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  • >>Danny Kinahan (South Antrim) (UUP): If he will list his official engagements for Wednesday

  • 13 July.

  • >>The Prime Minister (Mr David Cameron):I know that the whole House will join me in

  • congratulating Andy Murray, Heather Watson, Jordanne Whiley, Gordon Reid and Alfie Hewett

  • on their stunning success at Wimbledon.

  • This morning, I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. Other than one meeting

  • this afternoon with Her Majesty the Queen, the diary for the rest of my day is remarkably

  • light.

  • >>Danny Kinahan: May I echo the Prime Minister’s congratulations to Andrew Murray and all the

  • other winners? We thank the Prime Minister for all his hard work and his leadership—[Hon.

  • Members: “Hear, hear”!]—particularly his commitment to the Union and to Northern

  • Ireland, visiting it often and swimming in Lough Erne. Perhaps he would like to come

  • and swim in Lough Neagh. The Ulster Unionist party looks forward to working with the next

  • Prime Minister. I am told that there are lots of leadership roles out there at the momentthere

  • is the England football team andTop Gear”. Even across the Big Pond, there is a role

  • that needs filling. I will if I may go into my pet subject.

  • >>Stephen Pound (Ealing North) (Lab): In your own time, Danny.

  • >>Danny Kinahan: Thank you.

  • Brexit really threatens the Union. Will the Prime Minister work with his successors to

  • ensure that we have somebody that will pull together all the countries of the Union and

  • the overseas territories so that we can all work and thrive together?

  • >>The Prime Minister: Let me thank the hon. Gentleman for his kind remarks and fascinating

  • suggestions for future jobs, most of which sound even harder than this one, so I think

  • I’ll pass. I believe that Northern Ireland is stronger than it was six years ago—58,000

  • more people in work, the full devolution of justice and home affairs delivered under this

  • Government, the Saville report published, record inward investment and the creation

  • of new jobs. Like him, I care passionately about our United Kingdom, as do all of us

  • in this House. We need to make sure that, as we leave the European Union, we work out

  • how to keep the benefits of the common travel area. Hard work is being done now with civil

  • servants in Northern Ireland, Whitehall and the Republic of Ireland, and the pace of that

  • work needs to quicken.

  • >>Jack Lopresti (Filton and Bradley Stoke) (Con): I, too, pay tribute to my right hon.

  • Friend for all the hard work that he has done leading this great country for the past few

  • years. My right hon. Friend’s lasting legacy will include supporting the Kurds whose peshmerga

  • are bravely fighting Daesh in all our interests. Having visited the peshmerga on the frontline,

  • I know that our airstrikes, weapons and training are crucial, but peshmerga injuries could

  • be reduced with additional equipment such as body armour, respirators and front-line

  • medical facilities, and we possibly could provide some beds in our specialist hospital

  • in Birmingham to the most seriously injured. Does he agree that that is a relatively small

  • investment that would make a huge difference to our allies in our common fight to defeat

  • the evil of terrorism?

  • >>The Prime Minister: First, I thank my hon. Friend for his kind remarks. He is absolutely

  • right that the Kurds are incredibly brave fighters and are doing valuable work against

  • Daesh in Iraq and Syria. I will look carefully at his suggestion of using the Birmingham

  • hospital. The Queen Elizabeth Hospital has excellent facilities for battlefield casualties.

  • Our Army is already providing medical instruction to the peshmerga to help them deal with the

  • situation, but we will look to see whether more can be done. Let us be frank, the strategy

  • is working. Daesh is on the back foot: it has lost 45% of the territory that it once

  • held in Iraq; its finances have been hit; more than 25,000 Daesh fighters have now been

  • killed; desertion has increased; and the flow of foreign fighters has fallen by 90%. I have

  • always said that this will take a long time to work in Iraq and Syria, but we must stick

  • at it and we must stay the course.

  • >>Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North) (Lab): May I start by joining the Prime Minister in paying

  • tribute to the British winners at WimbledonAndy Murray, Heather Watson, Jordanne Whiley, Alfie

  • Hewett and Gordon Reid? Also, I think it would be nice if we congratulated Serena Williams

  • on her fantastic achievement.

  • It is only right that after his six years as Prime Minister, we thank the right hon.

