Contributions
1,177 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory BillReports today suggest that China and India are entering into negotiations to sign leases to islands surrounding those on which British military operations will continue under the…20 Oct 2025HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Fifth sitting)I want to make some brief remarks agreeing with my hon. Friend. I have negotiated with trade unions and I have a huge amount of respect for them. When I was cabinet member for…16 Oct 2025HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Fifth sitting)The Minister is absolutely correct when she says that a mayor should, if they are worth their salt, discuss and collaborate with business. I entirely agree with her on that, but…16 Oct 2025HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Fifth sitting)Does my hon. Friend the shadow Minister agree that part of our problem in many of our city centre locations, as he rightly outlined, is the impact of the vehicles being discarded…16 Oct 2025HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Sixth sitting)It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair as usual, Ms Vaz. I want to make a quick remark, notwithstanding the fact that the shadow Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Ruislip,…16 Oct 2025HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Sixth sitting)I agree with the comments made by the hon. Member for Stratford-on-Avon and I thank the hon. Member for Mid Dorset and North Poole, the Lib Dem spokeswoman, for her excellent…16 Oct 2025HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Sixth sitting)I echo some of the words of my hon. Friend the shadow Minister, and I want to talk briefly about one of the things I feel particularly passionate about in planning: the…16 Oct 2025HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Sixth sitting)The Minister is right to say that the NPPF outlines previously developed land, but it does not include density, so it is not necessarily relevant to this amendment. We seek an…16 Oct 2025HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Fifth sitting)I apologise for interrupting the Minister. I understand what she is saying, but we have seen a contradiction from the Government on Second Reading as well as in Committee. Is the…16 Oct 2025HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Fifth sitting)I do not want the hon. Lady to look so disheartened, because I am about to agree with her. She looked horrified that I was intervening on her. The hon. Lady is absolutely right…16 Oct 2025HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Fifth sitting)Will the hon. Lady give way?16 Oct 2025HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Fifth sitting)I rise to speak to new clause 19 in the name of the hon. Member for Brighton Pavilion. I wholly respect the reasons why she tabled it. However, I intend to speak against it,…16 Oct 2025HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Fifth sitting)I will—that is called an election. That is my point. I understand that the hon. Lady comes at this from a genuine position—I hope she accepts that I do, too—but the accountability…16 Oct 2025HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Fifth sitting)The suggestion fills me with horror—I am open in saying that it fills me with utter dread. The electoral process is the point. The hackles on my neck stand up when the words…16 Oct 2025HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Fifth sitting)I think that most campaigning groups are filled with people who are utterly enthralled and want to achieve the outcomes of that group. It is a bit of a generalisation to say that…16 Oct 2025HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Fifth sitting)Subsection (6) of the new clause’s proposed new sections clearly states the words I quoted, which include: “The mayor must…take into account”. Therefore, what the hon. Lady has…16 Oct 2025HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Fifth sitting)Correct me if I am wrong—it may be very rare, but sometimes I am—but earlier, the hon. Member for North West Cambridgeshire asked the Minister for assurance regarding the ability…16 Oct 2025HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Third sitting)I agree. I have had many a night out in Brighton, and I know that it is a very vibrant city. If it is good enough for Brighton to be named within that county, I do not see why the…14 Oct 2025HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Third sitting)The Minister says that it is not the Government who are making sure that it happens. I accept that. However, having been in her position for only a short time—that is not her…14 Oct 2025HANSARDEnglish Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Fourth sitting)Yes. I thank the Minister for involuntarily giving way to me—Sir John, your rule as Chair is a very happy time for me. The Minister may now think I am being facetious, but I…14 Oct 2025