Blair wants to talk about spin, and invites Hague to be Prime Minister for the day

    14 June Prime Ministers Questions

Mr. Hague: We called for the Prime Minister to deal with football hooliganism two years ago. Just because he did nothing
and has mismanaged the parliamentary timetable does not mean that he can get legislation through in a matter of hours.

What is the answer to the question that we asked the Prime Minister? It is a nice, easy number. It is probably in his folder, if
he had a PIN number to get to it. It is a nice, easy number, the number of child curfew orders implemented: zero. Was that
what the right hon. Gentleman meant by zero tolerance when he talked about it at the last election? It is yet another gimmick.
With violent crime rising--and his gimmicks have done nothing to address it--would it not be a good idea to make violent
criminals serve their sentences? Will the right hon. Gentleman now give the House the figure for the number of people
convicted of grievous bodily harm and released early, before their normal parole date, by the Home Secretary?

The Prime Minister: As the right hon. Gentleman well knows, that proposal was supported by his party. On football
hooliganism, we now know today--[Interruption.] The Tories do not like to talk about the substance of the policy. On
football hooliganism, we now know today that the right hon. Gentleman is not prepared to support the measures going
through the House of Lords. Let me tell the House also that we have introduced a measure whereby, for breaches of
community service orders, benefit is lost. The Opposition oppose that as well. They also oppose the fines on illegal
trafficking in illegal immigrants and asylum seekers. As for their record on crime, many people in the country remember that it
was under the Conservatives that crime doubled. If the right hon. Gentleman wants to be taken seriously on crime, let him
stand at this Dispatch Box--[Hon. Members: "Hear, hear."] Maybe he should give us a few answers to some
questions. Let him stand there now and tell us whether he will back these measures on crime, or whether he will carry on
talking about them but doing nothing.

Mr. Hague: I will stand at the right hon. Gentleman's Dispatch Box and be taken seriously on crime, which he never will.
We will support tougher measures on crime going through the House, but we will subject them to proper parliamentary
scrutiny, which he has never favoured. The number of people--a figure which, again, he has not given--released early who
have committed grievous bodily harm is now 1,654, many of whom have offended again. Three years into the
Government--[Interruption.]

The Prime Minister: Let us deal with "spin rather than substance". I notice that the right hon. Gentleman did not raise
today the record number of jobs created by inward investment in this country; the 1 million extra jobs since the election..not
spin, substance; the new hospital building programme..not spin, substance; the building work for up to 11,000 schools..not
spin, but substance; today's £1 billion programme for science..not spin, but substance; the minimum wage; paid holidays; the
right to union representation; the new deal; the working families tax credit..all substance. The truth is, when the debate turns
to policy, we will see who is standing.