Tag: Speeches

Dawn Butler – 2021 Speech in the House of Commons [Calling Boris Johnson a Liar]

The speech made by Dawn Butler, the Labour MP for Brent Central, in the House of Commons on 22 July 2021.

The last 18 months have been a tale of the good, the bad and the ugly.

The good is that the people of Brent and elsewhere have joined together to form mutual aid groups, religions have come together to find common ground, and strangers are now firm friends. The bad is this Government’s catastrophic handling of the pandemic, the mixed messages, the corruption in plain sight, the authoritarian laws and the erosion of our democracy. And the ugly is that racism in society has reared its ugly head, spurred on by Government reports and the hyping up of the culture war and the war on woke.

While the NHS was coping with 130,000 people dying from the pandemic, the Prime Minister was making his mates rich. Cronyism is rife and old chums are given jobs regardless of their skillset—some a little bit on the side. This has been one big experiment for this corrupt, authoritarian, racism-laden Government, and I am not scared of saying it like it is.

The Government said we need to talk about class, so let us do it. Let us call out this toxic elitism once and for all. Byline Times, the Good Law Project, Novara Media, openDemocracy, Amnesty and Liberty have all exposed the Government, and the Government’s response is to spend public money defending the indefensible.

It is funny how there is no money for NHS staff, yet £1 billion of covid contracts have been awarded to Conservative donors. We were told that Ministers were not involved, but then the Good Law Project exposed emails from the Prime Minister’s advisers and the Home Secretary lobbying for money. The corrupt, authoritarian approach of this Government would be condemned and investigated if it were happening anywhere else in the world.

The 1% believe they owe nothing to society. They do not believe in the NHS, and they do not support it. This week I spoke to Orwell Foundation youth writer Manal Nadeem. She wrote:

“Let anti-racism be both common logic and law. May we have more accountability than apologies. May performative, placeholder posts be followed by policy… When the future arrives, let the minimum wage be a liveable wage… Let survival be a birthright… When the poor cannot pay with anything else, let us not ask them to pay with their lives.”

Poor people in our country have paid with their lives because the Prime Minister spent the last 18 months misleading this House and the country.

Peter Stefanovic from the Communication Workers Union has a video with more than 27 million views online. In it he highlights that the Prime Minister says: that the economy has grown by 73%—it is just not true; that he has reinstated nursing bursaries—just not true; that there is not a covid app working anywhere in the world—just not true; and that the Tories invested £34 billion in the NHS—not true. The Prime Minister said

“we have severed the link between infection and serious disease and death.”

Not only is that not true but it is dangerous.

It is dangerous to lie during a pandemic, and I am disappointed that the Prime Minister has not come to the House to correct the record and correct the fact that he has lied to this House and the country over and over again.

Madam Deputy Speaker (Judith Cummins)

Order. I am sure the hon. Lady will reflect on her words and perhaps correct the record.

Dawn Butler

What would you rather, Madam Deputy Speaker, a weakened leg or a severed leg? At the end of the day, the Prime Minister has lied to this House time and time again. It is funny that we get in trouble in this place for calling out the lie rather than for lying.

Madam Deputy Speaker

Order. Can you please reflect on your words and withdraw your remarks?

Dawn Butler

Madam Deputy Speaker, I have reflected on my words. Somebody needs to tell the truth in this House that the Prime Minister has lied.

The Deputy Speaker ordered Dawn Butler, Member for Brent Central, to withdraw immediately from the House during the remainder of the day’s sitting (Standing Order No. 43), and the Member withdrew accordingly.

July 22, 2021
Adam Holloway – 2021 Personal Statement on Interference with Judicial Process

The statement made by Adam Holloway, the Conservative MP for Gravesham, in the House of Commons on 22 July 2021.

I wish to apologise to the House. Yesterday, the Committee on Standards adjudged that I and four other MPs were wrong to write a joint letter to two senior judges, copied to the judge who was hearing a case, which was followed by further letters to the Lord Chief Justice and the case judge, to try to influence the way personal references in court cases were made public. I now know it was improper to do so. I regret that and repeat and emphasise my apology.

