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1,483 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD[P002354]In the same terms, I present a petition on behalf of parents, carers and supporters of Victoria Park Nursery School in Newbury and Hungerford Nursery School in Hungerford, both…05 Feb 2019HANSARDIntermediate-Range Nuclear Forces TreatyI represent Greenham Common. I saw in the 1980s how Russia responds to strength and how it will not respond to weakness. Even in the darkest hour of the cold war, the finest minds…04 Feb 2019HANSARDWater IndustryThere has absolutely been bad practice. I have had my concerns about Thames Water in the past, but today the company has capped its dividend payments, is investing more in…22 Jan 2019HANSARDWater IndustryCan the hon. Gentleman give us a taster of those policies by saying whether he will compensate shareholders for the £90 billion that they own, and where he will find the money?22 Jan 2019HANSARDWater IndustryAs water Minister, I pushed the concept of payment for ecosystem services, which was against Ofwat’s institutional view at the time, though I am happy to say that it has moved on.…22 Jan 2019HANSARDWater IndustryI can come on to talk about suggestions that I think have some virtue, particularly employee share ownership schemes. As with everything, there is no perfect right or absolute…22 Jan 2019HANSARDWater IndustryThe Minister is making an extremely good point. People in the south-west had been pleading for years about the cost of cleaning up beaches and other infrastructure problems, but…22 Jan 2019HANSARDWater IndustryIf hon. Members check my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests, they will see that I chair an organisation called the UK Water Partnership. As the Leader of the…22 Jan 2019HANSARDWater IndustryWill the hon. Gentleman give way?22 Jan 2019HANSARDWater IndustryI do not know the circumstances in Scotland, so I can only speculate, but that is another country that is not short of water, as many parts of this country are. I just think that…22 Jan 2019HANSARDWater IndustryLet me just finish this point. A recent ComRes survey shows that 86% of customers trust their water company overall, with 89% trusting it to provide good-quality water and 87%…22 Jan 2019HANSARDWater IndustryOne thing I know about Scottish Water is that its leakage level is way above that of the rest of the United Kingdom—I think just shy of 40% of water is lost, compared with about a…22 Jan 2019HANSARDWater IndustryI am very fond of the hon. Gentleman. He and I agree on other things, but I cannot resist responding to being attacked for being ideological when I feel I am combating an ideology…22 Jan 2019HANSARDWater IndustryThe hon. Gentleman makes a very good point. Polls are often cited to say that an enormous percentage of people want to take the companies back into national ownership. Of course,…22 Jan 2019HANSARDWater IndustryYes, we need to do more. When compared with other European countries, we are absolute laggards: we use much too much water, wash our cars with potable, drinking-quality water, and…22 Jan 2019HANSARDWater IndustryMy hon. Friend is absolutely right to mention that project, which was initially developed around Dartmoor. It is an extraordinary scheme that is really working, and that I hope…22 Jan 2019HANSARDBusiness of the HouseLast night in Westminster Hall, during a debate about the armed forces, a Minister put the case very eloquently for more spending on defence, not just because of the threat that…10 Jan 2019HANSARDEuropean Union (Withdrawal) ActMy right hon. Friend mentioned the Ulster Farmers’ Union. Has he had time today to see the letter written by the presidents of all four farmers unions to every Member setting out…10 Jan 2019HANSARDEuropean Union (Withdrawal) ActI should start by reflecting that the speech by the hon. Member for Bassetlaw (John Mann) was one of the finest analyses of what happened in the referendum. The right hon. Member…10 Jan 2019HANSARDEuropean Union (Withdrawal) ActI do not agree with the right hon. Gentleman. It will give certainty. It would certainly give certainty to many of the businesses I have talked about. I think there is a dam…10 Jan 2019