26/04/2017 Daily Politics

It's the final Prime Minister's Questions of this Parliament.

We're all geared up for some pre-election fireworks?

May versus Corbyn hasn't always lit up Parliament,

but there's an election coming and anything can happen.

Especially when the leaders will want to give their troops

We'll have all the action live from midday.

Labour promises higher pay for NHS workers in England

and says it would help address staffing shortages.

And voice-activated personal assistants are the talk

But how are they coping with the approaching General Election?

Alexa, who is the leader of the Conservative Party?

Alexa: The UK Conservative Party's party leader is

Why do you need that to tell you? Adam doesn't know, which is slightly

worrying! And with us for the duration,

the former Conservative chief whip, Mark Harper, and Labour's Campaigns

and Elections Chair, Andrew Gwynne. Harper and Gwynne: sounds like

a comic book crime-fighting duo. I think that's the nicest thing

you've ever said about me! It doesn't get better!

Now, there are a mere 43 days until the election on June the 8th -

barely any time to dust off the rosettes and get

Anyway, if you haven't got your diary in order

for the next six weeks, then fear not, our social secretary

JoCo is here with the key dates in the run-up to polling day.

We will shortly be watching the final Prime Minister's Questions

of this parliament - Jermey Corbyn and Theresa

May go head to head - because next Wednesday,

the 3rd of May, Parliament will be dissolved.

On the 4th of May voters will go to the polls in local

elections across England, Wales and Scotland.

There are also eight mayoral elections in English cities.

Potential candidates have until the 11th of May

to submit their application forms to stand in a constituency.

On the 15th May, Labour launch their manifesto.

Other parties have not yet named the dates for

The 22nd of May is your final opportunity to register to vote.

The following day - the 23rd - is the deadline

The 31st of May is the deadline for a proxy vote, or getting someone

Polls open between 7am and 10pm on the 8th of June.

And by breakfast time on the 9th of June, we should know who will be

forming the next government and holding the keys

Have you got all the states? I've got them all, Jo. In my diary.

Let's look at some of these -- all of these baits? -- dates.

We need to sort out the morale in the NHS, and a way that we do that

is, first, we ensure that the staff get a pay rise. I know what you are

planning to do, but I am asking how you will pay for it. We have said

they are fully costed plans and will be paid for through corporation tax.

And what will the rate of corporation tax be? You will have to

wait until one of those dates, the 15th of May, when Labour's manifesto

is published, and in that manifesto will be all of our tax and spending

plans, to the detail, all of our pledges, fully costed. We have

announced the first day... They aren't fully costed because you

can't tell me how you will pay for them. Through corporation tax. You

can't tell me what rate it will be or how much it will raise. Andrew,

you will have to be a little patient. I am not going to go into

the details. It is not detail but fundamental to your plans. You're

telling the British people you will raise spending on health in several

ways, including taking away the pay freeze, 1% it has been. But you want

tell us how you will raise the money. I have told you, it will be

through corporation tax. But that doesn't tell me anything because you

can't tell me what rate it will be. Andrew, you will find out what the

rate will be when our manifesto is launched. What is important is that

we have seen in the NHS average pay falling by 14% since 2010. We think

it's now time to put extra resources... I'm not arguing about

that, I want to know whether money is from. Your party has a reputation

for spending without knowing how you will pay for it, so I am giving you

the opportunity... And I have told you. The current rate is 19%. It was

20 but has fallen. So, what will it be under Labour? You will see on the

15th of May in our manifesto. How much does it bring in at the moment?

I'm not going to go into the detail... It is a fact. I didn't ask

about Labour. How much does it bring in at the moment? I can tell you

that our plans are fully costed. For example, a 1% increase in the

staffing budget of the NHS will cost about ?460 million. I am trying to

work out how you will pay for it. When it was 20% last year,

corporation tax, there was a 20% rise in corporation tax revenues,

even though it had been cut. It now brings in almost ?56 billion a year.

To pay for everything that you've been talking about, you would need

to bring in at least another ?12 billion a year from corporation tax

alone, do you accept that? No. In terms of today's announcement, what

I am saying is, this is absolutely fully costed. We're talking about

making sure that our NHS staff and nurses in particular... Unless

you've found the magic money tree again, which politicians of all

persuasions tented during an election campaign, the staff of the

NHS have a right to know how you are going to pay for it. You just have

to be a little patient and wait until the 15th of May, when our

manifesto will be out in detail, including our tax and spending

priorities. The reason people is a spacious, even nervous, is that you

seem to have already spent all of this rise in corporation tax,

reducing maintenance grants, ?3 billion a year, to be paid for by

corporation tax. Andrew, what we have done today is to set out are

very specific pledge on the NHS that is fully funded and costed in our

manifesto. But you seem to have already spent the money. He will

scrap university tuition fees, another ?7 billion. You will have to

wait to see the manifesto as to what our priorities will be and how it

will be funded. Reversing the cuts are universal credit? ?5 billion a

year. It will be in our manifesto on the 15th of May. How much will you

boost the schools budget by? It will be in the manifesto. All of our tax

and spending plans will be there in detail, and you will have the

absolute certainty of knowing where that has been funded from. You have

said already that all of these, higher NHS spending, social care,

investing in British Steel, boosting the adult skills budget, maintenance

grants, cutting tuition fees, you have said already, your party, that

all of these will be paid by a rise in corporation tax. No, we haven't.

Yes, you have. We have said in the past that we have used corporation

tax as an example of Government priorities. At a time when the

Government have cut public services, we have said the Government had made

a deliberate choice, cutting corporation tax, cutting taxes to

the tune of billions of pounds. Corporation tax brought in ?10

billion more last year than the year before. 10 billion! At the same

time, Andrew, we have seen ordinary people, workers, pensioners,

everybody, paying more in things like VAT. This is a question of

priorities. You are not going to lower VAT, are you? If we are making

an economy for the many and not a few, you will see on the 15th of

May, everything will be fully costed and detail, all the priorities there

with costings and where we are getting the money from. You have

just got to be patient. To pay for all that, you will have two

increased a lot more than corporation tax. Just be patient,

Andrew. Doing this job, you have to be! Edit the conservative position

that between now and 2020-21, the NHS needs no more extra money than

already planned? We have already agreed with the NHS to spend what

Simon Stephens, the NHS boss, had in his plan. We put a lot of that in at

the front, so an extra ?6 billion for this year, and we will continue

those conversations with the NHS. Will you spend more or not? You

would not expect me to set out the future budgets of Chancellors. The

whole conversation... I want to stick with the Conservatives. It is

the same conversation. The fundamental point is, we can only

put in more money to the NHS... The only reason we have the 6 billion is

when you have a strong economy. Is that it? If you have a strong

economy, the Chancellor can look at priorities. We have made the NHS

priority, which is why we have continue putting money in. But I am

trying to find out if there will be any more. You know as well as I do

that even with the extra money you have given it, it is really creaking

at the seams. It is struggling. Don't you think it is time that NHS

staff got a pay rise? Let me answer your question about more money.

