:00:09. > :00:19.Thank you for coming to join us today, our very distinguished and
:00:20. > :00:23.honourable guest the Prime Minister the reason may. She will just say a
:00:24. > :00:30.few words and an open the floor to the general questions. Can we give a
:00:31. > :00:39.big welcome to the Prime Minister Theresa May. Thank you very much
:00:40. > :00:45.indeed, a great pleasure to be with you. Just say a few words to you
:00:46. > :00:48.about the general election on the 8th of June and give you an
:00:49. > :00:53.opportunity to ask me some questions. As we look ahead to the
:00:54. > :00:57.8th of June, this is a really important time, I think, for the
:00:58. > :01:02.future of our country and there is an important choice to be made at
:01:03. > :01:06.the election. Because the next five years really matters. Getting it
:01:07. > :01:12.right for the next five years matters because so much hangs on it.
:01:13. > :01:16.Our future prosperity, our place in the world, our standard of living,
:01:17. > :01:21.the opportunities we want from our children and our children's
:01:22. > :01:27.children. I'm going to be out and about around the country, over the
:01:28. > :01:31.next 23 days, showing people why I believe that this is an important
:01:32. > :01:34.election. I think we need an election now to give us the strong
:01:35. > :01:39.and stable leadership for the future that will get the right deal from
:01:40. > :01:43.Europe but also build a better Britain for the future. I'm going to
:01:44. > :01:49.be out and about around the country over the next 23 days. I want to
:01:50. > :01:54.earn every vote I can to enable me to give you that leadership and lead
:01:55. > :01:59.the country forward. Because if we look ahead, Brexit actually offers
:02:00. > :02:03.us opportunities for the future. It is important that we seize those
:02:04. > :02:07.opportunities and we need the strong and stable Government and leadership
:02:08. > :02:11.to be above to do that. The first thing of course that we need to do
:02:12. > :02:16.is to get the best deal for Britain from Europe. Build a deep and
:02:17. > :02:21.special partnership with Europe that will give us that good relationship
:02:22. > :02:27.that will be good for businesses like this and across the rest of the
:02:28. > :02:31.country. But if we get the Brexit deal right, of course that will also
:02:32. > :02:35.enable us to get a better deal for ordinary working people here at
:02:36. > :02:42.home. That means a Government that has a plan for the future and I will
:02:43. > :02:44.be taking my plan for a stronger Britain out to people over the
:02:45. > :02:49.remaining days of this election campaign. The Government of the role
:02:50. > :02:53.to play in that. It is important that we make sure there is a good
:02:54. > :02:57.school place for every child, so that youngsters get the best
:02:58. > :03:03.possible start in life. We need to make sure that we locked in economic
:03:04. > :03:07.growth so we can fund the first class National Health Service. We
:03:08. > :03:11.need to tackle and take action in relation to people's standard of
:03:12. > :03:15.living and the cost of living and also make sure Government is really
:03:16. > :03:19.at the service of ordinary working people. I've already set out some
:03:20. > :03:24.policies I think follows through on that. We have announced a new
:03:25. > :03:29.generation of social housing with a new Right-To-Buy for tenants. We
:03:30. > :03:34.have announced protection for workers' pensions from irresponsible
:03:35. > :03:39.bosses, new mental health rules to tackle injustice, action to end the
:03:40. > :03:43.injustice of rip-off energy bills by putting a cap on energy price
:03:44. > :03:49.ranges. Yesterday, I announced the biggest ever enhancement to workers
:03:50. > :03:53.Bourdy writes that has ever been proposed by a Conservative
:03:54. > :03:58.Government. There are a number of elements that, we will protect the
:03:59. > :04:02.that currently guarantee by EU law when we leave the European Union.
