation coming from the Straits of Hormuz.

[01:10:16]Thank you for giving way. I think we all recognize the impact that Trump's war is going to have on the economy. You offer membership of the single market and the customs union as a solution to this.

[01:10:26]Prices in Northern Southwest are going up right now. How long would it take to access the single market? How long would it take to be a member of the single the customs union in his estimation?

[01:10:36]Grateful for the honorable gentleman's intervention. He obviously didn't notice that we've been the only party putting forward a cost of package to reduce the cost of petrol and diesel at the pumps.

[01:10:46]And that would could be done immediately. So, I think the honorable member should pay more attention.

[01:10:52]Trumpflation is predicted to be worse here because of the failures of this government and indeed the last.

[01:10:59]And Mr. Speaker, cosying up to this White House was never going to work and it hasn't.

[01:11:06]And I suspect history will show that the Prime Minister's approach to President Trump was one of his worst mistakes.

[01:11:13]The sad truth is that President Trump is one of the reasons why so many people in our country do feel insecure, anxious, and fearful about the future. From trade tariffs to the weakening of NATO, President Trump has broken all the certainties British people and British businesses used to rely upon.

[01:11:33]Yet this government has been far too slow to realize this and to respond to this new reality.

[01:11:39]The Conservatives and Reform may not have woken up, but there's no excuse for the government.

[01:11:45]And so it's been left to us, Madam Deputy Speaker.

[01:11:48]The country can know that my party will champion new and changing international alliances so vital for the British economy and the defense of the United Kingdom.

[01:12:00]But let me try to find an area of agreement.

[01:12:03]I do welcome the government's decision to bring forward an energy independence bill.

[01:12:09]Though we will scrutinize it line by line and advance our more ambitious ideas.

[01:12:14]But I've long felt energy independence should be a long-term goal for our country and our allies.

[01:12:20]Even before Trump's war in Iran, people and businesses were being hit because of our dependence on others for fuel.

[01:12:29]Energy bills for households are still around a third higher than before Putin's war in Ukraine.

[01:12:35]When fossil fuel dictators like Vladimir Putin can hit the pockets of every family and pensioner in our country, when tyrannical regimes like Tehran's can hold our country and the world to ransom, surely it's time to wake up.

[01:12:49]Mr. Speaker, um Deputy Speaker, oil and gas prices have a long history of spiking and hurting our economy. Even when North Sea oil and gas production was at its height, now almost 30 years ago, the UK could still be hit because we have always been price takers.

[01:13:08]And while I've always been pragmatic on our North Sea oil industry for our economy, not least in Scotland, it is simply fantasy and fabrication for some in this house to pretend there is a solution in the North Sea to high energy prices.

[01:13:24]The best way to cut energy bills is to invest in homegrown renewable power.

[01:13:30]So, in the Energy Independence Bill, we will push the government to go further just like we did early in this Parliament on solar power with a Sunshine Bill of my honorable friend for Cheltenham, now law.

[01:13:43]And Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister, or whoever replaces him, must take up our plan to protect people from Trumpflation on fuel bills and cut fuel duty, rail fares, and bus prices, protect British families and businesses right now.

[01:13:58]Madam Deputy Speaker, the Liberal Democrat agenda of greater security for families and businesses begins with greater economic, financial, and energy security, but it's also built on greater security for our country.

[01:14:12]The government must do far more to bolster our nation's defenses.

[01:14:17]With Vladimir Putin waging war in Europe and the need to redouble our efforts to support our brave Ukrainian allies to beat Russia, with a wildly unpredictable president sitting in the White House leading a dangerous idiotic war in the Middle East and then undermining NATO at every turn, with a world order challenged by the rise of China, the case for urgent and significant rises in defense spending is clearly a strong one.

[01:14:44]And it is even streng- stronger when one looks at the state of our defense readiness.

[01:14:49]The Conservatives failed on the number one task of any government to defend our country and back our armed forces. They left our army at the lowest size since Napoleonic Wars. They left our navy at the lowest size since the English Civil War.

[01:15:05]And yet this Labour government has moved at a snail's pace, failing month after month to publish their own defense investment plan.

