PMQ: Business Relief, Evictions, and Border Security

The United Kingdom Parliament met together for the weekly Prime Minister’s Questions Time. Labor Party and Opposition Leader Sir Keir Starmer asked questions to Prime Minister and Conservative Party Leader Boris Johnson regarding business relief, evictions, and border security.

Starmer began by praising the vaccine rollout. 12.6 million people have been vaccinated. The first four priority groups are expected to be completed by the end of the week.

He transitioned to a question around businesses and relief. He asked Johnson if the government will extend relief for businesses beyond March 31.

Johnson said that the government has always supported businesses throughout the pandemic. However, they need to wait until the March budget.

Starmer said that businesses cannot wait until then. Around 100,000 businesses will be affected by then.

“Businesses don’t work as slowly as the Prime Minister. They need an answer now,” he said.

Boris said that he had talked to many businesspeople out there regarding the pandemic. A lot of them agreed that the government had supported them throughout it.

“There’s no government around the world that has done more to support business,” he said.

He called out the Labor Party for being hypocritical. He said that they claimed to support businesses but also attempted to destroy capitalism in the previous election. They also attempted to dismantle pharmaceutical companies that provided the vaccine.

Starmer transitioned the topic and asked Johnson if he will extend eviction bans on residential homes beyond February 22.

Johnson made clear that the government has always supported people in residential homes, and they will not be evicted.

He criticized Starmer and said that he had switched sides and followed a lot of his government’s policies. He asked Starmer to stop fighting and start supporting the government.

Starmer responded by calling him out for supporting the idea of Trump getting a Nobel Peace Prize. Furthermore, he criticized Johnson’s former time as a journalist.

He said that Johnson’s statement about the UK having the toughest border regimes in the world was false. Many officials in the government disagreed with Johnson. There were thirty-three other countries that had tougher border control than the UK.

Johnson said that the UK had tougher border control than most European countries. The UK had brought immigration down from 250,000 to 20,000. Out of those allowed into the country, 5,000 were people who brought in vital supplies.

“This policy is measured, it is proportionate, it is getting tougher from Monday. I hope that he [Starmer] supports it,” he said.

Starmer pointed out Johnson’s failures.

“The Prime Minister is failing to give security to British businesses and he’s failing to secure our borders,” he said.

He recommended two policies for Johnson to follow to support the UK.

He said that Johnson should extend furlough and business rate relief to protect businesses and jobs. He also said to secure the borders with a comprehensive plan that comes with quarantine on arrival.

Other Members of Parliament asked questions to Johnson during the remainder of the PMQs.