:04:03. > :04:08.But we will also enhance writes in a number of ways. We have announced a
:04:09. > :04:14.rights to time off when a parent loses a child, a right to request
:04:15. > :04:18.time off for training, a right to have time off to care for a family
:04:19. > :04:22.member. We will also make sure that the national living wage rises with
:04:23. > :04:29.media and earnings over the next Parliament. We will make sure that
:04:30. > :04:33.our discrimination laws enable us to tackle the problem of discrimination
:04:34. > :04:39.in the workplace of people with intermittent mental health
:04:40. > :04:47.conditions. We will make sure that workers representation on company
:04:48. > :04:50.boards and we will look to introduce internships, so to help people who
:04:51. > :04:54.have taken time out from the workplace, to be able to get back
:04:55. > :04:58.into the workplace. We also look at the race of racial disparity in paid
:04:59. > :05:03.by introducing more transparency in that area. I think these sorts of
:05:04. > :05:08.policies are exactly what we need in order to make sure we are doing the
:05:09. > :05:13.best for ordinary working families and people up and down the country.
:05:14. > :05:18.It will take strong leadership and a strong Government to do that. It
:05:19. > :05:22.will not just happen. We need that strong and stable Government with a
:05:23. > :05:27.plan to take this country forward. I will be out and about in the
:05:28. > :05:32.remaining days until the general election, talking and listening to
:05:33. > :05:36.people and earning every vote I can and if I do that and I really do
:05:37. > :05:37.believe that together, we can build a better future for this country.
:05:38. > :05:55.Thank you. APPLAUSE
:05:56. > :06:01.I will take some questions. Would you like a microphone? When you get
:06:02. > :06:10.re-elected, have you got plans for NHS? And defence budget? Yes, and we
:06:11. > :06:15.will be publishing our manifesto later this week so you will see all
:06:16. > :06:19.the details. What I think is important for our NHS, we have been
:06:20. > :06:26.putting extra funding into the NHS and we announced a couple of months
:06:27. > :06:35.ago, some extra funding for accident and emergency, to help improve
:06:36. > :06:42.things. We want to make sure that being in the NHS is an attractive
:06:43. > :06:47.profession. We will set out our details on the manifesto, our
:06:48. > :06:53.proposals for the future, but I want to make sure we have a strong NHS
:06:54. > :06:58.and we can only do that by making sure we generate funds from the
:06:59. > :07:03.economy. We will put money into our defence budget and we have committed
:07:04. > :07:07.2% of our GDP being committed on defence. Also, the defence budget
:07:08. > :07:11.will rise by 0.5% above inflation each year.
:07:12. > :07:20.Think I saw a hand over here. Why do you think the Conservative Party is
:07:21. > :07:23.the best party to take us through Brexit? I think we are the best
:07:24. > :07:26.party to take us through Brexit because I think there are two things
:07:27. > :07:31.you need when you are looking at Brexit. You need to be stronger and
:07:32. > :07:36.what are going to be tough negotiations. We have seen in recent
:07:37. > :07:41.weeks that it is going to be tough, some of the things that had been
:07:42. > :07:49.said about our future and we are committed, the only party that is
:07:50. > :07:53.really committed that we do this and I think whatever side of the
:07:54. > :07:57.argument people were on at the time, I think now they just want us to get
:07:58. > :08:02.on with it and do it well. So we have got the plan to take us through
:08:03. > :08:05.those negotiations. I have set out our proposals for the sort of
:08:06. > :08:09.relationship we want with Europe in the future and I want the best
:08:10. > :08:15.possible relationship portrayed so that businesses can thrive here but
:08:16. > :08:19.we want to do more than Brexit, it is about a plan that takes us beyond
:08:20. > :08:21.and things like our modern industrial strategy, making sure
:08:22. > :08:26.prosperity and growth can be spread across the whole of the UK, are an
:08:27. > :08:32.important part of that. This gentleman here and then I will come
:08:33. > :08:37.to the back. The cost of living has gone higher since Brexit. I am from
:08:38. > :08:41.a family of seven. What are you going to do to bring the cost of
