Contributions
589 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDArmed Forces Bill (First sitting)The minimum requirement at the moment is to stay in line with the covenant principles. That needs to be balanced with the broader local issues that each local authority is facing.…24 Mar 2026HANSARDArmed Forces Bill (First sitting)Amendment 13 would require local authorities to prepare and publish detailed action plans within six months of the passing of the Act. The Government are fully committed to…24 Mar 2026HANSARDArmed Forces Bill (First sitting)I completely agree. I served for 24 years, and I did not know what the covenant was until I left and became the Minister for Veterans and People. That is the honest reality. I am…24 Mar 2026HANSARD DefenceI am going to a make a bit of ground, and then I will come back to the right hon. Gentleman. We come to perhaps the most revealing part of the motion: the suggestion that defence…24 Mar 2026HANSARDArmed Forces Bill (Second sitting)It is an honour to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Efford. I thank everyone for our progressive and balanced debates so far. I am delighted to introduce clause 2, which extends…24 Mar 2026HANSARDArmed Forces Bill (First sitting)I thank the right hon. Member for Rayleigh and Wickford and the hon. Members for Exmouth and Exeter East, for Solihull West and Shirley, and for South Northamptonshire, for…24 Mar 2026HANSARDArmed Forces Bill (First sitting)That is a really good question. I will come back to the Committee with the exact detail, but lots of councils have engaged and have gold, silver and bronze standards. Some of them…24 Mar 2026HANSARD DefenceLet me go back to the point about the 20,000 troops. The motion calls for more troops, but it says nothing about how they would be recruited, trained, housed or equipped. It does…24 Mar 2026HANSARD DefenceDefence is very clear about what it requires. We are working collectively across Government to come to a joint decision on where that spending portfolio will fall. There are…24 Mar 2026HANSARD DefenceI am going to make a bit of ground, and then I will come back to the right hon. Gentleman in due course. Morale is built on leadership, clarity and trust, and the facts matter.…24 Mar 2026HANSARDArmed Forces Bill (Second sitting)Sir Andrew is an exceptionally good man, and few are more knowledgeable than him on veterans matters. We have a position where, in some cases, veterans are seen as victims, but we…24 Mar 2026HANSARDArmed Forces Bill (First sitting)I will triple down on what was said and say thank you very much to an amazing team, first, for putting together great evidence sessions and, secondly, for approaching this in a…24 Mar 2026HANSARD DefenceI read the motion with a sense not of anger but of disappointment, because at a moment like this, when British armed forces are actively protecting our people and our interests in…24 Mar 2026HANSARD DefenceI thank my hon. Friend for her contribution. We have a large defence budget, and in the past it has not been spent effectively. I think we can collectively agree, on both sides of…24 Mar 2026HANSARD DefenceI thank the right hon. Member for his comments. I will raise them with the Security Minister, and push exceptionally hard. The motion suggests that we are failing to learn lessons…24 Mar 2026HANSARD DefenceI will continue and then give way in a minute. We have taken more action in the past 20 months than the Conservatives managed in the 14 years before that, with more than 1,200…24 Mar 2026HANSARD DefenceThe Opposition would have dragged us into this conflict quicker than we could possibly have imagined. We have made the difficult but correct decision to remain in a defensive…24 Mar 2026HANSARD DefenceI will give way in two seconds. What I will say is that a vision without a plan is a dream, and I am concerned that if we had followed the Opposition’s direction, we would have…24 Mar 2026HANSARD DefenceI will give way one more time.24 Mar 2026HANSARD DefenceWe will publish the defence investment plan as soon as is feasible. The hon. Gentleman will not find anyone who wants more than me more defence spending at a faster rate, but this…24 Mar 2026