Outcome of the EU Referendum

Debate between Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton and Geraint Davies

Monday 27th June 2016 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I do not actually agree with that, and I think the turnout showed that people took this referendum campaign very seriously.

[Geraint Davies (Swansea West) (Lab/Co-op)]

The complex negotiations prior to triggering article 50 will shape the future of Britain, so would it not be right for the British public, in the cold light of day, to have a referendum on the facts in front of them so that they can see the future, with a backcloth of being able to remain at home in Europe if they so wish?

[The Prime Minister]

We had a referendum on a very important, principled question about in or out. Now what needs to happen is that the different models of out need to be properly examined. Parliament should debate them, and the Government should make a decision. That is what needs to be carried out.

Debate on the Address

Debate between Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton and Geraint Davies

Wednesday 18th May 2016 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

What has changed is that we are getting more disabled people into work. We want to make more progress with that, and we have a new Secretary of State for Work and Pensions who is absolutely committed to continuing that development. That is exactly what the hon. Gentleman will see in the months to come.

After a strong family, the greatest driver of opportunity is a good school. Under the last Labour Government, the number of pupils studying core academic subjects at GCSE halved and, according to the OECD, the generation educated under that Government is among the least literate and numerate in the developed world. This Government are determined to turn around that shameful legacy.

Already we have 1.4 million more pupils being taught in good or outstanding schools. The number studying the core academic subjects at GCSE has gone up. There are more teachers with degrees and more pupils studying maths and science. In this Queen’s Speech we will help to make that educational excellence available to all in our country. A national funding formula will ensure that schools get the money they need. Local authorities that are not delivering will be intervened on at once. Failing and coasting schools will be turned into academies without delay. We should be clear about the choice that we are making—rigour in standards, discipline in the classroom, excellence in teaching, autonomy in our schools and no tolerance of failure. Again, this is the policy of a progressive one nation Conservative Government.

[Geraint Davies (Swansea West) (Lab/Co-op)]

How is equal opportunity consistent with allowing the best universities to raise their fees so that instead of the brightest getting access to those universities, the richest do?

[The Prime Minister]

I am coming on to precisely that point. What we have seen since the introduction of fees is not only record numbers going to our universities, but record numbers from poorer backgrounds going to our universities.

A real Opportunity Britain will offer school leavers apprenticeships and a choice of a good university and a good job, and our Queen’s Speech helps deliver on all three. We are providing funding for 3 million new apprenticeships. We have uncapped numbers at universities so that everyone who could benefit from a university education can get one. Now we are legislating to make sure that degrees are of high quality and, crucially, that new universities can be established. None of this would be possible without that bold decision to reform fees, which demonstrated that bold reform and value for money do not hold back opportunities in our country, but can help create them.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton and Geraint Davies

Wednesday 20th April 2016 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I am aware of the draft proposals concerning Paignton hospital. I understand that no decision has yet been made. The plans are due to be considered by the clinical commissioning group’s governing body. Let us remember that these bodies are now, by and large, clinically-led, and I think that is important. Decisions about what services are required will be taken by that group, but if there are significant changes, they still have to meet four key tests: support from clinical commissioners, strengthened public and patient engagement, clarity on the clinical evidence base and support for patient choice. All those things have to be satisfied.

[Geraint Davies (Swansea West) (Lab/Co-op)]

Q2. The air in our cities is both toxic and illegal, with diesel fumes contributing to 800 deaths a week—that is 40,000 a year—so why is the Prime Minister, instead of removing the most heavily polluting vehicles from our streets, lobbying the EU in Brussels, with the Mayor of London, to weaken plans to improve our air quality and save lives?

[The Prime Minister]

We are investing in better air quality. Since 2011, we have committed over £2 billion to help bus operators upgrade their fleets. We have seen air quality improve between 2010 and 2014, with emissions of nitrous oxides coming down by 17%. When it comes to these standards that we all have to meet, we are working with our car industry. I want a strong car industry in Britain. I am proud of the fact that it has recovered so strongly that the north-east of England now makes more cars than the whole of Italy and that we are a major investor in and builder of diesel engines, but we are going to make sure that it has the resources it needs to meet the higher standards that are set out.

European Council

Debate between Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton and Geraint Davies

Monday 21st March 2016 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We cannot show compassion unless we have a strong economy generating the revenues that our health service, our schools and our welfare system need. Conservative Members understand that compassion is a combination of getting the economy right and then making the right choices.