Answer this question. You would not expect me to set out now what a

Chancellor will do with a budget in four years' time. If you want to

look at our priorities, you can see that in the recent budget, Weather

Watch challenges raised quite rightly about social care... You

didn't give any money to the NHS. The Chancellor found ?2 billion over

three years. Shall care. But not for the NHS. They are connected. If you

don't have people being able to be discharged from hospital, it puts

pressure on the NHS. We have front-loaded the money we have put

in. And that still doesn't seem to be enough. -- and they're still

doesn't seem to be enough. MPs got a much bigger pay rise than NHS staff.

1%. If you are a radiographer or a midwife, how much scrap a week does

that give you? I don't know. -- how much extra per week does that give

you? ?5. Their pay has been frozen, year after year, so I say again, and

given that you have 24,000 nursing vacancies, you are not paying

enough, so when will you start to pay NHS workers a proper salary? The

reason we had to have a public sector pay cap of 1% was because we

were recovering from the deficit we inherited. That is seven years ago.

You know it is at the lowest point it has been at for a long time and

we are getting the economy on track. I don't think the public will want

to risk that in this election. There is a choice between strong and

stable Government with the Conservatives and the chaos they

would get the flavour. If the economy is damage, there won't be

money to put into the NHS. -- you would get with Labour. You quoted

Simon Stephens, who said, I think it would be stretching it to claim the

NHS has more than it asked for. He went on to say, by 2019, real terms

NHS spending per person in England is going to fall. In real terms, the

NHS is getting less money, and yet it is ten years since Lehman

Brothers collapsed. At the last election, we agreed a five-year plan

for the parliament with the NHS, and that was split between efficiency

savings... Real terms spending is falling under this Government. No

doubt, there will be future plans that Simon Stephens and his team

come forward with. Social care is linked with NHS performance, and

when more money was required, the Chancellor found it. That is falling

in real terms, too. The Prime Minister said yesterday that we

would not back the question of social care and there would be a

long-term plan set out. As someone said, in the long term, we are all

dead, and that is true when it comes to health care. Under this

Government, social care funding is falling in real terms, NHS spending

per capita, for the first time since the NHS was invented in the late

1940s, is going to fall in real terms. A lot now hangs on a Brexit

David Dent, doesn't it? How much of that ?350 million a week are we

going to get and when? I was on the Remain side. -- a Brexit David Dent.

Basically, your message to the viewers this morning is vote Tory

and real terms spending on the NHS will continue to be cut. We will

have a strong economy which will enable the Chancellor to prioritise

spending. The NHS is an important priority, which is why we have

protected the spending. Except it has fallen in real terms. We put

extra money in the budget for social care, which I think was the right

decision. We shall see. is So, as we've been saying,

the final PMQs of this short-lived The May-Corbyn clashes haven't

always been classics of the genre, but that's not to say there haven't

been some highlights. Maybe even a boss who exploits

the rules to further his own career. She will turn Britain

into a bargain basement tax haven, In a recent poll on who would make

a better Prime Minister "don't know" Mr Speaker, it's not so much

the Iron Lady as the irony lady. He can lead a protest,

I'm leading a country. I thought for a moment

the Prime Minister was going to say I think that word actually

describes the right honourable gentleman's

leadership - incredible. Our NHS, Mr Speaker, is in crisis,

but the Prime Minister is in denial. I've long heard the Labour Party

asking what the Conservative My question is - what deal was done

with Surrey county council? The Prime Minister said

there was no deal. Over that silent laughter and those

shoulders going. So, those were the best bits. Let's

see if we can do the same with you two, then. The Prime Minister has

warned colleagues against complacency. But the Conservatives

have been put 20, 21 points ahead of Labour. Aren't you telling voters

you are going to win and win big? No, not at all. I can remember the

last general election when the polls didn't correctly predict the right

outcome. The polls didn't correctly predict the referendum outcome and

we saw what they did in the US where Donald Trump winning took people by

so you are vies and I think Jeremy Corbyn himself joked that he was a

200-1 outsider for the leadership and look what happened there.

Politicians would be wise not to pay attention to opinion polls and go

out and fight for every vote. In your opinion, it is going to be

close across the board The message to voters, they only get the result

they want if they go out and vote. Are you worried turnout will be low?

I'm not worried. I'm saying, if people want a result in an election

they have to come out and vote. If they want a strong, stable

Government led by Theresa May, they have to come and vote for either her

or one of her candidates or if they vote for anybody else, they could

end up with a wae, unstable Government. Well, he thinks it is

going to be a close-run thing, despite the polls but if we look,

let's take Wales for example, bearing in mind the Prime Minister

was there yesterday. The Conservative's projected vote share

there has risen to 40% in a Labour heartland. Labour's fallen from

36.9% to 30% this. Would mean Labour losing in Wales for the first time

since the First World War. What does that do to your spirit as the

election co-ordinator? Well, where Mark is right, is not a single vote

has been cast yet. And we... Well thank you for confirming that. And

we are out there to fight for... I understand that. How does it make

you feel when you hear those figures in a heartland like Wales. Let's

wait and see. Sure. We have six weeks of this campaign. Does ten

courage you? A lot can change in the six weeks. That's why we are going

out with Jeremy, meeting real people, not closeted away in

stage-managed backdrops like the Prime Minister. And it is why we

also challenge the Prime Minister to a debate. You know, if she's so far

ahead, if she's so cocky and confident that she can win, if she

is putting leadership at the heart of this campaign, why is she

frightened of debating with Jeremy Corbyn She is not, she debates him

every week. Are you saying Prime Minister's Questions is the same as

a head-to-head television debate She debates him every week. I think

voters have enough material of the two leading contenders for Prime

Minister. We have six weeks. She is doing, I think I have noticed this

Sunday interviews with two of the top - sparing Andrew's blushes, top

interviewers on TV and she'll be going out to all parts of the

country, as you saw, in Wales yesterday. Why is she not doing the

debate if she's so confident? ? One of the problems with debate and I

saw this, you end up with an election campaign, I understand why

the broadcasters like them. So does the public. A recent survey has

shown the majority of voters want the Prime Minister to go

head-to-head with Jeremy Corbyn. As she has said repeatedly that she can

offer strong, stable leadership and Jeremy Corbyn can't, why is she

running shared? I think the election then ends up being a debate about

the dea bit and then you have the debates and a conversation about how

the debates went. We are still having a debate, though I think it

is more important to focus on the issues. She wants it get out to

every part of the UK and go out and meet people around the country which

is what she has been doing and I think that's the right approach.

Let's lack at the figures, you are right, Theresa May is making it

about the leadership and she would, wouldn't she, when you look at the

polling for Jeremy Corbyn. Not only are you trailing as a party but if

you look at the recent YouGov poll, 13%, of voters think that is Jeremy

Corbyn are doing a good job of Labour Leader compared to 55% of

voters who say that Theresa May is doing a good job as Prime Minister.