:08:42. > :08:46.living down? You are right, the cost of living, when we are seeing
:08:47. > :08:50.inflation, obviously, has gone up slightly, the impact of what has
:08:51. > :08:54.happened to the currency is partly about that but there are things we
:08:55. > :08:59.can do, like on energy prices. I see too many people paying over the odds
:09:00. > :09:03.for energy which is a key fundamental for you if you have got
:09:04. > :09:06.a family and are looking after your family, so doing something on
:09:07. > :09:11.something like that is important but longer term, it's about actually
:09:12. > :09:18.making sure that we've got a strong economy that can support jobs. I
:09:19. > :09:21.would like to see higher paid jobs, more people... More investment in
:09:22. > :09:26.this country so we can create that environment where people are able to
:09:27. > :09:30.see a better future in terms of their cost of living but also a
:09:31. > :09:35.better future for their children. But the price of food is going
:09:36. > :09:42.higher and higher, at rising since the last six months. There is an
:09:43. > :09:47.impact in relation to the price of food. What we need to do is make
:09:48. > :09:51.sure we get back Brexit deal right. There will be some uncertainty for
:09:52. > :09:56.business and people over the next couple of years as we are doing that
:09:57. > :10:00.negotiation but what we need to make sure as we get that negotiation
:10:01. > :10:05.right so we get the best possible deal, because our future and what
:10:06. > :10:10.our cost of living years in the future, depends on us being able to
:10:11. > :10:13.do that and having a really good economy and coming up with
:10:14. > :10:16.proposals, like the Labour Party have today, which will end with
:10:17. > :10:19.people paying the price for those policies doesn't help in terms of
:10:20. > :10:23.peoples cost of living or in terms of being able to fund public
:10:24. > :10:34.services for the future. There was a hand right at the back that I saw.
:10:35. > :10:38.Very encouraging to see you as a member of Parliament working closely
:10:39. > :10:42.with your constituency. Many members of Parliament to work very hard and
:10:43. > :10:45.there is quite a low turnout at elections sometimes. What would you
:10:46. > :10:52.encourage the electorate to do and what more could MPs do to make sure
:10:53. > :10:56.we get a good turnout? You are right and thank you, because of course the
:10:57. > :11:00.last screw fixed building that I went into was the new one in
:11:01. > :11:04.Maidenhead in my constituency and I was very pleased to be able to do
:11:05. > :11:09.that -- the last Screwfix building. We should all be giving the message
:11:10. > :11:12.to people at this election that it is really crucially important in
:11:13. > :11:17.terms of the choice available to people and it is about the future of
:11:18. > :11:21.our country. I think it is the most crucial election we have faced in my
:11:22. > :11:25.lifetime because we are at this important moment of change for the
:11:26. > :11:37.country in terms of Brexit and going forward beyond Brexit, so I would
:11:38. > :11:39.encourage everybody to go out and vote and it is important for all of
:11:40. > :11:42.us involved in this, whoever we are, to go out and encourage people to go
:11:43. > :11:52.out and vote, because it is about people's future anymore from the...?
:11:53. > :11:55.Yes. Thank you. Obviously, Stoke-on-Trent was it quite hard
:11:56. > :12:01.when the industry is left. What will be the plans to being back
:12:02. > :12:06.investment into our city? I was here a few weeks ago with Jack looking at
:12:07. > :12:08.the way the ceramics industry in Stoke has actually been reignited,
:12:09. > :12:13.if you like and there were some real success stories. Just hearing about
:12:14. > :12:18.this building and the work you do here and the hundreds of people
:12:19. > :12:23.employed here, this is a great success story as well. What we want
:12:24. > :12:25.to do as a Government, we have published not recalled our modern
:12:26. > :12:29.industrial strategy, looking at different parts of the country in
:12:30. > :12:34.different sectors of industry, saying how can we encourage growth
:12:35. > :12:36.across the whole country, where there are in a fit and where there
:12:37. > :12:42.are particular classes of expertise, which can we continue to help those
