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1,006 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDTopical QuestionsThe Tories are sinking the water industry. Since Tory privatisation, water companies have racked up debts of over £60 billion. Every day, we see 800 sewage dumps and lose over 3…06 Jul 2023HANSARDWater Industry: Financial ResilienceThank you, Mr Speaker, for granting the urgent question, but it is a concern that the Secretary of State did not proactively make a statement to the House on an issue of such…28 Jun 2023HANSARDWater Industry: Financial Resilience(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the financial resilience of the water industry.28 Jun 2023HANSARDAnimal Welfare (Kept Animals)The Act certainly has that potential, except for the fact that the committee has not even been set up yet, so let us make some progress on that. On a matter of principle—by the…21 Jun 2023HANSARDAnimal Welfare (Kept Animals)To be absolutely clear, this is not the Labour party framing our own motion and own draft Bill, and bringing it to the House and trying to bounce the Conservative Government. This…21 Jun 2023HANSARDAnimal Welfare (Kept Animals)Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. You made that point in response to the point of order, and the right hon. Member for Ludlow (Philip Dunne) will know that I do not have the facility…21 Jun 2023HANSARDAnimal Welfare (Kept Animals)My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Let us be clear about some of the tensions here. The fear was never that the Labour party would vote down protections for animals; our history…21 Jun 2023HANSARDAnimal Welfare (Kept Animals)I am happy to explain the process by which we got to the motion, if that is helpful, although I am not sure whether it will convince Government Members to vote with us later. To…21 Jun 2023HANSARDAnimal Welfare (Kept Animals)I am not sure that I would go as far as to say that Government Members do not care about animals. I think they do, but they probably care about their own jobs a bit more, and too…21 Jun 2023HANSARDAnimal Welfare (Kept Animals)I will make some progress first. Regardless of their majority, the Minister, the Secretary of State and the Prime Minister cannot govern if they cannot even get this Bill through…21 Jun 2023HANSARDAnimal Welfare (Kept Animals)It is not only that. Animals are not an object or a possession; they are part of our family in many ways. Just think about those smuggled dogs being a member of your family—the…21 Jun 2023HANSARDAnimal Welfare (Kept Animals)I will give way first to my hon. Friend the Member for Weaver Vale.21 Jun 2023HANSARDAnimal Welfare (Kept Animals)I will make a bit of progress first, if that is okay. In the end, it is those promises that—if we are not careful and they are not kept—undermine the very foundation of our…21 Jun 2023HANSARDAnimal Welfare (Kept Animals)I am going to make a bit of progress, but I will take interventions a bit later. The current Prime Minister, who during his leadership campaign last summer promised he would keep…21 Jun 2023HANSARDAnimal Welfare (Kept Animals)I beg to move, That— (1) On Wednesday 12 July 2023: (a) Standing Order No. 14(1) (which provides that government business shall have precedence at every sitting save as provided…21 Jun 2023HANSARDAnimal Welfare (Kept Animals)It is hard not to agree with that position. Members have a choice today. The benefit of our democracy is that Members get to cast their vote, and declare their view and their…21 Jun 2023HANSARDAnimal Welfare (Kept Animals)I appreciate the intervention. I have the Downing Street letter in my hand, and there is nothing in it that I would disagree with. The hon. Member’s real difficulty is that the…21 Jun 2023HANSARDAnimal Welfare (Kept Animals)I thank my hon. Friend for her intervention—it is an absolutely accurate interpretation. I was at Battersea Dogs and Cats Home in her constituency when news came that the Animal…21 Jun 2023HANSARDAnimal Welfare (Kept Animals)That begs the question of why on earth the Government are so bashful about bringing forward new powers and freedoms as a result of us leaving the European Union. Surely we should…21 Jun 2023HANSARDTopical QuestionsA year on from my request from this Dispatch Box for an urgent meeting on food security, the Government’s Farm to Fork summit was described by attendees as “no more than a PR…25 May 2023