Contributions
622 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) BillWe said in our manifesto that removing the 92 remaining hereditary peers from the legislature was a first step towards achieving the reforms of the House of Lords that we wanted…15 Oct 2024HANSARD House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) BillMy hon. Friend is right. Listening to some of the contributions today, it is not clear where Opposition Members stand. They talk about reform being too fast and then not fast…15 Oct 2024HANSARD House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) BillAbsolutely not. I listened to the hon. Member’s contribution; the royal family and the monarchy are one of our country’s greatest assets. The contribution of the King and the…15 Oct 2024HANSARD House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) BillThat was four Governments ago. It failed due to the timetabling motion and the fact that the Conservatives could not get agreement even within their own party. There have been,…15 Oct 2024HANSARD House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) BillWhat I am interested in is whether the right hon. Member, with his new radicalism, will be voting with the Government tonight. The Government are committed to House of Lords…15 Oct 2024HANSARD House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) BillWe set out in our manifesto that we want to see an alternative second Chamber that is more representative of the nations and regions. I will say a little more about that later.…15 Oct 2024HANSARD House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) BillI thank the hon. Member for his intervention and, indeed, for his contribution to the debate. That is not a commitment that we are in a position to make; it would be for the new…15 Oct 2024HANSARD House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) BillIt is a pleasure to close this important debate on the Second Reading of the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill. The hon. Member for Romford (Andrew Rosindell) reminded us in…15 Oct 2024HANSARD Reporting Ministerial Gifts and HospitalityOf course the Modernisation Committee will look incredibly closely at the issue of second jobs.14 Oct 2024HANSARD Reporting Ministerial Gifts and HospitalityNo Member sets out to deceive the House, and donations have been made in the right way. There is no suggestion that donations have not been declared properly or transparently. We…14 Oct 2024HANSARD Reporting Ministerial Gifts and HospitalityI repeat that we want to make the rules more transparent. We have clearly set out how we intend to get transparency on gifts and hospitality, which has been lacking for too long.14 Oct 2024HANSARD Reporting Ministerial Gifts and HospitalityMy hon. Friend is right to point out the VIP lanes for covid contracts. The fact is that Conservative Members had the opportunity to take a stand when Owen Paterson broke the…14 Oct 2024HANSARD Reporting Ministerial Gifts and HospitalityAs I said to the right hon. Gentleman in my first response, this Government are committed to rebuilding trust in politics. The Prime Minister has commissioned a new set of…14 Oct 2024HANSARD Reporting Ministerial Gifts and HospitalityThe hon. Member makes a number of important points. In relation to value, yes, this is about a closer alignment of the two schemes. MPs need to declare value at the moment, but…14 Oct 2024HANSARD Reporting Ministerial Gifts and HospitalityAs I said in a previous answer, that is an operational matter for the police and not something I can comment on further.14 Oct 2024HANSARD Reporting Ministerial Gifts and HospitalityI agree with those words from the Deputy Prime Minister. What I do not accept is the suggestion of equivalence with those on the Conservative Benches, when the former Prime…14 Oct 2024HANSARD Reporting Ministerial Gifts and HospitalityI am not sure about the right hon. Gentleman’s specific point, but at the heart of this is our aim to increase transparency in the reporting process. There is a disparity between…14 Oct 2024HANSARD Reporting Ministerial Gifts and HospitalityI wish to update the House on the action that the Government will take to enhance transparency in relation to ministerial gifts and hospitality. Transparency is a critical part of…14 Oct 2024HANSARD Reporting Ministerial Gifts and HospitalityThat is a personal matter for the Prime Minister, but we have made it clear, and the Prime Minister has made it clear, that we are going to make the rules around transparency more…14 Oct 2024HANSARD Reporting Ministerial Gifts and HospitalityAs I recall, it was former Prime Minister Boris Johnson who benefited from that holiday to Mustique.14 Oct 2024