March 2026

This Labour Government are changing the planning regulations so that we can get on and build the homes we need across our country. The Conservatives’ failure was the failure to do so. But I must applaud the hon. Gentleman, because at least he has had the decency to accept some of the failures of the last Government. On special educational needs and disabilities, he said: “my Government didn’t do enough on this.” and, “it’s awful.” He said his party “should hang our heads in shame”. He is absolut

Let me give a little more detail. For a number of weeks now, we have been pre-deploying our capabilities to the region. In doing so, we have been liaising very closely with the United States, as the House would have expected. Therefore, radar systems were pre-deployed, ground-based air defence was pre-deployed, counter-drone systems were pre-deployed, and F-35 jets were pre-deployed. That is why since Saturday morning, multiple F-35s and Typhoons have been in operation, not just in the middle ea

This is obviously an extremely serious situation, and I know the whole country is worried about the potential for escalation. People are worried about the impact on their lives, particularly when they see what is happening with energy. The family and friends of those who are caught in the region will be worried sick about them, and of course we have civilians and military personnel at risk in the region. We need to act, therefore, with clarity, with purpose, and with a cool head. The protection

My hon. Friend is right to champion brilliant manufacturers. Our modern industrial strategy is driving up standards, investment, jobs and growth, and our growth and skills levy ensures that we have the skills we need, supporting more short courses in critical sectors, including engineering. We are investing over £700 million to support thousands more young people into apprenticeships, in stark contrast to the 40% fall in apprenticeship starts under the Conservative party.

The situation in the middle east remains serious and volatile. This Government will be resolute in our focus, protecting British lives, bringing our people home and safeguarding our national interest. Today my thoughts are with the family and friends of Sarah Everard on this very painful anniversary. Five years ago, I said that her death had to be a turning point, and this Government are committed to halving violence against women and girls. We are acting in our schools, our police forces, onlin

Parliamentary appearance by Pete Wishart

I listened to what the hon. Member said, but I do not recognise what she says. This Government are listening to farmers and acting to ensure that they feel better off, which includes streamlining and reducing the burden on businesses and cutting costs.

Parliamentary appearance by Charlotte Cane

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. One of the most important things to this Labour Government is putting more money in the pockets of people across Wales and England. So far, we have increased the national minimum and living wages, giving a pay rise to 160,000 Welsh workers; we have announced the first ever permanent real-terms increase to universal credit, benefiting 320 households in Wales; and we have increased the state pension. A lot has been done and there is still a lot more to do—that i

Parliamentary appearance by Uma Kumaran

We know that the cost of living is the No. 1 issue for people across the country and that is why we remain wholly committed to tackling it. As a result of our actions, interest rates have already been cut six times since the election, energy bills will be cheaper this spring and families getting a new mortgage are almost £1,400 a year better off than they were under the Tories.

This Government are completely serious about reducing child poverty. I am proud that we are a Government who are putting children first. Remember, the decision the Tories took was not about the policy; it was simply about politics. We are putting children first.

I completely agree with my hon. Friend. It has and always will be children who pay the price for cruel policies, like those introduced under the Tories. I am proud that, as a Labour Government rooted in the values of fairness, we have scrapped the two-child limit, benefiting 69,000 children in Wales, and giving children their future back and hope for a better life. It is a surprise to no one that the Conservatives and Reform would reintroduce the cap and yet again plunge more children into pover

Too many children are held back by the scourge of poverty, wilfully created by the Conservative party. Our new child poverty strategy will lift more than half a million children out of poverty by 2030 across the UK, delivering the largest expected reduction since records began. Removing the two-child limit will benefit thousands of children in Wales.

My life was changed by the opportunity to study music—yes, very many years ago. I believe that every child deserves that opportunity. The Conservatives cut those opportunities—that particularly excluded poorer children—and now they call creative arts courses a “dead end”. I totally disagree; they are the lifeblood of the creative industries that showcase Britain around the world. The new national centre will launch this year, and Labour is investing in music hubs so that every child has the same

The right hon. Member will have heard me set out what we did by way of pre-deployment, working in conjunction with and liaising with the US. So he understands the context in which those pre-deployments were put in place, and I think they speak for themselves as to why they were put in those places. In relation to defence spend, obviously we are increasing it to 2.6% of GDP—that is £270 billion over the Parliament—but as I said in the speech I gave in Munich just a couple of weeks ago, we are goi

Energy security is critical to food security, and the sprint to clean energy is the only way to get off the volatile international fossil fuel markets, cut bills and deliver energy security. Since we came into office, over £90 billion of investment into clean energy industry has come in, powering millions of homes. The Tories and Reform would throw all that away and cling to the failed policy that put everyone’s bills up throughout their reign.

Again, I thank the right hon. Gentleman for raising this. It is very important that I say that, as he and the House would expect, we are working 24/7 on dealing with any threats to this country. I spoke on Monday about the 20 Iran-backed threats that we had successfully dealt with. We continue to do so, and we are working on it 24/7—it is important that I say that. In relation to the IRGC, obviously we have put in place a number of sanctions already. We do not comment on proscription, but we hav

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for raising this, because I know it will be a concern to the public, who are watching what is going on and are very concerned about the impact it will have on their lives. It is important that I emphasise the actions we have been taking urgently this week with our allies and energy agencies across the world, and the work we are doing to ensure the safe passage of energy across the world. We will continue to do that. I was glad that we were able to bring energy bi

I know that my hon. Friend has been fighting for her constituents and holding management companies to account. Our reform Bill will end the broken, outdated leasehold system and make the dream of home ownership real. We are capping ground rents, delivering transparency on service charges and scrapping the presumption that leaseholders pay landlords’ legal costs. Our focus is on saving people money, giving them more control of their homes and creating a fairer housing system.