Draft Transcript of Prime Minister's Questions - 2 April 2014

8/12/2019 Draft Transcript of Prime Minister's Questions - 2 April 2014

1/8

Draft Transcript of Prime Minister s Questions on Wednesday 2 April 2014.

Subject area Question and answer detail MP asking thequestion

Party Constituency

Housing Is the PM aware that at the presenttime in England 3million + are in theprivate rented sector. 2/3 feelinsecure and half worry aboutpaying their rent?

PM: Full on rent control has beentried in the past and has destroyedthe sector and driven people backto state.

Theres a need to build more

houses including houses in theprivate rental sector. where I thinkhe's wrong is that full-on rentcontrols which have been tried inthe past have tended to driveeveryone away from the privatesector, back to the state sector, andreduce the quality of housing

Jeremy Corbyn@jeremycorbyn

Labour Islington North

Employment In the week when our Rt HonFriend the Chancellor has spoken

of the importance to theGovernment of securing fullemployment that the record showsthat no Labour government inhistory left office with loweremployment than when they cameto office?

PM: The Prime minister says Dorrellis "factually correct" and that the

current Government must "keep upthe work".

Stephen Dorrell Conservative Charnwood

Royal Mail Can the PM tell the house what ishis excuse for the Royal Mailfiasco?

PM: Taxpayers benefited fromselling the business from 2bn -that of course is 2bn the partyopposite never achieved because

they were never able to sell thebusiness

Ed Miliband@Ed_Miliband

Labour Leader of theOpposition,Doncaster North

Royal Mail The member for NorthamptonSouth said it was a debacle,unethical and immoral.


http://www.parliament.uk/business/news/2014/april/prime-ministers-questions-2-april-2014/http://www.parliament.uk/business/news/2014/april/prime-ministers-questions-2-april-2014/http://www.parliament.uk/business/news/2014/april/prime-ministers-questions-2-april-2014/http://www.parliament.uk/business/news/2014/april/prime-ministers-questions-2-april-2014/


2/8

Shares were sold for 330p. Whatare they trading at now?

PM: There are trading ahead ofwhere they were sold but the fact isthis - when the right honourable

gentleman was sitting in theCabinet this business lost half abillion pounds. It is now in theprivate sector, it is making profits, itis paying taxes, it is working hardfor our country, and more to thepoint there are now more than140,000 people working for thePost Office who earn shares in thebusiness they work for ... that issomething we should all be proudof.

The fact is this when the RHGwas sitting in the cabinet, thisbusiness lost half a bn. Now in theprivate sector, it is making profitsand working hard for our country.

Royal Mail He cant answer the questionbecause its such anembarrassment. He sold at 330pand this morning the price was563p. It is basic maths, Mr Speaker.Not so much the Wolf of WallStreet, more the Dunce of DowningStreet. If Royal Mail was sold attodays price, how much morewould the taxpayer have made?

If the Royal Mail was sold at todaysprice, how much more would the

taxpayer have made?

PM: I will take a lecture from almostanyone in the country on the sale ofRoyal Mail but not from the twomuppets who advise the lastChancellor on selling the gold!Thisis a great success for our countryand something he should bepraising.



Royal Mail "The answer is that the taxpayerwould have got 1.4bn less for itsvaluable asset than it is worthtoday. And heres the thing, Mr




3/8

Speaker, a third of the shares weresold to just 16 City investors andget this there was a gentlemansagreement that those City investorswouldnt sell the shares. Whathappened? Within weeks, halfthose shares were sold In other

words, mates rates to his friends inthe City. What happened to thatgentlemans agreement?

PM: We know why he's askingthese questions - because he ispaid to by the trade unions. He satin a Cabinet that wanted to privatisethe Royal Mail. That was theircommitment. What happened wasthe general secretary of the CWUsaid ... it was the unions thatbrought the government to hissenses.

Royal Mail What happened to that agreement?

PM: The taxpayer is better off.



Royal Mail Hes flog ged it off to his friends inthe City There was a gentlemansagreement that these long-terminvestors so called would notsell their shares what happenedto that agreement?

PM: References the advert put outby Labour



Royal Mail A national asset sold to make afortune for the few. British peoplepaying the price. Hes gone as redas a post- box and thats becausehe knows he has lost 1.4bn for thetaxpayer. This is a sale nobodywanted and nobody voted for itsa symbol of a government thatstands up for the wrong people,with the British people paying theprice.

PM: Its a sale nobody wanted? Itwas in his manifesto! Weve seen itall from Labour this week.



