Sir Keir Starmer
MP for Holborn and St Pancras · Labour · United Kingdom
“That meeting with President Zelensky happened the day after he was evicted from the Oval Office. He left alone. He got on a plane. We got him to come to London, and I asked him to come to Downing Street straightaway. I walked out to meet him. I gave him a hug, and then I showed him what was in the street.”
“You have been instrumental in defending the safety of every Member of this House, Mr Speaker. I believe we must do more to defend our democracy, and have tasked officials across Government with identifying the best mechanisms for taking this work forward so that it can move as quickly as possible.”
“Well, Reform intends to spend the summer arguing with a bin. My advice to everyone is: put your vote in the Bin! [ Laughter. ] I am delighted that today we are joined in the Gallery by some of the people I have met across the country in opposition and in power.”
“She knows that this is robust, and it has to be robust—that is the way politics is done—but the kindnesses that sit behind it privately are often just as powerful, if not more powerful, and I thank her for that. I also stood at the Opposition Dispatch Box, for four years as Leader of the Opposition.”
“I join the right hon. Lady in her tribute to Ann Widdecombe. I know that the hurt is keenly felt across all her friends and family, but it is particularly keenly felt by political colleagues in the Conservative party—her party for many years—and in Reform as well.”
“I thank my hon. Friend for her question, her support and her friendship for me, Vic and the kids. Whatever the challenge, she has always been there for us, particularly Vic and the kids, and I really thank her for that. This will be my last answer from this Dispatch Box.”
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Every one of 2,995 lines we hold for Sir Keir Starmer, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 16 of 60.
“I am sorry that the Leader of the Opposition is not interested in how people caught in the region will get home. For the vast majority of people watching this PMQs, that will be the single most important thing on their mind. The Conservatives cut defence spending: we are increasing it, and we are doing that because we have stabilised the economy. Yesterday, the Chancellor announced that inflation was down—interest rates, down; borrowing, down; debt, down; investment, living standards and growth, up. I know that the Leader of the Opposition does not understand that. The shadow Chancellor clearly does not understand it, although I do have to thank him for—in what has been a very difficult week—providing some excellent unintended stand-up comedy in his response to the Chancellor yesterday.”
“Renewable energy, where we have our independence and security, would take us off those markets and give us the security we need.”
“The question of energy supply right now is a serious one, and we are doing all we can, with allies, to make sure that it is preserved. It is vital that we keep trade flowing through the strait of Hormuz. The Energy Secretary met the International Energy Agency yesterday, and the Chancellor is meeting oil and gas companies today. We are keeping in close contact with our allies and key industry players. Again, I think the country wants to know what we are doing now in relation to what is happening in the coming days. Oil and gas will be part of our energy mix for many years to come, but if Ukraine and the last few days have taught us anything, it is that all the time we are on the international market, we are vulnerable to these changes.”
“I have spent the week protecting British lives and our national interest. Moments like this define a Leader of the Opposition. They can either step up, act in the national interest and show that they are fit to be Prime Minister, or they can expose their utter irrelevance. The Leader of the Opposition has chosen the second.”
“I know that my hon. Friend has been fighting for her constituents and holding management companies to account. Our reform Bill will end the broken, outdated leasehold system and make the dream of home ownership real. We are capping ground rents, delivering transparency on service charges and scrapping the presumption that leaseholders pay landlords’ legal costs. Our focus is on saving people money, giving them more control of their homes and creating a fairer housing system.”
“I thank the right hon. Gentleman for raising this, because I know it will be a concern to the public, who are watching what is going on and are very concerned about the impact it will have on their lives. It is important that I emphasise the actions we have been taking urgently this week with our allies and energy agencies across the world, and the work we are doing to ensure the safe passage of energy across the world. We will continue to do that. I was glad that we were able to bring energy bills down by £150, as announced just the other day. We will keep a very close eye on this. I know how important it is for the British public.”
“Again, I thank the right hon. Gentleman for raising this. It is very important that I say that, as he and the House would expect, we are working 24/7 on dealing with any threats to this country. I spoke on Monday about the 20 Iran-backed threats that we had successfully dealt with. We continue to do so, and we are working on it 24/7—it is important that I say that. In relation to the IRGC, obviously we have put in place a number of sanctions already. We do not comment on proscription, but we have made the case that there needs to be legislation to deal with state-backed terrorist groups, and we are looking into that.”
“Energy security is critical to food security, and the sprint to clean energy is the only way to get off the volatile international fossil fuel markets, cut bills and deliver energy security. Since we came into office, over £90 billion of investment into clean energy industry has come in, powering millions of homes. The Tories and Reform would throw all that away and cling to the failed policy that put everyone’s bills up throughout their reign.”