:12:43. > :12:47.to grow further and create those hopes and incentives for industry,
:12:48. > :12:50.so her industrial strategy will be aiming to roll out and make sure
:12:51. > :12:55.that posterity is going across the whole of the country and as I said,
:12:56. > :13:01.you have got some advantages here in Stoke in existing industries that
:13:02. > :13:06.could be built on for the future. What are your plans for the tax-free
:13:07. > :13:16.allowance come 2022? You mean for the personal allowance? Is
:13:17. > :13:22.physically and I'm a Conservative member, what are the plans for the
:13:23. > :13:27.tax-free allowance? I am going to disappoint Jinnat I'm not setting
:13:28. > :13:31.out tax plans until you see the manifesto later this week but we
:13:32. > :13:37.have raised the personal allowance. We have taken 4 million people out
:13:38. > :13:42.of paying tax altogether and by raising the allowance, there is a
:13:43. > :13:47.tax rate which is for the basic rate tax payer of about ?1000 a year, so
:13:48. > :13:51.we are a low tax party, but our manifesto will come out later this
:13:52. > :13:58.week. Sorry, I'm making the microphone move around. Obviously in
:13:59. > :14:05.the election before on Brexit, Ukip did a lot for that because of
:14:06. > :14:08.immigration I voted Ukip and I think seven out of ten people voted on
:14:09. > :14:16.immigration. What are your plans for immigration? You are right, I
:14:17. > :14:18.believe that for some people who voted at the referendum, immigration
:14:19. > :14:23.was one of the issues they were concerned about. Of course, I was
:14:24. > :14:27.home secretaries or six years and during that time, we brought a lot
:14:28. > :14:30.of changes into immigration laws were people coming from outside the
:14:31. > :14:35.EU. We think number should be brought down. We want to control our
:14:36. > :14:38.borders, I think that is important, whipping number should be brought
:14:39. > :14:42.death to sustainable levels and we continue to think that is in the
:14:43. > :14:45.tens of thousands, but on immigration, there is no one thing
:14:46. > :14:49.you do that certainly makes the numbers cut down to that level, you
:14:50. > :14:53.have to constantly work at it. What we will now be able to do when we
:14:54. > :14:58.leave the EU is bring in rules for people coming from the EU into the
:14:59. > :15:03.UK as we have rules for people coming from outside the EU, so that
:15:04. > :15:06.will help us control that element of immigration that with free movement,
:15:07. > :15:10.we were not able to control but I think it is very clear that we as a
:15:11. > :15:15.party were quite early to recognise that this was a concern for people
:15:16. > :15:21.and to look to put some control into our immigration rules and we will
:15:22. > :15:24.continue to do so. I'll take perhaps... The Gentleman Thief had
:15:25. > :15:27.has been waiting and add one more question over their and then I will
:15:28. > :15:36.come to the media. Don't worry, I will come to you. Yesterday, you
:15:37. > :15:39.said you wouldn't debate Jeremy Corbyn because you don't think the
:15:40. > :15:44.public want to see politicians shout at each other. That is pretty much
:15:45. > :15:48.Prime Minister's Questions every Wednesday. How are we expected to
:15:49. > :15:54.see you as a strong leader when you won't debate the opposition? As you
:15:55. > :15:58.yourself said, I have debated the opposition virtually every Wednesday
:15:59. > :16:01.since I became Prime Minister. What I think is important during
:16:02. > :16:06.elections is to do things like this, get out and take questions from
:16:07. > :16:11.people in a variety of settings, in work settings and other ways too,
:16:12. > :16:17.rather than having that sort of TV setup debate, which normally ends up
:16:18. > :16:21.with the politicians, as you say, having a go at each other, rather
:16:22. > :16:27.than being able to answer people's questions. I did an event yesterday,
:16:28. > :16:33.Facebook live, people are able to put questions into Facebook and 445
:16:34. > :16:36.minutes, did quickfire answers, to answer questions as quickly as
:16:37. > :16:42.possible and answering directly and I think that is what is important.
:16:43. > :16:45.People make their choice but I want to give people the opportunity to
:16:46. > :16:53.ask me questions direct in that way. There was a lady at the back there.
