Contributions
1,444 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDBritish Indian Ocean TerritoryAbsolutely. On a technicality, the Minister is right to say that the treaty in front of us has no problems, but at the end of the day it is about the interaction with other…28 Jan 2026HANSARDBritish Indian Ocean TerritoryMy right hon. Friend is right. From memory, I think he is referring to article 3 of the 1996 treaty, which explicitly talks about researching and so on. The Government need to set…28 Jan 2026HANSARDBritish Indian Ocean TerritorySpecifically on that point, the 2021 judgment did not have any British representation and rested on the UN’s non-binding judgment. We also know from the 2015 ruling that that…28 Jan 2026HANSARDBritish Indian Ocean TerritoryWill the Minister give way?28 Jan 2026HANSARDBritish Indian Ocean TerritoryI am surprised that a party that represents trade unionists does not understand that when there is a dispute between one party and another, it is a good thing to try to talk about…28 Jan 2026HANSARDBritish Indian Ocean Territoryrose—28 Jan 2026HANSARDBritish Indian Ocean TerritoryAbsolutely. That is another perfectly sensible question to pose to the Government, and for them to answer and to set out the reasons and the rationale. I am still concerned, when…28 Jan 2026HANSARDBritish Indian Ocean TerritoryNegotiations may well be ongoing, but the key question is whether the UK can make a unilateral decision to give away sovereignty without the blessing of the US. This question was…28 Jan 2026HANSARDBritish Indian Ocean TerritoryOn a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. The Minister specifically directed some comments at me, opening up an opportunity for me to speak. How can I respond to those comments…28 Jan 2026HANSARD Youth UnemploymentWill the Minister give way?28 Jan 2026HANSARDBritish Indian Ocean TerritoryWill the Minister give way?28 Jan 2026HANSARD Youth UnemploymentDoes the hon. Member share my concern about the graduate market? We are talking about youth unemployment, but we know from the Office for National Statistics that 257,000 Brits…28 Jan 2026HANSARD Youth UnemploymentWill the Minister give way?28 Jan 2026HANSARDDiego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory BillIt is a surprise to see the Minister so ratty and full of bluster, so I am going to ask him a technical question that I would appreciate his answer to. We have talked about the…26 Jan 2026HANSARDTopical QuestionsT7. In the Budget, the Chancellor froze thresholds, which brings state pensioners into paying tax. This was raised with the Chancellor, who said that she did not want that to…26 Jan 2026HANSARD Business of the HouseSince the Budget, the hospitality industry has been very anxious. We have heard from the Treasury and the Chancellor that a package is coming forward. I spoke in the Budget debate…22 Jan 2026HANSARD ADHD DiagnosisIt is a pleasure to respond on behalf of His Majesty’s official Opposition. I thank the hon. Member for Sefton Central (Bill Esterson) for getting so many MPs here to talk about…20 Jan 2026HANSARDDiego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory BillWill the hon. Gentleman be supporting Lords amendment 1, given that he has just specified that the base needs to be used for military purposes? If that use becomes impossible,…20 Jan 2026HANSARDDiego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory BillOn a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. I am not sure which amendments are being addressed. There are at least five on the amendment paper to be talked about. I just wondered…20 Jan 2026HANSARDChinese EmbassyI am going to ask again: does this make the British public safer—yes or no?20 Jan 2026