Investment inEast Angliatransport

Will my RHF agree that East Anglianeeds investment and the benefitswill be brought to businesses inNorfolk, Suffolk and Essex?

Chloe Smith@chloesmithMP

Conservative Norwich North


4/8

PM: I pay tribute to the HL for herwork on transport. East Anglia isgreat. I look forward to thetaskforce report she is working onand hope this will be used to shapethe specification.

Scotland Today the SNP are united with theTories on issues doesnt thisdemonstrate that what the UK needis not separation but liberation fromright wing Tory economics?

PM: I agree with him on one thing.The UK is much better off together.But this is the week we have cutcorporation tax to 21%. He shouldbe standing up and praising thisrather than criticising it.

Anas Sarwar@AnasSarwar

Labour Glasgow Central

NationalPlanningFramework

Is that what the National PlanningFramework really meant byempowering local people?

PM: -

Martin Horwood@MartinChelt

LiberalDemocrat

Cheltenham

Hospitals At a time of unprecedented crisis,the PM saw how good the hospitalin my constituency is. The nearesthospital is 42 miles away in Carlislewhile this one is being upgraded.Will the PM commit today to doeverything we can to retainconsultant lead services at hospital.

PM: -

Jamie Reed@jreedmp

Conservative Copeland

Smallbusiness

Mr Speaker, there are recordnumbers of small businesses.Can my Right Honourable Friendtell the house what steps they aretaking to help them?

PM: My Honourable Friend isabsolutely right, what we need to dois make it easier for people to takeon their first employee. ThisSaturday, we are taking on

David Rutley@DavidRutleyMP

Conservative Macclesfield

Armed forces At the weekend Sir Richard Sheriffwarned reducing the army by 2020would weaken the armed forcesand was a risk to take. Can the PMtell the house why he doesnt thinkthis is a risk?

Gisela Stuart@GiselaStuart

Labour Birmingham,Edgbaston


5/8

PM: Whats important is makingsure the army is best equipped. Ialways ask whether the soldiersneed new equipment. Yes we willhave 82k regular army and largerreserve forces, but also defence

equipment this country can beproud of.Industry Martin Vickers wants the Humber to

become the green energy centre ofthe UK.

PM: I agree with my RightHonourable Friend about theSiemens announcement as it willbring industry in its wake. We nowneed to make sure that colleges aretraining up apprentices.

Martin Vickers Conservative Cleethesthorpe

Post officebank accounts

The PM will know millions value andlove tyheir post office card account

particularly those who dont wantacce3ss to banks. This is now beingrenegotiated.

Will he commit that whateverhappens, pensioners and those onbenefits will be able to access theirmoney through the post office.

PM: I see the importance andstrongly support the Post Officecard account and will look closely atthis.

Kate Hoey@hoeykateMP

Labour Vauxhall

Armed forcesequipment

By learning the lessons from America on the pivotal role of thenational guard that is the way toensure we can afford the equipmentwe need for the armed forces of thefuture.

PM: We can see in Afghanistantoday the territorial army fightingalongside the army. Other countrieshave shown it is possible to have alarger reserve force.

Julian Brazier-

Conservative Canterbury

The LanzaroteConvention

and childabuse

The Lanzarote convention

UK have signed it, But not yetratified it. Following recentepisodes of grooming in the UK, will

Jim Dobbin@jimdobbinmp

Labour (Co-op)

Heywood andMiddleton


6/8

the Govt now consider ratifying thisvery important convention?

PM: Abhorrent crime, we aredetermioned to stamp it out. Iunderstand there is furtherassessment to be done, but I will

keep in touch with thedevelopments.Capitalallowances

I am delighted with the doubling ofcapital allowances

PM: My Right Honourable Friend isabsolutely right, this is a key part ofour economic plan.

The budget addressed theweaknesses of the UK economy.Unlike opposite, we wont besatisfied with an unbalancedeconomy.

Chris Kelly-

Conservative Dudley South

Ford Will the PM congratulate Unite theunion alongside a cross-party groupof MPs who struggled to get a fairdeal for former Ford workers? PM: I agree that this is a gooddevelopment for pensioners andthere are colleagues on all sides ofthe house who deserve to becredited for their work wi th Ford.

PM: Agrees it was a gooddevelopment for pensioners

Geraint Davies@GeraintDaviesMP

Labour Co-Operative

Swansea

Gas in ruralareas

Warns that many off-grid energyconsumers are living in fuel poverty.

PM: Agrees this is an importantpoint.