  • Gentleman for his service. I have often disagreed with him, but some of his achievements I welcome

  • and want to recognise today. One is helping to secure the release of Shaker Aamer from

  • Guantanamo Bay; another is legislating to achieve equal marriage in our society. I am

  • sure he would like to acknowledge that it was Labour votes that helped him to get the

  • legislation through. Will he express some concern at the way that homelessness has risen

  • in this country for the past six years and looks like it is going to continue to rise?

  • >>The Prime Minister: I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his kind remarks. I join him

  • in paying tribute to Serena Williams, who has now overtaken Steffi Graf’s amazing

  • record of 22 grand slams.

  • I thank the right hon. Gentleman for what he said about Shaker Aamer. That was a case

  • that this Government raised again and again with the US Government, and we are pleased

  • that it has been resolved. I thank him also for what he said about equal marriage. There

  • are 30,000 gay people in our country who, in the past six years, have been able to get

  • married. That is real progress. I will never forget the day at No. 10 when one of the people

  • who works very close to the front door said to me, “I’m not that interested in politics,

  • Mr Cameron, but because of something your lot have done, I am able to marry the person

  • I’ve loved all my life this weekend.” There are many amazing moments in this job,

  • but that was one of my favourites.

  • As for homelessness, it is still 10% below the peak that we saw under Labour, but the

  • key is building more homes. We have built 700,000 homes since I became Prime Minister,

  • but now we need to quicken the pace of that. The key to building more homes is, yes, programmes

  • such as Help to Buy; yes, the reforms to the planning system, but the absolute key is a

  • strong economy.

  • >>Jeremy Corbyn: I have been listening carefully to what the Home Secretary has been saying

  • over the past few days. She said:

  • It’s harder than ever for young people to buy their first house.”

  • Does the Prime Minister think that is because of record low house building or his Government’s

  • apparent belief that £450,000 is an affordable price for a starter home?

  • >>The Prime Minister: First, let me say at the Dispatch Box how warmly I congratulate

  • the Home Secretary on becoming leader of the Conservative party. When it comes to women

  • Prime Ministers, I am very pleased to be able to say that pretty soon it is going to be

  • 2:0, and not a pink bus in sight.

  • On the issue of housing and homelessness, as I said, 700,000 homes have been delivered.

  • The right hon. Gentleman asked about affordability, which is key. When I became Prime Minister,

  • because of what had happened to the mortgage market, a first-time buyer often needed to

  • have as much as £30,000 to put down a deposit. Because of the combination of Help to Buy

  • and shared ownership, some people are able to get on the housing ladder now with a deposit

  • of as little as £2,000. With the low mortgage rates and the new houses we are building,

  • we are making good progress.

  • >>Jeremy Corbyn: The malaise seems a little deeper still. The Home Secretary said, talking

  • of the economy,

  • so that it really does work for everyone. Because it is apparent to anybody who is in

  • touch with the real world that people do not feel our economy works that way”.

  • Is she not right that too many people in too many places in Britain feel that the economy

  • has been destroyed in their towns because the industries have gone, there are high levels

  • of unemployment or under-employment, and a deep sense of malaise? Do not we all need

  • to address that?

  • >>The Prime Minister: If we are going to talk about the economic record, let us get the

  • facts straight. We have cut the deficit by two thirds. There are 2.5 million more people

  • in work in our country. There are almost a million more businesses and 2.9 million people

  • in apprenticeships have been trained under this Government. When it comes to poverty,

  • 300,000 fewer people are in relative poverty and 100,000 fewer children are in relative

  • poverty. If I am accused of sloth in delivery by the right hon. Gentleman, let us take the

  • past week. We have both been having leadership elections. We got on with it. We have had

  • resignation, nomination, competition and coronation. The Opposition have not even decided what

  • the rules are yet. If they ever got into power, it would take them about a year to work out

  • who would sit where.

  • >>Jeremy Corbyn: Democracy is an exciting and splendid thing, and I am enjoying every

  • moment of it.

  • Talking of the economy, the Home Secretary said that many people

  • find themselves exploited by unscrupulous bosses”—

  • I cannot imagine who she was referring to. In his hand-over discussions with the Home

  • Secretary, could the Prime Minister enlighten us as to whether there is any proposal to

  • take on agency Britain by banning zero-hours contracts, clamping down on umbrella companies,

  • repealing the Trade Union Act 2016 or, preferably, all three?

