Yesterday, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Leader of the Opposition, Sir Keir Starmer went head to head at PMQs.
The key takeaways:
Sir Keir Starmer pushed the PM repeatedly his Early Release scheme, which plans to release some inmates early due to overcrowding in prisons.
He wanted assurance that no prisoner designated ‘high-risk’ would be released early. The PM did not directly answer the question.
But the prime minister did say that those deemed a ‘threat’ would not be put on the scheme.
Sunak focused his counter-attacks on security and defence, saying Starmer could not be trusted to keep the country safe.
Later, SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn asked the PM to apologise for his “pathetic” comparison of the campaign for Scotland’s independence to the Russian and Iranian regimes.
From the backbenches, we heard questions on the impacts of Brexit, NHS waiting lists, the Israel-Gaza war and violence against women and girls.
Prisons
As always, Sir Keir Starmer poses six questions to the PM. He began by joking that this week, the PM treated us to his “seventh relaunch in 18 months” – where the PM vowed to take on the dangers of the future in his pre-election speech.
Sir Keir then turned his focus to prisons. He asked Sunak if he thinks his decision to take inmates out of prison 70 days early, is safe. In particular
Security
In response to Sir Keir Starmer’s question, Sunak responded with a quip about civil service impartiality – saying it is an important principle, and something Starmer could ask his “his chief of staff about”.
Sunak says he outlined the threats to the UK in this Monday speech, but pointed out that Starmer won’t back the Tory’s plan to increase defence spending. This is part of his wider point that Labour can’t be trusted with the country’s security.
Starmer rebukes this, saying he was the first to call for a 2.5% of GDP on defence spending.
SNP:
SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn asked Sunak to apologise for his ‘pathetic’ speech remarks. He accused the PM of actively comparing the regimes of North Korea, Iran and Russia to those in Scotland who believe in independence.
Other questions the PM faced included what the PM will guarantee to Welsh farmers, Tory MP Theresa Villiers urged the PM to redouble his efforts to grow the NHS workforce, Labour MP Richard Burgon wanted to know what it would take for the UK to end arms sales to Israel, and Rosena Allin-Khan wanted to know why the government is allowing Israel to get away unchallenged”.
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HeadlineThe PMQ Run-Down: prisoners, the SNP and security.
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StandfirstRishi Sunak and Sir Kier Starmer went head to head at last night's PMQ's
Yesterday, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Leader of the Opposition, Sir Keir Starmer went head to head at PMQs.
The key takeaways:
Sir Keir Starmer pushed the PM repeatedly his Early Release scheme, which plans to release some inmates early due to overcrowding in prisons.
He wanted assurance that no prisoner designated ‘high-risk’ would be released early. The PM did not directly answer the question.
But the prime minister did say that those deemed a ‘threat’ would not be put on the scheme.
Sunak focused his counter-attacks on security and defence, saying Starmer could not be trusted to keep the country safe.
Later, SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn asked the PM to apologise for his “pathetic” comparison of the campaign for Scotland’s independence to the Russian and Iranian regimes.
From the backbenches, we heard questions on the impacts of Brexit, NHS waiting lists, the Israel-Gaza war and violence against women and girls.
Prisons
As always, Sir Keir Starmer poses six questions to the PM. He began by joking that this week, the PM treated us to his “seventh relaunch in 18 months” – where the PM vowed to take on the dangers of the future in his pre-election speech.
Sir Keir then turned his focus to prisons. He asked Sunak if he thinks his decision to take inmates out of prison 70 days early, is safe. In particular
Security
In response to Sir Keir Starmer’s question, Sunak responded with a quip about civil service impartiality – saying it is an important principle, and something Starmer could ask his “his chief of staff about”.
Sunak says he outlined the threats to the UK in this Monday speech, but pointed out that Starmer won’t back the Tory’s plan to increase defence spending. This is part of his wider point that Labour can’t be trusted with the country’s security.
Starmer rebukes this, saying he was the first to call for a 2.5% of GDP on defence spending.
SNP:
SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn asked Sunak to apologise for his ‘pathetic’ speech remarks. He accused the PM of actively comparing the regimes of North Korea, Iran and Russia to those in Scotland who believe in independence.
Other questions the PM faced included what the PM will guarantee to Welsh farmers, Tory MP Theresa Villiers urged the PM to redouble his efforts to grow the NHS workforce, Labour MP Richard Burgon wanted to know what it would take for the UK to end arms sales to Israel, and Rosena Allin-Khan wanted to know why the government is allowing Israel to get away unchallenged”.
Have your say. City News wants to hear from you – send your pictures, videos and experiences to [email protected]
