Contributions
68 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD A133-A120 Link RoadI am here to support my geographical neighbour, the hon. Member for Harwich and North Essex (Sir Bernard Jenkin). He is absolutely right: it would be wholly irresponsible to…28 Jan 2025HANSARDChildren’s Wellbeing and Schools BillNo, I do not. Whatever measures are in the Bill to protect children—we all want to see children protected, for goodness’ sake—will not protect them. The Prime Minister is doing…08 Jan 2025HANSARDChildren’s Wellbeing and Schools BillI have no doubt that the Bill is based on socialist dogma. It will reduce choice and competition, and take away parents’ freedom to educate at home. I am against it. I will vote…08 Jan 2025HANSARDGeneral ElectionI generally find that the best ideas in life come from pubs, so it is no particular surprise that Michael Westwood is a publican. I represent Clacton, which has the third highest…06 Jan 2025HANSARDGeneral ElectionThe idea of a £22 billion black hole is nonsense. It is £2.7 trillion. The national debt is massive. It exploded over the course of the last 14 years—it increased two and a half…06 Jan 2025HANSARDBritish Indian Ocean Territory: SovereigntyThat is fair enough, Mr Speaker. If we respect the sovereignty of Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands, on the basis that it is what the people want, can we have a referendum of all…18 Dec 2024HANSARDBritish Indian Ocean Territory: SovereigntyI have just returned, hotfoot, from a very full Mar-a-Lago. I spoke to several members—senior administrators, especially—of the incoming Administration, which will be in the White…18 Dec 2024HANSARDMigration and Border SecurityI agree with the Home Secretary, who was right to highlight that 2023 was a year of shame for a Government who had repeatedly promised net migration of tens of thousands a year,…02 Dec 2024HANSARDChagos Islands: UK-US Defence RelationshipThe presentation of what the American Administration believe is a fantasy. Joe Biden is going—in fact, many think that he has gone already. I have been contacted by very senior…02 Dec 2024HANSARDSpeaker’s StatementFurther to that point of order, Mr Speaker. In the last six months of 2005, the United Kingdom took over the rotating presidency of the European Union, and Prime Minister Blair…25 Nov 2024HANSARDEngagementsThank you, Mr Speaker. Within a couple of days we had learned of a third assassination attempt. Charges have been laid, and behind it is Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. Has the time…13 Nov 2024HANSARDChagos IslandsMauritius has no legal or historical claim to sovereignty over a group of islands that are 1,300 miles away from it, and the opinion of the International Court of Justice was…13 Nov 2024HANSARDChagos Islands(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs if he will make a statement on the transfer of sovereignty of the Chagos islands…13 Nov 2024HANSARDEngagementsQ9. I am sure the Prime Minister and the whole House would wish to congratulate Donald Trump on his landslide victory last week— [ Interruption. ]13 Nov 2024HANSARDBudget ResolutionsI think we have to give credit to the Chancellor for a Budget that, in political presentation, was very clever. The SNP has had an absolutely rotten day, and the decision to put…30 Oct 2024HANSARDBudget ResolutionsNice try! I was just gently teasing, that was all. We heard “invest, invest, invest” at the start of the Budget statement, and I thought, yes, that is absolutely what we need—not…30 Oct 2024HANSARDBudget ResolutionsMaybe one or two Members of the House ought simply to grow up, but there we are—it’s a bit sad. I have worked in private business, and I do think picking winners is wrong. I think…30 Oct 2024HANSARDBudget ResolutionsI have had plenty of jobs—well, apart from being in the European Parliament, which doesn’t really count, obviously. What is dismal about this Budget is the growth forecast. If the…30 Oct 2024HANSARDBudget ResolutionsNo, please sit down—honestly, you’ve had a go. We are in much deeper trouble than anybody on either Front Bench dares to admit. That is a reality we should all face. We have a…30 Oct 2024HANSARDBritish Indian Ocean Territory: SovereigntySince the mistaken opening of negotiations by the last Government on the sovereignty of the Chagos islands, it turns out that the British high commissioner and others appear to…22 Oct 2024