  • >>The Prime Minister: The right hon. Gentleman is right that democracy is a splendid thing—I

  • have to agree with him about that. Let me answer very directly on exploitation in the

  • workplace. It is this Government that, for the first time, has introduced a national

  • living wagethat is a huge change. It is this Government that has massively increased

  • the power of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority. There are record fines for businesses that

  • do not pay the minimum wage, and there is much more policing and many more prosecutions

  • taking place. All of those things have changed under this Government. As for zero-hours contracts,

  • they account for fewer than one in 40 people in work. Some 60% of people on zero-hours

  • contracts do not want to work more hours. It was this Government that did something

  • the Labour party never did, which was to ban exclusive zero-hours contracts—13 years

  • of Labour, but it took a coalition Conservative Government to do it.

  • Let me say something to the right hon. Gentleman about the democratic process of leadership

  • elections, because I did say a couple of weeks ago—[Interruption.] I have to say that I

  • am beginning to admire his tenacity. He is reminding me of the Black Knight inMonty

  • Python and the Holy Grail”. He has been kicked so many times, but he says, “Keep

  • going, it’s only a flesh wound.” I admire that.

  • >>Jeremy Corbyn: I would like the Prime Minister to address another issue that the House voted

  • on last week. I have a question from Nina—[Interruption.] It is a question from somebody who deserves

  • an answer. She says:

  • “I would like to know, if there is any possibility, that an EU citizen, that has lived in the

  • UK for thirty years can have their right of permanent residencerevoked and deported,

  • depending on the Brexit negotiations”.

  • There has been no clear answer to this question. It is one that worries a very large number

  • of people, and it would be good if, in his last Question Time, the Prime Minister could

  • at least offer some assurance to those people.

  • >>The Prime Minister: Let me reassure Nina that there is absolutely no chance of that

  • happening to someone in those circumstances. We are working hard to do what we want, which

  • is to give a guarantee to EU citizens that they will have their rights respectedall

  • those who have come to this country. The only circumstance in which I could ever envisage

  • a future Government trying to undo that guarantee would be if British citizens in other European

  • countries did not have their rights respected. I think it is important to have reciprocity.

  • The new Prime Minister will be working to give that guarantee as fast as we can.

  • I am glad the right hon. Gentleman mentions emails, because, actually, I have an email

  • as well. I got this—I am not making this up, I promiseon 16 September 2015 from

  • someone called Judith, and she said this:

  • Please, please keep dignity, and not triumphalism during the first PMQs today with Jeremy Corbyn.”

  • She gave this reason:

  • Tom Watson, who may oust Jeremy Corbynis a very different kettle of fish. He is experienced,

  • organised and far more dangerous in the long run.”

  • She goes on:

  • Sensible, sober, polite answers to Mr Corbynlet him create his own party disunity.”

  • After this is over, I have got to find Judith and find out what on earth happens next.

  • >>Jeremy Corbyn: I have had the pleasure of asking the Prime Minister 179 questions—[Hon.

  • Members: “More!”] Thank you. There are plenty more to come to his successordon’t

  • worry about that.

  • Before I ask the Prime Minister my last question, could I just put on record that I wish him

  • well as he leaves office? I also wish his family wellSamantha and their children.

  • We should all recognise that while many of us really do enjoy our jobs and our political

  • life, it is the loved ones nearest to us and our families who actually make enormous sacrifices

  • so that we may be able to do this. I would also like him to pass on my thanks to his

  • mum for her advice about ties, suits and songs. It is extremely kind of her, and I would be

  • grateful if he would pass that on to her personally. I am reflecting on the lesson that she offered.

  • I have one rumour that I want the Prime Minister to deal with. There is a rumour going round

  • that his departure has been carefully choreographed so that he can slip seamlessly into the vacancy

  • onStrictlythat was created this morning by Len Goodman’s departure. Is that his

  • next career?

  • >>The Prime Minister: I do not really have a pasa doble, so I can promise that that is

  • not the case.

  • Let me thank the right hon. Gentleman for his kind remarks and good wishes to my amazing

  • wife Samantha and my lovely children, who are all watching from the Gallery today. He

  • is absolutely right: the pressure in these jobs often bears hardest on those we love

  • around us. Let me send my best wishes to his family as well.

