Engagements — House of Commons, 2019-09-04
Topic: Macroeconomics
Questions: I warmly welcome the Prime Minister to his place. My constituents sent me here to speak for them, and what they care about is better hospital care, more police on our streets, and good schools for their children. Does the Prime Minister agree with people in Telford that those are the issues we should be discussing in this place? Will he commit to building on his welcome spending announcements to deliver great public services for my constituents?; Mr Speaker, you know that I am not a doomster or a gloomster. On that positive note, I thank the Prime Minister for boosting support for Scottish independence just a few weeks into his premiership—they may be his last few weeks, too. According to research by the UK Trade Policy Observatory, a no-deal Brexit would cost up to 1,100 jobs in my constituency and over 63,000 jobs across Scotland. Will the Prime Minister explain to me and my constituents, who are facing that dreadful prospect, what their families should about the heavy price that they may pay for a Brexit that they never voted for?; People in Swansea voted to leave the EU, but leave voters are saying to me that they did not vote for a no deal or for “do or die” on 31 October. They want to live. They voted for good things—for more money, more jobs and more control—and now they see that they will get less money, less jobs and less control, so they want a final say.Will the Prime Minister undertake, when he goes to extend article 50 after the passage of the Bill we are considering this afternoon, to ensure there is a proper referendum so that there is a choice between a managed deal and remain, and not a kamikaze no deal?; The Chancellor today announced another £2 billion, on top of the £6.3 billion already allocated, to help companies after a no-deal Brexit. Industry, the public and Parliament have a right to know which industries will benefit, for how long and what the total cost will be to the taxpayer. Can the Prime Minister tell us?; Last weekend, in Lincoln and right across the country, there were cross-party protests against the Prorogation of Parliament. Does this unelected Prime Minister, who has no majority in this House, believe that his attack on our democracy is his only means of forcing a disastrous no-deal Brexit on Lincoln and on the businesses and people of this country?; In a desperate attempt to win yesterday’s vote, the Prime Minister apparently made emotional appeals to Conservative MPs that he was serious in seeking a deal, but his answers in the House yesterday and today make it clear that there are no real negotiations, in public or in private. Those with whom he claims to be negotiating in the European Union have said:“Nothing has been put on the table”. So does the Prime Minister understand why, across this country, people find it difficult to trust a word he says?; As a result of budget cuts to the Home Office, largely enacted while the right hon. Gentleman was Mayor of London, police numbers plummeted: we have 1,000 fewer officers in the west London command unit alone; and we are one third down on police officers in my borough of Westminster. He is now promising to get us back to where we were in 2010, with an additional 20,000 officers. He has told us, and he said this again today, that those 20,000 will be frontline police and on the streets. It is, however, now clear that at least 7,000 of those officers will not be frontline police. So in order to help this House build some trust in any of the promises he makes, can he tell us whether that is true?; Yesterday, the Prime Minister booted 21 MPs out of his own party for voting against a reckless no-deal Brexit. They included well-respected Members of this House, including a former Chancellor, Churchill’s grandson and the Father of the House. Presumably, that was done on the orders of the Prime Minister’s chief of staff. Given the fact that the Prime Minister himself voted against the former Prime Minister’s deal without losing the Whip, does this not demonstrate to the British public his view of life—namely, that there is one rule for him and another for everyone else?; This week, the director general of the CBI wrote to all MPs in the north-west urging us to do everything we can to get a deal that works for businesses in our region. The CBI says that a no-deal Brexit would be disastrous for north-west business, particularly small businesses. We all know what the Prime Minister has said in the past about business but, now that he has assumed a position of some responsibility, will he stop this relentless posturing around no deal, listen to the CBI and work to protect our vital businesses?; The Prime Minister has said that the great city of Portsmouth is too full of obesity and drug addiction. Despite that disgraceful and inaccurate statement about my home city, how would he expect our much-loved NHS to deal with these issues when it is his Government who are exposing us to medicine and staff shortages, according to his own Health Secretary, by hurtling us towards a no-deal Brexit?
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend for his question because this is an issue that my own constituents have raised with me, and I know that many of my hon. Friends have also had this issue raised with them. I am sure that Members on all sides of the House have met people who have taken out loan charges in the expectation that they can reduce their tax exposure. It is a very, very difficult issue and I have undertaken to have a thoroughgoing review of the matter. Of course, I will make sure that my hon. Friend has every opportunity to have further discussions with the Treasury about how to redress the situation and about the gravity of the situation.