Tag Archives: vat on school fees

The very first person to ask a question of Keir Starmer as Prime Minister ever was brand new Lib Dem MP for Bicester and Woodstock, Calum Miller:

I asked the Prime Minister at PMQ’s if he agrees that OFWAT is a broken regulator.

He acknowledged mismanagement and the cost to customers, but failed to commit to scrapping it.

I will keep fighting for meaningful change in the water industry, not just more of the same. pic.twitter.com/TwqMJ2WAsZ

— Calum Miller (@CalumMillerLD) July 24, 2024

Calum asked:

May I begin by welcoming the Prime Minister to his first questions as Prime Minister? I associate myself with his remarks about the soldier in Kent, and, of course, send my wishes to the British Olympians.

At Combe in my constituency, Thames Water pumped sewage into the River Evenlode for over 2,600 hours last year. Thames Water was allowed by Ofwat to withdraw £7 billion in dividends, yet now wants to jack up my constituents’ bills. I welcome the water Bill in the King’s Speech, but does the Prime Minister agree with my constituents and me that the system is broken, and will he now commit to scrapping Ofwat and replacing it with a tougher regulator that will finally put people and planet ahead of water company profits?

The Prime Minister replied:

I welcome the hon. Member to his place and thank him for raising this important issue in relation to water. Customers should not pay the price for mismanagement by water companies. We have already announced immediate steps to put water companies under a tougher regime. The Minister responsible for water, the Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice (Emma Hardy), will meet the bosses of failing companies to hold them to account for their performance. After 14 years of failure with our rivers and beaches, it falls to this Government of service to fix the mess of that failure.

Next up was Ed Davey, who now gets two questions a week. Unsurprisingly, he asked about carers and social care and was praised for his video about caring for his son John by the PM. Keir Starmer was also not above a little light teasing –

'I'm glad he's in a suit today – I'm more used to seeing him in a wetsuit'@Keir_Starmer jokes as Lib Dem leader @EdwardJDavey asks his first question at PMQs after the Lib Dems became the third largest party pic.twitter.com/12AqiS96mg

— ITV News (@itvnews) July 24, 2024

The text is below: