PMQs today was exactly a year to go until the 2015 general election and, following the speaker John Bercow cutting short the prime minister at last week’s session and trying to deal with the noisy members of parliament, it was interesting to see what the mood in the chamber would be.
The tragic incident of a group of militants from Boko Haram attacking and kidnapping over 200 girls from the government secondary school in Chibok Nigeria has now received worldwide coverage, mainly because of the slow inaction from the country’s president and leaders.
The first question from MP Mel Stride rightly shone a light on the only crime the girls have committed: aspiring to better themselves and to be educated. This terrible situation is close to my heart as a feminist and British Nigerian. It was reassuring to hear that the prime minister will be speaking directly to the Nigerian president later to provide any assistance we can.
Ed Miliband launched the London and European election campaigns earlier this week, highlighting a number of key initiatives Labour councils and an incoming Labour government would adopt. As any local councillor would testify, regardless of which political party they belong to, housing is a number one issue with local residents. Miliband kicked off questioning the prime minister about when he will support millions of hard-working people belonging to Generation Rent by working to address rent controls instead of attacking the idea. As predicted, David Cameron went on to highlight and misquote the shadow housing minister Emma Reynolds and was not able to offer any clear solutions on how the coalition would address the cost of rising rents.
Miliband was right to question the recent Pfizer takeover bid of AstraZeneca and Vince Cable’s comment that the government will consider an ‘intervention’. Three other MPs also raised the Pfizer takeover – it would appear that not all members from the coalition are convinced about the deal. I’m no expert in business mergers but reports suggest Pfizer does not seem to have a good history following similar takeover deals in the United States and Sweden, where research facilities were closed down and jobs were lost. Again Cameron failed to see the seriousness of the question and it is a shame to see the prime minister not ready to champion British science and British jobs.
Another main feature of the questions today from MPs was a focus on health. Andy Slaughter raised an issue about the threat of closure at the ‘two world-class hospitals’ in his constituency and Zac Goldsmith raised a question about the ‘over use of antibiotics’. The best question in my view was from Hazel Blears MP who highlighted the need for better conditions for dementia carers on low pay and zero-hours contracts. A recent report from IPPR estimated that by 2030 two million people aged 65 and over will be left without close family or adult children to look after them. Carers provide a vital service, but they work for very little money with very little job security and on casual or zero-hours contracts. Adult social care has to be firmly back on the agenda and carers need to be provided a platform to express their views and experiences of caring for family members.
With the European elections in two weeks, Keith Vaz raised a question about the European Union’s ban on importing Indian mangos. I will confess that I was not aware of this ban and in its own way this question prompts us all to question our MEPs and learn more about decisions taken in Brussels.
My overall verdict on today’s PMQs: MPs were better behaved in comparison to last week –perhaps the bank holiday break allowed them some time to reflect on their behaviour, and there was only one mention of the United Kingdom Independence party – one too many in my view.
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Florence Nosegbe is a councillor in the London borough of Lambeth and is a candidate for Labour’s National Executive Committee. She tweets @flonosegbe
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Photo: UK Parliament