July 22, 2021
Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2021 Comments on Anti-Social Behaviour

The comments made by Nick Thomas-Symonds, the Shadow Home Secretary, on 22 July 2021.

Anti-social behaviour can make people’s lives a misery so these staggering increases are completely unacceptable. Sadly it’s little wonder, given the damage Conservative government cuts have done to community policing, whilst also scrapping huge numbers of youth clubs.“Even in the face of these terrible figures, Ministers continue with the wrong priorities, wasting millions on a pointless yacht, when they should listen to Labour and plough that money into taking action against anti-social behaviour.

July 22, 2021
Jonathan Ashworth – 2021 Comments on NHS Pay Rise

The comments made by Jonathan Ashworth, the Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on 22 July 2021.

In a sleight of hand Sajid Javid is refusing to back up the £2.2 billion pay settlement with the cash needed, instead expecting overstretched hospitals to find this extra money.

The NHS is in a summer crisis with rising Covid admissions, cancer operations cancelled, emergency demand intensifying and ambulance trusts under pressure.

The NHS needs a fully funded plan to provide quality care, and bring ballooning waiting lists down. Alongside this, Ministers must provide the NHS with the extra investment required to give staff a pay rise.

July 22, 2021
Seema Malhotra – 2021 Comments on Self-Isolation Exemptions

The comments made by Seema Malhotra, the Shadow Minister for Business and Consumers, on 22 July 2021.

Businesses and the public have a right to be furious at the Government’s chaotic decision making which is causing confusion and uncertainty. Ministers have done so many U-turns this week they must be dizzy. The country needs leadership, not a government in a tailspin.

It makes sense to exempt certain fully vaccinated professionals, such as those working in emergency services, from self-isolation rules through a targeted test to release scheme to keep our country running. But the Government has made a mess of its own policy and is undermining the effectiveness of the rule change.

If Ministers don’t know or can’t decide what the plan is, how can employers possibly be expected to understand what’s required of them?

The Government must today come forward with a clear, unambiguous list of critical workers and a workable plan for how exemptions will be applied.

This chaotic decision-making and make it up as you go along approach starts right at the top with Boris Johnson. It’s bad for public health and it’s bad for our economy too.

July 22, 2021
Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2021 Comments on Police Federation Statement

The comments made by Nick Thomas-Symonds, the Shadow Home Secretary, on 22 July 2021.

This is a devastating blow for a hapless Home Secretary.

The truth is, Priti Patel has badly let down police officers, who have served our country so bravely throughout this pandemic. A zero percent pay offer is completely unacceptable – it is a real terms pay cut, exposing the hypocrisy of a Conservative Government that gives warm words of praise to the police and refuses to back it up with action.

This has driven the Police Federation to take the extraordinary step of declaring ‘no confidence’ in the Home Secretary – which is a view Labour fully supports.

July 22, 2021
Conor McGinn – 2021 Comments on ONS Crime Statistics

The comments made by Conor McGinn, the Shadow Security Minister, on 22 July 2021.

Yet more rises in fraud under the Conservatives prove beyond doubt that they have lost control over this appalling crime.

Fraud can be devastating for victims. It shatters personal finances, it damages our economy, and it’s a real and present threat.

More Tory delay cannot be an option. We need a comprehensive, joined-up strategy across the Government to finally deal with this growing crime wave, as Labour has long called for.

July 22, 2021
Nick Thomas Symonds – 2021 Comments on Police Federation’s Attack on Priti Patel

The comments made by Nick Thomas-Symonds, the Shadow Home Secretary, on 22 July 2021.

It is the height of hypocrisy for the Home Secretary to praise the police in public with warm words, but let them down so badly when it comes to meaningful action. So it is no surprise that the Police Federation have taken the extraordinary step of confirming that they have lost confidence in Priti Patel.

The truth is it is not just on pay where police officers have been let down.

