Tory MPs rally round the Prime Minister to defeat Corbyn

Conservative MPs have rallied together to defeat Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn's Queen's Speech amendments.

In his first public test since the 2017 General Election, Mr. Corbyn's recommendation that the public sector pay cap be scrapped altogether was defeated by 323 votes to 309, providing the Government with a majority of 14. 10 Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) MPs voted with all 313 Tory MPs to defeat the amendment.

256 Labour MPs, 35 Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP) MPs, 12 Liberal Democrat MPs, 4 Plaid Cymru MPs, Caroline Lucas MP of the Green Party and 1 Independent MP voted for the amendment.

'Queen's Speech builds on Britain's record of success.'

Speaking exclusively to Blasting News, the Conservative MP for Mid Worcestershire, Nigel Huddleston, said that there is much to praise in the Queen's Speech generally. He said that this speech builds on Britain's record of success in recent years of increasing employment to record levels, reducing unemployment to a 45 year low and participation in the labour force by women and people with disabilities up at record highs.

However, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, Tim Farron, has said the Conservatives are in utter chaos, saying they have U-turned on their own U-turn within the space of a few hours. He said this is not a strong and stable administration and that it is spinning out of control, as the Government is able to find the money to fund Northern Ireland whilst cutting the pay teachers, nurses and policemen receive.

Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth urged Conservative MPs who have attempted to persuade the Government not to freeze public sector pay to vote with Labour and defeat Theresa May. Conservative MP Oliver Letwin joined calls in the House to demand ministers consider tax rises to pay for increased spending on public services.

But Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt rebuked Mr. Letwin's comment, and said that his party is still committed to low taxation.

'Trying to turn the election into a referendum on the NHS.'

Mr. Hunt accused Labour of trying to turn this month's general election into a referendum on the NHS. Former shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper asked the Health Secretary whether he will make it free for women in Northern Ireland to have abortions in the NHS in England, to which he responded that he is listening to all women in the province.

Referring to the public sector pay freeze, Mr. Hunt said the Government will not make its decision on public sector pay until the pay review body has issued its report. He said he will listen to them and MPs before a final decision is issued.

The Health Secretary accused Mr. Corbyn of using the NHS as a political football and as a method to grab voters. He said only the Conservative Party is the true party of the NHS. Speaker John Bercow called for the lobby to be emptied so that MPs could vote on the amendment.

'Education is the silver bullet.'

Mr. Huddleston said that contrary to the cuts narrative being peddled by opposition parties, spending on the NHS, education and pensions are all at record levels, saying spending on people with disabilities is at more than £50 billion per year, which is £3 billion more in real terms than 2010 levels. But he said education is the silver bullet that can help reduce or eliminate so many other ills in society.

He has called on the Government to continue reforming the funding formula for schools, which currently provides unfair levels of funding for pupils in Worcestershire at £4,319 per student compared to Tower Hamlets, London, where £6,965 is spent on every single student.

The Conservative MP for Redditch, Rachel Maclean, said she welcomes the focus in the Queen's Speech on T-Levels, apprenticeships and on counter-terrorism. But as a newly elected MP, she is keen to champion mental health and ensure this issue is as much of a priority as physical health is. She particularly intends to focus on matters local to her constituency, like the Worcestershire Acute Mental Health Trust, ensuring services are preserved when they can be.

You can watch live coverage of the Queen's Speech Debate today on BBC Parliament today.