  • I have done a bit of research, Mr Speaker. I have addressed 5,500 questions from this

  • Dispatch Box; I will leave it for others to work out how many I have answered. Because

  • of your belief in letting everyone have their say, I think I have done a record 92 hours

  • of statements from this Dispatch Box, as well as some very enjoyable Liaison Committee appearances

  • and other things.

  • I will certainly send the right hon. Gentleman’s best wishes back to my mother. He seems to

  • have taken her advice and is looking absolutely splendid today.

  • This gives me the opportunity to put a rumour to rest, as wellit is even more serious

  • than theStrictly Come Dancingone. The right hon. Gentleman will appreciate this

  • because El Gato, his cat, is particularly famous. This is the rumour that somehow I

  • do not love Larry; I do, and I have photographic evidence to prove it. Sadly, I cannot take

  • Larry with me; he belongs to the house and the staff love him very much, as do I.

  • >>Mr Peter Lilley (Hitchin and Harpenden) (Con): Is my right hon. Friend aware that

  • in 33 years in this House watching five Prime Ministers and several ex-Prime Ministers,

  • I have seen him achieve a mastery of that Dispatch Box unparalleled in my time? That

  • is not just because of his command of detail and his wit, but because he commands the respect

  • of friend and foe alike, who know that he is driven not just by legitimate political

  • ambitions and ideas, but by a sense of duty that always leads him to try to make this

  • country more prosperous, more solvent, more tolerant, more fair, and more free. He will

  • command the respect of generations to come.

  • >>The Prime Minister: Those words mean a lot from my right hon. Friend, who has spent so

  • much time in this House. It is a special place. I think Prime Minister’s questions, for

  • all its theatrics, does have a purpose, because it is a time when every week the Prime Minister

  • has to know absolutely everything that is going on in Whitehall. Often you find out

  • things that you want to stop pretty quickly before 12 o’clock on a Wednesday. I believe

  • that politics is about public service in the national interest, and that is what I have

  • always tried to do.

  • This session does have some admirers around the world. I remember when I was doing the

  • Leader of the Opposition’s job and I met Mayor Bloomberg in New York. We walked down

  • the street and everyone knew Mike Bloomberg. Everyone came up and said, “Mayor, youre

  • doing a great job.” No one had a clue who I was, until eventually someone said, “Hey,

  • Cameron. Prime Minister’s questionswe love your show!”

  • >>Angus Robertson (Moray) (SNP): I join the Prime Minister and the leader of the Labour

  • party in paying tribute to all the winners at Wimbledon.

  • This week we mark the 21st anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide. As this is one of

  • the few political causes that the Prime Minister and I both wholeheartedly support, I hope

  • he will impress on his successor the importance of supporting the Remembering Srebrenica organisation

  • and all the good work that it does across the UK.

  • Notwithstanding our differences, I genuinely extend my best personal wishes to the Prime

  • Minister and his family; I wish them all the best. However, the Prime Minister’s legacy

  • will undoubtedly be that he has brought us to the brink of being taken out of the European

  • Union, so we on these Benches will not be applauding his premiership. What advice has

  • he given his successor on taking Scotland out of the EU against the wishes of Scottish

  • voters?

  • >>The Prime Minister: First, let me join the right hon. Gentleman in paying tribute to

  • all those who lost their lives in Srebrenica. We should make sure that we commemorate the

  • event properly every year. This year there will be a service in the Foreign Office, where

  • commemoration will be given and testimony read out. We should think of it alongside

  • the terrible events of modern history such as the holocaust. This also reminds us that

  • while, as we often debate in this House, there is a price for intervention, there is also

  • sometimes a price from non-intervention. We should remember that.

  • In terms of what the right hon. Gentleman says about Scotland, the United Kingdom and

  • Europe, my advice to my successor, who is a brilliant negotiator, is that we should

  • try to be as close to the European Union as we can be for the benefits of trade, co-operation

  • and security. The channel will not get any wider once we leave the European Union, and

  • that is the relationship we should seek. That would be good for the United Kingdom and good

  • for Scotland.

  • >>Angus Robertson: The Prime Minister’s successor is very well known in Scotland at

  • presentthis is across all the front pagesbecause of the threat to deport the very much loved

  • and liked Brain family from the highlands. The first vote of her premiership is likely

  • to be on imposing Trident against the wishes of almost every single MP from Scotland. Meanwhile,

  • she says that she plans to plough on with Brexit, regardless of the fact that Scotland

  • voted to remain in the EU. How does the outgoing Prime Minister think that all that will go

  • down in Scotland?