Do you have a leadership problem? For the next six weeks we are out

there talking about positive transformational politics, stalk

being Britain for the many, not the few. Because you have a leadership

problem? How would you describe those figures? Jeremy will be out in

the country, England, Scotland and Wales. Will that help if those are

his personal polling figures? Absolutely. Why? I think the more

people see and hear what our policies and visions are, we have 43

days to polling day, a long time and that's why, actually, it would be

great to have a proper debate, like Gordon Brown had, like David Cameron

had, where the manifestos can be debated in detail. Why? They won't

get that today in PMQs. If you think he is an asset and going out to

constituents up and down the country why would your colleague, John Healy

last week, wouldn't say, that he would actually put Jeremy Corbyn on

his election literature. Barry Gardiner said this was an election

as you were saying about policies and not personalities. And miaow

Griffiths the defence spokesman maintained Labour's policy would be

to maintain the Trident system, contrary to Jeremy Corbyn. Nobody

wants it talk about Jeremy Corbyn as a future Prime Minister within your

own party. Well I just have, jo. As Labour's elections chair, I have

just said that Jeremy is going to be out in every part of the country,

meeting real people, not stage-managed backdrops. Why knted

your colleagues not say that they can see him as a if you tour Prime

Minister. I'm note sure they have. Well we asked them and they won't

say T John Healey won't even say if he will put him on the literature.

Well I have not been party to that. John served in Jeremy's cabinet.

Well if they are not convinced by Jeremy Corbyn as a future Prime

Minister, how are you going to convince the voters? But we are. Why

is the evidence? That's why we serve Shadow Cabinet. We have a vision for

a Britain that works for the many not the few. We have six weeks to

set out that vision for a fairer, better, more equal Britain, that's

the challenge for me and the whole Shadow Cabinet, we will be out

there, knocking on doors, speaking to people and putting our case.

Labour has put forward range of policies on the NHS today, also on

education. Would you like to see, Mark, the trip lock on pensions in

the Tory manifesto? I'm happy to wait for the Tory manifesto. You

haven't got an opinion? You wouldn't expect me to write it on air. But

would you like it on air? I'm happy with the record we have with

pensioners, where the state pension has gone up to I think ?1250 since

2010. We have a solid offer for pensioners. I think they recognise

that. I am content. You could see it being dropped? I'm content to wait

for the manifesto, it will be out and I'm content to see what the

Prime Minister and Chancellor want to put in it. I think we've

delivered for pensioners and I think pensioners can have confidence in a

Conservative Government and May hae as Prime Minister. All right we'll

leave it there. Shall we? No, all right. There is a new Ipsos Mori

poll this morning, that puts the Conservatives on 59%, that's plus 6,

Labour on 26, that's minus four a Tory lead of 23% with my arithmetic.

Lib Dems no change, Ukip at 4, down 2. It is only a poll, there will be

plenty more between now and the one that matters on June 8th. I'm sound

like a politician now. It is the one that matters. You can get a job.

Now, it would be true to say that Mrs May needs all the help

she can get when she meets the European Commission President

He's flying in for a working dinner, and we're told there will be only

Now, we anticipate it may get a little heated over the steak

and kidney pudding and jam roly-poly, so we've got the perfect

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I love those old black and white pictures of Winston Churchill

meeting President Harry Truman. That's a clue.

It's coming up to midday here - just take a look at Big Ben -

Yes, Prime Minister's Questions is on its way.

And that's not all - Laura Kuenssberg is here.

You have been travelling around with the Prime Minister? We were in

Bridgend yesterday. Labour constituency, Carwyn Jones the Welsh

First Minister's own back yard. And I think what we saw yesterday, in a

totally unscientific way, bears out some of what the polls have been

suggesting in these early days, that when you talk to people, including

life-long Labour voters, they are not in the mood to stick with their

party. Voter after voter said to us yesterday - I've been a life-long

Labour supporter but this time I'm going to go the other way or indeed

not vote at all. When you talk to MPs in the House of Commons, which I

have been doing this morning before coming over, strangely there is a

bit of a party mood this mornings like the last day of term in a way,

that's what most MPs are saying, too but we are very early days, lots of

things can happen but it is really, really notable. So Mr Corbyn needs

to send them off with a surprisingly good performance. Absolute lively

this is his 53rd PMQs on the 299th day of this Parliament. We have done

every one of them. Absolutely. Someone might have looked at the

diary and counted them this morning. If you think how he started full of

the incredible backing of this phenomenon of new people getting

involved in politics. Labour voters surging towards him A new kind of

Prime Minister's Questions, e-mails from members of the public, but the

fact is he has struggled in this format. The other fact is, this is

not Theresa May's best format either. It is not an exchange route

we have seen particularly work for either but a lot of Labour MPs are

feeling despondent. He will to do something in the next 30 minutes to

leave them with a spring in their steps. It looks like it'll be busy.

My sense is most MPs will be around today. Tomorrow, certainly people in

marginals will be out on the road. They have been door knocking over

the weekend. Lots of MPs out there. Do we know yet, as the campaign

gathers pace, are the Tories - is their are propaganda machine s it

going to go for Corbyn and Mr MacDonald, the Shadow Chancellor, or

do they think they are so far ahead they don't need to do that. I think

we'll go for him. We have had Tory central office using words like

nonsensical, ridiculous, dangerous. Absolutely they are going to go for

Mr Corbyn because they want this, I think in a way, not even to be seen

in making a referendum between Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn, but I

think in some seats and of course the message will differ in different

parts of the country, they will try to make it all about Jeremy Corbyn.

There was one attack ad doing the rounds online yesterday... I saw

that, a short video Very short, but with clips of Jeremy Corbyn talking

about NATO, talking about nuclear weapons, talking about

shoot-to-kill. Talking about the Army. About the Army and in huge red

letters at the end - basically, don't risk it, this man is a danger.

Now for some voters, the level of, the personal level. It could put

people off. Absolute lie. There is a debate going on among

Tory MPs how to pitch that. Is it worth #w450i8 while saying we

mustn't be complacent because it could be tight. There is an argument

to the counter which says make it a kind of - use the line very much of

- this is in the national interest. Come and be with us, don't be left

out, be a Tory, be a supporter of Theresa May. That's the done thing.

To jump on a bandwagon. It can be a powerful symbol in politics.

Well, is Mrs May going to run a her metically sealed campaign? Well, so

far she has not been in close contact with members of the public.

What about cuddly animals, have we any of them, yet? I haven't seen

any. I saw her yesterday, you know, she was among activists and you can

see with activists she'd done that so far in terms of an invited

audience and her contact with members of the public had been very,

very limited and of course for Jeremy Corbyn, who always says that

he likes to be among people, he loves rallies with members of the

public but we will see. We shall see. Let's get

The economy in the West Midlands is performing well. Businesses are

continuing to invest, and since 2010, employment has risen by

180,000, because conservatives in Government have safeguarded the

economy, and as a result, my honourable friend asked about public

services, there are more doctors and nurses in his hospitals because you

can only have strong public services when you have the strong and stable

leadership that delivers a strong economy. Mr Speaker, I think what

this nation needs is a strong and stable Government. But isn't it the

case that, thanks to devolution, we won't only just have, I hope, strong

and stable Government after the general election but in the West

Midlands strong and stable leadership and the right choices

made after the 4th of May. My honourable friend makes a powerful

point. On the 4th of May, people in the West Midlands have the

opportunity to elect a strong local leader who will oversee ?8 billion

of investment. I think that in Andy Street, they have a man who has the

local knowledge, the business experience, and he has the

commitment to the West Midlands to deliver for the whole of the West

Midlands. On the 8th of June, people in the West midlands have the

opportunity to elect the strong and stable leadership of a Conservative

Government working together, strong Conservative leadership in the West

Midlands and strong Conservative leadership in Government will

deliver for the West Midlands. This morning, I had meetings with

ministerial colleagues and others in addition to my duties in this house

I shall have further such meetings today. Mr Speaker, in 2015, a group

called the Social Campaign For Labour Victory drew up a plan to get

rid of MI5, disarm the police and scrap the nuclear deterrent.

