Contributions
472 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD Alternative Fuelled Vehicles: Energy ProvisionThank you, Chair. I thank the hon. Member for Warwick and Leamington (Matt Western) for securing a debate on this important issue. We are all committed to combating climate change…06 Oct 2020HANSARDEngagementsLike the vast majority of the British public, I support the new restrictions. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister said we will get through this, but in the long term, there…23 Sept 2020HANSARD Covid-19 UpdateMy right hon. Friend and his scientific advisers are absolutely right—the virus is not getting any weaker—but doctors, including many in my constituency of South Cambridgeshire,…21 Sept 2020HANSARDSupport for Self-employed and Freelance WorkersI congratulate the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion (Caroline Lucas) on securing this debate on a very important issue. If the Conservative party is anything, it is the party of…17 Sept 2020HANSARDAxial SpondyloarthritisI congratulate my hon. Friend on securing the debate on this important issue, and I pay tribute to his bravery in overcoming his condition and ensuring it did not prevent him…17 Sept 2020HANSARDSupport for Self-employed and Freelance WorkersThe hon. Member is absolutely right that people furloughed generally are not allowed to work. But there is an exemption that the Government brought in for company directors who…17 Sept 2020HANSARDSupport for Self-employed and Freelance WorkersHow is Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs meant to know where the dividend income comes from, because when people fill in their tax return, they do not have to say the source of…17 Sept 2020HANSARDCoronavirus Job Retention SchemeI congratulate the hon. Member for North Ayrshire and Arran (Patricia Gibson) on securing this debate and my right hon. Friend the Chancellor on coming up with a policy so good…17 Sept 2020HANSARDHealth Protection (Coronavirus, Wearing of Face Coverings in a Relevant Place) (England) Regulations 2020On reading this, I think it is very clear. If I dare say so, the right hon. Member for North Durham is misunderstanding what the Government policy is. Areas where there is food…14 Sept 2020HANSARD Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies (Environmentally Sustainable Investment) BillAnother example, which hon. Members might not be aware of, is the Co-operative Bank, which was one of my members when I ran the British Bankers Association. It collapsed amid huge…11 Sept 2020HANSARDProtection of Jobs and BusinessesI will carry on. We are at a time when we must look to the future, not try to preserve the past. The great Andrew Bailey, the new Governor of the Bank of England, said recently in…09 Sept 2020HANSARDProtection of Jobs and BusinessesThe shadow Chancellor says that she wants to extend the furlough scheme, but the key question is: how long for? The Chancellor said when he announced it that it would end in…09 Sept 2020HANSARDProtection of Jobs and BusinessesI want to join my colleagues on the Government Benches and, indeed, the Opposition Benches in congratulating the Government on their generous and nimble support for industry in…09 Sept 2020HANSARDProtection of Jobs and BusinessesI absolutely agree—my hon. Friend has taken the words right out of my mouth. I believe, and the Conservative party believes, in sustainable national finances. Do the Opposition…09 Sept 2020HANSARD Birmingham Attacks and Extinction Rebellion ProtestsI am a journalist and an environmentalist. I used to be environment editor of The Observer and The Times . I am currently chair of the all-party parliamentary group on the…07 Sept 2020HANSARDStamp Duty Land Tax (Temporary Relief) BillI refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. I am on the advisory council for the Institute for Fiscal Studies, which I am about to quote, and…13 Jul 2020HANSARDStamp Duty Land Tax (Temporary Relief) BillNot at all; I am sure lots of people called for it. I am just showing that I am consistent in my views. Stamp duty—SDLT—is one of the most unpopular taxes, and not just with…13 Jul 2020HANSARDTopical QuestionsSouth Cambridgeshire is the biomedical capital of Europe, with dozens of organisations working to develop treatments, cures and vaccines for the coronavirus. It is one of the most…09 Jul 2020HANSARDEconomic UpdateIt is bold, it is imaginative, and it is well targeted. I congratulate my right hon. Friend the Chancellor on this package, which will do so much to promote jobs and growth across…08 Jul 2020HANSARDFinance BillI have followed the Treasury’s Budgets professionally for a quarter of a century and contributed to many of them, but this is the first time I have helped to legislate for a…02 Jul 2020