[01:15:14]In contrast, Madam Deputy Speaker, we've called for the immediate launch of defense bonds to raise 20 billion over two years, building on successful models used by Poland.

[01:15:25]And for a commitment to spending 3% of GDP on defense by 2030 at the latest.

[01:15:31]We've argued for a new European rearmament bank so our defense industries will lead the next generation of defense technologies.

[01:15:39]If the history of the last century has taught us anything, if the experience of President Trump has taught us anything, it is essential and urgent that we work with our European and Commonwealth allies to secure and defend our country, our values, and our way of life.

[01:15:58]And central to our British way of life, Madam Deputy Speaker, is the NHS, to which I now turn.

[01:16:04]And it's important I do so because I'm likely to be the only opposition party leader to stand up for health care in this debate. As the Conservatives are so embarrassed by their record and Reform's leader has spent decades saying he wants to get rid of the NHS entirely.

[01:16:21]Now the government would have us believe that he's turned the NHS round after the mess left by the last government.

[01:16:27]But when he's not plotting his next leadership bid on the Prime Minister, the Secretary of State would have Labour backbenchers believe he believe he's fixing the NHS. If only, Madam Deputy Speaker, if only.

[01:16:40]Now we're told that the health secretary is preparing to resign tomorrow.

[01:16:45]Madam Deputy Speaker, this resignation is taking so long, it would give NHS waiting list a run for their money.

[01:16:51]>> [laughter] >> Anyone who visits their local hospital knows that the NHS remains in a critical state.

[01:16:58]Thousands of people are still being treated in hospital corridors every day.

[01:17:04]We're now even seeing job adverts for people to provide care in corridors.

[01:17:10]I'll give way.

[01:17:12]Be interested if he could remind us how he voted on Andrew Lansley's reforms of the NHS, many of which are still creating problems in our NHS today.

[01:17:22]Many of those, and he ought to know that there's been not only been a long time when this party was messing up our NHS, but they've had 2 years and they've they've absolutely failed, Madam Deputy Speaker. And let's turn to their promises to to turn round primary care. With more GPs, more NHS dentists, more community pharmacists. Well, some areas of the country have been going backwards since this government came to power.

[01:17:49]And when it comes to people feeling more secure in their lives, in their futures, quality health care is central.

[01:17:57]I [clears throat] won't list off all our policies for fixing the NHS, except one, care, social care, family care. And not for the first time, I must declare an interest.

[01:18:11]The reason I want to focus on care is because it is the central, radical, and transformational change that has to happen if we are to fix our NHS. 2 years ago, in the debate on the last humble address, I raised care with the Prime Minister as the big challenge the government had to tackle to rescue the NHS.

[01:18:32]I welcomed promises back then for cross-party working.

[01:18:36]But what's happened? Almost nothing.

[01:18:40]True, the excellent Baroness Casey's been dispatched around the country on a timetable written in the Treasury, but her report lands just before the election.

[01:18:49]So, once again, nothing happens for care in this Parliament.

[01:18:54]Madam Deputy Speaker, this is a betrayal of the elderly and disabled who need better care, of their families, and of the NHS.

[01:19:03]We will not let up in the fight to fix social care and to back people caring for their loved ones at home.

[01:19:10]We will put forward changes our country needs for people to feel less insecure when facing old age and illness.

[01:19:18]And there's another aspect to our national life where insecurity has got worse and worse, and that's farming and food.

[01:19:26]British farmers are world-renowned.

[01:19:29]They are the key to ensuring everyone has high-quality and affordable food on their plates.

[01:19:35]And yet, they have been let down and forgotten time and again by the Conservatives who undermined our food security with bad trade deals and botched funding. The last Conservative government left England as the only country in Europe where farmers aren't supported to produce food.

[01:19:54]But, somehow this Labour government has managed to make things worse for farmers, not least with their terrible mess over the family farm tax. That is why we've been calling for a good food bill in this King's Speech to prioritize food security and back British farmers to produce British food.

