JEREMY Corbyn yesterday forced David Cameron to confront the desperate hardship faced by many in Britain when he took the Conservative leader to task at his Prime Minister’s Questions’ debut.
The newly elected Labour leader spoke of the huge demand for food banks to feed families affected by welfare reform and sanctions, of people ending their lives because of inadequate mental health services and of low-paid workers facing income losses because of tax credit cuts.
In an eagerly anticipated session, MPs across all the political parties crowded into the House of Commons’ chamber to hear the anti-austerity champion hold Cameron and his Government to account.
The Prime Minister attempted to justify his programme of welfare reform by blaming the last Labour government for leaving “an unaffordable welfare system” and to the current “record high” rate of employment.
But Corbyn hit back, suggesting Cameron missed the point on the need to protect society’s most vulnerable.
“Many people don’t have that choice, many people live in a very difficult situation and rely on the welfare state in order to survive.
Surely, all of us have a responsibility to make sure people can live properly and decently in modern Britain. That’s surely a decent, civil thing to do.”
The Opposition leader appeared unruffled after a barrage of headlines in the right-wing papers yesterday morning condemned him for not singing the national anthem at a service to mark the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain.
At the start of PMQs, he set out a new format for them explaining he would deliver some of the 40,000 questions emailed to him by members of the public, saying voters have told him they viewed the session and Parliament generally as “too theatrical” and “out of touch”.
He selected questions from two men and four women, concerned about Tory plans to cut tax credits, fears over a lack of affordable housing, housing association job losses and the shortage of mental health services.
Cameron congratulated Corbyn on his “resounding victory”. But as the pressure mounted, the PM began to lose his cool and had to break off when asked about tax credit cuts, proposed in the Government’s Welfare Bill which were passed by Tory MPs the previous day.
Corbyn said it was “absolutely shameful” that the House of Commons had on Tuesday “sadly voted through proposals which are going to cost £1,300 per year to families affected by the change in tax credits”.
He added: “Paul, for example, says this very heartfelt question: ‘Why is the Government taking tax credits away from families? We need this money to survive, so our children don’t suffer. Paying rent and council tax on a low income doesn’t leave you much.Tax credits play a vital role and more is needed to stop us having to be reliant on food banks to survive’.”
But as Cameron’s response was drowned out by shouts and jeers from the Labour benches – contradicting those who suggested they would remain quiet and show little support for their new leader – he was forced to break off from his answer.
“I thought this was the new Question Time. I’m not sure the message has fully got home,” he shot back.
Turning to mental health services, Corbyn said he had received over 1,000 questions on the issue as he later referred to the plight of those who had taken their own lives because of a lack of support.
Corbyn said “Gail” had asked him to ask the PM: “Do you think it’s acceptable that the mental health services in this country are on their knees at the present time?”
The PM said the government had made a commitment – which he hoped Corbyn would back, undoing previous Labour policy – for a Stevens Plan for an extra £8 billion into the NHS in this Parliament, but added that “we won’t be able to afford a strong NHS without a strong economy”.
Corbyn let the quip about the economy go, again returning to the “very serious situation” of mental health for his last question, a question from “Angela”, a mental health professional, who said beds are unobtainable and patients are left without adequate care or transferred to facilities away from their home.
“I hope the spending commitments are brought forward,” said Corbyn, “because the crisis is a very serious one. We know this from our constituents, we know this from people we meet, we know this from the devastation that many face and some of them have taken their own lives because of the devastation they face.”
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