Question
The Prime Minister keeps talking about our deal, but he is using our deal. He is using our Brexit freedoms to take VAT off energy bills. He used those Brexit freedoms just yesterday to scrap import taxes on hundreds of goods. What he should be saying is thank you. I asked the Prime Minister about freedom of movement. I do not think he has been talking to his Cabinet colleagues, because I will tell him who does not want a debate about freedom of movement: the Home Secretary—she has been very clear on that. The Business Secretary does not want it either. The Culture Secretary and I do not agree on much, but even she does not want the Prime Minister to restart this debate. What about his Back Benchers? Let’s have a show of hands—who wants free movement? I know the Prime Minister does not want to look behind him, but nobody raised their hand. There was someone else who did not want to reopen free movement: an ambitious candidate fighting a by-election earlier this year. He said “the last thing we should do right now is rerun those arguments.” Does the Prime Minister still agree with himself?50% point-scoring
Answer
I do, because I am not. I am trying to get a better deal for Britain at the summit that we are about to go to. The right hon. Lady has mentioned things said in the past. Can I remind her of what she said? [ Interruption. ] Well, I am going to—I am sorry. She said it was a mistake for the Conservative party to “leave the European Union before we had a plan for growth outside the EU.” She has just nodded. She may as well have said it was a mistake to leave the EU without a plan in place to control migration, because that is what led to the Boriswave under the Government she was in, when migration into this country changed and went away from revolving-door migration and towards long-term settlement. It is why my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary is having to reform indefinite leave to remain. She has my support in making those changes, but let us have a little humility from those on the Conservative Benches, who left Britain with low growth and migration out of control.43% point-scoring
Verdict: RED (10/100)
The reply does not give a clear answer to either part of the question. It does not address the challenge about whether backbench MPs want freedom of movement, and responds with a retort that mostly attacks the Conservatives. On the question of whether the Prime Minister agrees with the by-election candidate's quote, it never says yes or no and only indirectly touches the point through remarks about the summit and migration reform. A member of the public would likely need to ask both questions again to get a direct answer.
How we got there
| Question item | Coverage | Specificity | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether the Prime Minister's backbench MPs want freedom of movement, given the question's show-of-hands challenge. | Not Addressed | Generic | The only response, "I do, because I am not", is an unclear retort that does not say anything about whether backbench MPs want freedom of movement, and the rest of the reply attacks the Conservatives rather than addressing the show-of-hands challenge. |
| Whether the Prime Minister still agrees with the view, attributed to a by-election candidate, that "the last thing we should do right now is rerun those arguments" (referring to reopening the freedom of movement debate). | Partially Addressed | Hedged | The reply never says whether the Prime Minister agrees with the by-election candidate's quote, but its emphasis on pursuing a better deal at the summit and on migration reform implies the government thinks revisiting these arguments is worthwhile, so the item is only indirectly touched. |