  • >>The Prime Minister: First of all, specifically on the Brain family, Mrs Brain came to this

  • country on a tier 4 student visa to study for a Scottish history degree. She completed

  • it and her husband and son came as dependents. We have given them an extension until 1 August

  • to put in an application for a work visa in the normal way, and I very much hope that

  • will happen.

  • On Trident, there will be a vote in this House. It is right that this House should decide.

  • Actually, many people in Scotland support our nuclear deterrent, maintaining it and

  • the jobs that come in Scotland.

  • The right hon. Gentleman asks about the record of this Government when it comes to Scotland.

  • I will tell him what it is: 143,000 more people in work in Scotland; massive investment in

  • the renewable industries in Scotland; the two biggest warships in our history built

  • in Scotland; a powerhouse Parliament; a referendum that was legal, decisive and fair; and, I

  • might add, a Scotsman winning Wimbledon twice while I was Prime Minister. Never mind Indy

  • 2; I think it is time for Andy 2.

  • >>Jo Churchill (Bury St Edmunds) (Con): I thank the Prime Minister for the leadership

  • he has shown, particularly in his support of women in the Conservative party. The Prime

  • Minister’s legacy for me, however, and for fellow cancer survivors, is the personal support

  • that he has shown for the cancer drugs fund. Today I ask him to show the same support for

  • those who have been affected by contaminated blood. Will he please update the House as

  • to whether they, too, will have a legacy?

  • >>The Prime Minister: I thank my hon. Friend for what she says about the cancer drugs fund,

  • which has helped many people and families in our country. She is absolutely right to

  • raise the issue of contaminated blood, and I can today announce that we will spend the

  • extra £125 million that we have identified. A much fairer and more comprehensive scheme

  • will guarantee that all those infected will, for the first time, receive a regular annual

  • payment. That will include all those with hepatitis stage 1, who will now receive £3,500

  • per year, rising to £4,500 per year by the end of the Parliament. For those with hepatitis

  • C at stage 2 or HIV, or who are co-infected with both, annual payments will increase over

  • the lifetime of the Parliament, and we will enhance the support for those who have been

  • bereaved and those who will be in future, significantly boosting the money for the discretionary

  • payments. Last year I apologised to the victims on behalf of the British Government for something

  • that should never have happened. Today I am proud to provide them with the support that

  • they deserve.

  • Although it is not right to pick out two individuals, I think that people should know that they

  • can come to constituency surgeries, make their point to their Member of Parliament and campaign,

  • as these sufferers have done. In my case, David Leadbetter and Matthew Davies repeatedly

  • came to my surgery, saying, “This mustn’t stand. More must be done.” I know that not

  • everyone will be fully satisfied with what is being done, but it does show our democracy

  • working and compassion in replying to this terrible problem.

  • >>Jeff Smith (Manchester, Withington) (Lab): The Prime Minister came to office promising

  • to keep the UK’s triple A rating, to end top-down NHS reorganisations and to stop his

  • party banging on about Europe. How would he say that has gone? [905834]

  • >>The Prime Minister: On the economic record, 2.5 million more jobs, the deficit cut by

  • two thirds, 2.9 million apprenticeships, a million more businesses, and a growth rate

  • that has been at the top of the developed world are all because of the choices that

  • we made. Because we did that, we have been able to back our NHS with a 10% funding increase,

  • which is more than £10 billion in real terms in this Parliament. As for Europe, we have

  • to settle these issues. It is right that, when trying to settle a really big constitutional

  • issue, that you not just rely on Parliament, but ask the people as well. We made a promise

  • and we kept a promise.

  • >>Steve Brine (Winchester) (Con): I am very sorry that this turns out to be my last question

  • to the Prime Minister. I want to thank him for everything he has done for my constituency,

  • where every school is now good or outstanding and the jobless total is down 64% since he

  • took office. As he prepares to leave Downing Street, I encourage him to return to the big

  • society agenda that I know he is so passionate about. Does he remember saying, shortly before

  • becoming Prime Minister, that politicians are a mixture of egotism and altruism, and

  • thatyou just hope that theright onewins out and that people do the right thing rather

  • than the politically convenient thing”?It seems to me that he has stayed on the right

  • side of that divide in the past six years, not least in the manner of his departure.