“Like everything else they left in such a mess, we are clearing it up, and through our strategic defence review we will make Britain safer.”
“The right hon. Member will have heard me set out what we did by way of pre-deployment, working in conjunction with and liaising with the US. So he understands the context in which those pre-deployments were put in place, and I think they speak for themselves as to why they were put in those places. In relation to defence spend, obviously we are increasing it to 2.6% of GDP—that is £270 billion over the Parliament—but as I said in the speech I gave in Munich just a couple of weeks ago, we are going to have to spend more and faster after the years of under-investment and troop cuts that— [ Interruption. ] The Conservatives were the ones who hollowed this out. They were the ones who reduced the size of the Army. They were the ones who did not spend what was necessary on defence.”
“My life was changed by the opportunity to study music—yes, very many years ago. I believe that every child deserves that opportunity. The Conservatives cut those opportunities—that particularly excluded poorer children—and now they call creative arts courses a “dead end”. I totally disagree; they are the lifeblood of the creative industries that showcase Britain around the world. The new national centre will launch this year, and Labour is investing in music hubs so that every child has the same opportunities to enjoy music, to learn music and to learn the skills that music brings them for life.”
“This Labour Government are changing the planning regulations so that we can get on and build the homes we need across our country. The Conservatives’ failure was the failure to do so. But I must applaud the hon. Gentleman, because at least he has had the decency to accept some of the failures of the last Government. On special educational needs and disabilities, he said: “my Government didn’t do enough on this.” and, “it’s awful.” He said his party “should hang our heads in shame”. He is absolutely right about that.”
“I thank my hon. Friend for her question. We inherited an appalling situation, with a record number of households in temporary accommodation. Every child deserves a safe and secure home. We are investing £950 million in the local authority housing fund to increase the supply of quality accommodation. We are banning section 21 no-fault evictions, introducing a new stronger decent homes standard and investing £39 billion to deliver the homes that families need.”
“I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising this case, which will be a real concern for his constituents. I am sure the Conservatives will have heard the reality of what they did over 14 years, destroying everything in this country. We are fixing that and I will ensure that he gets a meeting with the relevant Minister to discuss this further.”
“The Conservative party left one in eight young people not earning or learning. We are not doing so, and we will tackle it: more apprenticeships, more careers support, a jobs guarantee to provide paid employment, a youth guarantee to get more young people into earning or learning, and over 360 youth hubs to help young people access opportunities. My hon. Friend makes a strong case, which I know my right hon. Friend the Work and Pensions Secretary has heard. I hope there will be good news for her later this year.”
“American planes are operating out of British bases—that is the special relationship in action. British jets are shooting down drones and missiles to protect American lives in the middle east on our joint bases—that is the special relationship in action. Sharing intelligence every day to keep our people safe—that is the special relationship in action. Hanging on to President Trump’s latest words is not the special relationship in action.”
“Hannah Deacon’s campaign for her son, Alfie, was remarkable, and I know how much she is missed. I thank my hon. Friend for continuing to campaign on this matter. We are investing £8 million in clinical trials on cannabis-based medicines for conditions such as drug-resistant epilepsy. I want to see patients accessing safe, effective medicines and new treatments as quickly as possible.”
“Baroness Longfield is now beginning the work of the inquiry, with victims and survivors at the heart of the process. Under this Government, convictions are at their highest level ever, and we are introducing mandatory reporting on child sexual abuse and putting a legal duty on police to collect ethnicity data. But forgive me if I do not take suggestions from the hon. Lady, who said that people legally settled here should “go home” to ensure that the UK is “culturally coherent”. That is a grotesque way to talk about our friends and neighbours. I rather suspect that when she next asks a question, she will be sitting on the Benches up there.”
“I thank my hon. Friend for her question. We hosted the International Women’s Day event on Monday, where I spoke to so many women who are concerned about this issue. It is totally unacceptable that women have waited sometimes up to a decade for an endometriosis diagnosis. We are renewing the women’s health strategy, improving training for doctors and cutting wait times for gynaecology services, which will be prioritised through NHS Online. We are also investing in research on how to improve diagnosis and treatment.”
“Anas Sarwar has been asking the hon. Gentleman’s party to be honest about the political pressure it applied at the Queen Elizabeth university hospital and to take the action needed to reassure patients and families. That scandal shows how much Scotland deserves change with Anas Sarwar.”
