David Cameron (who patriotically arrived at the Commons earlier today with a St George's flag flying from the back of his bicycle - expect LOTS of photos in tomorrow's press of the event) raised the issue of tax credit overpayments. The Tory leader said that some of the poorest people in Britain were now having money painfully taken away from them. The Chancellor is responsible for this incompetence, he said. Mr Blair said that tax credits had helped alleviate poverty for millions of families.
David Cameron's second set of questions focused on knife crime (recently discussed on ConservativeHome). Why hadn't the PM carried through on his promise (made on GMTV) to increase the penalty for this form of violence, as he had promised? Mr Blair offered a long list of actions his governments had taken on knife crime but did not make any commitment on minimum sentences.
The LibDem leader asked about extraordinary rendition. The Prime Minister said that he had nothing new to say on this subject. Sir Menzies Campbell quoted the Council of Europe report and its documentation of 'disappearances'. Does the PM still support rendition, he asked? The PM did not answer.
Labour MP Roger Berry raised the issue of the EPP - asking the Prime Minister to assure him that the Labour Party would never allow itself to sit with extremists in the European Parliament. Tony Blair urged the Tory leader to abandon his policy of taking Conservative MEPs into a new European parliamentary grouping.
A Labour backbencher raised the issue of funding for the children's hospice movement. The Prime Minister said that the Government had agreed £27m of extra funding for children's hospices but was now considering a longer-term funding strategy. Robert Halfon recently pointed this website out to me. It's a campaign ConservativeHome heartily endorses.
Tory Shailesh Vara raised the most important of issues from the backbenches - the subject of human trafficking. I shall ask Shailesh if he will write a piece for ConservativeHome on this modern form of slavery...
Wonder if Dave will be labelled a chav for the flag.
He never misses a trick though.
Posted by: Andrew Woodman | June 07, 2006 at 13:26
Did the car behind carrying his papers have flags too ?
Posted by: Will | June 07, 2006 at 13:44
asking the Prime Minister to assure him that the Labour Party would never allow itself to sit with extremists in the European Parliament.
He wants to be careful with that line. Many of the Social Democratic Parties from the Central & Eastern member states are direct decendants of the communist parties that kept those nations in subjection for so long.
Posted by: Serf | June 07, 2006 at 14:25
I was thinkg that too Serf. The Labour MEPs are actually socialists as well. Would be good to turn the tables on Blair after todays righteous pontificating.
Posted by: Andrew Woodman | June 07, 2006 at 14:33
THE most important of issues?
Hmmmm.
Posted by: Richard North | June 07, 2006 at 16:12
I would be really interested in an article on trafficking, and would be interested in knowing the party position on how to treat freed girls who have been trafficked.
Posted by: Louise | June 07, 2006 at 16:51
Am amazed that there was nothing in PMQs about the comments made today by the chairman of the British Medical Association consultants committee, Paul Miller:
And ...
Pretty damning stuff considering it's the best year ever for the NHS ...
Posted by: Tory Convert | June 07, 2006 at 19:27
"Am amazed that there was nothing in PMQs about the comments made today"
I think it might well be the 'made today' bit that explains it. PMQs is at noon, what time did these comments hit the press? They might well pop up next week though.
Posted by: Mike Christie | June 07, 2006 at 20:05
Mike,
the comments were reported in this morning's Telegraph. I don't know how much of a time lag there needs to be between something entering the public domain and being mentioned in PMQs. Perhaps you're right - too short notice.
Posted by: Tory Convert | June 07, 2006 at 20:09
When will The Speaker ban governing party MPs from questions ? they have their own forums to question their Leader without wasting Opposition time holding the Executive to account
Posted by: TomTom | June 07, 2006 at 21:02
I wonder is Shailesh Vara can do anything to help the plight of often very young Asia n girls being married off by very traditional parents, to the detrement of their education and general wellbeing. Ann Cryer is doing her best from the labour benches. It was just that Newsnight did a horryfying expose of very young rural children in India being married off, and it highlighted the situation here for me. I was a Health Visitor in a "high ethnic" area for the last eight years of my career. Anne Cryer has had a lot of opposition from her local community. I just wondered if Shailish may get a better reception?
Posted by: Annabel Herriott | June 07, 2006 at 23:27
Yes Annabel I read the article about that subject in the newspaper.
It seems that in India if not here girls sometimes as young as 6yrs old are regarded as commodities to trade off, and NOT for the 'honour' of the family, solely for the profit of the men. Men??
Posted by: Patsy Sergeant | June 07, 2006 at 23:49
Shailesh Vara has agreed to write a piece btw. He's kindly promised it within two weeks.
Posted by: Editor | June 08, 2006 at 00:36
Annabel, I know of a young British Asian woman who's been forced into marriage with a guy from Pakistan. She's now been cut off from her friends and we strongly suspect he's violent towards her. I'm disgusted that ths sort of thing goes on in Britian in the 21st century. It's an issue we really need to look at and address.
Posted by: Andrew Woodman | June 08, 2006 at 07:29
Anne Cryer has had a lot of opposition from her local community.
Her biggest opposition came from within the Labour Group lead by Cllr Ian Greenwood.......the simple way to stop it is the Dutch and Danish way.
Just refuse to issue visas to anyone under 25 years using the marriage route. After all the proper procedures for bringing a spouse into Britain are onerous if applied - $500 non-refundable deposit, copies of all letters exchanged, and a prohibitionon any benefits claims for 2 years or the right to work, and review of the marriage after 2 years.
I bet none of these are applied
Posted by: TomTom | June 08, 2006 at 08:49
Tom Tom is right.
Make a minimum 25 Years old rule and the whole process will stop.
Posted by: Serf | June 08, 2006 at 10:23
'bad policies and shocking incompetence'
Unfortunately Cameron seems to regard any criticism of the NHS as off-limits at the moment. But there is surely a distinction to be made (as with the civil service) between the often dedicated and committed NHS staff and the 'bad policies and shocking incompetence' coming out of Whitehall under this government. The solution as Cameron is no doubt aware is to simultaneously praise the former but condemn the latter. It's a difficult balancing act.
Posted by: johnC | June 08, 2006 at 11:14
Tom Tom @ 21.02: "When will The Speaker ban governing party MPs from questions ? they have their own forums to question their Leader without wasting Opposition time holding the Executive to account"
Hear! Hear! At least get rid of the sycophantic feeds from Labour backbenchers that merely waste time as Blair reels off a string of dubious statistics that show him up in the best possible light.
Maybe DC could suggest that to Blair next week as his first question and see if it wrong foots him?
Posted by: David Belchamber | June 08, 2006 at 17:11