Contributions
1,747 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDBusiness of the HouseI pay tribute to my hon. Friend for his long-standing service on the Justice Committee. I gather that he has just retired from that Committee—he seems far too young to be retiring…24 Jan 2019HANSARDBusiness of the HouseI am sorry to hear about the experience of the hon. Gentleman’s constituents. It is appalling when train services are not running, and I completely sympathise. He will be aware…24 Jan 2019HANSARDBusiness of the HouseMy hon. Friend raises an important issue. We have seen an appalling economic crisis in Venezuela, and the Foreign Office is carefully following the situation. Juan Guaidó has…24 Jan 2019HANSARDBusiness of the HouseThe hon. Gentleman raises an issue of great concern, which is the religious persecution of minorities. On this occasion, it is in Yemen, which is, in itself, the world’s worst…24 Jan 2019HANSARDBusiness of the HouseI was not aware of the issue that the hon. Gentleman raises. I strongly encourage him to write to MOD Ministers directly or, indeed, if he wants to write to me following business…24 Jan 2019HANSARDBusiness of the HouseI was going to perhaps borrow that quote from Robbie Burns myself, but what I will say back to the hon. Gentleman is: “Hope springs exulting on triumphant wing”. That was perhaps…24 Jan 2019HANSARD Proxy VotingI think my hon. Friend makes a very constructive suggestion, and I will of course discuss it with other business managers. However, she will appreciate that the pairing…22 Jan 2019HANSARD Proxy VotingI am grateful for the opportunity to respond to this urgent question. I thank the hon. Member for East Dunbartonshire (Jo Swinson) for her question. I have great respect for her,…22 Jan 2019HANSARD Proxy VotingI totally agree with the hon. Lady. I know that, in response to her raising this same issue during the debate we had a couple of months ago, the theyworkforyou.com website agreed…22 Jan 2019HANSARD Proxy VotingMy right hon. Friend is absolutely right. I know he did a job share with one of our hon. Friends who was on maternity leave, and it was very good of him to do that. I think all…22 Jan 2019HANSARD Proxy VotingI completely agree with the hon. Lady, and that is why we are doing so on Monday.22 Jan 2019HANSARD Proxy VotingMy right hon. Friend demonstrates perfectly why some debate was needed before we decided to limit the proposal to baby leave and have a one-year pilot. Some Members argue that…22 Jan 2019HANSARD Proxy VotingHaving had three kids, I have discovered a very useful piece of information, which I wish now to share with the hon. Lady: the oldest child makes the rules, the second child is…22 Jan 2019HANSARD Proxy VotingI am happy to discuss this with my hon. Friend in more detail, but the idea is that the normal rule will apply so that the two weeks of parental leave for fathers under proxy…22 Jan 2019HANSARD Proxy VotingWhat I can say to the hon. Lady is that I absolutely believe her—I do not think anyone would doubt her for a moment. Anyone who is even considering objecting should beware.22 Jan 2019HANSARD Proxy VotingAs the hon. Lady will know, it is for individual Members to examine their consciences and act accordingly. I sincerely hope that all hon. Members will support the motion. It is…22 Jan 2019HANSARD Proxy VotingI think that the whole House enjoyed and concurred with the hon. Gentleman’s remarks. He does a very good job of showing himself to be a feminist, and those of us who join that…22 Jan 2019HANSARD Proxy VotingThe hon. Lady raises an important point. As we have discussed in the two debates and several urgent questions on this in recent months, some people believe that proxy voting…22 Jan 2019HANSARD Proxy VotingI am always interested to hear hon. Members’ views. I would be happy to discuss that with the right hon. Gentleman, but he will realise that such change would require the whole…22 Jan 2019HANSARD Proxy VotingI have certainly made it clear that the hon. Member for Hampstead and Kilburn (Tulip Siddiq) should be able to spend critical time with her baby, and I sincerely hope that she…22 Jan 2019