Contributions
1,396 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDSewage PollutionAs my right hon. Friend knows, the River Wye is a priceless national asset, threatened by phosphate pollution. He also knows that the Wye is unusual because it crosses the border…06 Sept 2022HANSARDNorthern Ireland Protocol BillMy hon. Friend will recall that the right hon. Member for East Antrim (Sammy Wilson) raised the issue of the necessity standard applying in a context where a state has not…13 Jul 2022HANSARDNorthern Ireland Protocol BillIt has been a splendid debate, and it is my happy privilege to stand as the thorn between two legal roses in my hon. Friend the Member for Bromley and Chislehurst (Sir Robert…13 Jul 2022HANSARDNorthern Ireland Protocol BillFurther to the point made by my hon. Friend the Member for Bromley and Chislehurst (Sir Robert Neill), is the concession by the Government that “urgent does not mean immediate”…13 Jul 2022HANSARDPoints of OrderI am so sorry, Madam Deputy Speaker; I apologise for my colleagues. Given that the Government are in caretaker mode, may I ask your advice on whether that extends to their…13 Jul 2022HANSARDPoints of OrderOn a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. As you know, the Government are at present in caretaker mode pending the election of a new Prime Minister. Is it your view that this…13 Jul 2022HANSARD Channel 4 PrivatisationI cannot, as I do not have much time, but I may take my hon. Friend’s intervention later. It is not a Conservative proposal to sell Channel 4, and even if it was sold now does…14 Jun 2022HANSARD Channel 4 PrivatisationThe hon. Member makes an interesting and fair point. Of course, if advertising revenue were so unattractive, the rest of the market would not be piling into it. At the same time,…14 Jun 2022HANSARD Channel 4 PrivatisationIt has been a good debate, but I must say that I am not persuaded by many of the arguments that have been put forward, even by my distinguished colleagues, the former Chairs of…14 Jun 2022HANSARD Channel 4 PrivatisationI am enormously grateful to my hon. Friend for his comments, but does he have any evidence that the calcification he talks of is actually happening to Channel 4? There is…14 Jun 2022HANSARD Channel 4 PrivatisationI just wondered, in the spirit of chivalry, whether I might be able to give the hon. Gentleman an extra minute by making an intervention.14 Jun 2022HANSARD Channel 4 PrivatisationOn the consultation, my right hon. Friend is absolutely right to say that the Government should not be ducking difficult decisions. I would completely understand if they do not…14 Jun 2022HANSARD Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) BillI rise to speak to new clause 1, which stands in my name and in the names of my colleagues, my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for South Swindon (Sir Robert Buckland) and…13 Jun 2022HANSARDOfwat: Strategic PrioritiesMy hon. Friend is so familiar with Herefordshire and the angling there that he needs no encouragement from me, but may I remind him that part of the problem with the Wye is that…09 Jun 2022HANSARDOfwat: Strategic PrioritiesI thought the Environmental Audit Committee’s report was a model of its kind. I noted in particular that it created this context of identifying a “chemical cocktail” of sewage,…09 Jun 2022HANSARDOfwat: Strategic PrioritiesSewage discharges, at least in the River Wye, on which my right hon. Friend’s report brilliantly focused, are only 25% of the problem. Phosphate leaching from fields is more like…09 Jun 2022HANSARDOfwat: Strategic PrioritiesDoes the hon. Lady share my view that one of the things the Government should closely consider is the idea of a national rivers recovery fund so that fines that have been paid can…09 Jun 2022HANSARDDraft Flood Reinsurance (Amendment) Regulations 2022I perfectly understand that the Minister will write to me, including in relation to DFT, and I am of course happy with that. This bears on DEFRA because there is a hole in the…09 Mar 2022HANSARDDraft Flood Reinsurance (Amendment) Regulations 2022I thank my hon. Friend the Minister for her comments, as well as for the work she has done on this legislation and on the related area of the cleanliness of the River Wye, which…09 Mar 2022HANSARD Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts BillI want to speak in particular about the issue of noisy protest, but I should begin by saying that, as the Minister outlined very well, there is a great deal of good in the Bill,…28 Feb 2022