[Geraint Davies (Swansea West) (Lab/Co-op)]

Despite the Prime Minister’s best efforts to forge ever closer union within his own party, there is a real risk that the UK will become decoupled from its biggest market and most strategic ally. What impact does he think Russian bombing on Syria and tactical resignation by his Cabinet have had on the appetite for Brexit in Britain?

[The Prime Minister]

There is a strong argument to say that, at a time of international danger and difficulty, there is strength in numbers and that we should stick with our allies and friends, as we confront Putin in the east of our continent and ISIL in the south. As for ever closer union among my colleagues, we believe in co-operation rather than uniformity.

EU Council

Debate between Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton and Geraint Davies

Tuesday 5th January 2016 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right about this issue. I raised it personally at the European Council in respect of not just small arms, but semi-automatic weapons. More action is being taken in Europe, but some countries, particularly some of the Nordic countries, have an issue because of the way in which their citizens defence forces are set up. We need to go through all those problems to check that we can do more. Stopping the arms coming from the Balkans is absolutely key.

[Geraint Davies (Swansea West) (Lab/Co-op)]

Happy new year, Mr Speaker. [Interruption.] And to you all.

Britain is taking great leadership in environmental policy in Europe and beyond. Will the Prime Minister use the Paris COP 21 conference to press the EU to ensure that imperatives on climate change from that conference are fully integrated into the US-EU free trade agreement, so that companies do not fine Governments when they pass legislation to meet stronger emissions targets?

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Gentleman raises an important point, and I will ensure that it is properly dealt with. The main thing we must do now is implement those things that were agreed at the COP and that need action in either the UK or the EU, but I do not see the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership providing any particular problems on that front.

Tunisia, and European Council

Debate between Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton and Geraint Davies

Monday 29th June 2015 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend makes an important point. Indeed, the role of women was an important one in Tunisian democracy, moving the country towards the democratic future that we hope it will continue.

[Geraint Davies (Swansea West) (Lab/Co-op)]

I give my best wishes to Matthew James, a gas engineer in Swansea who took three bullets in protecting his fiancée; he is now recovering in Cardiff hospital. In talking in Swansea to both Shi’ite and Sunni imams from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Iraq, I have found that they are as one in saying that the Daesh are impostors, gangsters, murderers and blasphemers. Will the Prime Minister work side by side with the mainstream Muslim community and give them the resources they need to combat radicalisation, rather than saying that it is their fault and their problem? It is our problem, and we must solve it together.

[The Prime Minister]

I think that the hon. Gentleman is absolutely right in how he puts it. They have a role to play, and we should help them play it. One of the challenges has sometimes been the relevance of the mosque to young Muslims when it can sometimes seem less relevant to their lives. That is why we need to address the whole issue of ensuring that imams have good English when they are dealing with potentially alienated and radicalised young British people.

Debate on the Address

Debate between Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton and Geraint Davies

Wednesday 27th May 2015 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I will give way to hon. Members in a moment. I will get to all of them, but let me say something about free schools. The right hon. Member for Leigh (Andy Burnham) has had some things to say about free schools, and I thought that in the spirit of encouraging the Opposition leadership debate, I would offer some thoughts. He supports the Everton free school. He supports the Atherton community free school, which is the first-ever free school in Manchester, yet he says, “I don’t think free schools are the answer.” If free schools are good enough for his constituents, why are they not good enough for everyone else?

[Geraint Davies (Swansea West) (Lab/Co-op)]

On food banks, the Prime Minister will be aware that recent research from Oxford University has said that the £12 billion cuts in welfare will double the number of people using food banks to 2 million. Is that a sign of success?

[The Prime Minister]

This debate about whether it is right to try and drive down the costs of welfare to keep people’s taxes down and make sure we are a successful country getting people back to work—that is the debate we had at the election. If the Labour party wants to spend all of this Parliament arguing for more welfare, more debt, more taxes and more spending, it will be making an historic mistake. The Labour party needs to decide whose side it is on. This Government and this Queen’s Speech are on the side of working people who want their children to have the best start in life, wherever they live in the country, and that means more academy schools, more free schools, more rigour in the curriculum and more of the brightest graduates going into teaching. That is our programme and we are stepping up the pace.