Roger Williams@RogerWilliamsLD

LiberalDemocrat

Brecon andRadnorshire

The Bobby taxand met policerecruitment

Three months ago, I asked the PMabout his 1,000 bobby tax whichanyone joining the police had topay. 1,000 might not be much tohim, but its having a huge impacton forces like the Met we all knowthat the bobby tax is wrong but willthe PM also now accept that its notworking and will abolish it?

PM: The bobby tax is not a tax. I'mproud to say the Metropolitan Policeare recruiting and they're confidentthey can get good recruits

SiobhanMcDonagh@SiobhainMcDonagh MP

Labour Mitcham andMorden


7/8

BT &broadband

Bringing super-fast broadband torural areas.

PM: -

Alan Reid-

LiberalDemocrat

Argyll and Bute

Royal Mail Can the PM rule out paying a 4mbonus to its government advisers

PM: The taxpayer is 2bn better off

Ann McKechin@AnnMcKechinM,P

Labour Glasgow North

NHS in Wales My constituent seeking right to betreated Will the PM investigatewhat can be done to help her andother NHS refugees?

PM: My Right Honourable Friend isright to raise this. What ishappening in the Welsh NHS is ascandal it is fault of Labour run

welsh assembly.I don't know why the leader of theopposition is laughing - it's notfunny, the state of the NHS inWales. If he had any backbone, anygumption, he'd grab the FirstMinister and tell him to startinvesting in the NHS in Wales.

David T. CDavies@davidtcdavies

Conservative Monmouth

Poll Tax andThatcher

25 years ago yesterday the hatedpoll tax was opposed in Scotland. Itended with a PM being kicked outby her own party. Will the PM takethis opportunity to apologise for thisimposition?

PM: Ive made my view clear. Thecouncil tax is a much betterreplacement and key is nowkeeping it down.

-

Scottish LabourMP

- -

Airambulances

In 2012, 150,000 people petitionedthis house to stop air ambulanceshaving to pay VAT on fuel. Does heagree this is only possible becausewere using the libel fines for goodpurpose and that we have a long-term economic plan?

PM: I am delighted about the resultachieved in the budget. You canonly make these decisions if youhave a long-term economic plan.

Guy Opperman@GuyOppermanMP

Conservative Hexman

Troops toteachersprogramme

Why has it taken four years torecruit just 41 teachers into the10m troops to teachersprogramme?

Nick Smith@BlaenauGwentMP

Labour Blaenau Gwent


8/8

Drafted by PLMR s Research and Monitoring Executive, Becky Moles

PM: I will look into thisCouncil tax On my council tax bill, the Labour

lead council have raised the tax by2%. Would the PM help me infinding out what has really gone onand help me sort this matter out?

PM: This Government is making themoney available so councils canfreeze their council tax.

David Morris@MPDavidMorr is

Conservative Morecambe andLunesdale

Death ofKeane Wallis-Bennett.girlyesterday

Im sure the PM and the wholeHouse would want to send theircondolences.

PM: Shocking accident, clearlylessons will have to be learnt tomake sure tragic accidents like thiscannot happen again

Ian Murray@IanMurrayMP

Labour Edinburgh South

Beer duty andpubco priceescalator

Chancellors cut in beer duty is greatfor Britains brewers . But do nothingto help 20,000 pubs linked to bigcompanies. Will he get rid of thepubco price escalator?

PM: Will look closer at tied pubsand the activities of some pubcompanies - to produce "fairoutcomes for Britain's publicansand pubgoers".

GregMulholland@GregMulholand1

LiberalDemocrat

Leeds NorthWest

Reform ofhighereducation fees

What plans hes got to reformhigher education fees and loans sothat the system works for students,universities and the country?

PM: Our plans are clearly set out. Itis encouraging it has not put offpeople from going to uni or people

from low income backgrounds.

Paul Farrelly-

Labour Newcastle-under-Lyme

Constituencybusiness

Does the PM agree that it is theskills, entrepreneur iship etc like atHoneyTop specialty foods that aredriving the economy forward andmaking Dunstable the crumpetcapital of the United Kingdom.

PM: It is an important week forbusinesses. Our economy is getting

stronger and everyone can seeLabours argu ments are gettingweaker all the time.

Andrew Selous@Andrew_SelousMP

Conservative South WestBedfordshire
http://www.plmr.co.uk/about/team-member/becky-moleshttp://www.plmr.co.uk/about/team-member/becky-moleshttp://www.plmr.co.uk/about/team-member/becky-moleshttp://www.plmr.co.uk/about/team-member/becky-moles

Documents

Draft Transcript of Prime Minister's Questions - 2 April 2014