Keir Starmer MP: speeches

Speeches

• 15 Apr 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  I do not know the particular details of the hon. Gentleman’s hospital, but I will ensure that they are looked into. We have put record investment into the NHS, but now that he has raised it, I will ensure we look into the specific case he has raised here in this House.

• 15 Apr 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  I know that the hon. Gentleman’s constituents and all of those in Northern Ireland are concerned about the impact that the war in Iran is having on them. I was in Northern Ireland just a few weeks ago, where I spoke directly to party leaders and we announced what we are doing on heating oil. Obviously, fuel duty is frozen until September and energy bills have been reduced. We have also made it clear that we will not tolerate profiteering or unfair practices, which was a particular concern raised with me when I was over in Northern Ireland. The most important thing we can do is to de-escalate the conflict and get the strait of Hormuz open, and that is why I am co-hosting the summit on Friday in order to make progress on both those fronts.

• 15 Apr 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  I join the right hon. Gentleman in his comments about Sudan. We often overlook the fact that that is the greatest humanitarian crisis facing the world at the moment. My position on the Iran war has been clear from the start. We are not going to get dragged into this war. It is not our war. A lot of pressure has been applied to me to take a different course, and that pressure includes what happened last night. I am not going to change my mind. I am not going to yield. It is not in our national interest to join this war, and we will not do so. I know where I stand. The purpose of the King’s visit is to mark the 250th anniversary of relations with and the independence of the United States. The monarchy is an important reminder of the long-standing bonds and the enduring relationship between our two countries, which are far greater than anyone who occupies any particular office at any particular time.

• 15 Apr 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Let me start by saying that I respect Lord Robertson, and I thank him again for carrying out the strategic review. My responsibility is to keep the British people safe, and that is a duty I take seriously. That is why I do not agree with his comments. Last February—seven months after taking office—I took the decision to increase defence spending from 2.3% to 2.6%, which was paid for by a difficult decision on overseas aid. Last June at the NATO summit, I committed to raising core defence spending to 3.5%. Last November, the Budget committed record funding to defence. I reaffirm those commitments now. The strategic defence review is a 10-year blueprint for national security. The defence investment plan will put that into effect, and it will be published as soon as possible. We need to get it right. We inherited plans that were uncosted and undeliverable, and we are not going to repeat those mistakes.

• 15 Apr 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  I know that—as my hon. Friend has just said—he himself was at Hillsborough, and I thank him for his decades of campaigning for justice. I am personally committed to working with the families to get this Bill right. It is integral that their views are heard. We are discussing this precise issue with them, and I will ensure that my hon. Friend is fully updated. I reaffirm my commitment to delivering the legislation, and to ensuring that the duty of candour applies to all public servants.

• 15 Apr 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  In addition to the Leader of the Opposition saying that her position is that we should just say to the Americans, “Get in there”, she insulted our armed forces, saying that they were just “hanging around”. These are pilots who within two hours of this conflict starting were up, risking their lives, taking missiles out of the sky. She insulted them and she has never apologised for that. She said a few weeks ago: “Serious times call for serious people.” She is not one of them.

• 15 Apr 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  May I start by congratulating Luton Town on winning at Wembley—having been coached, of course, by Jack Wilshere, a great ex-Arsenal star? I am delighted that my hon. Friend’s constituency is benefiting from a new youth hub, one of the 80 additional hubs that we are launching across the country. That is in stark contrast to what we inherited: over 1,000 youth centres were closed under the Tories and spending on youth services was slashed by 73%. Labour is bringing youth clubs back, and we are proud to do so, building a better future for our young people.

• 15 Apr 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  I have made it very clear that I think our national interest lies in close relations with the EU on defence, security, energy and the economy. I was very pleased that at last year’s summit we did negotiate an agreement on e-gates, and we are pushing hard on that. We have another summit this year, where I intend not just to make good on what we have already agreed, but to go closer to the EU in the relations that we have.

• 15 Apr 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Relevant Ministers are happy to discuss with the hon. Member the specific site she mentions in greater depth, and I can reassure her that we are committed to protecting our countryside. Our land use framework balances restoring nature with meeting the demands of homes and energy. We have just announced £60 million—a record amount—to support nature and threatened species.

• 13 Apr 2026 · Middle East · Hansard source

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  It is a 10-year plan, and it mirrors our strategic review. It sits alongside the defence spending commitments that we have made and are implementing with the 2.5%, and the commitments that I made at the NATO summit last year.

• 13 Apr 2026 · Middle East · Hansard source

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  The IRGC has been sanctioned in its entirety. In relation to what more we can do, obviously we have been looking at state-based threats, which will almost certainly require legislation—the hon. Member will be familiar with the review in that regard. There are further things that we can do, and hopefully we can work across the House on some of those issues.

• 13 Apr 2026 · Middle East · Hansard source

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  We have about 300,000 British civilians in the Gulf region, and they are at risk because of Iran’s actions. It is my duty to ensure that we protect them. That is why we have taken action in our own right, particularly with our pilots. It is also why I have allowed the bases to be used for defensive purposes to prevent attacks on our civilians, as much as anything else, who are in the region. We are never going to abandon them to their fate when missiles and drones are incoming into the areas where they live and work. It is my duty to protect them, and I will continue to do so.

• 13 Apr 2026 · Middle East · Hansard source

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  Those are both very important points, and I can give my hon. Friend’s constituents that assurance on both fronts.

