Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Boris Johnson and Michael Tomlinson

Wednesday 5th February 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I think it is very odd that the right hon. Gentleman should denounce this country’s wish to have trade deals around the world when, as I understand it, their proposal is to try to re-join the European Union, and have a different currency, whose name they have yet to identify—perhaps they could elucidate that for the House—have a border at Berwick, and just after this country has taken back control of its outstanding marine wealth to hand it back to Brussels. That is their policy. I really think they should concentrate on doing a better job for the people of Scotland.

[Michael Tomlinson (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (Con)]

Q5. A strong society needs strong families, as our manifesto rightly said. It went on to say that we will champion family hubs to serve vulnerable families. Will the Prime Minister prioritise family hubs and ensure that they are linked to our early years strategy, the troubled families programme and children’s services reform?

[The Prime Minister]

Yes, indeed. That is why we have given another £165 million to extend the troubled families programme this year.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Boris Johnson and Michael Tomlinson

Wednesday 8th January 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Contrary to the predictions of the gloomsters, unemployment is at a record low—we have put on about 800,000 jobs since the referendum—and we will indeed get Brexit done by 31 January.

[Michael Tomlinson (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (Con)]

Q15. For social justice, for life chances, for opportunities for the next generation, education is the key, and that is why the Prime Minister’s pledge for additional funding is so welcome, especially for historically underfunded areas such as Dorset and Poole; but equally important are discipline and standards. Will the Prime Minister ensure that there is a continued focus on the most disadvantaged, especially when it comes to vital literacy and numeracy skills?

[The Prime Minister]

Yes, indeed I will. I pay tribute, by the way, to my right hon. Friend the Member for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton (Nick Gibb)—where is he?—who campaigned for so long for synthetic phonics, which has done such a huge amount to help kids to read in this country. This is the only country in the G7 where the reading performance of disadvantaged pupils has actually improved since 2009. We need to do more, and as my hon. Friend says, that is why we are investing more now—record sums—in education.

Brexit Negotiations

Debate between Boris Johnson and Michael Tomlinson

Thursday 3rd October 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I think the hon. Gentleman will find that many of his constituents voted to leave the European Union. Indeed, the population as a whole voted to leave the European Union and their wishes must be respected. This House has voted time after time to honour the promise that we made to the British people. We can do so, and I believe—I am absolutely sure—we can achieve a glorious future by coming out with a deal of the kind that we are outlining today.

[Michael Tomlinson (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (Con)]

Moses could have come down from the mountain with tablets of stone, and there would still have been those on the Opposition Benches who grumbled. But it is clear from today’s exchanges that the grumblers are in the minority. Will the Prime Minister set out in due course some more details of the political declaration that is so important in this case, and his vision for free trade agreements not just with the EU, but across the world?

[The Prime Minister]

Yes, of course. We will make sure that we set out what we want to do with the political declaration and with our very considerable ambitions for FTAs.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Boris Johnson and Michael Tomlinson

Tuesday 21st November 2017 Commons Chamber

[Michael Tomlinson (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (Con)]

Is not that the point: we do not have to be inside the European Union to be concerned about and committed to European security, and we will remain as committed as ever even if we are outside the EU framework?

[Boris Johnson]

My hon. Friend is exactly right. I have compared the support that we will offer in the future to a flying buttress, as it were, outside the main body of the cathedral but supportive of that cathedral. That is how the UK will continue to be, on an unconditional basis.

Counter-Daesh Update

Debate between Boris Johnson and Michael Tomlinson

Tuesday 7th November 2017 Commons Chamber

[Boris Johnson]

Again, that is an excellent point. It is a subject of recurrent anxiety to me that people are coming back and that, although we want to bring the full force of the law upon them, it is proving difficult to do so. As the right hon. Gentleman rightly says, we have not yet been able to do that in a sufficient number of cases. What we are trying to do, therefore, and this is why we passed resolution 2379, is to ensure that we have the evidence and that, where we can get a locus and find a court—he mentioned the international court in The Hague—we will have the facts and the testimony needed to send these people down.

[Michael Tomlinson (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (Con)]

On the last occasion that the House was updated on the counter-Daesh campaign, it was confirmed from the Dispatch Box that there were zero reported civilian casualties as a result of the United Kingdom’s actions in Syria and Iraq. Will the Secretary of State update the House on whether that figure is still as low? In doing so, will he join me in commending the RAF for carrying out so many campaigns against Daesh—I think second only to the United States?

[Boris Johnson]

I thank my hon. Friend very much. It is absolutely true that, as far as we know, and as the figures that I have seen suggest, we have no reports of civilian casualties as a result of RAF action. Obviously we cannot be sure, but we do not have any evidence to the contrary. I therefore really do pay tribute to the skill and the effort of the RAF crews—and very, very brave people they are too.

Balfour Declaration

Debate between Boris Johnson and Michael Tomlinson

Monday 30th October 2017 Commons Chamber

[Boris Johnson]

Obviously, I have great respect for the work that the hon. Lady has done in Gaza, and I appreciate the suffering that she has seen there. There is no doubt that the situation in Gaza is terrible. As the hon. Lady knows, the UK Government do a lot to try to remedy affairs by supporting, for instance, sanitation projects and education, but in the end a trade-off must be achieved. The Israelis must open up Gaza for trade and greater economic activity to give the people hope and opportunity, but before that happens, Hamas must stop firing rockets at Israel. Hamas must recognise the right of the Israeli state to exist, and it must stop spewing out anti-Semitic propaganda.

[Michael Tomlinson (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (Con)]

Last year I had the privilege of visiting Israel and the west bank with members of Conservative Friends of Israel. I am bound to say that I was disappointed by the lack of impetus, or of willingness, on the part of both sides to engage and get round the table. Does not the centenary commemoration present an opportunity both for the resumption of direct peace talks, and for the United Kingdom to continue to engage and encourage the fulfilment of that two-state solution?

[Boris Johnson]

I absolutely agree. I hope that both sides of the equation, the Palestinians and the Israelis, will study my statement with care, because I believe that it offers a way forward that would be massively to the advantage not just of their countries, but of the whole of the middle east and, indeed, the world.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Boris Johnson and Michael Tomlinson

Tuesday 22nd November 2016 Commons Chamber

[Boris Johnson]

I really must say to the hon. Lady that she is being premature in her hostile judgments of the Administration-elect. Any such premature verdict could be damaging to the interests of this country. It is important that we in this country use our influence, which is very considerable, to help the United States to see its responsibilities, as I am sure it will.

[Michael Tomlinson (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (Con)]

2. What discussions he has had with his counterparts in the EU, Africa and the middle east on tackling the refugee situation in Europe and the middle east.