Contributions
680 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDBeing Part of the UK: BenefitsI just point out to the hon. Gentleman that I am a member of the Conservative and Unionist party; I have never been neutral in my support for the Union.03 Jul 2019HANSARDBeing Part of the UK: BenefitsI can assure the hon. Gentleman that the Northern Ireland Office has very much participated in this, and we are determined to find a way that we can resolve this, in a way that is…03 Jul 2019HANSARDBeing Part of the UK: BenefitsThat sounds like a very good idea. I very much enjoyed my visit to Lisburn for Armed Forces Day. As the hon. Gentleman will know, because we had a discussion on the day, I then…03 Jul 2019HANSARDBeing Part of the UK: BenefitsThe hon. Gentleman knows that personally I would like to see equal marriage extended to Northern Ireland. It is a devolved matter, and it is right that politicians in Northern…03 Jul 2019HANSARDBeing Part of the UK: BenefitsMy Staffordshire neighbour has announced that he will not be standing at the next election; I pay tribute to him for the work that he has done for the people of Stafford, and…03 Jul 2019HANSARD Political Process in Northern IrelandI am well aware of the decisions that need to be taken. My focus is on restoring government in Northern Ireland so that decisions can be taken by those elected by the people of…04 Jun 2019HANSARD Political Process in Northern IrelandWith permission, I wish to make a statement about the political process in Northern Ireland. As the House is aware, on 26 April we announced a new phase of political talks aimed…04 Jun 2019HANSARD Political Process in Northern IrelandI thank the hon. Gentleman for his offer of support for the process that we are going through. I know that he speaks regularly to the parties in Northern Ireland, and that he has…04 Jun 2019HANSARD Political Process in Northern IrelandI am sorry that my right hon. Friend is disappointed that there are only five points. There are five areas in which discussions are taking place, within which there will be areas…04 Jun 2019HANSARD Political Process in Northern IrelandI am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his support. I was pleased to be able to sit down with him to discuss the role that he can play. He is quite right to talk about the tone…04 Jun 2019HANSARD Political Process in Northern IrelandMy hon. Friend is right to talk about civic society, which has played a role in the talks so far. We have had engagement with Church leaders, who have had their own initiative to…04 Jun 2019HANSARD Political Process in Northern IrelandOn the latter point, I assure the right hon. Gentleman that that is the case. He also talked about the threat from dissident terrorists, and he is right that the threat will exist…04 Jun 2019HANSARD Political Process in Northern IrelandThe right hon. Gentleman highlights an important point that is one of the reasons why the PSNI is so keen that we make progress in reforming the institutions that deal with the…04 Jun 2019HANSARD Political Process in Northern IrelandI congratulate the hon. Lady on her temporary role as the acting Chair of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee. She is doing an excellent job, and I have been following her…04 Jun 2019HANSARD Political Process in Northern IrelandI do not want to comment on what is going on in the talks, but I agree that we need to reach consensus, which means that all parties will need to come together and agree on a way…04 Jun 2019HANSARD Political Process in Northern IrelandIt is my view that the more speculation there is in the press and elsewhere about these matters, the less chance we have of restoring devolved government. I am not prepared to do…04 Jun 2019HANSARD Political Process in Northern IrelandOf course, the sustainability and stability of the Executive working group has been looking very carefully at these issues. It is not about what I will do to ensure that; it is…04 Jun 2019HANSARD Political Process in Northern IrelandThe hon. Gentleman is right to make the point that the Act expires towards the end of August. The Act has enabled decisions to be taken in the absence of Ministers that could not…04 Jun 2019HANSARD Political Process in Northern IrelandAs I said in response to an earlier question, I do not think we should be talking about what happens in the event of failure. That is not what people want to hear. They do not…04 Jun 2019HANSARDLocal ElectionsVery good in the use of a sentence. I repeat that the lesson I took from the local elections was that people want restored devolved government as soon as possible.22 May 2019