  • I think that this country is going to miss him a great deal.

  • >>The Prime Minister: I thank my hon. Friend for his kind remarks. When it comes to education,

  • there is a very strong record to build on. We have 1.4 million more children in good

  • or outstanding schools than in 2010. We have seen the free school movement really take

  • off, with over 300 free schools open. I visited one yesterday that is outstanding, as a quarter

  • of them are, which is an amazing record when we think how little time they have had to

  • get going. I think that we should build on that record.

  • As for the big society, yes, we should use a stronger economy to build a bigger and stronger

  • society. One thing we are doing is introducing the National Citizen Service. Some 200,000

  • young people have taken part in that programme and I hope that, by the end of this Parliament,

  • it will be the norm for 16-year-olds to take part. We talk about the soft skills that are

  • necessary to give people real life chances. Many people do not get those chances, and

  • the National Citizen Service will help them.

  • >>Graham Stringer (Blackley and Broughton) (Lab): I thank the Prime Minister for the

  • courteous way he has always answered the questions I have managed to ask him. I have always listened

  • carefully to his answers but, until I had two eye operations, I was not able to see

  • him very clearly. Is he as concerned as I am about newspaper reports that people who

  • are not entitled to NHS cataract operations are jumping the queue and preventing people

  • who are entitled to NHS operations from having that treatment?

  • >>The Prime Minister: I thank the hon. Gentleman for his kind remarks. I try to answer questions

  • from this Dispatch Box, but it is difficult sometimes when I have not seen the specific

  • story, and I have not in this case. I recall from previous occasions that we are still

  • investing in cataract operations and that the number of people receiving them is going

  • up. However, I will look carefullythis afternoonat the question he asks about

  • the danger of queue jumping and get back to him.

  • >>Wendy Morton (Aldridge-Brownhills) (Con): Under the leadership of my right hon. Friend,

  • unemployment in my constituency has dropped from 5.1% in May 2010 to 1.9% in May this

  • year. That is a record to be proud of and one for which I would like to thank him. Does

  • he agree that that has been possible only thanks to his firm focus on jobs, apprenticeships,

  • skills, a strong economy and investment?

  • >>The Prime Minister: The figures are remarkablewhen a constituency gets to an unemployment rate

  • of 1.9%, that is very close to full employment. We had 2.4 million apprenticeships in the

  • previous Parliament, and there are already an extra 500,000 in this Parliament, taking

  • us towards the target of 3 million in this Parliament. I am confident that we can achieve

  • that target if we work hard. These are not just numbers on a page; they are real people

  • who have experience of the workplace, who are learning a trade and who are taking their

  • first steps in their career. What I want is that, when they get that career, we not only

  • have the national living wage, but make sure that people do not start paying income tax

  • until they are earning a good wage. We have taken 4 million of the lowest paid people

  • in our country out of income tax altogetherthat is a record to be proud of.

  • >>Mr Adrian Bailey (West Bromwich West) (Lab/Co-op): This week is Black Country Week. Yesterday,

  • black country manufacturers were in Parliament demonstrating the high-quality products that

  • are exported worldwide. Will the outgoing Prime Minister impress on the incoming Prime

  • Minister the huge importance of maintaining access to the EU single market during Brexit

  • negotiations so that we can maximise the black country’s contribution to exports, productivity

  • and jobs?

  • >>The Prime Minister: I absolutely agree with the hon. Gentleman. We have seen in the west

  • midlands 173,000 more people in work under this Government. We have seen something of

  • a renaissance in manufacturing, particularly in the automotive sector, some of which is,

  • indeed, in the black country. It is vital for that industry that we have proper access

  • to the single market. I think he is right; this is one of the things we absolutely have

  • to focus on. I want these high-quality automotive and aerospace manufacturing firms to go from

  • strength to strength in our country, and making sure we get that access to Europe is going

  • to be vital.

  • >>Mr Robin Walker (Worcester) (Con): Ten years ago today, I was applying to become the Conservative

  • parliamentary candidate for Labour-held Worcester as my right hon. Friend was uniting the then

  • Opposition and preparing them for government. Like many Conservative Members, I entered

  • this House in the week when he became Prime Minister. Since that time, unemployment in

  • Worcester has halved and apprenticeships have doubled. We have more good and outstanding

  • schools, and are beginning to receive fairer funding. Wages are up and taxes are down.

