streets, businesses and fantastic areas like berkeley and stroud town. and with the pm gripping ai and new technology, we are poised and ready to fly with innovation on renewables, hydrogen ice and in nuclear and many other stem fields. the government's long—term nhs workforce programmes have to get left off if we are to help stroud maternity midwives. i have long campaigned for more apprentices as well, so let's get rid of all barriers in further education. my excellent friend and constituency neighbour the right honourable memberfor cheltenham is neighbour the right honourable member for cheltenham is clearly going to have a lot to do injustice, but i still hope he will look closely at family law reform to take cases involving children out of the court system. and while i was not expecting new childcare announcements, i urge all of the government to get behind the chance of�*s investment in families by urgently boosting the early years workforce. his majesty the king says he will lead on action to tackle biodiversity loss. —— the chancellor's. with cup 28 approaching, you should get familiar with flamingos. i will take all the help i can get to get wetland strategy and if not persuaded, flamingos are remarkable for that wonderful instagram account you have. the king is also the world wildlife fund's president and well —— and wetlands can help us reach our net zero targets. i said earlier public service was a privilege and i genuinely meant that. it gives is a chance to change things for everyday families and to champion those who deserve or need our support. it also allows the hardest working prime minister i have known, and i have known quite a view. my baby was three months old and i think she had met three prime ministers at the same time. but he shows the country week in and week out how we can bring long—term change against global headwinds. and i second this loyal address allows. == global headwinds. and i second this loyal address allows.— loyal address allows. -- to the house. loyal address allows. -- to the house- the _ loyal address allows. -- to the house. the question _ loyal address allows. -- to the house. the question is - loyal address allows. -- to the house. the question is that - loyal address allows. -- to the | house. the question is that the humble — house. the question is that the humble address be presented to his majesty— humble address be presented to his majesty as follows. most gracious sovereign, we, your majesty's most beautiful_ sovereign, we, your majesty's most beautiful and loyal subjects, the commons of the united kingdom of great _ commons of the united kingdom of great britain and northern ireland and parliament assembly leave beg to offer our _ and parliament assembly leave beg to offer our humble thanks to your majesty— offer our humble thanks to your majesty for the gracious speech which _ majesty for the gracious speech which your majesty addressed to both houses_ which your majesty addressed to both houses of— which your majesty addressed to both houses of parliament. i now call the leader— houses of parliament. i now call the leader of— houses of parliament. i now call the leader of the opposition keir starmer! . ~ leader of the opposition keir starmer! ., ~ , ., ~ leader of the opposition keir starmer! ., ~ ~ .,~ starmer! thank you, mr speaker. before i turn _ starmer! thank you, mr speaker. before i turn to _ starmer! thank you, mr speaker. before i turn to the _ starmer! thank you, mr speaker. before i turn to the address, - starmer! thank you, mr speaker. before i turn to the address, i'm | before i turn to the address, i'm sure the whole house would like to join me in paying tribute to his majesty the king on the occasion of his first gracious address is our sovereign. of course, he did give the address last year and he has for some time enjoyed the best view in the house on how it should be done, but nonetheless, this is a new chapter for him and but nonetheless, this is a new chapterfor him and our country, so we pay tribute to him on that. let me also congratulate both the mover and the second for their fantastic speech is just a and the second for their fantastic speech isjust a moment and the second for their fantastic speech is just a moment ago. and the second for their fantastic speech isjust a moment ago. the right honourable member for scarborough and whitby once again showed us his deep love for his constituency and delivered a truly great speech. he has been a good servant and well respected across this house. but he is now wanted again on his farm. and i can inform the house that he is also one of these, the country's leading steam engine enthusiasts. the proud owner of a fowler k five ploughing engine. not a tractor. but nonetheless... a beautiful machine. which on a good day, when the right honourable member really steps on it, can still give the trans penny and express a run for its money! —— transpennine express. but i warn him, he should be careful, there are some weird and wonderful details on all those network north announcements and the prime minister might commandeer his fowlerfor illustrative prime minister might commandeer his fowler for illustrative purposes only. of course... it was also great to hear the honourable memberfor stroud again give a really powerful and great speech to this house. it is only right that the prime minister selected someone with good sense to second the gracious address. and so, of course, he had to turn to a working—class lawyer with a connection camden! —— connection to camden. and i can say from personal knowledge and for many people in camden that is a camden councillor, she was respected across parties, as she is here. a year ago, the honourable member rightly pointed out, and i quote, that there are many ways to boost domestic energy security, using nuclear, solar, marine energy and onshore wind. an argument, mr speaker, which is exactly why she has a bright future within her party. it is a shame that instead of choosing her to second the address, the prime minister didn't ask her to write the energy section instead. mr speaker, we are lucky enough not to have lost any members of this house since the last address. but as we approach the end of this cycle, it is only right that we once again remember those who we all still miss so much. and who we all still miss so much. and who left us earlier in this parliament. on these benches, our beloved friend jackjoni, a champion of working people for the ages. and on the benches opposite, dame cheryl gillan, james brokenshire and, of course, sir david