Contributions
962 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD Defence Supplementary Estimate 2021-22The right hon. Gentleman is making a most interesting speech. He refers to countries that are thinking about joining NATO, such as Finland and Sweden, and there has been a sea…09 Mar 2022HANSARD Defence Supplementary Estimate 2021-22I shall try to be helpful and keep my contribution relatively brief. Typically of such debates, it is very good in some ways and not so good in others. It is very good in that I…09 Mar 2022HANSARDEngagementsLet us be clear about this: is it not an absolute disgrace that a Privy Counsellor, adviser to the Queen and former First Minister of Scotland sees fit to broadcast his half-baked…23 Feb 2022HANSARDHydrogen SectorOnshore and offshore, my constituency has more wind turbines than I can shake a stick at. Does the Minister not agree that we should generate hydrogen where the electricity is…22 Feb 2022HANSARD Agriculture: Sustainable Intensification and MetricsI am aware that the hon. Member is reaching his concluding remarks. I would be less than honest if I did not say that farmers in my constituency have raised an eyebrow at the…22 Feb 2022HANSARD Agriculture: Sustainable Intensification and MetricsThe hon. Member is making an excellent speech and I am in complete agreement with his points. I was brought up on a dairy farm, and in those days the Milk Marketing Board secured…22 Feb 2022HANSARDArmed Forces ApprenticeshipsSeveral years ago, a young man came to see me. He was about to leave school and he was as keen as mustard to join the armed forces. However, he had been diagnosed as being on the…21 Feb 2022HANSARDUkraineI thank the Secretary of State for supplying an advance copy of the statement. We should be clear: if Russia invades Ukraine, massive sanctions will rightly be placed on Russia,…21 Feb 2022HANSARDPublic Service BroadcastingI want to put on the record my thanks for a useful meeting with the Minister this week about social tariffs for mobile devices. Channel 4 is close to my heart, as it is to those…10 Feb 2022HANSARDPublic Service Broadcasting6. What steps she is taking to strengthen and promote public service broadcasting.10 Feb 2022HANSARDPlatinum Jubilee CelebrationsAs hon. Members on the Benches behind me know, my wife hails from County Armagh. There is a tremendous link between Scotland and Northern Ireland through music; recently, the…26 Jan 2022HANSARDUkraineIt is not just Ukraine; we have military forces in Estonia, which is a member of NATO and a true friend of the UK. The Prime Minister said that if Russia invades Ukraine, we will…25 Jan 2022HANSARDCost of Living IncreasesI rise to my feet as somebody who worked in the oil sector, but that is not what I want to address. The furlough scheme meant that the money paid out in my constituency was…24 Jan 2022HANSARDCost of Living IncreasesThe hon. Gentleman represents a rural constituency, as I do; I represent one of the vastest and most remote constituencies in the UK. As well as household costs, if the price of…24 Jan 2022HANSARDSmall Modular Reactors and Energy SecurityIn the same spirit, I extend an invitation to the Minister: if he would care to come north to Caithness, he would receive a cordial welcome from the trade council and civic…19 Jan 2022HANSARDSmall Modular Reactors and Energy SecurityThe hon. Member is making an excellent speech. Caithness is one of the most nuclear-sympathetic parts of the United Kingdom. Dounreay, Britain’s first nuclear reactor, was…19 Jan 2022HANSARD Gas and Electricity CostsMy hon. Friend must be clairvoyant, because she has anticipated a point that I shall make in due course. I thank her for her intervention. There are two major contributory factors…18 Jan 2022HANSARD Gas and Electricity CostsThere is an economic point here. The money that the hon. Gentleman is talking about, whichever level of Government is giving it to individuals or businesses to see them through…18 Jan 2022HANSARD Gas and Electricity CostsI will conclude in just a moment or two. I thank the hon. Member for his intervention. The bottom line is that if we care about the people I have mentioned, who are petrified of…18 Jan 2022HANSARD Gas and Electricity CostsI have no hesitation in joining my right hon. Friend in making that plea. His points are well made. I hope that in getting this debate under way today, we start a dialogue with…18 Jan 2022