Contributions
1,092 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD Dissolution and Calling of Parliament BillI agree with my right hon. Friend; there is of course a good reason why the 2017 to 2019 Parliament is referred to as the zombie Parliament. I remind the House of the commitments…14 Mar 2022HANSARD Dissolution and Calling of Parliament BillMy right hon. Friend is quite right that it is not productive, and, in fact, it would not be in the interests of the judiciary themselves, for the courts to have such a role. We…14 Mar 2022HANSARD Dissolution and Calling of Parliament BillI do not want to get into hypotheticals, but what I will say is that the pre-2011 position worked extremely well. There is a reason why it worked well and it was proven to have…14 Mar 2022HANSARD Dissolution and Calling of Parliament BillGood constitutional practice involves protecting the integrity of the legislature, the Executive and the judiciary and, in our view, the proposals do that and this amendment would…14 Mar 2022HANSARD Dissolution and Calling of Parliament BillMy hon. Friend is completely right. In fact, it is difficult to expostulate all the different scenarios that may occur in future, so it is best to avoid that, but we know what…14 Mar 2022HANSARD Dissolution and Calling of Parliament BillI am obviously not doing that. We are able to see where mistakes have been made and where things have gone well in the past, and we see that in the pre-2011 position—the position…14 Mar 2022HANSARD Dissolution and Calling of Parliament BillThe Lascelles principles are something we still respect. One of the fundamental tenets of Sir Alan Lascelles’ letter was the fact that we wished to avoid any suggestion that the…14 Mar 2022HANSARD Dissolution and Calling of Parliament BillFirst, may I say to my hon. Friend the Member for Thurrock (Jackie Doyle-Price) that I, too, am a romantic—that may come as a surprise to the House—especially when it comes to the…14 Mar 2022HANSARD SanctionsThe instruments before us were laid under the powers provided by the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018—also known as the sanctions Act. These instruments came into…01 Mar 2022HANSARD SanctionsI beg to move, That the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2022 (SI, 2022, No. 194), dated 28 February 2022, a copy of which was laid before this House…01 Mar 2022HANSARD SanctionsI want to make a little progress. Last night, we laid new legislation in Parliament on financial measures, including on sovereign debt; a prohibition to limit access to sterling;…01 Mar 2022HANSARD SanctionsI thank my hon. Friend for his question, and of course he is right to focus on those areas in particular, as he has a marked interest in them as regards Scotland. Where these…01 Mar 2022HANSARD SanctionsI am going to make a little progress and then I will give way. Sanctions announced by the UK and our allies are already having an impact. Yesterday, the rouble dropped 40% of its…01 Mar 2022HANSARD SanctionsWith the leave of the House, I will close this debate. The last three hours have shown us that the House stands united. It has shown us many things, but one of those is that we…01 Mar 2022HANSARD SanctionsI note what the hon. Gentleman says, but it is not often that people refer to the mechanisms of the EU as speedy. If he says that they are speedier than ours, clearly that is…01 Mar 2022HANSARD SanctionsLet me make a little progress and then I will give way. The solidarity of NATO is resolute, which is why the UK and our NATO allies have been moving troops to our NATO allied…01 Mar 2022HANSARD SanctionsThese powers will have a maximum penalty of up to 10 years’ imprisonment, so that is a “bite” if they are breached.01 Mar 2022HANSARD SanctionsNothing is off the table. Everything is being considered and is open for consideration. We have rightly taken unprecedented moves, which have been extremely rare in international…01 Mar 2022HANSARD SanctionsI do not think the individuals involved will consider it a weak measure; on the contrary, I think they will consider it a draconian measure, which is exactly what it is.01 Mar 2022HANSARD SanctionsMy right hon. Friend is certainly right that it creates an immediate economic shock. That is why the effect on the interest rates and on the rouble is as we have already seen:…01 Mar 2022