With the PM off on holiday at G7 in Évian-les-Bains, DPMQs featured a new Conservative challenger, Claire Coutinho (East Surrey,Conservative) Shadow EngNZSec, taking on the deeply unenthusiastic David Lammy (Tottenham, Labour) DepPM.
Tuesday 16th June
Resignations to right of them, resignations to left of them… (with apologies to Alfred, Lord Tennyson.)
Mrs Coutinho, perhaps predictably given her shadow ministerial responsibility majored on energy and net zero, kicking off with the relatively simple: “Why are the Labour Government happy for Britain to get its oil and gas from Russia or Qatar but not from Aberdeen?”
Mr Lammy seemed to have taken Sir Keir’s advice on ignoring questions and although Coutinho was admirably clear, it is clear that the Conservatives’ record in government (2010-’24) and individual shadow former ministers’ former responsibilities, even if quite brief as in Mrs Coutinho’s career, still effectively blunt the impact of outrage and incredulity expressed from the Tory benches. It seemed something of a tactical mistake for Coutinho to pass on from the present Government’s illogical refusal to encourage more drilling in the North Sea, to the obvious issue of the Cabinet’s implosion on the subject of Defence Spending.
All in all, a session not marked either by a killer blow or a meaningful defence. One is tempted (successfully, Ed) to describe this session of DPMQs as “low energy.” The only unspoken point of note during the session was David Lammy’s lack of notable enthusiasm for his absent Leader over the Sea. Perhaps he was trying to hedge his bets for the arrival of the King of the North in the hope of retaining his job, or failing that, any other post needing to be filled.
Emma Reynolds (Wycombe, Labour) EnvSec, came to the House to make a statement on Thames Water and revealed that she had told Ofwat that she opposed the current proposals for the recapitalisation of Thames Water by the London and Valley Water shareholder consortium because of “the unfair cost to customers, delays to vital infrastructure investments and delays to environmental improvements.”
Conservative inclinations to support proposals that simply keep Thames Water afloat (groan!) as advanced by Victoria Atkins (Louth & Horncastle, Conservative) Shadow EnvSec, did not address the reported experiences of many members’ constituents with poor water quality, floating sewerage, floods and general water inadequacies. I fact you could say that they didn’t “plumb the depths.”
However, more political interest was focused on the departing Defence ministers who gave resignation speeches in the House. John Healey (Rawmarsh & Conisbrough, Labour) who noted that he continued to be certain of the necessity of his resignation and explaining that: “At this dangerous time, I see the current defence investment plans falling well short of what is required: a rise of 0.08% from next year to 2030, no date for reaching 3%, and no path to 3.5%.”
However, Healey’s best line took a swing at Rachel Reeves (Leeds West & Pudsey, Labour) ChExcq: “Our adversaries do not follow timetables set by the Treasury.”
This was followed immediately by a similar statement from Col Al Carns, DSO, OBE, MC (Birmingham Selly Oak, Labour) who outlined three reasons for his resignation: “I no longer believe that the Defence Investment Plan is preparing us for the wars we are most likely to fight… because even if the plan had been right, it was not adequately funded…and I could no longer ignore the continued failure to address the treatment of our veterans in Northern Ireland.”
If a government loses ministers like Healey & Carns over a failure to fund what they perceive to be compelling national security requirements then it is time for a change of government. Enough said.
Monday 15th June
The Prime Minister announced plans to ban access to various social media platforms (and livestreaming) for children under 16 at a news conference in Downing Street. The Deputy Speaker, Nusrat Ghani (Sussex Weald, Conservative) conveyed the Speaker’s frustration with the Prime Minister’s decision to make this announcement in Downing Street rather than to the House, saying:
“I must place on the record Mr Speaker’s disappointment that the Prime Minister chose Downing Street over this House as the place in which to make the important announcement about banning under-16s from social media. The Prime Minister’s very own rulebook states that important policy announcements should be made in the first instance in this House when it is sitting.”
Liz Kendall (Leicester West, Labour) SecSci then set out the proposal in the chamber and indicated that HMG were also considering broadening this ban by also restricting sexualised content via chatbots and probably introduce overnight curfews and forced breaks in infinite scrolling for 16-17 year olds too.
Julia Lopez (Hornchurch & Upminster, Conservative) Shadow SecSci broadly welcomed the Prime Minister’s conversion to the proposed social media ban, but pointed out the inconsistency of proposing overnight curfews and scrolling breaks for 16-17 year olds that the Government is currently legislating to extend the vote to in the Representation of the People Bill, 2026.
There was, however, a more embarrassing moment in the House when the last man standing in the Ministry of Defence, Luke Pollard (Plymouth Sutton & Devonport, Labour) MoS for Defence Readiness, responded to a question from LotO about the delay in publishing the Defence Investment Plan by saying “I worked in lockstep with the former Defence Secretary.. He is a friend and mentor. I was his deputy and I am still standing at the Dispatch Box because he asked me to stay and because we need continuity in this complex and difficult operational environment.
Pollard continued: The DIP will be published before the NATO summit. Do we need to spend more on defence? Yes. Do the Prime Minister and the Chancellor agree with that? Yes.“ This must count as the most roundabout circumlocution for explaining why a Minister remains in post while disagreeing with his government’s position.
While Sir James Cleverly TD VR (Braintree, Conservative) frantically searched for the Secretary of State for Defence, LotO highlighted HMG’s refusal to meet Defence spending requests realistically: “What on earth are the Government playing at? The statement that the Minister has just given shows that the Government are still in denial. He did not say that there would be extra money for the defence investment plan, as his former mentor—so he says—asked for.”
Mrs Badenoch continued: “The Prime Minister needs to tell the Chancellor to find the money. The answer is to cut the welfare budget, and I am willing to lend the Government 116 votes to do just that—I know Labour Back Benchers will not do it.”
The avuncular Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, Sir Geoffrey Clifton Brown (North Cotswolds, Conservative) also spelt out the Warfare-Welfare choice, saying:“…We spend £333 billion a year on the Department for Work and Pensions. We spend less than a fifth of that on defence, at £62 billion. In his speech this morning, the Prime Minister talked about government being “a choice”. Is this the right choice?”
Thursday 11th June
The Commons held a debate on the legacy of Jo Cox, who was killed in her constituency 10 years ago on 16th June 2016 and identified her belief in finding compromise rather than encouraging division as her distinctive emphasis.
However, news of the resignation of the Defence Secretary came through to the Chamber and, on a point of order, Mark Francois (Rayleigh & Wickford, Conservative) Shadow Defence Minister, offered unstinting praise to the outgoing Labour Minister… “Today an honourable man has resigned, on a matter of principle, from a Government in disarray. The former Defence Secretary, as he now is, has resigned over the Government’s continuous failure to publish the defence investment plan or even to fund it.”
In response, the Deputy Speaker confirmed that the Government had made no indication of when the Defence Investment Plan was likely to be tabled. No surprise there. However, news of the resignation of Col Al Carns, DSO, OBE, MC (Birmingham Selly Oak, Labour) as Minister for the Armed Forces did not reach the House before it adjourned at 4pm.
Outside the House, former Conservative DefSec, Sir Ben Wallace, the previous Conservative Defence Secretary commented on X “Al was one of my very best commanders when i was in post. The MOD needs him. This Government needs his knowledge and leadership. If no.10 won’t listen to him and Healey we really are screwed.”
Thank you for reading and please check out our instagram @theworldofukpolitics,
Alex
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