Middle East
Debate between Chris Murray and Keir Starmer(1 week, 1 day ago)
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The Prime Minister
I thank the hon. Member for championing and raising these important issues. It is important that, as we move on from the agreement and rebuild, there is accountability. That is why it is important that the media and others are allowed access as soon as possible, and that those charged with holding others to account have what they need in order to do so.
Chris Murray (Edinburgh East and Musselburgh) (Lab)
I know I speak for my whole constituency when I welcome this long-overdue ceasefire. May I put on the record my thanks to the Prime Minister and Foreign Office Ministers for the many opportunities to put my constituents’ views to them?
As we turn to the ceasefire, our thoughts turn to rebuilding, but that is not just physical. Children make up 50% of the population of Gaza. They are traumatised, and their educations and futures have been profoundly disrupted. Giving them a future is the best guarantor of future peace, so what can the British Government do to ensure that the children of Gaza have a real future?
The Prime Minister
I thank my hon. Friend for raising that point. Children in Gaza have not been to school for the best part of two years—that has had a huge impact. We are already working at pace with others to see how quickly that could be one of the first issues addressed in the rebuilding process, because it is so essential for those children to ensure that they have a better future.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Chris Murray and Keir Starmer(7 months ago)
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The Prime Minister
No, what it says in my folder is that the Conservatives had 14 years—[Interruption.] They did not need to consult; they just had to get on with it. They had a majority of 80 for their last five years of Government. They are now carping on about some of their ideas. They had 14 years and they did not implement a single one; they simply broke the system. They are in no place to lecture other people.
Chris Murray (Edinburgh East and Musselburgh) (Lab)
The Prime Minister
The situation that my hon. Friend describes is an appalling indictment of the SNP record. The Conservative party left record homelessness in England. The SNP record is equally shameful: a record number of children in temporary accommodation. We are investing £1 billion to tackle homelessness, abolishing no-fault evictions and building 1.5 million new homes. Meanwhile, the SNP has cut its affordable housing budget. It has had the largest settlement since devolution. It has the power and the money; now it is time that it started delivering.
Anniversary of 7 October Attacks: Middle East
Debate between Chris Murray and Keir Starmer(1 year ago)
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The Prime Minister
For the reason I have twice stated. If the sale of weapons for defensive use by Israel were banned, that is a position I could not countenance a year after 7 October. It is not a position I could countenance in the face of attacks by Iran. The whole House saw the number of missiles coming over into Israel only the other day. The idea that we could say we support Israel’s right to defend herself, and at the same time deprive her of the means to do so, is so wholly inconsistent that it will never be my position.
Chris Murray (Edinburgh East and Musselburgh) (Lab)
The scale of the devastation that we have seen in the middle east is appalling. In recent weeks, 127 innocent children have been killed in Lebanon. The scale of death is appalling, and the potential for further escalation is terrifying. Can the Prime Minister tell the House how he is working with his fellow world leaders to push for de-escalation and a peaceful settlement?