Contributions
1,391 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD Business of the HouseYes.22 Feb 2024HANSARD Business of the HouseOn a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker.22 Feb 2024HANSARD Business of the HouseThank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I seek your guidance; perhaps as Chair of Ways and Means, you might be able to give further clarity. My point of order is regarding the response…22 Feb 2024HANSARDCivil Nuclear Road MapI commend the hon. Member for Folkestone and Hythe (Damian Collins) for initiating the debate. It may not surprise him that I will approach it from a different angle, providing…22 Feb 2024HANSARDCivil Nuclear Road MapI quoted the chief executive of EDF, who says he hopes to find a pathway with the British authorities, which suggests that EDF wants to be talking about getting more money. The…22 Feb 2024HANSARDCeasefire in GazaThe right hon. Gentleman is talking about a permanent ceasefire. Clearly, that is what we all want—we need peace in the region—but he cannot demand an immediate ceasefire and also…21 Feb 2024HANSARDCeasefire in GazaThis call for an immediate ceasefire is about limiting the horrific slaughter to the 30,000 civilians already killed, and stopping more civilians from being killed by bombs and…21 Feb 2024HANSARD Speaker’s StatementOn a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. Will Mr Speaker tell the House how many Labour Opposition day debates have taken place since 7 October in which no motion on a ceasefire…21 Feb 2024HANSARDInfrastructure ProcurementYou did warn me, Mr Deputy Speaker, but I still got caught out. Back to my favourite topic: nuclear and nuclear overspends. I have highlighted the failures of big nuclear…19 Feb 2024HANSARDInfrastructure ProcurementI absolutely agree. It goes back to the fact that an independent country making its own decisions would plan strategically and be able to borrow money accordingly. Quite often,…19 Feb 2024HANSARDInfrastructure ProcurementAbsolutely. I have long said that when oil was discovered in the north-east of Scotland and the Port of Nigg was developed as a strategic port, any normal country would then have…19 Feb 2024HANSARDInfrastructure ProcurementAbsolutely. I do not need to tell anybody from the highlands and islands here that so much European money was actually used for transport upgrades for roads and causeways. Again,…19 Feb 2024HANSARDInfrastructure ProcurementThank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I thought you were forewarning Members in this Chamber that they would have to listen to me. Clearly, infrastructure investment and procurement is a…19 Feb 2024HANSARDInfrastructure ProcurementThe hon. Member is absolutely right. A proper budget-setting process should mean looking at needs, and then deciding what funding is required to suit those needs and what the…19 Feb 2024HANSARDInfrastructure ProcurementI agree with the hon. Member wholeheartedly. The Faroese have to be commended for the work that they have done on transport connectivity. There are certainly some lessons that…19 Feb 2024HANSARDInfrastructure ProcurementI wholeheartedly agree with my hon. Friend. It is almost like, when we look back historically, the oil and gas revenues paid for HS1 and the channel tunnel, but at the time we…19 Feb 2024HANSARDInfrastructure ProcurementI wholeheartedly agree. I go back to my opening remarks about HS2: the whole premise of it going to Scotland was to encourage people not to fly and to get the train. Now the…19 Feb 2024HANSARDInfrastructure ProcurementAgain—no surprise—I wholeheartedly agree with my hon. Friend. It is classic “penny wise, pound foolish” all the time, particularly when it comes to nuclear. The Government are…19 Feb 2024HANSARDInfrastructure ProcurementThat is a fair point. There is always a rural premium, and people living in rural areas suffer disproportionately when it comes to infrastructure, upgrades, energy efficiency and…19 Feb 2024HANSARDInfrastructure ProcurementAbsolutely. An overarching strategy again goes back to linking needs and outcomes, and to identifying budgets. It also sends a clear signal to investors and contractors of what is…19 Feb 2024