Tag: Speeches

Jess Brammar – 2021 Comments on the Conduct of Kemi Badenoch

The comments made by Jess Brammar, the editor of the Huffington Post UK, on 29 January 2021.

Hi Kemi, I am Nadine’s editor. The correspondence you have published here shows the opposite of spreading disinformation – as you know, it is correct and standard practice for journalists to check facts and approach people in public office for comment.

I’m glad you highlighted our work on how Covid has hit Black people in the UK, much of which has been done by Nadine Writes. You will note that, contrary to your claim we were spreading disinformation, we have not published this story without your response.

January 29, 2021
Dawn Butler – 2021 Comments on the Conduct of Kemi Badenoch

The comments made by Dawn Butler, the Labour MP for Brent Central, on 29 January 2021.

Nadine Writes asked a simple question all you had to do was answer her. Now she’s been subjected to vile abuse.

You have set some nasty people onto a young journalist who is currently grieving a family member. MPs need to be understanding of the impact they have.

January 29, 2021
Keir Starmer – 2021 Comments on Novavax Vaccine

The comments made by Keir Starmer, the Leader of the Opposition, on 28 January 2021.

Fantastic news about the Novavax vaccine.

This is one more step towards getting Britain vaccinated. Thank you to everyone involved in this national effort.

January 29, 2021
Andy McDonald – 2021 Comments on Workplace Safety

The comments made by Andy McDonald, the Shadow Secretary of State for Employment Rights and Protections, on 29 January 2021.

Labour and the trade unions have repeatedly warned that the Government is neglecting workplace protections. Weak and outdated workplace safety rules and a lack of enforcement are putting workers and the general public at risk. Rules on safe workplaces haven’t been updated for the new virus strains or scientific knowledge about how the virus is spread.

To help prevent the spread of the virus, the Government must clarify the stay at home message, rewrite outdated workplace safety rules and strengthen health and safety enforcement.

January 29, 2021
Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2021 Comments on Lord Frost

The comments made by Nick Thomas-Symonds, the Shadow Home Secretary, on 29 January 2021.

Government chaos and confusion has led to a significant delay in appointing a permanent National Security Adviser.

Getting such a crucial appointment wrong, in the face of warnings, shows a worrying error of judgment by the Prime Minister on the crucial issue of our country’s safety.

National security is Labour’s number one priority and we will continue to put pressure on the Government to get its approach to this vital issue right.

January 29, 2021
George Eustice – 2021 Comments on Burning Heather

The comments made by George Eustice, the Secretary of State for the Environment, on 29 January 2021.

Our peatlands have great potential as a natural store of carbon, as well as protecting habitats, providing a haven for rare wildlife and being a natural provider of water regulation.

We want to work with land owners to restore the natural hydrology of many of these sites through our new agricultural policy to support our ambitions for the environment. The burning of heather on these sites makes it more difficult to restore their natural hydrology which is why we are taking this step today.

January 29, 2021
Grant Shapps – 2021 Comments on Support for Airports

The comments made by Grant Shapps, the Secretary of State for Transport, on 29 January 2021.

A thriving aviation industry has been central to the success of this country and while we recognise the testing conditions airports are currently facing as a result of the pandemic, I believe that the sector will be ready to bounce back once restrictions are lifted.

Today’s scheme is another step in the right direction, providing vital support for an industry that is raring to get back to business, once it is safe to do so.

January 29, 2021
Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2021 Speech on Health Measures at the UK Border

The speech made by Nick Thomas-Symonds, the Shadow Home Secretary, in the House of Commons on 27 January 2021.

I am grateful to the Home Secretary for her statement and for advance sight of it. We stand here today with knowledge of the terrible fact that more than 100,000 people have died as a result of this awful virus. We mourn all those lost and think of the families for whom life will never be the same again. In marking that fact, it is not enough to say, “Let us wait to find out why Britain has fared so badly.” We must learn from past mistakes and, crucially, act now. One of the key areas where the Government have clearly fallen short is on protecting our borders. I am deeply concerned that the measures outlined today are yet another example of that—too little, too late.

Yet again, the Government are lurching from one crisis to another, devoid of strategy. Limiting hotel quarantining to only the countries from which travel for non-UK residents was already banned means that the Home Secretary’s proposals do not go anywhere near far enough. Perhaps that is why it appears that there has been briefing to newspapers that the Home Secretary is personally not in support of the policy that she is now advocating to the public.

Mutations of the virus risk undermining the efficacy of the vaccines, threatening life and hope. We cannot know where these mutations will emerge from next. The truth is that the Government are once again behind the curve. Labour is calling for comprehensive hotel quarantining. Today’s announcement is too limited. It leaves huge gaps in our defences against emerging strains. We know that the strains that emerged in South Africa and Brazil have already reached these shores. That is little wonder given that controls have been so lax, with just three in every 100 people quarantining having been successfully contacted and border testing introduced only 10 months after our first lockdown—and even then the start had to be delayed, because the Government could not get the necessary systems in place.

We have seen this reluctance to be decisive from the start of crisis. From 1 January to 23 March last year, only 273 people were formally quarantined, when more than 18 million people entered the country by air. That was at a time when the Government’s chief scientific adviser said:

“A lot of the cases in the UK didn’t come from China…They actually came from European imports and the high level of travel into the UK around that time.”

In April, I wrote to the Home Secretary to ask her to learn the lessons, but by May the UK still was an international outlier, with no travel controls.

As the Home Secretary today belatedly announces very limited hotel quarantining, many questions remain, and I would appreciate it if she would address them. First, how can we be assured that travellers will not arrive with emergent strains via countries that are not on the control list? Secondly, what support is being made available to ensure improvements to quarantine compliance and the isolation assurance service? Frankly, why has it taken so long to step up checks, as the Home Secretary said today, when we know that the system has been failing for months? What discussions have taken place with hotel chains to ensure the availability of rooms? Again, for those travelling out of the UK, why is the enforcement being stepped up only now?