amess, who was taken from us in the most vile and cruel of circumstances. on these benches, we still mourn the loss of jo cox, one of our brightest lights, seven years ago now in similar fashion. so we reach out across the aisle and say, as does the plaque put upjust over aisle and say, as does the plaque put up just over there in recent weeks, his light remains. mr speaker, it is also customary to welcome new members to this house, but i have to say, given you are of the parliamentary time limits, this can be difficult! —— you are a sticklerfor can be difficult! —— you are a stickler for parliamentary. can be difficult! —— you are a sticklerfor parliamentary. but can be difficult! —— you are a stickler for parliamentary. but i do welcome all i! new members to the first of these debates. one for the party opposite. two for the party that sits over there. and eight on these benches! victories which show without question that britain is ready for change. victories that have reduced the party opposite now nearly iii years in power. reduce them to the desperate spectacle of claiming it offers change away from itself. today's address shows just how ridiculous that posturing is. because what we have before us is a plan for more of the same. more sticking plasters, more division, more party first, country second gimmicks. and no repudiation of the utterly discredited idea that economic growth is something the few hands down to the many. in fact, today, we reached something of a new low. because they are not even pretending to govern any more. they have given up on any of service. they see our country's problems as something to be exploited, not solved. and in doing this, they underestimate the british people. because what britain wants is for them to stop messing around and get on with thejob. them to stop messing around and get on with the job. people want action, not in action. solution to real problems, not the imaginary ones that haunt their party's imagination. a government committed to the national interest, not desperately trying to save their own skin. ourschools desperately trying to save their own skin. our schools are crumbling, waiting lists are rising, rivers and streams dying, infrastructure cancelled, violent criminals released early. their mortgage bombshell blowing up the finances of millions. growth set to be the lowest in the g7 next year. tax is higher than at any time since the war. he raised them himself 25 times. —— taxes. the tory recipe for british decline, low growth, high tax, crumbling public services come up tax, crumbling public services come up with a prime minister serving up more of the same. now, of course, there are steps we can welcome. jade's law. martin's law. an independent regulator in football. and we have said on smoking and public health, he can count on our votes. we will always serve the national interest. and that's why this house has stood united in our support for ukraine since the start of putin's aggression and we must never lose our resolve or focus. the address also mentions the terrible events in israel and palestine. it is now one month exactly since the senseless murder ofjews by the terrorists of hamas and the taking of hostages on october the 7th. and every new day in gaza now brings with it more pain, more suffering, more agony. hostages still held. thousands of civilians dead. including so many innocent women and children. millions struggling for the basics of life. food, water, sanitation, medicines and fuel. we cannot and we will not close our eyes to their suffering. we need a humanitarian pause now. the hostages to be released now. israel has the right and duty to defend herself, but it is not a blank cheque, it must comply with international law. in this house must, to do whatever it can to keep alive the light of peace —— and this house must do. so we welcome the clear commitment of the address to support the two—state solution. but, mr speaker, returning once more to their plans for britain. the biggest question is, how do they think this is anywhere near good enough? after all the chaos they have unleashed, after levelling up, no rules were broken, we are all in it together and all the other broken promises of the last 13 years. this is the plan they put to the working people of this country and say, trust us, we have changed. it is laughable. they can't see britain. that is the only possible conclusion. the walls of this place are too high. but let me assure the house, britain sees them and britain sees today that they offer no change on public services, no change on the cost—of—living crisis and no change to the economic model that has failed to give working people the security and opportunity that they deserve. because, mr speaker, that is the change that britain needs. and today was a missed opportunity. we needed a king's speech that would draw a line under 13 years of tory decline, a king's speech for national renewal and a serious plan for growth. but instead, we have a party so devoid of leadership, it is happy to follow a home secretary who describes homelessness as a lifestyle choice. and believes that the job of protecting us all from extremists, the most basicjob of government, is legitimate terrain for her divisive brand of politics. as director of public prosecutions, i worked closely with the police and counterterrorism forces, theirjob is hard enough already come the home secretary using it as a platform for her own ambitions. —— hard enough already, without the home secretary. so i say to the prime minister, think very carefully about what she is committing your government to do. and think very carefully about the consequences of putting greater demands on public servants at the coalface of keeping us safe. because without a serious home secretary, there can be no serious government and he cannot be a serious prime minister. homelessness is a choice. it is a political choice. constant u—turns are no—fault evictions, they are political choices. not facing up to the blockers of aspiration on those benches is a political choice. and it is not that there are not better choices. on these benches, we have a plan to build 1.5 million homes across the country with a reformed planning regime that will unlock our potential. because you can't fix homelessness without increasing the supply of housing. you can't boost growth and let workers have homes they need and you can't escape the cost—of—living crisis unless there is more affordable housing. we all know why he finds himself in this position, but if he is prepared to stand up