Oral Answers to Questions

David Pinto-Duschinsky Excerpts

Wednesday 4th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I remind myself that the Conservatives left the NHS on its knees: the last Labour Government brought waiting lists down to record lows, and they drove them up to record highs; the last Labour Government had the highest possible confidence in the NHS, and they dragged it down to the lowest ever level. Because of the money that we are putting in, we have done 3 million extra appointments in the first year of a Labour Government—that is the difference that Labour makes in power.

[David Pinto-Duschinsky (Hendon) (Lab)]

The Environment Agency predicts that 8 million homes—one in four in England—could be at risk of flooding by 2050. Despite this, the Conservative party presided over a tripling of the proportion of our flood defences that are deemed “not adequate”. By contrast, this Labour Government are investing over £2.6 billion in new flood defences, including on the Greenway in my Hendon constituency. Does the Prime Minister agree that it is a shame that not all parties share this Government’s determination to keep homes safe from flooding?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend for highlighting this issue, because the Conservatives left our flood defences in the worst state on record. It is prisons, it is the NHS, it is the economy, it is flooding—every single thing they touched, they broke. We are investing £2.65 billion to build and maintain flood defences, and that means 52,000 more properties will be protected by March of next year.