We also saw the Home Secretary promise action on getting priority access to vaccines for police and failed to deliver, in addition to taking the name of police representatives in vain, by suggesting they had been calling for additional powers to police protests, which was not the case. Little wonder the Conservatives are trying to mark their own homework, by having one of their own Ministers chair the new Police Covenant, this is clearly wrong.

The Home Secretary’s position is clearly untenable, and the police deserve nothing less than urgent action from the Prime Minister and this government. This must include opening negotiations on a fair police pay rise and work to reconstitute the Police Covenant.

July 22, 2021
Matt Warman – 2021 Statement on Digital Identity

The statement made by Matt Warman, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, in the House of Commons on 19 July 2021.

I am pleased to inform the House that the Government are today publishing a public consultation on enabling legislation to strengthen digital identity use for the whole economy.

More and more people, in all walks of life, are using products and services online. People expect these transactions to be simple, quick, safe and personalised. However, people in the UK often still have to use a combination of paper documents issued by Government, local authorities and the private sector—and a mixture of offline and online routes—when opening a bank account, claiming benefits, starting a new job or applying for a school place. And these steps often need repeating for each new transaction.

Voluntary online authentication, identity and eligibility solutions can increase security, ease of use and accessibility. They are central to transforming the delivery and efficiency of public services and people’s ability to operate confidently in an increasingly digital economy.

The Government are committed to realising the benefits of digital identity technologies without creating ID cards. We have committed to put in place the necessary framework and tools so that digital identity solutions enhance privacy, transparency, confidence and inclusion, and that users are able to control their data, in line with the principles published in the 2019 call for evidence response.

In our response to the call for evidence, we committed to enabling businesses and individuals across the economy to use digital identities securely and with more confidence. This is only achievable by putting in place a legal framework and regulatory infrastructure.

The consultation DCMS is publishing today follows up on that commitment. It sits alongside the UK digital identity and attributes trust framework, which was published as a first draft in February 2021, opening the way for legislation. Digital identity legislation is needed to underpin a governance framework in law, to enable Government to allow checks by industry against data it holds, and to create confidence in the validity of digital identities. We have worked extensively with industry, civil society, and academia to get to this point.

The consultation sets out our plans to create a digital identity governance framework. Creating a governance system which can build trust in digital identities is vital. This trust will drive innovation and growth in the UK economy and good governance will ensure that the digital identity and attribute principles are upheld.

We are also consulting on our intention to create a permissive legal power for Government-held attributes to be checked safely and securely by non-public sector organisations for eligibility, identity, and validation purposes. This will allow digital identities in the UK to be built on a greater range of trusted datasets and ultimately provide people with a choice of how they use this data to prove their identity.

Finally, we are proposing to establish in law that digital identities and digital attributes can be as valid as physical forms of identification or traditional identity documents. This builds on our commitment to enable the use of digital identities in as many areas as possible and to build confidence in their validity.

Further details can be found in the consultation, available here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/digital-identity-and-attributes-consultation.

A copy of the consultation will also be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

July 21, 2021
Ben Wallace – 2021 Statement on Loss of Secret Documents

The statement made by Ben Wallace, the Secretary of State for Defence, in the House of Commons on 19 July 2021.

On Friday 16 July 2021 my noble Friend the Minister of State, Baroness Goldie, made the following written ministerial statement in the House of Lords:

On 28 June, the Minister for Defence Procurement noted that an investigation had been launched into the loss of MOD classified documents; and undertook to inform the House of its conclusions. That investigation has now concluded. The investigation has independently confirmed the circumstances of the loss, including the management of the papers within the Department, the location at which the papers were lost and the manner in which that occurred. These are consistent with the events self-reported by the individual. We are confident that we have recovered all the Secret papers. The investigation has found no evidence of espionage; and has concluded there has been no compromise of the papers by our adversaries. The individual concerned has been removed from sensitive work and has already had their security clearance suspended pending a full review. For security reasons, the Department will be making no further comment on the nature of the loss or on the identity of the individual. The Department takes protection of its information extremely seriously and will continue to take firm action in response to such incidents.

July 21, 2021