Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Liz Saville Roberts and Andy Burnham

Wednesday 9th September 2026 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I think there are many people watching Prime Minister’s questions across the south of England who would now like Mr Speaker to be demoted in the way that my hon. Friend suggests. [Interruption.] This is very thin ice for a Leigh Leopards supporter to be on.

I am aware of the potential office closure in Liverpool by BT, and the number of job losses—up to 600, I believe. Steve Rotheram, the Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, and MPs have been in meetings, including with No. 10 North yesterday, discussing this and other issues. We will continue to work to support those jobs. Can I also congratulate the Mayor of the Liverpool City Region on bringing buses across the city region back under public control at the weekend, after 40 years of deregulation? That is change in action, protecting services for local communities.

[Liz Saville Roberts (Dwyfor Meirionnydd) (PC)]

Q9. Yr Heliwr in Nefyn is a community-owned pub, and it is buzzing with events fuelled by local beers and food. I have to declare an interest; I have shares in Yr Heliwr, and it makes my husband very happy indeed. Supporting businesses like Yr Heliwr is key for economic growth in coastal areas, but they are held back by a 20% VAT rate; in France, Spain and Italy, hospitality pays just 10%. Will the Prime Minister have a word with the Chancellor before the autumn Budget and cut VAT for hospitality to prove that postcodes furthest from London and Manchester will not be forgotten in his drive for growth?

[The Prime Minister]

As the right hon. Lady might know, I am something of a pub person myself. In my first week in office, I made the decision to cut business rates for pubs. We need to go further to support hospitality. I cannot commit, from this Dispatch Box today, to what she is asking, but she should wait for the Budget. We are keen to support high streets and hospitality up and down the country—in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and, indeed, Wales.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Liz Saville Roberts and Andy Burnham

Wednesday 2nd September 2026 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend for that question, because she speaks for many people at home, who will have been nodding away. I spoke to these issues in the Makerfield by-election, as we had an illegal waste tip, and it looked like nobody was taking any action on it. I think there is a case for going further on fireworks and regulating them. On antisocial behaviour more broadly, I supported Greater Manchester police in taking the toughest possible approach to rooting out antisocial behaviour through Operation Vulcan. I think that can be extended elsewhere. We should not accept that this is just the daily norm in communities. I happen to support the broken windows theory of policing. If we let small things go, bigger things come along, and we should change how we think about neighbourhood policing, as the Home Secretary is doing.

[Liz Saville Roberts (Dwyfor Meirionnydd) (PC)]

Q5. Our new Plaid Cymru Government have laid the foundations for change, showing what Wales can achieve with the powers we have. The Prime Minister says that devolving powers means better public services, and I agree with him, but policing in Wales is still controlled from afar here in Westminster. Will he please put his devolution instincts into practice and confirm that devolving policing will be on the table when he meets the First Minister next month?

[The Prime Minister]

The approach I will take—we met the Deputy First Minister at Port Talbot last week—is that where proposals come from the Senedd Government, we will give them fair consideration. We need to work together to get growth going, and we need to secure the future of Port Talbot together. If that can be done with more locally devolved power across Wales, I am absolutely ready to work with the right hon. Lady and the First Minister on that.

Direction of Government

Debate between Liz Saville Roberts and Andy Burnham

Tuesday 1st September 2026 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I agree wholeheartedly with my hon. Friend. I point to my record as Mayor of Greater Manchester: I had the back of all the thousands of officers who were out serving, keeping Greater Manchester safe, day after day. I pay tribute to the families of those officers we lost in Middlesbrough in the line of duty, sacrificing themselves for their community.

I also want to assure my hon. Friend that I heard the voice of PC Andrew Harper’s family before making my decisions on early release. Before I was here, this House passed Harper’s law. The spirit of that legislation really should have been honoured in that early release scheme, and it now will be. It always should be that this House gives the maximum recognition to those who put themselves at risk for our safety and that of everyone else.

[Liz Saville Roberts (Dwyfor Meirionnydd) (PC)]

The Prime Minister says that he puts devolution at the heart of his agenda, and I believe him. We both know that decisions are best made closer to the people they affect, but Wales still lacks the powers already available to Scotland, and even to Greater Manchester. That cannot be right. When he meets the First Minister next month, will he work with Plaid Cymru to make good that devolution gap on policing, on the Crown Estate, on rail and on the fiscal powers that Wales needs to build and prosper?

[The Prime Minister]

I am ready to have a constructive conversation with the First Minister, as I did when I met him in July in my first week in office. I believe from my own experience that a form of local devolution in Wales and Scotland might further strengthen the economy and public services. That is the point that I am making in relation to buses in Glasgow and other services as well. Where power is too centralised and too remote, sometimes poor decisions are made. My agenda is all about putting power in the hands of people at the community level, so that they can drive changes that are right for them. There is a model of local devolution that could be made to work in Scotland, in Wales and possibly in Northern Ireland, and I am ready to support that, if that is what the right hon. Lady wishes.