  • May I thank my right hon. Friend for all his service to our nation and for the legacy of

  • improved life chances that he will leave behind?

  • >>The Prime Minister: I thank my hon. Friend for his kind remarks. We have seen unemployment

  • fall in all these constituencies and the claimant count going down. More importantly, we now

  • see 450,000 fewer children in households in which nobody works. Think of the effect of

  • having a parent or a loved one in work helping to put food on the table and providing a role

  • model for their children. That is really what this is all about, and I thank him for his

  • kind remarks.

  • >>Carol Monaghan (Glasgow North West) (SNP): Between broken vows, Brexit and the likely

  • renewal of weapons of mass destruction on the Clyde, the Prime Minister has done more

  • for Scottish independence than many SNP Members could ever hope to do. As he contemplates

  • a move to Aberdeenshire, will he now make his commitment to Scottish independence official

  • by visiting snp.org/joinus?

  • >>The Prime Minister: What I say to the hon. Lady, and indeed to all SNP Members, is that

  • when Lord Smith himself says that the vow to create a powerhouse Parliament was kept,

  • the SNP should pay attention to that, and recognise that a promise was made and a promise

  • was delivered. I have talked many times at this Dispatch Box about creating this powerhouse

  • Parliament; what I have not seen is the SNP using any of the powers that it now has.

  • >>Mr Speaker: Finally, Mr Kenneth Clarke.

  • >>Mr Kenneth Clarke (Rushcliffe) (Con): May I first join with all who have thanked the

  • Prime Minister for the statesmanlike leadership that he has given to our party and to the

  • country for the past six years? I thank him particularly for the debating eloquence and

  • also the wit and humour that he has always brought to Prime Minister’s questions on

  • Wednesdays. Although, no doubt, he will have plans for a slightly more enjoyable and relaxed

  • Wednesday morning and lunchtime in the future, may I ask that he will nevertheless still

  • be an active participant in this House as it faces a large number of problems over the

  • next few years? As no two people know what Brexit means at the moment, we need his advice

  • and statesmanship as much as we ever have.

  • >>The Prime Minister: I thank my right hon. and learned Friend for his very kind remarks.

  • I remember that one of the toughest conversations I had in politics was when I was Leader of

  • the Opposition and I was trying to get him to join my Front Bench. He was on a bird-watching

  • holiday in Patagonia; it was almost impossible to persuade him to come back.

  • Not many people know this, but my right hon. and learned Friend’s first act as Chancellor

  • of the Exchequer was to fire me as a special adviser. I am proud of the fact that one of

  • my first acts was to appoint him to my Cabinet in the coalition Government. The then Deputy

  • Prime Minister will join me in saying that my right hon. and learned Friend provided

  • great wisdom, thoughtfulness and ballast at a time of national difficulty with the advice

  • that he gave us. He is not always the easiest person to get hold ofTory modernisation

  • has never quite got as far as getting Ken Clarke to carry a mobile phone. He did briefly

  • have one, but he said, “The problem is that people keep ringing me on it.” In opposition,

  • I seem to remember that we had to move our morning meeting to accommodate his 9 o’clock

  • cigar.

  • I will watch these exchanges from the Back Benches. I will miss the roar of the crowd

  • and I will miss the barbs from the Opposition, but I will be willing you on. When I saywilling

  • you on”, I do not just mean willing on the new Prime Minister at this Dispatch Box, or

  • indeed just willing on the Government Front Bench and defending the manifesto that I helped

  • to put together. I mean willing all of you on, because people come here with huge passion

  • for the issues they care about and with great love for the constituencies that they represent.

  • I will also be willing on this place. Yes, we can be pretty tough, and we test and challenge

  • our leadersperhaps more than some other countriesbut that is something we should

  • be proud of, and we should keep at it. I hope that you will all keep at it, and I shall

  • will you on as you do.

  • The last thing I would say is that you can achieve a lot of things in politics and get

  • a lot of things done; in the end, public service and the national interest is what it is all

  • about. Nothing is really impossible if you put your mind to it. After all, as I once

  • said, I was the future once. [Applause.]

>>Danny Kinahan (South Antrim) (UUP): If he will list his official engagements for Wednesday

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戴維-卡梅倫的最後一次PMQ。2016年7月13日 (David Cameron's last PMQs: 13 July 2016)

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