Contributions
1,280 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDUK-India Free Trade AgreementI will defer to the Minister on prawn eyestalk ablation.09 Feb 2026HANSARDUK-India Free Trade AgreementWell, I was going to be generous to the Government and say something slightly positive. My hon. Friend is absolutely right that Governments of all flavours could do an infinitely…09 Feb 2026HANSARDUK-India Free Trade AgreementThe hon. Gentleman makes an important point. I do not want to simply agree with him for the sake of it: it is not easy for Chancellors of whatever flavour to balance the books,…09 Feb 2026HANSARDUK-India Free Trade AgreementAnd Welsh, and from other parts of this wonderful kingdom. This Government, as the previous Government, have by and large got the importance of the wonderful Scottish whisky…09 Feb 2026HANSARDUK-India Free Trade AgreementThe document produced by the Select Committee lays out the impact for defence, modest as I believe it is. I will leave it to those on the Government Front Bench to answer my right…09 Feb 2026HANSARDUK-India Free Trade AgreementI will happily give way to the Minister.09 Feb 2026HANSARDUK-India Free Trade AgreementMy hon. Friend puts the point in a better and more informed way than me. It is important, and it is for the Government to set out very clearly how they propose to maintain or…09 Feb 2026HANSARDUK-India Free Trade AgreementI hope that my right hon. Friend is reassured to a degree by the Minister’s response. I will move on now—you will be pleased to know, Madam Deputy Speaker, that my speech is not…09 Feb 2026HANSARDUK-India Free Trade AgreementI will try to leave the Minister with a short list of questions, rather than going through each and every one as we go. Notwithstanding what the Minister has just said—perhaps we…09 Feb 2026HANSARDUK-India Free Trade AgreementI am in no way qualified to answer that. However, it is the Government’s position about crustacean welfare, and they should speak to it. Just before Christmas, they published a…09 Feb 2026HANSARDUK-India Free Trade AgreementI thank the Minister for that intervention; I drew some comfort from it, but we will have to see the detail of the exact crustacean protections we end up with. Finally, there is…09 Feb 2026HANSARDUK-India Free Trade AgreementMy hon. Friend makes exactly the right point. The former Secretary of State—the current Leader of the Opposition—has been very clear that that was a deal breaker. It was deal or…09 Feb 2026HANSARDUK-India Free Trade AgreementI am glad to hear agreement across the House on the desire not to have a two-tier system. We all understand the need to pay our taxes to support our public services, but it will…09 Feb 2026HANSARDUK-India Free Trade AgreementLet me finish my point, and then there will be plenty of opportunity for interventions. I will not anticipate the Minister’s point, but there are other agreements such as this in…09 Feb 2026HANSARDUK-India Free Trade AgreementI shall take good heed of those comments, Madam Deputy Speaker. We support having a sovereign trade policy, and this is an excellent example of where it could have advantages. We…09 Feb 2026HANSARDUK-India Free Trade AgreementBut you don’t like the States.09 Feb 2026HANSARDHospitality SectorThe Minister has just heard from across the House continuing pleas to support the hospitality industry. It is always a good day when the Government U-turn and provide more support…29 Jan 2026HANSARDWorkers’ Rights: Bracknell ForestOf course, it is not just Bracknell, and one day those on the Labour Benches will understand that there are no workers’ rights if people have no work. Youth unemployment is up…29 Jan 2026HANSARDEngagementsMay I start by echoing the Deputy Prime Minister’s comments about Holocaust Memorial Day? We must never forget. May I also associate the Opposition with the condolences expressed…28 Jan 2026HANSARDEngagementsThe Deputy Prime Minister wants to talk about experience. I spent 25 years building businesses and creating jobs; he spent 25 years manufacturing grievance. If the Labour party…28 Jan 2026