I can tell my honourable friend, my answer is a resounding no, I would

not allow anyone involved in that to be involved in the Cabinet. Can I

commend my honourable friend, who has a proud record of defending our

country. He raises an important point, because the Leader of the

Opposition has chosen just such a person. The plan to disband MI5, to

disarm our police and scrap our nuclear deterrent was endorsed by

the Right Honourable gentleman's policy chief, and even by his Shadow

Chancellor. Again, at the weekend, we saw the Right honourable

gentleman refusing to say he would strike against terrorism, refusing

to commit to our nuclear deterrent, and refusing to control our borders

are keeping the country safe is the first duty of a Prime Minister. The

right honourable gentleman is simply not up to the job.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. This is the... This is the last Prime

Minister's Question Time of this Parliament. And I think it would be

appropriate, Mr Speaker, if we all paid tribute to those colleagues who

have decided to leave the House at the end of this Parliament, thank

them for their service, thank them... Thank them for their service

to democracy in this country and to thank you, Mr Speaker, for the way

you have presided over this House, and the way in which you have sought

to reach out to the wider communities in this country. When I

became Leader of the Opposition 18 months ago...

CHEERING I said...

If they'll wait a moment, I'll explain what I'm about to say. I

said I wanted people's voices to be heard in Parliament, so, Mr Speaker,

instead of just speaking to hand-picked audiences who can't ask

questions, I hope the Prime Minister won't mind if she answers some

questions today from the public. I start, Mr Speaker... I start, Mr

Speaker, with Christopher, who wrote to me this week, and he says, in the

last five years, my husband has had only a 1% increase in his wages. The

cost of living has risen each year. We now have at least 15% less buying

power than them. So, where is Christopher and his husband's share

in the stronger economy? Thank you, Mr Speaker. Can I first of all join

The Right Honourable gentleman in commending those colleagues who are

leaving the house for the service they have shown to their

constituents and to Parliament over the years. Can I also say a huge

thank you to the staff of the House of Commons and Parliament who

support us in the work we do in this chamber and elsewhere. I will come

onto the point... I know that the right honourable gentleman did not

take the opportunity to stand up and showed how he would stand up for the

defence of our country. Once again, he missed that opportunity. I know

what the right operable gentleman is saying about wages -- I know what

the right honourable gentleman is saying about wages. I think we

should, first of all, recognise, actually, that for people working in

the NHS, around half of those staff, because of progression and basic pay

increases, we'll see, on average, a pay increase of 4%. What we know...

What we know... What we know, and what I can say to Christopher, is

that he will have a choice at the next election between the strong and

stable leadership of the Conservatives, which will secure our

economy for the future, and a Labour Party which would crash our economy,

which would mean less money for public services and ordinary working

families would pay the price. Mr Speaker, isn't the truth that many

people are being held back by this Government that has slashed taxes

for the rich and held back or cut the pay of dedicated public

servants? Mr Speaker, Andy, a parent, is concerned about how his

children are being held back. He asks, why, despite the fact they

have worked consistently since leaving school, all three of my

children, who are now in their mid-20s, cannot afford to move out

of the family home? Isn't this a crisis that many people are facing

all over the country? Don't we need a housing strategy that deals with

it? First of all, let's look and see what happened under a Labour

Government for housing. I'll come onto that. Under the last... Under

the last Labour Government, house... House building starts fell by 45%.

Under the last Labour Government, houses purchased in England fell by

40%, and the number of social rented homes, under a Labour Government,

fell by 420,000. Under the Conservatives, we have seen more

than twice as much council housing being built than under the last

Labour Government. That's a record of a Conservative Government

delivering on housing, delivering for ordinary working families. Mr

Speaker, the last Labour Government delivered a decent homes standard

for every council home in the whole of the country, and it is something

we are very proud of. Very proud of it indeed. Her Government, house

building has fallen to the lowest level since the 1920s. More people

homeless, more people on waiting lists, more people overcrowded, more

people unable to pay the rent. That is the record of the Tory

Government. Mr Speaker, our children are being held back by Conservative

cuts will stop Laura, a young primary school teacher --

Conservative cuts. Laura, a young primary school teacher, says, IMC

Inc a drop each year in available cash to provide quality education to

the children in my class and an increase in the reliance on the

parent teacher Association. Is the Prime Minister still denying the

fact that funding for each pupil is still being cut? What I would say to

Laura is that we've said we would protect school budgets, and we have.

We have seen record levels of funding going into schools in this

country. At the election on the 8th of June... At the election on the

8th of June, people will have a very clear choice: A choice between a

Conservative Government that has delivered 1.8 million more good and

outstanding school places for children across this country, a

Conservative Government that believes in parents having choice in

a range of schools, providing the education that is right for every

child, and a good school place for every child. The right honourable

gentleman, he believes in a one size fits all, take everybody down to the

lowest common and the nominator, take it or leave it. We believe in

encouraging aspiration and encouraging people to get on in

their lives. Labour isn't slashing school budgets or putting money into

pet projects. We want every child, every child, to have a decent chance

in a decent school. We don't want an education system that relies on

begging letters from the schools in order to maintain employment and

books in the classroom. Many people feel, Mr Speaker, the system is

rigged against them. Maureen wrote to me this week... If I was you, I

would listen to what Maureen has to say. I really would, I really would,

because she writes, and she writes with a heavy heart, we have been

treated this casting late. Most of us women born in the 1950s will not

be receiving our pension until we are 66, with no notification of this

drastic change. We have worked for 45 years and have accrued more than

enough to be paid our pension. People want what is rightfully

theirs. Maureen asks, what can be done to help the WASPi women? What I

would say to the issue Maureen has raised is that the Government has

taken steps to help these women. Extra funding has been made

available and we have ensured that there is a limit to the period of

time that is affected in relation to these changes. If the right

honourable gentleman wants to talk about pensions and pensioners,

looking to the future, once again, there will be a very clear choice in

this election, a clear choice... A clear choice between a Labour Party

who, in Government, so the increase in basic state pension of 75p in one

year, and a Conservative Government whose changes to pensions mean basic

state pension is our ?1250 better off, but you only get that with a

strong economy. And what do we know about Labour? Only yesterday, we saw

that we had finally emerged from Labour's economic crash. What we now

see... What we now see is a Labour Party that would do it again, crash

the economy, more debt, more waste, higher taxes, fewer jobs. That does

nothing for ordinary working families of pensioners. -- or for

pensioners. Mr Speaker, millions of waspy women

will have heard that answer, as have the other questions I have put not

been answered today. I will say this, Labour will guarantee the

triple lock, Labour will treat pensioners with respect and we won't

move the goalposts for people looking forward to retirement.

I have a writer -- I'm 88, I have a wonderful service from the national

health service but nowadays I'm scared at the thought of going into

hospital. With more people waiting more than four hours in the a E and

more people on trolleys in corridors and more delayed discharges, thanks

to Tory kushgts isn't she right to be frightened about the future.

