Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between James McMurdock and Keir Starmer

Wednesday 29th October 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising that tragic case. I am sure that I speak for the whole House in saying that we send our sympathies and thoughts to Hudson’s parents, Shannon and Tyler. I will make sure that they get the meeting that he has asked for. This is exactly why we are working to improve access to face-to-face appointments for those who want one. To enable that, we have delivered the largest cash uplift for GPs in a decade, have put over 2,500 GPs into general practice, and are upgrading 1,000 surgeries to deliver 8 million more appointments.

[James McMurdock (South Basildon and East Thurrock) (Ind)]

Q2. Earlier this week, I got to see the very best and some of the worst of our national health service. When my own daughter needed it, it was there, but when an 89-year-old gentleman in the restaurant I was eating at collapsed, it took over an hour and 15 minutes from my first call to the arrival of two exhausted paramedics.Basildon hospital has just been downgraded to inadequate in the latest Care Quality Commission report. I invite the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care—or the Prime Minister, if he has time in his schedule—to visit Basildon with me so that he can thank the staff for their exceptional work and get to grips with the problems they are facing.

[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.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between James McMurdock and Keir Starmer

Wednesday 13th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I know the dreadful impact that flooding has had on my hon. Friend’s constituency, including in Storm Henk earlier this year. The last Government left flood defences in the worst condition on record. We are investing £2.4 billion in flood resilience over the next two years, and we have launched a flood resilience taskforce to co-ordinate national and local flood preparation to better protect communities and our economy. [Interruption.] Rather than heckling, the Opposition might reflect on the record that they left.

[James McMurdock (South Basildon and East Thurrock) (Reform)]

Q11. Residents of my constituency of South Basildon and East Thurrock face a triple whammy of council tax increased by 50%, reduced public services, and £1 billion of emergency funding that is being borrowed at 1% above base rate. That 1% is approximately £10 million a year going to the Treasury that could be spent on frontline services in Thurrock. Will the Prime Minister commit to reducing that rate, so that the money can go where it belongs?

[The Prime Minister]

The last Government made life even more difficult for councils needing exceptional financial support by charging a premium on borrowing. That was the wrong decision, and it had a huge impact on vital services. We will take a different approach. We are delivering a real-terms increase in core Government spending power, and that will benefit the hon. Member’s constituents.