“I thank my hon. Friend for raising that matter. Everyone deserves a safe place to call home. Let me pay tribute to all the organisations that are working to tackle the problem. We are investing a record £3.6 billion into our national plan to end homelessness. That includes boosting the supply of temporary accommodation, record funding for tackling rough sleeping, and ending the inappropriate use of bed-and-breakfasts for families and no-fault evictions, which we know drive people to homelessness.”
“Any UK actions must always have a lawful basis and a viable, thought-through plan. I say again: we were not involved in the initial strikes on Iran, and we will not join offensive action now, but in the face of Iran’s barrage of missiles and drones, we will protect our people in the region and support the collective self-defence of our allies, because that is our duty to the British people. It is the best way to eliminate the urgent threat, prevent the situation spiralling further, and support a return to diplomacy. It is the best way to protect British interests and British lives. That is what this Government are doing. I commend this statement to the House.”
“We are also reaching out to communities across the United Kingdom, including Muslim and Jewish community organisations, and we are making sure that sites across the country, including places of worship, have appropriate protective security in place. The situation in the region is developing rapidly, so we will continue to update the House in the coming days. I have spoken recently about the toll that global events are taking here at home. They come crashing into our lives with ever greater frequency, hitting our economy, driving up prices on the supermarket shelves or at the pump, dividing communities, and bringing anxiety and fear. That is why how we operate on the world stage matters so much. We all remember the mistakes of Iraq, and we have learned those lessons.”
“Across much of the region, airspace remains closed, and local authorities are advising individuals to shelter in place. The situation on the ground may remain challenging for some time, so we are sending rapid deployment teams to the region to support our British nationals on the ground. We are in close contact with the travel industry and Governments in the region, including with our friends in the UAE, given the concentration of British nationals in that country. We are looking at all options to support our people. We want to ensure that they can return home as swiftly and safely as possible. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office phone lines are open to provide consular support, and Ministers are available to meet MPs to discuss any individual cases.”
“Over the last year alone, Iran has backed more than 20 potentially lethal attacks on UK soil, each of which we have foiled. So it is clear that the Iranian regime must never be allowed to get its hands on nuclear weapons. That remains the primary aim of the United Kingdom and our allies, including the US, and ultimately, this will have to be achieved at the negotiating table. In this dangerous moment, our first thoughts are with our citizens in the region—friends, family members and constituents. I recognise the deep concern that the situation is causing for those involved, and for communities across the country. We are asking all British citizens in the region to register their presence, so that we can provide the best possible support, and to monitor the Home Office travel advice, which is being regularly updated.”
“France and Germany are also prepared to enable US action to destroy Iran’s capability to fire missiles and drones from source. I have been in close contact with President Macron and Chancellor Merz in recent days, as well as President Trump and leaders across the region, to that end. Be in no doubt: the regime in Iran is utterly abhorrent. In January, it murdered thousands of its own people; the full horror of that is still hidden from the world. For decades, it has sought to destabilise the region and export terror around the world. Its proxies in Yemen have targeted British ships in the Red sea; it has facilitated Russia’s attacks in Ukraine; and the regime’s tentacles have even reached these shores, posing a direct threat to Iranian dissidents and to the Jewish community.”
“Yesterday evening, we took the decision to accept that new request in order to prevent Iran firing missiles across the region, killing innocent civilians, putting British lives at risk and hitting countries that have not been involved. To be clear, the use of British bases is limited to the agreed defensive purposes. We are not joining US and Israeli offensive strikes. The basis for our decision is the collective self-defence of long-standing friends and allies, and protecting British lives. It is in accordance with international law, and we have produced a summary of our legal advice, which clearly sets this out. We will keep the decision under review. We are not joining the strikes, but we will continue our defensive actions in the region.”
“They have already successfully intercepted Iranian strikes, including taking out one drone that was heading towards a coalition base in Iraq that is housing UK service personnel. I pay tribute to our brilliant servicemen and women for putting themselves in harm’s way to keep others safe, and I know the whole House will join me in expressing our gratitude and respect. It is simply not possible to shoot down every Iranian missile and every drone after they have been launched. The only way to stop the threat is to destroy the missiles at source—in their storage depots, or at the launchers. The US requested permission to use British bases for that specific and limited defensive purpose, because it has the capabilities to do so.”
“It is very clear that the death of the supreme leader will not stop Iran launching these strikes. In fact, its approach is becoming even more reckless, and more dangerous to civilians. It is working, ruthlessly and deliberately, through a plan to strike not only military targets, but economic targets in the region, with no regard for civilian casualties. That is the situation that we face today, and to which we must respond. I have been speaking to our Gulf partners over the weekend. They are outraged by Iran’s acts, particularly as they played no part in any strikes, and they have asked us to do more to defend them. Moreover, it is my duty—the highest duty of my office—to protect British lives. That is why we put British jets in the air—Typhoons and F-35s—as part of co-ordinated defensive operations.”