... ... We are going more GPs and record levels of funding into our

health service, but only possible with a strong economy and only

possible with a strong and stable Government. And, of course, over the

coming weeks, we are all going to be out there, campaigning across the

country as I will be taking our record in the National Health

Service. I did note this week that the Shadow Home Secretary has been

campaigning in her own personal way. She has directed her supporters, her

followers to a website, I Like Corbyn But...

It says, "How will he pay for all this? But I've heard he wants to

increase taxes. But, I've heard he is a terrorist sympathiser. But his

attitudes about defence worry me. They are right to be worried. Unable

to defend our country. Determined to raise tax on ordinary workers, no

plan to manage our economy. Even his own supporters know he's not fit to

run this country. My question was about the National

Health Service Sybil's concerns. It's all right, it's all right. The

NHS has not got the money it needs. The Prime Minister knows that. She

knows waiting times and waiting lists are up. She knows there is a

crisis in almost every A department. Maybe she could go to a

hospital and allow the staff to ask her a few questions. Mr Speaker,

strong leadership is about standing up for the many not the few. But

when it comes to the Prime Minister and the Conservatives, they only

look after the richest, not the rest.

They are strong against the weak and weak against the strong. Far from

building a strong economy, schools and our NHS are being cut. People

can't afford homes. Millions can't make ends meet. That doesn't add up

to a stronger economy for anyone. Mr Speaker, the lings on 8th June is a

choice between a Conservative... -- the election on 8th June.

Is a choice between the Conservatives for a few and a Labour

Government that will stand up for all of our people. If the right

honourable gentleman wants it talk about the NHS perhaps he should talk

about Labour's custodianship of the NHS in Wales. There is somewhere

where the NHS has been cut, it's in Wales under the Labour Party. But

the right honourable gentleman is right, in something over six weeks

we will be back at these Despatch Boxes again and the only question is

where will we be standing, who will be Prime Minister of this great

country? And he says the choice is clear and the choice is clear. Every

vote for him is a vote for a chaotic Brexit. Every vote for me is a vote

to strengthen our hand in negotiating the best deal for

Britain. Every vote for him is a vote to weaken our economy. Every

vote for me is a vote for a strong economy, for the benefit felt by

everyone across the country. And every vote for him is a vote for a

coalition of chaos. A weak leader, propped up by the Liberal Democrats

and the Scottish Nationalists. Every vote for me is a vote for strong and

stable leadership in the national interest, building a stronger and

more secure future for this country. CHEERS

THE SPEAKER: Order. Order. The exchanges between the

Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition have been unprecedentedly

comprehensive. We do wish to hear questions from backbenchers. Mr Benn

Howlett. Thank you Mr Speaker. Thanks to this Conservative

Government the west of England has seen billions of investment in trap

fra. On freak visits to Bath by the Transport Secretary and Prime

Minister I have raised congestion and air pollution as well as

feasibility study on the long overdue link road to the east of

Bath will the Prime Minister agree the only way to secure this vital

project is for Bath residents to give me a renewed mandate on June

8th? My honourable friend is absolutely right. I know he has been

campaigning tirelessly on behalf of his constituents on this issue. I

understand highways England is already considering a number of

options to divert traffic awaying from Bath as my honourable friend

suggests. It is under this Conservative Government we've

increased annual Government infrastructure investment but it is

only possible with a strong economy and that's only possible with a

strong and stable Conservative leadership and a vote for any other

party is a vote for wrecking our economy, for a coalition of chaos,

and that will do nothing for my honourable friend's constituents,

for whom I hope he will continue to be able to work tirelessly. Sir

Angus Robertson. Will the Prime Minister give a clear and

unambiguous commitment to maintaining the triple lock on the

state pension? I've been very clear that under this Conservative

Government we have seen pensioners benefit as a result of what we have

done to the basic state pension. To the tune of ?1250 a year and I am

clear that under a Conservative Government pension and incomes would

continue to increase. Mr Speaker, I asked the Prime Minister a pretty

simple question, a yes or a no and the Prime Minister failed to answer.

So pensioners, right across this land are right to conclude that this

Tory Prime Minister plans to ditch the triple lock on the state

pension. Mr Speaker, too many women already face pensions inequality and

the Tories now won't even guarantee the pensions triple lock. The only

reason that they will not guarantee it is because they want to cut

pensions. Is not the message to pensioners - you cannot trust this

Prime Minister, you cannot trust the Tories on your pension? I say to

everybody, as I have just said - if you want to know the party in

Government that has improved the lot of pensioners, across this country,

it is the Conservative Party. And under a Conservative Party r

Conservative Government, those pensioner incomes would continue to

increase and he talks about inequality for women. It's the

change in the structure of the state pension, introduced by this

Government, that is going to improve the lot of women, female pensioners

in the future, that is going to be much better for them but one thing

that pensioners, one thing that pensioners in Scotland will know, as

other voters in Scotland will know, is that if they believe in the

union, there's only one way to vote and that's to vote Conservative.