• 13 Apr 2026 · Middle East · Hansard source

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  A close relationship with the EU and Europe was in our manifesto in 2024, which was a very successful manifesto, and we have been working to that end ever since, which is why we had the first UK-EU summit last year, with 10 strands agreed. It is also why I have been clear that we want to go further this year, not just in seeing where we have got to on what we have already agreed, but going further than that because it is in our interests, whether in defence, security, energy or the economy, to be closer to Europe and that is what we are endeavouring to do.

• 13 Apr 2026 · Middle East · Hansard source

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  This matter came up in all the conversations that I had, and I assure my hon. Friend that there was absolute clarity among all the leaders with whom I spoke that there must not be any conditions or tolls, or anything that increases the chokehold over the strait of Hormuz in particular, which is very important to the Gulf. We have fought for the principle of freedom of navigation for many, many years, and for good reason.

• 13 Apr 2026 · Middle East · Hansard source

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  I am conscious of the impact that this situation is having on fuel, and therefore on people in my hon. Friend’s constituency and across the country. We are working on a number of fronts, first to make sure that there is absolutely no profiteering from this, in relation to the price discrepancies, but also to ensure that we de-escalate the situation and get the strait of Hormuz open. That will be the most effective way to get those prices down again, which will impact on everybody filling up their cars.

• 13 Apr 2026 · Middle East · Hansard source

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  I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his questions. In relation to the language about destroying a civilisation, can I really be clear with this House? That was wrong. A threat to Iranian civilians in that way is wrong. These are civilians, let us remember, who have suffered immeasurable harm by the regime in Iran for many, many long years. That is why they are words and phrases that I would never use on behalf of this Government, who are guided by our principles and our values throughout all this. In relation to the King’s visit, the relationship between our two countries is important on a number of levels. The monarchy, through the bonds that it builds, is often able to reach through the decades on a situation like this; and the purpose of the visit is to mark the 250th anniversary of the relationship between our country and the United States, and that is why it is going ahead. In relation to the blockade, let me be clear, as I have been already in the last day or so, that we are focusing our efforts on opening in full the strait of Hormuz because of the damage that the situation is doing to economies around the world, including our own. That is why we have been working with other countries at various levels and will bring them together in a summit later this week. We, the UK, will not be joining the blockade that the President announced. In relation to the help that is needed for families and households, obviously we have already put in place help for energy bills and heating oil, but we are keeping this under constant review as the situation evolves. The single most important and effective thing we can do is to de-escalate the situation and work with others to get the strait of Hormuz open, and that is why we are focusing so much of our efforts in that regard.

• 13 Apr 2026 · Middle East · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend and reiterate that we will not be dragged into the war. We are taking steps across a number of levels. What we can do together to de-escalate was central to the discussions I had in the Gulf states last week; they are shocked and angry, frankly, that they have been attacked in the way that they have been attacked. They were not involved in the conflict, and it is clear to them that they were targeted within hours of the beginning of the conflict starting, and that civilian infrastructure and civilians were targeted as well. They are absolutely clear that that targeting was put in place before the conflict started. We are working with them and across the coalition of dozens of countries to de-escalate and to get the strait of Hormuz open just as soon as it is viable and credible to do so.

• 13 Apr 2026 · Middle East · Hansard source

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  I can give my hon. Friend that assurance—that is what we have been doing particularly intensively in the past two or three weeks. We will continue to do so later this week when President Macron and I host the summit together.

• 13 Apr 2026 · Middle East · Hansard source

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  We have taken action in relation to particularly energy-intensive businesses. I recognise that those that fall outside that protection are extremely concerned. The most important thing that we can do for them is to de-escalate the situation and get the strait of Hormuz open, because that is the cause of energy prices going up.

• 13 Apr 2026 · Middle East · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for that. It is of course Iran that is putting the chokehold on the strait. That is wrong, and the strength of feeling across the Gulf last week was very, very clear to me. I can assure him that we are not getting involved in the proposal to blockade the strait. On the contrary, we are working with other countries to try and get the strait open, and fully open, for free navigation, something this country has championed for years and years and years.

• 13 Apr 2026 · Middle East · Hansard source

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  I do not think it is counterproductive. Just to be clear, however, I will say that the most important thing for food security is ensuring de-escalation and getting the strait of Hormuz open. That is why we have been convening a number of countries for the past two and a half weeks, and will do so again later this week, to operate at all levels to try to get that done as quickly as possible. I understand the impact on the farmers in the hon. Lady’s constituency and across the United Kingdom. That is why we have to have that absolute focus on the work that we are doing.

• 13 Apr 2026 · Middle East · Hansard source

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  Yes, and I know that this will be of interest to my hon. Friend’s constituents, many of whom are worried by what they are seeing on their screens and the knowledge that it may impact on the cost of living. I can assure them that that is why we are working with allies to seek de-escalation and get the strait of Hormuz open. That is not a remote issue; it is an issue that affects them, their cost of living and their household bills. That is uppermost in my mind as I take these actions.

• 13 Apr 2026 · Middle East · Hansard source

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  I have been clear throughout, and I will be clear with the hon. Gentleman: this Government are guided by the principle that any action we take, anywhere in the world, must have a lawful basis. That is the principle that I have applied throughout this conflict and throughout the time this Government have been in power.

• 13 Apr 2026 · Middle East · Hansard source

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  We are planning for all contingencies, but I emphasise once again that our absolute focus has to be on getting the strait open. Having spoken to those working in shipping, finance, insurance and so on, they are very clear with me that they are not going to be putting vessels through while there is a conflict, and therefore we must de-escalate and come up with that credible plan. We will do that in conjunction with other countries, and that is why President Macron and I are convening the summit later this week, building on the work that we have been doing over the past few weeks.