Contributions
956 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDTrade Agreements ProgrammeThe Liberal Democrats have long called for a closer trading relationship with Europe after the disastrous negotiations by the previous Conservative Government. We welcomed last…12 Jun 2025HANSARDSpending Review 2025London Members were hoping to hear more about infrastructure investment in the capital today. We are looking for spending on the Bakerloo line extension, and spending to deal with…11 Jun 2025HANSARDBank Closures and Banking HubsIt has been a pleasure to be part of the debate. I thank the hon. Member for Blyth and Ashington (Ian Lavery) and the right hon. Member for Tatton (Esther McVey) for bringing it…05 Jun 2025HANSARDTopical QuestionsFellow right hon. and hon. Members will have noticed that some political parties have begun accepting cryptocurrency donations—far be it from me to suggest that this might be an…05 Jun 2025HANSARDEU RelationsI am going to resist all attempts to involve me in a love-in. However, the Liberal Democrats very much welcome the progress that has been made in the UK-EU reset. We are…05 Jun 2025HANSARDProduct Regulation and Metrology Bill [Lords]It is a real pleasure to take part in this debate on product regulation and metrology, not least because it gives me the opportunity to highlight the work done by my former…04 Jun 2025HANSARDProduct Regulation and Metrology Bill [Lords]Following that hymn of praise to metrology, I will now turn to the amendments. The Liberal Democrats welcome many of the measures proposed in the Bill. The legislation seeks to…04 Jun 2025HANSARDProduct Regulation and Metrology Bill [Lords]I thank the hon. Gentleman for that further information about the ceramics industry, which I now feel so much better informed about. He makes a valuable point. When we talk about…04 Jun 2025HANSARDProduct Regulation and Metrology Bill [Lords]It is outrageous, yes. Similar situations have been seen with popular household items such as Coco Pops, butter and crisps. We were glad to see that, while the Bill was in the…04 Jun 2025HANSARDEU-UK SummitI am assuming that the Conservative Government were happy with the terms that they were able to negotiate, so what is the problem with extending it? I simply reflect on the…22 May 2025HANSARDEU-UK SummitIt is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Vickers. I thank the Backbench Business Committee for securing time for this debate. The Liberal Democrats were clear about…22 May 2025HANSARDEU-UK SummitI am so glad that the hon. Gentleman raised that point, because what he will need to accept in time is that the way forward for cheaper electricity bills in this country is to…22 May 2025HANSARDEU-UK SummitI disagree; it is too little. Whatever the Government have said, it is too little for the Liberal Democrats. We would have gone further, although I certainly welcome the progress…22 May 2025HANSARDEU-UK SummitI am so sorry to hear about the resentment that the hon. Gentleman feels at the deal that his Government negotiated. However, he must accept that that is the basis on which the…22 May 2025HANSARDEU-UK SummitThat is an excellent point; the issue is that the hospitality industry frequently seeks to recruit people for short-term work, which is often seasonal. Those jobs are not the kind…22 May 2025HANSARD Independent Sentencing ReviewI welcome the Government’s commitment to extending the pilot scheme to give free sentencing transcripts for rape and serious sexual offences—something for which I have long…22 May 2025HANSARDBusiness and the EconomyI am grateful to the hon. Lady for her intervention. I have engaged the Minister directly on this point and shown him examples of how the cuts have directly impacted on pensioners…21 May 2025HANSARDBusiness and the EconomyI share the bemusement of my hon. Friend the Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross (Jamie Stone) that we on these Benches are being called the “other Government”. I…21 May 2025HANSARDBusiness and the EconomyMy hon. Friend is exactly right; there are so many things currently holding our small businesses back. The Conservatives failed to reform business rates. We are now looking to the…21 May 2025HANSARDBusiness and the EconomyI thank my hon. Friend for making that point—her constituency is more rural than mine, I admit. She is right that we would also like to see the Government urgently U-turn on the…21 May 2025