Contributions
752 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD EU Membership Referendum: Impact on the UKThe hon. Lady raises an important issue. Last summer, the Federation of Small Businesses in Northern Ireland said that two thirds of the SMEs in Northern Ireland that moved goods…24 Feb 2026HANSARDLord Mandelson: Government Response to Humble AddressI thank the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister for the statement, which we received at 3.38 pm. I gently suggest to him that the 45 minutes referred to in the ministerial code…23 Feb 2026HANSARDCivil Service Pension Scheme: AdministrationI am sure that the hon. Lady will accept that because I was not a Minister in the previous Government, I did not have access to the tendering process, and do not have the details…04 Feb 2026HANSARDCivil Service Pension Scheme: AdministrationI have given way four times; I really ought to conclude. We can all agree that it is now in everyone’s interest for operational stability to be restored as quickly as possible,…04 Feb 2026HANSARDCivil Service Pension Scheme: AdministrationI appreciate that the right hon. Gentleman has not always been an uncritical friend of the current Government, but he has to recognise that his party has been in government for…04 Feb 2026HANSARDCivil Service Pension Scheme: AdministrationAs I have said, I did not see the details of the bid. Obviously, with any bid, it is right to look at previous performance. There will be some causes for concern with any of the…04 Feb 2026HANSARDCivil Service Pension Scheme: AdministrationI must continue, because I have only a short time; I have given way twice. We know that in November 2023, Capita was awarded the contract to administer the civil service pension…04 Feb 2026HANSARDCivil Service Pension Scheme: AdministrationI have already given way twice and I may give way later, but I need to get through my speech so that the Minister can reply, because I know that hon. Members will want to hear her…04 Feb 2026HANSARDCivil Service Pension Scheme: AdministrationNo. The hon. Gentleman is obviously trying to hide from the fact that his party was part of the Government that awarded that contract in 2012 to the mutual joint venture. He may…04 Feb 2026HANSARDCivil Service Pension Scheme: AdministrationI congratulate the hon. Member for Blackpool North and Fleetwood (Lorraine Beavers) on securing this important and timely debate. The situation is an entirely unforced error by…04 Feb 2026HANSARD Business RatesThis U-turn delivers some much-needed temporary relief for a lot of pubs, but it does not deliver the permanently lower bills that the Prime Minister promised. It also does…27 Jan 2026HANSARDDiego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory BillThe Minister did not answer the question that the shadow Foreign Secretary asked, but it is inconceivable that Foreign Office Ministers will not have had discussions with their…26 Jan 2026HANSARDErasmus+ ProgrammeI think the Minister has given the game away: he has just said that it would be wrong to walk away from that. He will know, as the whole House knows, that any negotiation is…22 Jan 2026HANSARDErasmus+ ProgrammeIn his statement last month, the Paymaster General promised us that he had secured a great deal for the first year of the Erasmus programme. It is a technique that will be…22 Jan 2026HANSARDBusiness Rates: Retail, Hospitality and LeisureThe tables to which the Minister refers show that the median rateable value for pubs and wine bars is increasing by a third. He visited the Prince of Wales, a pub in his…19 Jan 2026HANSARD Digital ID(Urgent Question): To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on mandatory digital ID.15 Jan 2026HANSARD Digital IDThe Minister read his speech beautifully, and with a straight face. In September, the Prime Minister tossed this mandatory digital ID on to the table as a classic dead cat…15 Jan 2026HANSARD Digital IDHe didn’t come here voluntarily!15 Jan 2026HANSARDWest Midlands PoliceI am proud that my father was a West Midlands police constable for 29 years, policing football matches during some of the darkest days of English football, but the Home Secretary…14 Jan 2026HANSARD Finance (No. 2) BillMy hon. Friend is right, although that is not really a choice that many pubs are able to make, because it is taken for them. We saw the same thing when the previous Labour…13 Jan 2026