:16:54. > :16:58.Hello, Prime Minister. Following on from the Brexit theme, in terms of
:16:59. > :17:02.once we do leave Europe, are there any plans that you may have to
:17:03. > :17:08.introduce a tax or a levy for foreign vehicles using our roads, in
:17:09. > :17:15.the same way we have two when we go across to Europe? There is an
:17:16. > :17:20.interesting question. Over time, various governments have looked at
:17:21. > :17:25.that as a possibility and there have always been various logistical
:17:26. > :17:29.issues that have led to us not doing that and I will be perfectly honest
:17:30. > :17:35.with you, it is not something I have looked at at this stage. I know it
:17:36. > :17:39.is something a lot of people do worry about, particularly people in
:17:40. > :17:43.the haulage industry but it is not looking back at something we are
:17:44. > :17:52.looking out. I will come the media. Let's take ITV. Emily Morgan. Labour
:17:53. > :17:55.has said today that they won't raise National Insurance, they will
:17:56. > :17:59.provide free childcare for every family and increased the National
:18:00. > :18:03.Living Wage to ?10 an hour. All policies aimed at working people. If
:18:04. > :18:08.you really are the party of working people, will you also make such
:18:09. > :18:14.pledges and if I make a second question, your response to reports
:18:15. > :18:18.that President Trump has disclosed classified information to the
:18:19. > :18:22.Russians? First of all, on the second issue that you've raised, I
:18:23. > :18:28.mean, I don't, as you know, comment on issues that are... May or may not
:18:29. > :18:32.relate to security matters, so we won't comment on that and it is not
:18:33. > :18:38.up to me what President Trump says to anybody he is meeting and talking
:18:39. > :18:43.to. On the first issue, what I would say is you mention some ideas in
:18:44. > :18:46.Labour's manifesto. If we look at the whole manifesto, it shows what
:18:47. > :18:52.we knew all along which is basically, it doesn't add up and if
:18:53. > :18:54.you look at that manifesto, it isn't what people promising but can you
:18:55. > :19:00.believe that people will deliver what they are promising? You can
:19:01. > :19:03.only fund the National Health Service, you can only have the
:19:04. > :19:08.funding we have made available in relation to childcare if you've got
:19:09. > :19:11.that strong economy. What we see from Labour's proposals today is
:19:12. > :19:15.they don't add up and are nonsensical economic policies which
:19:16. > :19:19.means ordinary working families would pay the price of Labour's
:19:20. > :19:26.coalition of chaos. I will take the BBC. You are in a room full of
:19:27. > :19:30.workers, Prime Minister. Were you guaranteed all the staff here, just
:19:31. > :19:37.as George Osborne did in 2015, that the living wage will reach ?9 an by
:19:38. > :19:41.2020? The National Living Wage will rise in line with median earnings,
:19:42. > :19:52.that was always the commitment that was made and that will Remain the
:19:53. > :19:57.commitment. Just a follow up and's question. You said inflation is up
:19:58. > :20:02.slightly, it is that nearly a four-year high and is now clearly
:20:03. > :20:07.outstripping wages. Are the party for working people and pensioners,
:20:08. > :20:10.vote under a potential new Tory Government, pensioners will be
:20:11. > :20:14.poorer undershoot recommit to the triple lock and workers could be
:20:15. > :20:18.poorer unless you actually do commit to what George Osborne said in 2015,
:20:19. > :20:25.which was he would lift the the National Living Wage to ?9 52020,
:20:26. > :20:28.can you give both all the workers here and pensioners some
:20:29. > :20:33.reassurances that as inflation ramps up, they won't be poorer under your
:20:34. > :20:38.Government? I have been very clear that content Makovich pensions will
:20:39. > :20:41.continue to rise under a Conservative Government. How we
:20:42. > :20:46.calculate that will be set out in our manifesto. What we have seen
:20:47. > :20:50.over the last seven years as an increase in pensioners' income
:20:51. > :20:55.through the basic state pension. Under Labour, we had one year when
:20:56. > :21:00.the rise was 75p. The rise in basic state pension is now equal to ?1250
:21:01. > :21:04.a year, so a significant improvement for pensions and they will continue
:21:05. > :21:07.to go up under a Conservative Government and as I have said, the
:21:08. > :21:12.National Living Wage has always been committed in relation to rising in
:21:13. > :21:20.line with median earnings and that is what we will do for the future.
:21:21. > :21:25.Jeremy Corbyn has announced ?48 billion worth of spending
:21:26. > :21:31.commitments but they are very popular with the public in polls.
:21:32. > :21:35.Are you worried about Labour's manifesto's popularity? And as we
:21:36. > :21:40.are at Screwfix today, do you think it would screw or fix the economy?
