Oral Answers to Questions

Claire Hanna Excerpts

Wednesday 21st October 2026 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

As I have said, there are signs of growing strength in the British economy. Before the Budget next week, we will have a new book published about the mini-Budget of a few years ago. Opposition Members have gone quiet, because the authors of that mini-Budget are sitting on the Opposition Benches, including the shadow Chancellor. Does anybody on this side or anybody around the country believe that party, of all parties? The Conservatives have the audacity to come to this House and lecture us about how to do a Budget. People in this country—British households—are still paying the price of their disastrous Budget.

[Claire Hanna (Belfast South and Mid Down) (SDLP)]

Q8.   Last week, three-year-old Maryam Ghanem was pulled from her home in Gaza, badly burned, having watched her mother be killed by an Israeli airstrike. On the same day, Irish writer Sally Rooney’s publisher announced that it would stop distributing her books across the UK because she is donating her royalties to Palestine Action, which was proscribed by Keir Starmer’s Government. The Prime Minister has acknowledged that the previous Government’s response to Gaza was inadequate, and his Foreign Secretary, making a powerful move on sanctions last month, has said that those campaigning for change were right, but the proscription remains in place. That has had extraordinary consequences for freedom of expression, including for constituents of mine who are facing terror charges for peaceful protest. Will the Prime Minister commit to reviewing the proscription of Palestine Action and righting this unnecessary wrong?