Engagements

Q1. If he will list his official engagements for Wednesday 21 May.

My deepest condolences—and those of the whole House, I am sure—are with the families and friends of Jennie, Martyn and David, who were tragically killed in the fire in Bicester last week.

I welcome to the Under-Gallery Cheryl Korbel, the mother of Olivia. I am always humbled by those with the courage to respond to appalling heartbreak by campaigning for change. I know that the whole House will pay tribute to her extraordinary courage and extraordinary resolve.

Because of the actions taken by this Government, the UK is now the fastest growing economy in the G7, interest rates have been cut four times, and we have secured our third trade deal in three weeks—deals with India, the US and the EU. These deals are in the national interest and will improve the lives of working people and businesses across the United Kingdom.

This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in this House, I shall have further such meetings later today.

This Labour Government have been in power now for almost 12 months. When will the Prime Minister stop defying the will of the British people, stop dancing around the subject, and stop all illegal immigration into the United Kingdom, which has been rising on his watch?

It was the previous Government who lost control of immigration; they had record numbers for net migration, and lost control of the borders. We are bringing forward legislation to give law enforcement the greatest possible powers. What are the Conservatives doing? They are voting against it.

Q2. While the economy is showing signs of improving, many pensioners are still impacted by the cost of living crisis. People in Luton who have worked hard all their lives are seeing their precious savings slip away. Will the Prime Minister tell us what measures he will take to help struggling pensioners in towns like mine?

We all know that the economy was left in an absolute mess by the Tories. We had to stabilise the economy with tough decisions, but they were the right decisions. Because of them, the economy is beginning to improve: there were those growth figures last year—we had the highest growth in the G7; there were four interest rate cuts in a row; and there have been three trade deals. However, I recognise that people are still feeling the pressure of the cost of living crisis, including pensioners, and as the economy improves, we want to make sure that people feel those improvements each day as their lives go forward. That is why we want to ensure that more pensioners are eligible for winter fuel payments as we go forward. As you would expect, Mr Speaker, we will make only the decisions that we can afford, and that is why we will look at that as part of a fiscal event.

I call the Leader of the Opposition.

It was extraordinary listening to that last answer from the Prime Minister. Inflation was 2% when the Conservatives left office; it is now nearly double that. When will he recognise that it is Labour’s Budget that is driving up inflation?

What the right hon. Lady forgot to say was that inflation rose to more than 11% on the Conservatives’ watch, and she did not say a word. I am confident that those numbers will come down; the Bank of England is confident that they will come down, too, which is why we have seen four interest rate cuts in a row. I notice that the right hon. Lady cannot resist grabbing any opportunity to talk the country down. She does not mention the growth figures, the interest rate figures, the record investment, wages being up more than prices, the 200,000 jobs created or the three trade deals. The reason is that the Conservatives have not learned and they have not changed. As George Osborne said, the Leader of the Opposition does not have a credible economic plan.

That is laughable from the Prime Minister. He knows that inflation was brought down by us to 2%—bang on target. We were reacting to a war in Ukraine that brought inflation up all over Europe. While he is doing trade deals with countries such as the US and India, their inflation is going down, but it is going up here. Why? The Office for National Statistics says that the inflation figures are driven by significant increases in household bills. We warned him repeatedly that this is exactly what would happen—what his policies would do. We called it “awful April”. The Prime Minister came into office saying that he would tackle the cost of living crisis. He has failed. He has not got a clue, has he?

The right hon. Lady talks of the Conservatives’ record. There was the disastrous Liz Truss mini-Budget; inflation was through the roof; there was a £22 billion black hole; living standards were at an all-time low; energy prices went through the roof; and mortgages went through the roof. We are taking measures to bring prices down. The EU deal will bring prices down; that is why supermarkets have welcomed it. What does she do? She opposes measures to bring prices down.

The Prime Minister needs to stop whining about what the last Government did and look at what he is doing. He is the Prime Minister. Look at the numbers this morning. As if inflation figures were not bad enough, we have also learned that the Deputy Prime Minister is on manoeuvres. The Prime Minister has lost control of the economy and he has lost control of his Cabinet. The Deputy Prime Minister is sitting there staring at me. She knew exactly what she was doing when she briefed the papers. She is demanding eight new tax rises—as if we have not suffered enough. People out there are struggling. Businesses are struggling. People are losing their jobs. We cannot have more tax rises. Will the Prime Minister rule out new tax rises this year?

The right hon. Lady has not learned or changed. The Conservatives lost the election because of their appalling record on the NHS, on health, on prisons—you name it. Now she accuses everyone of whining about the impact that had on the country. It had a huge impact on working people across the country and they are absolutely right to complain about it. She wants to talk about the Deputy Prime Minister. The Deputy Prime Minister, working with the Chancellor, is building 1.5 million new homes, reforming our planning system, putting £7 billion into our economy, and bringing forward an Employment Rights Bill, which will be the single biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation.

That is desperate stuff. The whole House will have heard the Prime Minister refuse to rule out new tax rises. The whole House heard it: he did not rule them out. There is open warfare in his Cabinet. The Deputy Prime Minister is clearly calling the shots. What have we learned? We are heading for new tax rises. We know that inflation is up. It is just more and more bad news from a Prime Minister who has lost control. We heard the Prime Minister’s earlier answer on winter fuel. Let us try to get some more information. I shall ask him a simple question. It requires only one word: yes or no. Is he planning to U-turn on winter fuel cuts?

I made it clear in my earlier answer that as the economy improves, we want to take measures that will impact people’s lives, so we will look at the threshold, but that will have to be part of a fiscal event. The Conservatives lost control of every element of the economy, of prisons, of borders, of the NHS—you name it—and now she has lost control of her party. The Conservatives are sliding into oblivion. They will have to trade on their past, because that is all they have.

I made it really easy for the Prime Minister. It was a simple question—yes or no—and he could not answer it. I wonder how the public feel about a man who cannot give a straight answer to a simple question. Look at the MPs behind him—they are all cheering. When this inevitable U-turn on winter fuel comes, and it will, from a desperate Prime Minister, what will he say to the 348 MPs who went over the top and voted for the winter fuel cut last September? Just like the British public, how can any of them ever trust him again?

It is only because of the measures that we have taken that the economy is improving, with growth at the highest rate in the G7, four interest rate cuts, and three trade deals, because countries want to trade with us. Those things are because of the decisions that we have made, and all those decisions were opposed by Conservative Members. They have learned absolutely nothing and they are going absolutely nowhere.

This is a Prime Minister who says he is taking measures, but the jobs tax is killing jobs, inflation is up, and business confidence is down. Everyone is worried. He promised to cut bills, but today we see that they are rising because of his policies. He promised not to raise taxes on working people, but his jobs tax means that people are losing their jobs. Every week, we come here with a new company that says it is shedding jobs, and that is on his watch. He promised to protect pensioners, but his winter fuel cut has driven thousands into hardship. His MPs hate this—he cannot see them, but they all look sick just hearing what it he is going to do. [Interruption.] They are laughing—[Interruption.]

Order. I expect better from Whips, and to Boyzone at the back, I have my eye on you.

Mr Speaker—[Interruption.]