Oral Answers to Questions

Johanna Baxter Excerpts

Wednesday 28th October 2026 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

As I have said today, we will not be doing those things in this Parliament, but let me come back to what I was saying to the right hon. Lady the Leader of the Opposition. We will take pragmatic steps where we can to support British business by improving the Brexit arrangements that we have got. I think it is extraordinary that the Conservative party, the Opposition, are unable to back us in getting in place those better arrangements that would make a real difference for people in their constituencies trying to export to the European Union. People will have heard that very clearly today. The Conservatives claim to be the party of business. They have turned their back on them today. This party never will.

[Johanna Baxter (Paisley and Renfrewshire South) (Lab)]

Q3. Last week, the US special envoy to Ukraine described Vladimir Putin as a “humanitarian”. My constituents were horrified that our closest ally could use such words for a man wanted by the International Criminal Court for the systematic abduction of 20,651 Ukrainian children. The following day, my constituency welcomed the Ukrainian Member of Parliament for Poltava with open arms and a determination to deepen our solidarity and co-operation. Will the Prime Minister remind our American partners that appeasement, flattery and sanction-dodging deals will only embolden Putin and risk further aggression to our NATO allies?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to call out President Putin’s actions, which have resulted in thousands of innocent Ukrainian children being killed, people forced into the bitter cold, and sending his own Russian people to die on the frontline. I spoke to President Zelensky this morning, together with the Chancellor. We assured him of our steadfast support. We said to him that we will always take sanctions and we are committing to more sanctions. That is the clear commitment that we are making to stand with Ukraine, whatever it takes.