Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Anneliese Midgley and Keir Starmer

Wednesday 29th October 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising this issue and for the two examples that he has given. The downgrading of Basildon hospital is deeply disappointing. The Care Quality Commission has set out immediate actions for the trust leaders to deliver improvements. Our decisions in government have seen a £26 billion boost for our NHS, helping to deliver over 5 million extra appointments. I gently point out that he was elected to represent a Reform party that would dismantle our NHS and charge people to see their doctor.

[Anneliese Midgley (Knowsley) (Lab)]

Q7. Reform says that it stands up for the working class, but the truth is that it never has—its Members voted to block the Employment Rights Bill again and again. Does the Prime Minister agree that only this Government are on the side of working people? It is Labour that is creating tens of thousands of jobs, like in our deal with Turkey; it is Labour that is getting rid of zero-hours contracts; and it is Labour that is protecting workers from unfair dismissal from day one.

[The Prime Minister]

I am proud that we have delivered the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation—which the Tories and Reform have voted against at every turn, as they always do with any form of workers’ rights and protections. The deal that we struck on Monday with Turkey is worth £8 billion, 20,000 jobs and 10 years of work in manufacturing the Typhoons. It was possible only because we are a trusted member of NATO. Reform would be an absolute nightmare on defence—it would not be a trusted member of NATO because it is Putin-friendly.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Anneliese Midgley and Keir Starmer

Wednesday 21st May 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

We have approached this on the basis of the principle that we must support those who need support. On the question of getting people into work, we should support people into work where they can work—and of course, where they can work, they should—but it is undeniable that the current arrangements do not work and need to be reformed. That is why we are bringing forward necessary reform to ensure that the system works better.

[Anneliese Midgley (Knowsley) (Lab)]

Q5.  Yesterday in this place, I read the victim impact statement that Cheryl Korbel never got to say to her daughter’s killer Thomas Cashman, because he refused to face her in court. I am made up that Olivia’s law passed Second Reading, but until it gets Royal Assent criminals can still not show up, denying victims justice. Will the Prime Minister commit to making sure that Olivia’s law becomes law as fast as possible?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Anneliese Midgley and Keir Starmer

Wednesday 19th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The victims of this scandal have suffered unspeakably. I am pleased that at the Budget we set aside £11.8 billion to compensate them for this appalling scandal. I gently point out that the Conservative party was committed, rightly, to the compensation but did not provide a single penny in the column to pay for it. The Infected Blood Compensation Authority has been established and it began to make payments last year, with over £1 billion of interim payments having been made. We remain completely committed to co-operating with the inquiry and acting on its recommendations.

[Anneliese Midgley (Knowsley) (Lab)]

Q11.   Everyone is talking about “Adolescence”, the series by Knowsley’s own Stephen Graham and Christine Tremarco, which highlights online male radicalisation and violence against girls. The creators of the show are calling for screenings in Parliament and schools to spark change. Will the Prime Minister back the campaign to counter toxic misogyny early and give young men the role models that they deserve?

[The Prime Minister]

Yes. At home we are watching “Adolescence” with our children—I have a 16-year-old boy and a 14-year-old girl. It is a very good drama to watch. The violence carried out by young men, influenced by what they see online, is a real problem. It is abhorrent and we have to tackle it. We are putting in specialist rape and sexual offences teams in every police force and doing work on 999 calls, but this is also a matter of culture. It is important that, across the whole House, we tackle this emerging and growing problem.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Anneliese Midgley and Keir Starmer

Wednesday 11th September 2024 Commons Chamber

[Anneliese Midgley (Knowsley) (Lab)]

Last week, I met my constituent Cheryl Korbel, the mother of Olivia Pratt-Korbel, the nine-year-old who was tragically murdered in 2022. Cheryl is campaigning for Olivia’s law, which would compel convicted criminals to attend court to face the judge and receive their sentence. Will my right hon. and learned Friend commit himself to supporting Olivia’s law, and will he meet Cheryl to discuss how we can move this forward without delay?

[The Prime Minister]

In the King’s Speech, we confirmed that we intended to introduce legislation in this Session so that courts would have the power to order the most serious offenders to attend their sentencing hearings. This is really important, and I know that that is felt across the House, because to deprive victims and their families of seeing the sentencing exercise is to deprive them of justice. I will meet Cheryl; indeed, I have already met Cheryl, and I gave her a commitment last August that we would do this. I repeat that commitment today, and I pay tribute to the campaign that she has led.