----------------- -----------------  |  | | Last Updated: Wednesday, 30 November 2005, 12:40 GMT |
Point-by-point: Question time | | All the main points from prime minister's questions in the House of Commons on Wednesday 30 November.Labour's Wayne David asked about a "boom time" for the Welsh economy. The prime minister replied that unemployment in Wales had halved over the last eight years and the nation had the "second-largest growth rate" in the UK. Tory leader Michael Howard said the chancellor had tried to sabotage the Turner Report on pensions. Mr Blair outlined measures on pensions the government had taken - including the winter fuel allowance, council tax rebates and free TV licences for the over-75s - which he said Mr Howard, who steps down as Tory leader next week, can look forward to. Mr Howard said the prospect of those measures was "so enticing" that he was sure Mr Blair would join him in retirement soon, adding that the PM's retirement was the only one the chancellor was "planning" for. He said there was a "growing consensus" to "drop the chancellor's obsession with means testing". Mr Blair said that pension credits and the minimum income guarantee had lifted two million people out of poverty. Lib Dem leader Charles Kennedy said there was "broad agreement" that the current pensions system was "muddled". He called for proposals to raise the retirement age to be followed through. Mr Blair said the government's response to the Turner Commission's plans would come next year. Mr Kennedy said "we all share" a concern that pension reform should end the "scandalous in-built discrimination against women". Mr Blair highlighted some Lib Dem policies and said any proposals had to be "properly costed and affordable". Tory Julie Kirkbride asked "where all the money is going" with extra NHS expenditure. Mr Blair said waiting lists were down and that deficits were "specifically in some trusts". Labour's Andrew Dismore said there were 4,000 extra police in London and the Met should be "congratulated". Mr Blair said neighbourhood policing was "popular". Lib Dem Jo Swinson said, that as Mr Blair said "goodbye to his fourth Tory leader", the "Punch and Judy" style of prime minister's question should to go. Mr Blair said he agreed, and said he would see how it turned out next week (when he will face a new leader of the opposition). For his last series of questions Michael Howard asked whether Mr Blair still planned to serve a full third term. Mr Blair said he wished the Tory leader well in retirement. He added that next week he would face his fifth Tory leader and pointed out that each Tory leader had survived a shorter time than their predecessor. Mr Howard said Mr Blair, as he had done for two years, was "refusing to answer any of the questions I'm putting to him". Mr Blair said his record compared well with Mr Howard's. Mr Howard produced a document called Blair: His Legacy, showing taxes up and crime up. He then quoted Mr Blair as saying that he would know that the "New Labour project" was complete when the Labour Party had learned to love Peter Mandelson. He asked the prime minister whether he thought this had been achieved. Amid much laughter in the Commons, Mr Blair said there was "a lot done, a lot left to do", before saying that the key test for political parties was winning elections. Tory Justine Greening asked whether it was right to "penalise" people by raising the state pension age, to which Mr Blair said a "simpler system" was needed. Labour's Christine McCafferty, Calder Valley, said West Yorkshire Police had the best clear-up rates in the UK. Mr Blair said that crime had fallen in every region of Britain under labour. Tory Andrew Murrison said his Westbury constituents were fed-up with more money being spent on the NHS when facilities were "closing down". Mr Blair said patients had seen "massive improvements since 1997". In response to another question Mr Blair said there was "absolute determination" to beat terrorism and that countries like Egypt and Jordan had suffered, along with Europe, and were keen to overcome the problem. Lib Dem Nick Clegg, Sheffield Hallam, said bus company "monopolies" meant ticket prices had been raised on an "erratic whim". Labour's Andrew Miller asked the government to ensure NHS restructuring meant communities were "not left out". Mr Blair said additional money had improved services and reduced waiting times. Nurses were also better paid, he added. Mr Blair said police reforms in North Wales and elsewhere would fit the needs of communities.
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