Contributions
869 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD Holocaust Memorial BillI beg to move, That this House disagrees with Lords amendment 1. I am grateful to Members of both the Commons and the Lords who have so diligently scrutinised the Bill throughout…20 Jan 2026HANSARD Holocaust Memorial BillWith the leave of the House, I rise to thank hon. Members of all parties for their contribution to this important debate. I appreciate that although the Government’s commitment to…20 Jan 2026HANSARD Holocaust Memorial BillI can confirm that that is the case, and I will be very clear and explicit about both the intention and what we will do to enshrine that intention. The learning centre will…20 Jan 2026HANSARD Holocaust Memorial BillThe hon. Member is absolutely right. We are seeing increased antisemitism. We see case after case in all our communities. I spend a lot of time talking to the Jewish community and…20 Jan 2026HANSARDTopical QuestionsMy hon. Friend is completely right. We are clear that communities must be in the driving seat. That is why we have asked for neighbourhood boards to be set up, to determine the…12 Jan 2026HANSARDTopical QuestionsWe are conscious of the pressure in parts of the country around cemeteries and burials, and we understand the urgency. I ask the hon. Member to write to me with the specifics of…12 Jan 2026HANSARDTopical QuestionsWe are clear that we want to boost the power of communities to revive their places. This is why we are rolling out high street rental auctions, stronger and more streamlined…12 Jan 2026HANSARD Indices of Deprivation: EnglandI am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool South (Chris Webb) for securing this important debate, for the eloquent and passionate way that he talks about the issues…18 Dec 2025HANSARDLocal ElectionsSurrey elections will go ahead as planned. We are moving forward with the Hampshire elections as planned, although we are now minded to move the mayoral elections for Hampshire…04 Dec 2025HANSARDLocal ElectionsThe hon. Member is completely right to talk about how sacrosanct democracy is. We absolutely share that view, but it is right that as we think about inaugural elections for…04 Dec 2025HANSARDLocal ElectionsYes. It is easy to plough on, but we care about the outcome we are trying to deliver, and about ensuring that at the end of this process, we have strong local government, strong…04 Dec 2025HANSARDLocal ElectionsAbsolutely. That is why we have announced £37.4 million per year, and it is why we have committed to providing some of that investment up front. Critically, though, we are…04 Dec 2025HANSARDLocal ElectionsWe are very clear that no area will be worse off as a result of this decision. Again, we are talking about four areas within the devolution priority programme, and we will work…04 Dec 2025HANSARDLocal ElectionsWe believe in unitaries; whether it is Cheshire or the other unitaries across the country, we can see that they deliver for people. I come back to the reason why we are doing…04 Dec 2025HANSARDLocal ElectionsWe are clear—I will keep saying this, and we have consistently said this—that we want to move forward with elections. The decision to delay the elections last year was not taken…04 Dec 2025HANSARDLocal ElectionsI confirm that the devolution Bill is coming through, and so the election will take place under single transferable vote. A statutory instrument will be laid before Parliament to…04 Dec 2025HANSARDLocal ElectionsOf course, candidates have been selected, and I am very happy to apologise to them. I hope that, on the other side of this, whoever is mayor will have the knowledge that they have…04 Dec 2025HANSARDLocal ElectionsTo be very clear, the Secretary of State was talking about council elections; I urge the hon. Member to look at the transcript. I keep trying to make the distinction between…04 Dec 2025HANSARDLocal ElectionsWe are as up for elections as the Opposition. Candidly, they have a little bit more to be worried about. On the substance, I bring the hon. Member back to why we are doing this:…04 Dec 2025HANSARDLocal ElectionsWe are committed to unlocking the economic potential of all areas. I am clear that different places are at different stages in their journey to getting a mayor, and it is…04 Dec 2025