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1,335 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDPassenger Rail PerformanceBefore I ask my question, I would like to take a moment to reflect on the fact that last night, a man lost his life, a wife lost her husband, and children lost their father…11 Sept 2025HANSARD Bus Services (No. 2) Bill [Lords]The hon. Member is quite right, of course. I am not suggesting that bus services should be only for profit. He will know that Essex county council has an enhanced partnership…10 Sept 2025HANSARD Bus Services (No. 2) Bill [Lords]I am slightly surprised to be called so early, but I am delighted to speak in the debate. This will be an interesting debate. I am delighted that there is so much interest from…10 Sept 2025HANSARD Bus Services (No. 2) Bill [Lords]The hon. Lady will know, from reading the Hansard of Committee proceedings, what time and effort the official Opposition put into supporting the aspiration to have increased…10 Sept 2025HANSARD Bus Services (No. 2) Bill [Lords]That does not take away from the overarching point that Labour has increased bus fares by 50% and described it as a price cut, which was disingenuous in the extreme. We need to…10 Sept 2025HANSARD Bus Services (No. 2) Bill [Lords]I am perfectly happy with that principle. In fact, it was a Conservative principle, first introduced in 2016. We do not have to choose between one thing and another; that is a…10 Sept 2025HANSARD Bus Services (No. 2) Bill [Lords]My hon. Friend is entirely right. I refer the House to Norfolk county council—another Conservative council, and the one in which my constituency is based—which has an enhanced…10 Sept 2025HANSARD Bus Services (No. 2) Bill [Lords]My hon. Friend is quite right. There is some good in the amendments. I come to amendment 58, which would reinsert the Secretary of State’s safeguard. That would not prohibit small…10 Sept 2025HANSARD Bus Services (No. 2) Bill [Lords]I thought the hon. Member was in favour of devolution. Not all mayoral combined authorities are the same; if we have a mayoral combined authority, we want to have the right system…10 Sept 2025HANSARD Bus Services (No. 2) Bill [Lords]On that point, I will give way.10 Sept 2025HANSARD Bus Services (No. 2) Bill [Lords]I stand corrected, in the sense that I have listened to the hon. Member and, on reflection, I accept that I was making perhaps too legalistic a point. If by adding “sustained…10 Sept 2025HANSARD Bus Services (No. 2) Bill [Lords]We have had an interesting debate with around 25 to 30 speakers, and some themes have developed from it. A number of speakers mentioned disability access, particularly issues with…10 Sept 2025HANSARD Bus Services (No. 2) Bill [Lords]I am grateful, although I am not sure whether that was an intervention on jeering or cheering and the difference between them. I will go so far as to say that I am not in a…10 Sept 2025HANSARD Bus Services (No. 2) Bill [Lords]I am sorry that the hon. Member was not in his place throughout the course of the debate, as he would have heard that a franchise is not a normal contract. Under an enhanced…10 Sept 2025HANSARD Bus Services (No. 2) Bill [Lords]I hope that the Minister is not misleading the House inadvertently. Although he is right that it was delivered on time and on budget—it was about £156 million—it is argued that…10 Sept 2025HANSARDProperty TaxesThe hon. Gentleman says that he cannot speculate on individual tax measures, but will he deny that the No. 11 machine has been leaking these stories to the national press over the…03 Sept 2025HANSARDProperty TaxesThe hon. Member and a number of his colleagues have referred to the reduction in interest rates as the sign of a growing economy. If he even googled it, he would realise that the…03 Sept 2025HANSARDProperty TaxesMy hon. Friend is absolutely right. Do the Government not recognise that posturing from the Government Benches does not come for free? Construction activity has had a bigger fall…03 Sept 2025HANSARDProperty TaxesI have been told that we are speculating today, so I do not know whether I have to refer to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. However, in an abundance of…03 Sept 2025HANSARDProperty TaxesMy hon. Friend is making a powerful speech. He mentions the hospitality sector. Does he recognise the Government’s cruel decision to reduce the business rates discount for the…03 Sept 2025