to the blockers, if he shows he can radically improve the supply of housing by bringing back national housing by bringing back national housing targets, then yes, he can count on labour votes. because, mr speaker, that is what this country needs most, a credible plan for growth, a britain where growth comes from the grassroots, where growth serves the grassroots, with higher living standards in every community. an ambition that can only be delivered if we roll up our sleeves and get building. at the momentjust to get a tunnel built in this country can require a planning application 30 times longer than the complete works of shakespeare. that's why today, we needed a planning bill to strip out the red tape and get britain building. we also needed a bold commitment to train the next generation with new technical colleges, apprenticeship levy reform, expert teachers in every classroom giving british businesses the skills they need. we needed a modern industrial strategy on a statutory footing, with a build to match. a signal of intent to the world that we are serious about fighting for the jobs of the future. we needed an employment bill. time and again, this bill has been promised. time and again, it fails to materialise. when we could be scrapping fire—and—rehire, ending zero—hours contracts, making work pay with a real living wage and saying unambiguously that strong workers' rights are good for growth. what we got instead as an exercise in economic miserable —ism. an admission that his government has no faith in britain's ability to avert decline. take the oil and gas bill announced today. a bill that everyone in the energy sector knows is a political gimmick and even the energy secretary admits will not take a single penny of anyone's —— off anyone's bills. i don't know which of his seven bins the prime minister chucked her meat taxing, but this one will follow soon. nonetheless, it is a gimmick that tells a story. a king's speech with no concern for the national interest. wallowing in a pessimism that says, the hard road to a better future isn't for britain. it has been this way for 13 years now. a failure to seize the opportunities. perhaps even to see the opportunities. working people hit because they didn't build the gas storage, they didn't invest in clean british energy, they scrapped home insulation, and they are doing it all again, insulation, and they are doing it allagain, moving insulation, and they are doing it all again, moving the targets back, passing it on to the generation next, even as costs rise and rise. sticking—plaster politics, an approach that is as written true our politics is the crumbling of schools. the never ending cycle of tory britain, party first, country second. drift, stagnate, decline. we have to turn the page on this, mr speaker. they are wrong about clean energy. it is cheaper. it is british and it can give us real security from tyrants like putin. but more importantly, they are wrong about britain. we can win the race for the jobs of tomorrow. we can work hand in glove with the private secretary and invest in the critical infrastructure, the giga factories, newport, clean british deal that can once again light the fire of renewal in britain's british communities —— british steel. today was the mat —— today was the day we could have struck the match in that light, embraced a new mission and tackled the cost—of—living crisis with a new plan for growth. it was a chance to get britain building again, take back our streets, get the nhs back on its feet, deliver cheaper bills with real energy security and tear down the barriers to opportunity. but, mr speaker, for the 14th year in a row, the government passed it up. severed its relationship with britain's future and gave up on the national interest. because what this address shows with ever greater clarity is that the only fight left in them is the fight for their own skin. a government that has given up, dragging britain down with them ever more steadily towards decline. a day when it became crystal clear that the change britain needs is from tory decline to labour renewal. let's call the prime minister, rishi sunak _ mr speaker, this is the first king's speech in 70 years and the first of his majesty's rain, already defined by the same wisdom, grace and compassion that marked a long record of service. so can i take this opportunity on behalf of the whole house to express our admiration and grudges —— gratitude to his majesty the king? mr speaker, before we get into the traditional debate, let me first address the situation in israel and gaza. all of us in this house care deeply about the suffering of innocent people and the scenes we have witnessed. and we're ball —— we the way hamas used innocent palestinians as human shields. it is right the united kingdom is doubling our aid funding for palestinian civilians and we have been consistent throughout in our calls for a humanitarian pause as soon as possible to get aid in and hostages and foreign nationals out. but a unilateral and unconditional ceasefire would simply allow hamas to entrench its position and continue its attacks against israel. only last week, hamas reiterated its intentions, stating clearly, we will repeat the october the 7th attack time and again until israel is annihilated. faced with such a threat, no country could be reasonably expected not to act. last week, i spoke with prime minister netanyahu to reiterate the united kingdom's backing for israel's right to defend itself. it is the first duty of any government. i also stressed the need to allow more aid into gaza. to take all possible measures to minimise civilian casualties and to avoid inflaming tensions in the west bank, where settler violence must stop. i can update the house that now well over 100 british nationals have been able to leave gaza thanks to our diplomatic efforts to reopen the rafah crossing. in the development minister will make a full statement to the house tomorrow. but let me also room —— reiterate this. we will not stand for the hatred and anti—semitism we have seen on our streets. it sickens me to think that british jews are streets. it sickens me to think that britishjews are looking over their shoulder in this country. that children are going to school covering up their school badges for fear of attack. this government will do whatever it takes to keep the jewish community safe. just as we will do whatever it takes to keep every community safe. and we will fight hatred and extremism in all its forms and wherever it is found today, tomorrow and always. we are the w