“On Saturday, Iran hit a military base in Bahrain with missiles and drones. There were 300 British personnel on the base, some within a few hundred yards of the strike. Last night, a drone hit RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus. There were no casualties in this strike. It is important for me to say that our bases in Cyprus are not being used by US bombers. The security of our friends and partners in Cyprus is of critical importance, and I want to be clear: the strike on RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus was not in response to any decision that we have taken. In our assessment, the drone was launched prior to our announcement. Iran’s aggression towards Britain and our interests is long-standing, and that is why we have always ensured that protections for British bases and personnel are at their highest level.”
“That is what I have done, and I stand by it, but it is clear that Iran’s outrageous response has become a threat to our people, our interests and our allies, and it cannot be ignored. Iran has lashed out across the region. It has launched hundreds of missiles and thousands of drones at countries that did not attack it, including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Iraq, Bahrain and Oman. Overnight, Hezbollah, Iran’s proxy in Lebanon, launched attacks on Israel, seeking to escalate the war. There are an estimated 300,000 British citizens in the region—residents, families on holiday, and those in transit. Iran has hit airports and hotels where British citizens are staying. It is deeply concerning for the whole House and the whole country. Our armed forces are also being put at risk by Iran’s actions.”
“With permission, I will update the House on the situation in Iran and the wider region, and our response. The United Kingdom was not involved in the initial strikes on Iran by the US and Israel. That decision was deliberate. We believe that the best way forward for the region and for the world is a negotiated settlement in which Iran agrees to give up any aspirations to develop a nuclear weapon and ceases its destabilising activity across the region. That has been the long-standing position of successive British Governments. President Trump has expressed his disagreement with our decision not to get involved in the initial strikes, but it is my duty to judge what is in Britain’s national interest.”
“No UK Prime Minister has ever committed our personnel to action unless it has a proper, lawful basis.”
“I think she said that the Opposition would have joined the initial strikes without regard to whether they had a plan. She was very critical of us not joining sooner—it is impossible to have that position without arguing that we could and should have joined. I fundamentally disagree, and I will tell the House why. Where our military personnel take action, putting their lives at risk, it is our duty—my duty—to ensure that the actions have a lawful basis. On Saturday, we deployed UK pilots into the sky in the region, and they have been working there ever since. They deserve to know that their actions are lawful and that there is a viable, thought-through plan. I will not countenance committing our military personnel to action that does not have a lawful basis. That is not a fair thing to do to our serving personnel.”
“The second decision—a separate decision and, actually, a separate request from the US—was whether we should permit the use of bases for the distinct, specific defensive purpose of collective self-defence of our allies and to protect British lives that were put at risk by the actions of Iran on Saturday and Sunday. We took the decision that we should do so. I am clear in my mind that any UK action must always have a lawful basis. It must also always have a viable and thought-through plan, and it must be in our national interests. The Leader of the Opposition is, I think, saying that she would have joined the initial strikes whether they were lawful or not. I notice that she did not say that the shadow Attorney General said that they would have been lawful, just that the law should be changed.”
“The right hon. Lady asks about contingency plans for UK nationals. I can assure her and the House that we are working at speed with our partners in the region to take whatever measures we can to ensure that our people can return as safely and as swiftly as possible, and we will continue to do so. I am happy to update her and the House as we roll out those plans. Let me be very clear: there were two distinct and separate decisions over the weekend. The first decision was whether the United Kingdom should join the US-Israel offensive against Iran. We took the decision that we should not.”
“I thank my right hon. Friend for that important question. Ukraine, sadly, has more expertise than anyone in dealing with drones. That is why we are putting Ukraine’s expertise and our expertise together and using it to help our allies in the region as they struggle with drones as we speak.”
“On the right hon. Gentleman’s last point, I want to be clear that it is my duty—our duty—to protect all UK nationals in the region. We will endeavour to do everything we can in order to do so.”
“I thank the right hon. Member for his question. I agree that the response of Iran has been outrageous, particularly the hitting of countries that played no part in the strikes. We have had extensive discussions with the United States at all levels, including the military-to-military level, continually over the course of the weekend. We deliberately took the decision not to join the offensive strikes that were carried out by the US and Israel. We did take the decision to take defensive action—first, by ourselves on Saturday with putting pilots in the sky, and, secondly, by allowing the bases to be used for purely defensive reasons. We clearly set out the legal basis upon which we took the second of those decisions. On the question about limits, it is limited to defence, and that is the basis upon which we have agreed the basing.”
“In relation to the protection of our citizens, we will obviously continue operating defensively in the air in the region, taking out the missiles, drones and strikes. We have permitted the US basing specifically for the purpose of taking out Iran’s ability to launch the strikes in the first place. The US has the capability to do that, in particular. On the question of citizens and their understandable desire to return home as swiftly and safely as possible, we are doing all that we can. We are working very closely with our partners in the region. I ask all UK citizens in the region to register their presence so that we can give them the best advice, keep them safe and bring them home as soon as possible.”
“They are the principles that I applied separately to the separate decision on a separate request from the US to be able to take defensive action to hit the launchers for the missiles that are currently going into allies’ countries in the region and threatening our citizens and service personnel. I stand by both decisions. I repeat: I am not prepared to commit our military servicepeople to action unless I am sure that what they are doing is lawful and has a viable basis. We can discuss what the law is on another occasion, but the law is what it is, and they deserve to know that their Prime Minister cares and pays attention to whether what I am asking them to do is lawful. I will always do that.”
“I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his question. This Government do not believe in regime change from the skies. The lessons of history have taught us that when we make decisions such as this, it is important that we establish that there is a lawful basis for what the United Kingdom is doing—that is one of the lessons from Iraq—and that there is a viable, thought-through plan with an objective that has a viable prospect of being achieved. Those are the principles that I applied to the decisions that I made over the weekend. They are the principles that I applied to the decision not to get involved in the offensive strikes by the US and Israel.”
“I thank the right hon. Member and assure her that we have learned the lessons of Iraq. That is why I have been so clear that there must be a lawful basis and a viable, thought-through plan. In relation to our nationals, I think all our constituents would expect our Government to take action to protect British nationals. We have 300,000 British nationals in the region, and they are at risk. We have already seen strikes on hotels where our nationals have been staying, and on airports. We have seen strikes near military bases, within hundreds of yards of our personnel. It is our duty to take the action we can take, and will take, to protect them.”
“In relation to the right hon. Gentleman’s second point, there is co-ordination going on for that very reason. As I set out in my statement, there have been 20 Iranian-backed plots to take action on our streets, all of which have been thwarted—I pay my respects to our security and intelligence services and the work that they do. In relation to his first point, two separate decisions were made over the weekend. We are in the sky taking action defensively with our allies. Among the reasons we agreed to the request from the US yesterday was that it has the capability to take out the missile launchers in Iran. That is why we gave permission for the US to use our bases: in order to reduce the threat to our citizens.”
“We are working across all Departments on repatriation. At the moment, we are simply focused on working with our allies to get a plan together to get people out in the first place, and to do it as quickly and safely as possible. There is no intention to charge people for that.”
“That is not what they deserve or would expect; they are entitled to better than that.”
“We obviously co-ordinate with our Five Eyes partners. We were dealing with a specific request to take action, and it was important that we applied the principle, which actually has been applied by successive Governments, to ask and get legal advice on the question: is there a lawful basis for what is proposed, and does it have a viable, thought-through plan? [ Interruption. ] It is not a legal question; it is about making sure, before we ask our military personnel to engage in action that risks their lives, that that would be lawful. That is the duty of the Prime Minister. Previous Prime Ministers have taken exactly the same approach. I will, of course, read the shadow Attorney General’s advice, but I am very clear in the advice that I received. I will not commit our military personnel to unlaw action.”
“My right hon. Friend is right to urge caution—history teaches us that. This is why it is important that there is not only a lawful basis but a viable and thought-through plan. Obviously, we have had discussions at all levels with the US in relation to that. In relation to the decision I took yesterday, I am very clear what the lawful basis is and what the plan in relation to protection of our nationals is. On the question he raises about a vote, that is of course a vote on offensive action, deploying our troops or military, and that is not this situation.”
“Of course this House must hold accountability and debate this issue. In relation to the vote, there is no convention for a vote in relation to defensive action; only offensive action. And nor could there be: realistically, defensive action has to be taken at very swift notice. On Saturday morning, I had to take the decision to deploy our pilots to the sky in order to defend our UK nationals. There is no way we could have waited for a debate or vote in the House. Equally, last night I had to take a decision about the use of bases, and it was important that I did so as a matter of some urgency. I agree with the right hon. Gentleman that there must be a full debate in the House, but the vote in the House is in relation to deployment of military personnel for offensive action, and that is something I have advocated.”
“Can I be absolutely clear about the basis upon which the request was acceded to yesterday? It was the collective self-defence of our allies and the protection of British nationals. That remains the case. If it changes, I will of course make a different decision and inform the House. My hon. Friend can therefore rest assured that that is, and will remain, the basis of the action we have taken.”