Contributions
4,038 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD Business of the HouseThen win an election. That is the easy part of it; if Labour Members really have confidence in what they say, go for an election. That is the obvious point. The weasel wording to…05 Sept 2019HANSARD Business of the HouseI am always concerned about anything that might affect a monastery. If we have a Queen’s Speech, obviously we will have the normal days of debate that follow, during which I am…05 Sept 2019HANSARD Business of the HouseIt is indeed an addled Parliament that is not able to get things done, and the conclusion that my right hon. Friend draws is correct. Royal Assent will be given speedily once the…05 Sept 2019HANSARD Business of the HouseAnd enacted; given Royal Assent. [Interruption.] Royal Assent is the point at which it is enacted—it is when it becomes an Act. If that is the law of the land, that will be the…05 Sept 2019HANSARD Business of the HouseMay I begin by thanking the hon. Lady and the hon. Member for Rhondda (Chris Bryant) for their kind words last week when a protest was proposed outside my house? I was very…05 Sept 2019HANSARD Business of the HouseMay I first congratulate my hon. Friend on the amazing charitable work he does, because I know he has great personal concern and is very supportive of his local charities? Again,…05 Sept 2019HANSARD Business of the HouseThe rules relating to the laying of statutory instruments when the House is sitting are complicated and detailed, and without knowing the precise form of the statutory instrument…05 Sept 2019HANSARD Business of the HouseI am glad that the hon. Gentleman is breathing and hoping. That is always extremely beneficial for all hon. Gentlemen and, indeed, all hon. Members—and right hon. ones, too.…05 Sept 2019HANSARD Business of the HouseThe general principle is that if commitments have been made from the Dispatch Box to spend money, those commitments are incumbent on the Government. They were made, and they…05 Sept 2019HANSARD Business of the HouseIt is indeed a matter of public interest. It is quite extraordinary that a charity should be paying someone so much more than the Prime Minister earns, or, even more shockingly,…05 Sept 2019HANSARD Business of the HouseHer Majesty’s Government always comply with the rule of law. It is a fundamental principle of our constitution.05 Sept 2019HANSARD Business of the HouseThat is a matter of the utmost importance and I shall certainly ask my office to contact the Ministry of Defence. It is only right that Select Committees should get the…05 Sept 2019HANSARD Business of the HouseI am grateful to the hon. Lady. I understand that the matter was covered very fully in Foreign Office questions, and the Foreign Office is taking it with the utmost seriousness.…05 Sept 2019HANSARD Business of the HouseAs I said earlier, the motion will be put down later today.05 Sept 2019HANSARD Business of the HouseThe first half of that question referred to jokes, and the second half was wrong.05 Sept 2019HANSARD Business of the HouseI will pass on what my right hon. Friend has said to the relevant Secretary of State. Problems with trains always beset the House, and I fear that if we debated them all we would…05 Sept 2019HANSARD Business of the HouseThe hon. Lady may recall that not so many years ago we had a Second Reading debate for a couple of days on the role of the upper Chamber in an attempt to reform it, but it did not…05 Sept 2019HANSARD Business of the HouseWith permission, I should like to make a statement about the business for next week. I shall begin by apologising to the shadow Leader of the House and the hon. Member for Perth…05 Sept 2019HANSARD Business of the HouseThank you, Mr Speaker. Let me deal with the last point first. I would not have dreamed of saying that you were wrong. I made the point, the classic point, that you have not eyes…05 Sept 2019HANSARD Business of the HouseMr Speaker, your knowledge of being able to fidget is so extensive that I am sure you will be able to tell the House or make it a chapter in your memoirs on un-fidgety fidgeting.…05 Sept 2019