:21:41. > :21:46.LAUGHTER You can always trust the sun to come
:21:47. > :21:50.out with lines like that! Ordinary working families will find
:21:51. > :21:55.themselves paying the price for the spending commitments Jeremy Corbyn
:21:56. > :22:01.has put forward. I think the sums have probably been dreamt up by
:22:02. > :22:04.Diane Abbott and what we see is that these policies are nonsensical
:22:05. > :22:08.economic policies and they would damage our economy. That means
:22:09. > :22:12.businesses go under, there are fewer jobs, less money to put into the
:22:13. > :22:15.national health services and other public services. There is a very
:22:16. > :22:21.clear choice at the election which is me and my tea with a plan and
:22:22. > :22:24.division to build a stronger economy for the future and Labour with plans
:22:25. > :22:32.that I believe would wreck the economy. Prime Minister, earlier you
:22:33. > :22:37.told some schoolchildren you were a fan of the Harry Potter books. Can I
:22:38. > :22:43.ask you which character you believe you are most similar to? LAUGHTER
:22:44. > :22:48.You can't ask me that! LAUGHTER I don't think I'm similar to any of
:22:49. > :23:01.them! They are a great read, for adults as well as for children.
:23:02. > :23:04.Daily mirror. Yesterday, in your Facebook live interview, you said
:23:05. > :23:08.one of the reasons you support fox hunting is because other ways of
:23:09. > :23:15.controlling numbers is more cruel. Can you set out ways that you think
:23:16. > :23:22.that is more cruel than a fox being ripped apart by a pack of hounds?
:23:23. > :23:27.There are problems that can occur when other methods of killing foxes
:23:28. > :23:31.are used. What I said yesterday was, do other things. It will be a free
:23:32. > :23:35.vote of members of Parliament when it comes to this issue and each
:23:36. > :23:37.member of Parliament will take their own individual decision on this
:23:38. > :23:42.issue and I think for most people, as you will have seen today, there
:23:43. > :23:46.are other issues that are more important to them in this election.
:23:47. > :23:57.I think we may have some local media here. Do we have the stokes then the
:23:58. > :23:59.law? -- stoke Sentinel. Labour announced today they will put
:24:00. > :24:06.millions of pounds extra in the school budgets. We are all putting
:24:07. > :24:09.record levels of funding into schools at the moment and we
:24:10. > :24:14.introduced the pupil premium which make sure with that extra funding
:24:15. > :24:19.available, focused particularly on disadvantaged children. For our
:24:20. > :24:23.overall schools policy, you will have to wait to see what we say in
:24:24. > :24:28.our manifesto when that is produced. We want to make sure we have a fair
:24:29. > :24:32.distribution of school funding across the country. Everybody
:24:33. > :24:36.accepts there is unfair system at the moment. We have to get this
:24:37. > :24:40.right. We have put forward proposals and have consulted on them but we
:24:41. > :24:45.need to look obviously at the response to those proposals. I want
:24:46. > :24:48.to see a fair system of funding across the nation's schools and want
:24:49. > :24:54.to see a diverse school system where we are able to see every child
:24:55. > :24:59.having a good school place. I think BBC radio Stoke is here? I think
:25:00. > :25:06.this may have to be the last question. The local hospital, it
:25:07. > :25:13.routinely fails to meet a the targets with frequent long waits for
:25:14. > :25:20.patients, can you put a figure on what investment will be seen for our
:25:21. > :25:35.local hospital. Looking at the way hospitals are dealing with a -- A,
:25:36. > :25:40.what we see in A is that sometimes they are put under significant
:25:41. > :25:44.pressure. And sometimes people go to A because they cannot access
:25:45. > :25:48.services elsewhere. So it is not just about what you can do for the
:25:49. > :25:53.hospital but about making sure the services available for people to go
:25:54. > :25:58.elsewhere, such as the seven day a week access to GPs we want to see.
:25:59. > :26:22.Thank you, everybody, I think that was the last question. APPLAUSE
:26:23. > :26:28.The 2017 general election is upon us and every day, we will have the key
:26:29. > :26:33.speeches from the main players. As well as all the big campaign events.
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