Thank you, Mr Speaker, my local CCG is planning to downgrade A at

Huddersfield Royal Infirmary and move it to Halifax. This is being

Dickicated by a disastrous PFI deal. I have been fighting this plans

alongside the community groups Hands Off HRI led by Karl Deech will the

Prime Minister join me in praising the community campaigners led by

Karl. Does she agree with me that patients should not be suffering as

a result of these catastrophic PFI deals, defined by the last Labour

Government and will she ensure that communities like mine have their

voices listened to properly? Well can I say to my honourable friend,

he will know, because it is an issue he has raised with me, I know he has

been a tires campaigner on this and has been a strong voice for his

local constituency and put his case persuasive to ministers. It is

Labour's disastrous PFI deals that are costing the NHS more than ?1

billion every year and the choice at the election will be clear - do the

people of Colne Valley want that strong voice for their local A

with the ear of a strong Government, continuing to keep our economy

strong and investing in our national health service or do they want the

Leader of the Opposition and his coalition of chaos, less money for

public services, less money for National Health Service, fewer

doctors, fewer nurses and worse health care for our constituents. Mr

Speaker, my honourable friends for Redcar, Scunthorpe and other

constituents have all proven local champions for their local steel

communities. Doesn't the Prime Minister agree that their ongoing

presence in this place is vital for the future of our British Steel

industry? Well, can I just say that the honourable gentleman, that I

know that he is - I believe he is standing down at the election having

said that was due to his significant and irreconcilable differences with

the leadership of his party. What is important... SHOUTS

THE SPEAKER: Order, I'm trying to help backbenchers be heard. Please

help the chair to help backbench ministers, the Prime Minister. What

is important for the steel industry in this country is this Government

has taken action to support the steel industry. I was very pleased

when visiting Wales yesterday to be able to visit a company that works

with the steel industry, galvanises products, steel products and they

were talking about actually the greater work that they are seeing

and the improvement they are seeing in the steel industry. This

Conservative Government has taken steps to support the steel industry

and will continue to do so. Thank you, Mr Speaker, with the

consultation on Greater Manchester's spacial framework now closed I would

like to thank the 3,600 cheedal residents who signed my petition. It

calls for the green belt in cheed yul homosexual am, To be protected

and homes to be built on brownfield land inside. Would the Prime

Minister agree with me that we must press for brownfield sites to be

identified and redeveloped and the protection of our pressure green

spaces can only be maintained under a strong, Government Government? My

honourable friend is right on this issue, and I know she has been a

strong campaigner and -- the green belt in Cheedal spss Hulme shall. We

have set out in the white paper that boundaries should only be locked at

when local #240r9s have looked at other sites. I know there was great

consultation on the spacial Graham work and I commend my honourable

friend for the work she did to gather the views of her constituents

in Cheedle. I'm sure they'll be taken into account It has been

announced 2,000 jobs will be lost to York. Yesterday Nestle announced job

losses in my constituency. Devastating for workers jobs, not

products being exported to the EU and as ever, skilled jobs being

replaced by low-wage, insecure work. In the light of the special deal at

Nissan in Sunderland, will the Prime Minister meet with me, trade unions

and the company to strike a special deal to save these jobs, avert the

losses both now and in the future? First, I think the honourable lady

is right to raise this issue that emerged yesterday the announcement

from Nestle. Nestle themselves been clear that this was not a decision

affected by leaving the EU, they say they have made it irrespective of

that, but of course it is a worrying time for the workers and their

families in both York and Newcastle, and I can assure her, we are already

in contact with the company to understand their plans and the next

steps. The Business Secretary will speak with senior Nestle

representatives later today. DWP of course stands ready to put in place

their rapid response service to support any workers made redundant

by helping them back into employment as quickly as possible, and there

are various ways in which job centre plus can help. It is important to

ensure the support is Marmite. As I said, the Business Secretary will

speak to Nestle representatives later today. Record employment, the

national living wage, strong national defence is keeping our

promises in Europe - these are some of the achievements we can be proud

of. Does my right honourable friend agree that it is only about four

strong and stable Conservative leadership in the national interest

on the 8th of June that will continue to deliver on the economy,

defence and a deal with Europe that will enable businesses to continue

to thrive by re-electing a Conservative MP for the second time?

Well, I, I, will say to my honourable friend, can I thank him

for his question. He has, since that fantastic, historical election of

him in Gower, he has been a really powerful voice for his constituents,

but also in deed for the needs of Wales more generally. I already

referred to the fact that I was in Wales yesterday and had the

opportunity to speak to people in business and meet voters and to hear

of their concerns, but my honourable friend goes absolutely to the heart

of the matter when he says what is necessary is a good Brexit deal. It

is crucial for businesses, for jobs, and it is only achievable by a

strong and stable Government. Every vote for me and the Conservatives,

and Conservative candidates and local levels, will strengthen our

hand in those negotiations. Yesterday, the Scottish Tories'

defence of the rate close failed. Can the Prime Minister confirm that

no organisation in Scotland has signed up to fill in the 8-page why

my child is a victim of rape form? Is the Prime Minister seriously

going into this election with this unworkable and immoral policy? Well,

this is an incredibly sensitive issue, and that is why we have

looked at it very cavalier. We consulted very carefully on it --

very carefully. We have put in place a series of measures when such cases

arise. It is important to look at what lies behind this, because

underpinning this policy is a principle of fairness, and we know

the SNP want to scrap the policy in its entirety. We believe that people

who are in work have to make the same decisions as those people who

are out of work, so that people who are on benefits should have to

decide whether they can afford more children, the same way that people

in work have to decide. York is a fantastic place to work, live and

start a business, but transport infrastructure is key for the city

to fulfil its economic potential. A ring road, a new railway station,

upgrading roads will all help secure yorker's future, so will the Prime

Minister continue to improve infrastructure and deliver for

regions like Yorkshire? He raises an important point. We have been able

to invest ?1.6 million this year for transport improvers, ?2.2 million

for highways improvements, and ?3 million for the York initiative, but

you can only invest if you have the strong and stable leadership that

secures a strong economy, and that is what the choice in June is going

to be. A strong economy, guaranteeing investment across the

country, in York and other parts, or bankruptcies and chaos under Labour.

As the Prime Minister knows, betting terminals cause immense harming

communities. On taking office, she authorised a review of maximum

stakes and all that information was collected by the end of last year.

Why do we still not have a result, and will she today show some

leadership and reduce the maximum stake on these appalling machines to

?2? I recognise this is an issue that has been raised by a number of

members of this House. The answer, we did indeed have that consultation

and there will be a Government response. Of course, that

response... Well... Get on with it, we're told. We are now in a

situation where these things will be published after the purdah period

and after the general election, so the honourable gentleman, the right

honourable gentleman, we'll have to wait for that response, but we

recognise the concern and we will respond in due course. Should the

Prime Minister find herself in the vicinity of Milton Keynes over the

next few weeks, may I suggest a visit to Milton Keynes hospital

where she will find rising clinical standards and investment going into

a new ward, a new medical school and a new cancer treatment centre. Can I

thank my honourable friend. I think I will be visiting parts of

communities around the whole country over the next few weeks, but I want

to congratulate the staff at Milton Keynes University Hospital for

achieving that rating. As my honourable friend said, it was

backed up by considerable investment. Between 2015 and 2020,

of ?500 million is being spent on the NHS in England and it is only

possible because we have safeguarded the economy over the last seven

years. It will only be possible in the future if we secure the strong

and stable leadership our country needs. As I said, in Wales, Labour

had been cutting the health budget. Can I invite the Prime Minister to

visit me in Southampton instead of going to Milton Keynes? She could

tour the Southampton schools. If she does, she will find that those

schools are in despair about the cut in pupil funding of 10% in

Southampton, ?475 per pupil, equivalent to a loss of almost 400

teaching jobs across the city. She would find also one school that is

inviting parents to clean the school toilets. Order! The Prime

Minister... It is perfectly possible I might find myself in Southampton

over the coming weeks. As I have said, as I have said before in this

House, there has been a general agreement that the current funding

formula is not fair, and Labour did nothing in 13 years of Government to

address it. It is important we get it right and we will be responding

to the consultation in due course. What is good news for schools in the

honourable gentleman's constituency is, we now see 7000 more pupils in

God are outstanding schools, and overall funding would rise under our

reforms. After he steps down after 44 years service in the house, I

call Sir Alan Hazlehurst. Can my right honourable friend as you me

that her second Government will have high regard for matters of great

concern to the Saffron Walden constituency? Namely improved

railways, in line with reports, the spread of fast broadband to rural

communities, and an airspace regime that prioritises noise reduction?