Will the Home Secretary ensure that sufficient support and resources are made available for these very important tasks? When will the Government announce a sector-specific support package for aviation? Getting this policy right is absolutely crucial. The Government cannot allow our border policy to continue to be the Achilles heel of the heroic efforts of the British people during this pandemic.

January 28, 2021
Priti Patel – 2021 Statement on Health Measures at the UK Border

The statement made by Priti Patel, the Home Secretary, in the House of Commons on 27 January 2021.

With permission, I would like to make a statement. First, I want to begin by echoing the Prime Minister’s remarks. The scale of the suffering that this virus has inflicted is truly heart-breaking, and my thoughts are with those who have tragically lost loved ones.

Yesterday, when I addressed the House, I said that the Government’s focus was on protecting the UK’s world-leading vaccination programme—a programme that we should be proud of—and reducing the risk of the new strain of the virus being transmitted from someone coming into the UK. Yesterday, the Foreign Office announced support for more countries to access the UK’s world-leading gene sequencing capabilities to increase early identification of any new strains of the virus. This is a vital step forward to support the global response to coronavirus, but it is simply not enough on its own to reduce risks to the United Kingdom.

It is clear that there are still too many people coming in and out of our country each day. Today I am announcing further action to strengthen the health measures that we already have at the border, in order to reduce passenger flow—so that only the small number of people for whom it is absolutely essential to travel are doing so—and therefore reduce the risk to our world-leading vaccine programme.

For those entering the UK, there will be a number of measures. First, the police have stepped up checks and are carrying out more physical checks at addresses to ensure that people are complying with the rules on self-isolation. Secondly, we will continue to refuse entry to non-UK residents from red list countries that are already subject to the UK travel ban. Thirdly, as the Prime Minister has said, we will introduce a new managed isolation process in hotels for those who cannot be refused entry, including those arriving home from countries where we have already imposed international travel bans. They will be required to isolate for 10 days, without exception. The Department of Health and Social Care will set out further details on this approach next week.

For those travelling out of the UK, we will also be enhancing and stepping up enforcement of the rules, because despite the stay-at-home regulations, we are still seeing people not complying with the rules. The rules are clear: people should be staying at home unless they have a valid reason to leave. Going on holiday is not a valid reason.

We will introduce a new requirement so that people wishing to travel must first make a declaration as to why they need to travel. This “reason for travel” will be checked by carriers prior to departure. That approach effectively mirrors the checks on arrivals that are already in place with the passenger locator form. Secondly, working with policing partners, we will increase the police presence at ports and at airports, fining those in breach of the stay-at-home regulations. Anyone who does not have a valid reason for travel will be directed to return home or they will face a fine. Thirdly, we will urgently review the list of travel exemptions to make sure that only the most important and exceptional reasons are included.

These are crucial new measures to protect us all. They also complement the robust action that we have consistently taken at the border. While these new measures are being operationalised, I would like to remind anyone seeking to enter our country to comply with the rules. This includes providing evidence of a negative covid test before entering the United Kingdom, self-isolation on arrival for 10 days and the completion of the passenger locator form. Immediately stepping up enforcement means that if someone does not follow the regulations, they will face a fine.

These new measures at the border are a necessary step to protect the public and our world-class vaccination programme. Every layer of protection that we have put in place will help to reduce the risk of transmission of this virus and any new potential strain from entering the UK. As we have done throughout this global health emergency, we will continue to take all steps necessary to protect the public and help prevent the spread of the virus. I commend the statement to the House.

January 28, 2021
Ian Blackford – 2021 Speech on Covid-19 in the House of Commons

The speech made by Ian Blackford, the SNP MP for Ross, Skye and Lochaber, in the House of Commons on 27 January 2021.

Let me thank the Prime Minister for an advance copy of his statement.

As we know, yesterday the UK reached yet another terrible milestone—100,000 covid-related deaths. Today, it is only right that we reflect on all those who have lost their lives during this pandemic. Our thoughts and prayers are most especially with their families and those who are left with the heaviest burden of grief. In time, there will be a reckoning on the UK Government’s response to this virus and it is clear that that verdict may well be damning. In the here and now, though, it remains our job to focus on how we can support and save as many people as possible in the weeks and months ahead. That means a renewed commitment to maintaining public health, but it also must mean a renewed package of financial support for all those—all those, Prime Minister—who have been left behind by this Tory Government.

Right now, covid is the immediate threat to life, but poverty remains a killer, too. In 2019, the Institute for Public Policy Research revealed that Tory austerity cuts over the previous decade had resulted in as many as 130,000 preventable deaths. The Prime Minister promised not to repeat Tory austerity. If people are to believe him, he should start by making three important announcements today: extend the furlough scheme for the full duration of the pandemic; maintain the uplift to universal credit and apply it to legacy benefits; and put in place a package of support for the 3 million excluded.

Prime Minister, eleventh-hour announcements have to stop. These decisions cannot wait until the Budget in March. People need certainty now. I asked the Prime Minister these same questions at Prime Minister’s questions, but I failed to get a straight answer, so please try again, Prime Minister. Will his Government extend furlough, maintain the universal credit uplift and offer support for the 3 million excluded? Finally, on international travel, both the Scottish and Welsh Governments want to go further on quarantining measures than what his UK Government are proposing. Will the Prime Minister stop his half measures and join the Governments in Scotland and Wales in stricter enforcements on international travel? That, Prime Minister, would be leadership.

January 28, 2021