[01:20:12]With Trump's idiotic war in Iran hitting farmers with everything from higher fertilizer costs to higher prices for red diesel, the need for our good food bill couldn't be more urgent. Coupled with our plans for a much closer trading relationship with Europe, there is a pathway to greater food security and lower food prices, and the government must seize it.

[01:20:36]Mr. Speaker, there are many ways in which our party believes the government should tackle the insecurity people across our country feel right now.

[01:20:44]From quicker, tougher action on the damage being done by social media to our young people and people's mental health.

[01:20:52]To backing the case for more community police officers to keep our communities safer.

[01:20:57]To having a fair asylum and immigration policy which is genuinely effective against irregular immigration, but welcomes people who play by the rules and contribute to our great country.

[01:21:09]From tackling the continuing scandals in our water industry to building the affordable and social housing so many families and young people desperately need.

[01:21:19]And ensuring children and families are at the heart of reform to special education needs.

[01:21:26]My honorable and right honorable colleagues will set out out of our approach on all these issues over the course of this debate.

[01:21:33]But I want to end by addressing the threat to our country from another source, from populist politicians and extremist parties.

[01:21:41]Who sow division, who play the blame game, who make wild promises, and who are a threat to our very democracy.

[01:21:50]They are exploiting our broken political system, which both the Conservatives and Labour have failed to fix.

[01:21:57]The first-past-the-post electoral system of winner takes all was supposed to bring stability.

[01:22:05]Was supposed to provide majority government that could take the tough, long-term decisions to deliver for our country on the economy, on the on on the NHS, and on defense.

[01:22:15]And we see how badly it has failed.

[01:22:19]Majority governments, yes, but with six Prime Ministers in a decade, soon probably seven, hardly stability when so many people now ask, is Britain governable?

[01:22:32]And this concentration of power undermines so much and leads to the scandals that undermine the standing of our democracy even more. When a twice sacked member of the House of Lords is handed the most prestigious ambassador post we have, despite the Prime Minister knowing his links to convicted pedophile and sex sex trafficker. When a Conservative Prime Minister consistently broke the rules he himself set for the rest of us during one of our nation's most severe crisis. When a leader of a political party thinks a 5 million pound gift from a Thai-based crypto billionaire doesn't reek of corruption, and the threat is clear.

[01:23:11]A Reform Party who takes its orders from their American boss at Mar-a-Lago could win a majority on less than a third of the popular vote under our electoral system.

[01:23:23]Madam Deputy Speaker, we must fix our broken political system before it's too late.

[01:23:28]And this King's Speech is not up to that historic, vital task. We need a new Magna Carta to enshrine the rights of citizens, protect us now from the populist extremists threatening our country, and I give way to who was he wanting to be?

[01:23:43]The honorable gentleman for giving way.

[01:23:45]Um I would point out that the results in Bradford district were some of the most unrepresentative with Reform taking a majority of seats despite having only 23% of the popular vote there. So does he agree with me that while Reform made gains in seats, they are not what the majority of people in this country support?

[01:24:08]Yeah, the figures from Bradford, and she makes the case that our party makes for electoral reform at local government and national government. I may say in my honorable friend's constituencies of Twickenham and Richmond Park, we uh now have every single counselor, Madam Deputy Speaker, but we don't have every single vote and we would welcome electoral reform in our uh councils where we are overrepresented, and I hope her government listens to the voices of these uh benches.

[01:24:38]Madam Deputy Speaker, it is clear the country wants change.

[01:24:44]When the battering the two old parties received at the recent elections, it's clear they're not offering it.

[01:24:50]Worryingly, many are looking to the extremes on the left and the right thinking that if we burn the system down, things would improve.

[01:24:59]Yet, I don't believe the British people want Trump's divisive, unfair America here, even though that's reforms offer of change. And I don't believe British people want change with a reheated Corby needs to agenda put forward by Green Party, which no longer offers serious action to protect our nature and our climate. So, it will fall to this party, the only non-populist, non-extremist party left standing to offer the real change people crave. Our change is about building things up, not burning them down. Our change is about bringing people, communities, and our country together, not dividing and blaming people. From Europe to social care, from energy to defense, from political reform to our environment, I'm proud to lead a party that's preparing for government so our country can be changed for the better. Yeah!