Can I first of all pay tribute to my right honourable friend for his

service, not just his constituents over years, but for his service to

this House when he took the chair as Deputy Speaker of this House. He has

been a stall what and a champion of the people of Saffron Walden over

the years, for 40 years, as this speaker has said. He is right to

raise issues of infrastructure spending. In the budget, we included

?40 million for the East of England, but of course, as I think my right

honourable friend implied in his question, it is only possible to do

that with the strong economy that comes with a strong and stable

Government, and for Saffron Walden, that will mean seeing a Conservative

Government elected on the 8th of June. My constituent, Mr Buchanan,

who suffered several serious strokes and requires extensive care was

deemed to have missed an appointment when Aptos arrived early, and his

carers had not turned up yet. His benefits were stopped. Why is the

welfare regime punishing vulnerable people like my constituent? We want

to ensure that we have a system in place that does properly assess

people who are applying for benefits. As he has referred to, and

as other members will know, there have been some issues around the way

in which that system is operated, which is why the DWP has looked

carefully at it to ensure it does make proper assessment and delivers

the right results for people. Does my right honourable friend realise I

am standing down after 34 years because of her was back because I

have confidence that the country will be safe after the election

under her strong and stable leadership. Does she realise that

seizing the opportunity from regaining control over our laws, our

money, our borders and our trade would be more important than the

terms of any exit deal? And does she recognise that to get a reasonable

deal we must accept that no deal is indeed better than a bad deal, and

to deny this signals that no price is too high, no concession to

grovelling to accept, a recipe for the worst possible deal? So, I wish

my right honourable friend and all honourable members in this tack-mac

house I love Godspeed. -- in this House I love. I thank him for the

tremendous contribution he has made through his years as a member of

this House, not only for his constituents, but also for the time

he spent in Government as a valued minister in a Conservative

Government. He has rightly highlighted the importance of the

decision that was taken last year by the people of the United Kingdom. He

played a role in that referendum campaign, and it is right that we

get on with that job of delivering Brexit, making a success of it. That

does mean a strong hand in negotiations, and the only way to

ensure that is the case, the only way to ensure that people of Hitchin

and Harpenden and the whole of the UK, is to ensure a Conservative

Government is elected on the 8th of June. Thank you, Mr Speaker. We do

need a strong Prime Minister to lead this nation, but we also need the

countries of this nation to have a strong voice too. Does the Prime

Minister agree with me that those who abstain from taking their seats

in this house, those who are denying the people of Northern Ireland the

Government, the formation of a Government, are denying their

constituents a say in the future of this country, and we will not allow

that to happen? The honourable gentleman and is absolutely right,

of course. It is important that the constituents who we elect members of

Parliament feel that those members are able to do their job, able to

bring their concerns here to this House and play a full part in this

chamber. He is also right that we want to ensure that every part of

the UK has a strong voice, which is why it is important that we continue

to work for the restoration of the devolved administration in Northern

Ireland. Thank you, Mr Speaker. The Prime Minister has shown

considerable leadership in adopting the definition of anti-Semitism.

Does she believe it is the duty of all party leaders in this House not

just pay lip service but to do something about it? And does she

share... Does she share my disgust that a former member of this House,

criticised by the home affairs select committee for his

anti-Semitic utterances, is now the official candidate in Bradford East

for the Lib brawl Democrats -- the Liberal Democrats? Can I... Can I

first of all pay tribute to my right honourable friend, my chum, for all

the service he has given, and not just for his service in this House.

He had a considerable record in local Government before he came into

this House, and he is also in his time and the work he has done on

anti-Semitism performed a very important role. He has had a

relentless drive to stamp out anti-Semitism, and indeed

intolerance in all its forms in our communities, and he should be proud

of the record he has and the work I know he will continue to do as a

champion on this issue. He is right to highlight Bradford, of course. He

has a particular knowledge of that city, and people will be, I think,

rightly disappointed to see the Liberal Democrats readopt a

candidate with a questionable record on anti-Semitism. It is important

that all parties maintain the strongest possible sense your on all

forms of intolerance and send that message to our communities.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. Is he standing down, too? In the nine

months the Prime Minister has held her office, she has closed the door

on desperate child refugees. She has ignored the plight of those

suffering under crisis in health and social care and she's responsible

for the shameful rape clause. 20 years ago she berated the

Conservative Party for being the nasty party but her party has never

been nastier. For the legacy of this Parliament... THE SPEAKER: Order,

order. Whatever the strength of feeling, the right honourable

gentleman must be heard. And the legacy of this Parliament is the

utter abject failure of Her Majesty's official Opposition to

effectively hold her Government to account for any of it. Is it not

time that Britain had a strong, decent, new Opposition? Well, first

of all let me pick up thep point he made on child refugees. This

Government has a proud record on supporting refugees in Syria. We

have been the second biggest by lateral donor to the region, in

order to support millions of refugees to educate children, as I

saw when I visited Jordan recently and of course we've also supported

some of the most vulnerable refugees, including children in

bringing them here to make a new life in the United Kingdom. He talks

about a decent Opposition. I find it difficult to hear those words coming

from his mouth when we've heard his party has selected a candidate with

questionable views on anti-Semitism. Mr Speaker, it has been an immensed

privilege to serve my constituents for the past 34 years. I arrived in

1983 when one formidable and determined female Conservative Prime

Minister was transforming the country's economic fortunes and I

depart as another is determined to restore to this country the status

of a Sovereign mention state, embracing the rest of the world and

as I too bid my right honourable friend the Prime Minister God speed

for a victory on 8th June, may Aldershot just make one final plea

in these troubled times, please will she ensure that Her Majesty's Armed

Forces are properly funded, manned, equipped and housed to defend and

protect the people of this glorious sceptred Isle, the United Kingdom of

Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Hear hear. Well, once again can I

pay tribute to the work that my honourable friend has done in this

House, representing as he has done, over the 34 years, two different

constituencies. But, of course one of the underlying themes of his time

in this House has been his passionate championing of the Armed

Forces and his consideration for our Armed Forces. And I can assure him

that on 8th June people will have a very clear choice between the right

honourable gentleman who refuses to defend our country, and a

Conservative Government that will continue to support our Armed

Forces. THE SPEAKER: Graham Morris. Can I ask the Prime Minister why is

she running scared of the televised leadership debates? May I suggest

that she holds such a televiced where she can see the consequences

of her policies and explain to the people if it is possible that she

has any mandate to seek their support and re-election? I have been

in televised debates with the right honourable gentleman the Leader of

the Opposition week in and week out since I have been Prime Minister and

I will be talking across all parts of this country a fine record for a

Conservative Government. He talks about housing, twice the amount of

council houses, than built under Labour. Record funding into the

National Health Service and schools and pensioners on the basic state

pension ?1250 aier better off. That's a proud record of the

Conservatives and a record that we will continue after 8th June. THE

SPEAKER: Mike Wood. Mrnchts speaker, it is good to be

back, and to be honest, it is good to be anywhere. -- Mr Speaker

Doctors and nurses of my local hospital saved my life in January

but each year 44,000 people are less lucky. Will my honourable friend

look at the measures we can take, to reduce deaths from sepis, including

awareness-raising, including a national registry to properly record

the burden of sepis and effective commissioning levers to incentivise

best practice. The UK Sepis Trust estimates that measures like these

will save 50,000 lives over the next Parliament. Can I say to my

honourable friend, that it is fantastic to see him back in his

place. I hope he will have noted the welcome he got from across the House

for being back in his place but he is absolutely right, to bring a

focus on this issue of this devastating condition of sepis and

every death from it, of course is a tragedy but as we know, something

like 10,000 deaths per year could be avoided through prevention, early

diagnosis and treatment. We do need to get better at spotting sepis

across the NHS. The Department of Health is beginning work on a new

sepis action plan. We are having a new public awhich areness campaign

and we expect a NICE quality standard to be published later this

year and with the passion that my honourable friend now brings to this

campaign, I'm sure he will continue to make his voice heard on this

important issue. THE SPEAKER: George Howarth? Yesterday, Mr Speaker, my

right honourable friend for Leigh, who will be much missed in this

House, had a debate on contaminated blood on which he called for an

independent Hillsborough-style panel to get at the truth. The Prime

Minister has praised the independent panel approach as a way of opening

up the door to justice. So, will she join with Labour and the SNP in

committing to setting up such a process in her party's manifesto?

Hear hear. Well last July we committed ?125 million of extra

funding for those affected by the contaminated blood tragedy of the

70s and 8 #0s, more than any previous Government. We published

reforms last year and we are now consulting on a new measure to allow

people affected to benefit from higher annual payments but I can

assure everybody that everyone will receive at a minimum what they

receive now as a result of the proposed changes and the Department

of Health will respond to the consultation in due course.

THE SPEAKER: Dame Angela Watkin son? Thank you, Mr Speaker, it was a

privilege to win back the seat of Upminster in 2001 for the

Conservatives. Would my right honourable friend tell the House why

the good people of Hornchurch and Upminster should continue to vote

Conservative at the coming election? Well, can I first of all pay tribe

Bute to my honourable friend for the contribution that she has made, not

-- pay tribute to my honourable friend for the contribution she has

made, not just here but in the whip's office in this House and I'm

happy to tell the voters of Hornchurch and Upminster that every

vote for me and the local Conservative candidate will

strengthen our hand in the Brexit negotiation to get the best deal for

this country and every vote for me and the local Conservative candidate

will be a vote for a stronger economy and every vote for me and

the local Conservative candidate will be a vote for a strong and

stable leadership in the national leadership, compared to the

coalition of chaos we will see under the Labour Party. THE SPEAKER: Mr

Douglas Carswell. Whamplgts assurances account Prime Minister

give to the 3.8 million people that voted Ukip at the last election that

if she is Prime Minister after June 8th, the United Kingdom will become

a Sovereign country again, living under our own Parliament, making our

own laws? I will give an assurance to all those people who voted for

the United Kingdom to leave the European Union and for all people

across the country, regardless of how they voted, who now want to see

this Government getting on with the job of Brexit and making a success

of it, that we want to see control of our borders, control of our laws,

control of our money and that's what we will deliver. THE SPEAKER: In

wishing the right honourable gentleman all the best for the

future, I I call Sir Simon Burns. Dump SHOUTS Mr Speaker, may I thank

you for that. May I tell my right honourable friend the Prime Minister

that for 30 years I've had the privilege and honour to represent

the great people of Chelmsford. May I also tell her that the great

people of Chelmsford are persvicacious. And theyp want a

Government that provides strong economy, strong leadership and

strong defences and may I tell my honourable friend it is the

Conservative Party under her strong leadership that will deliver for

this country for the next five years. Well, can I thank my

honourable friend for the significant contribution that he has

made his constituents in Chelmsford and in this House and in Government

over this period of time. And can I say to him that he is absolutely

right, his constituents will be looking for strong defences, for a

strong economy, a strong leadership that will build a more secure future

for this country and it is only a Conservative Government that can

provide that. Alex Salmond In this Brexit world the Prime Minister is

desperate to have trade deals with anybody and nobody so the

international Trade Secretary went to the Philippines this month

appeared with the president and said he wanted a strong relationship

based on shared values. Can the Prime Minister identify for the

House what shared values that she has in common with the president

there? Well, the right honourable gentleman is right that as we leave

the European Union we want it ensure that we are a truly global Britain,

that we do have trade deals around the rest of the world and the reason

wep want those trade deals as well as the strong and secure deep and

special partnership with the European Union on trade is so we can

ensure prosperity across the whole of the country and jobs for ordinary

working families. Order.

STUDIO: And that was the final Prime Minister's Questions of the

Parliament of 2015-17. It was also the longest Prime Minister's

Questions on record. It amount went to the full hour. 58 minutes.

Beating the record last December on 56 minutes. Only on the Daily

Politics do you get statistics like this. We are overrunning just a

little bit because we wanted to cover it all. The speaker seemed to

be going for most of the MPs who are standing down. He seemed to get a

few and another few were thrown N the exchanges between Mr Corbyn and

Mrs May. Mr Corbyn wanted to cover falling consumer spending power, NHS

spending, school cuts, more about the NHS and so on, Mrs May's replies

were largely about strong and stable Government. I think that gives you a

flavour of the way they election campaign is going. There is another

poll come out while we were on air. It puts the Tories on 49%, plus 10,

which suggests the previous one was a bit of an outlier, and Labour

27-minus for. Laura, what did you make of it? I

think for Jeremy Corbyn it was an attempt to go through his greatest

hits. These issues we know he talked about for a long time. He tried to

do the full package, Housing, the NHS Irish and issues about school

cuts. He went back to his, what was meant to be newfangled, but didn't

serve him that way, with those e-mails, those questions from

members of the public, so we had Maureen, Laura, Andy Sybil and one

final one that I haven't got down in my notes. Christopher.

Well-remembered, Jo. I think the new story out of that Prime Minister's

Questions is probably that the Prime Minister had the opportunity twice

to give assurances about the triple lock on pensions and twice she

swerved it. Indeed stumbled a little bit in the swerve Didn't look too

pleased to be getting that question from the Westminster leader of the

SNP, Angus Robertson. Watch this space. Clearly a live debate behind

the scenes going on in the top level of the Tory Party on whether or not

to recommit to that guarantee. And there is a debate, is in the?

So-called Islamic State I am only a humble backbencher. She set up what

I said earlier - the record we have on delivering the pensioners... If

you're just a humble backbencher, are you just waiting to be told what

to think? I am happy with the record. But the triple lock, do you

have a view on that or will you just wait until you read the manifesto? I

want to make sure we continue protecting pensioners. Whether you

make a commitment about the minimum 2.5% of whether it is just inflation

or earnings, that is the debate that is going on, but I want to make sure

I can knock on the door of a pensioner and say, we will deliver a

good result for pensioners. That Labour are promising to keep it. But

like all Labour policies, they don't know how to pay for this. The

Corporation tax cut has been spent eight times. They have no idea how

to paper any of these promises. Theresa May said she will stick to

the 0.7% spending on foreign aid. So why is she not making this

commitment? She has been very clear. It is as clear as mud, which is why

we have asked these questions. You have to wait for the manifesto. Mrs

May had a bit of fun about this website regarding Mr Corbyn, but

there are also things about John McDonnell, the Shadow Chancellor.

How am worried are you about these things from the past, for example,

Mr McDonnell signing a letter calling for the abolition of MI5 and

disarming the police? Are you worried that will haunt you? Yell I

am sure the Conservatives will try to use all kinds of scare stories,

and that is why we absolutely have to have a vision of hope, of an

optimistic, different kind of... Howl worried are you that the Shadow

Chancellor called for the abolition of MI5? There is nothing the Labour

Government will do that will put the security of the country at risk. How

can you be sure, given their previous record? Mr Corbyn, there is

a video came out with him calling for the scrapping of Nato. That is

not policy, we are a pro-NATO party. There is nothing we will do in

Government that puts the defence of this country of ours in jeopardy.

These past things do haunt you, don't they? In 2017, the world is a

different place. Labour Party policy is very clear. We will discuss it

more when your manifesto comes out. There's just time to put you out

of your misery and give Press that button, it is not the

nuclear one! And Phil Brewer has one. -- has won. 1952. That is it

from the longest Prime Minister's Questions. But one o'clock News has

just started on BBC One. I will be here tomorrow.

It's time to clock in... Whoooa!