Contributions
1,953 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD Representation of the People BillAs the hon. Gentleman knows, I respect him enormously, but there are a number of other points that I want to make. If he thinks he can answer the question that I have posed, let…02 Mar 2026HANSARD Representation of the People BillI take it from his intervention that the hon. Gentleman is now saying that 16 and 17-year-olds are not children. Is that his point? I have tried to squeeze the logical…02 Mar 2026HANSARD Representation of the People BillMy right hon. Friend makes a very good point. I am a believer in democracy, and being punished at the ballot box is a fundamental foundation stone of democracy. None of us should…02 Mar 2026HANSARDTopical QuestionsAn estimated 48,000 new entrants to the construction sector are needed every year to meet the Government’s target of 1.5 million new homes. Apprenticeship starts come to about…23 Feb 2026HANSARDTopical QuestionsAs my hon. Friends have highlighted, under a Labour mayor and a Labour Government, house building in London has collapsed to less than 60% of the target. In October, the Secretary…23 Feb 2026HANSARD Local Government ReorganisationI thank the Secretary of State for advance sight of his statement. The Secretary of State has caused chaos, confusion and a significant cost to the taxpayer by cancelling local…23 Feb 2026HANSARD Local Government ReorganisationI thank the Secretary of State for advance sight of his statement. “This Government have moved seamlessly from arrogance to incompetence, and now to cowardice. Some 3.7 million…22 Jan 2026HANSARD Holocaust Memorial BillThe Bill returns to the House at an important time of year. Next week, we mark Holocaust Memorial Day, when communities across the country will pause to remember the 6 million…20 Jan 2026HANSARDLocal Elections: Cancellation(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government if he will make a statement on the cancellation of scheduled local government…19 Jan 2026HANSARDLocal Elections: CancellationThis Government have moved seamlessly from arrogance to incompetence, and now to cowardice. Some 3.7 million people are being denied the right to vote. It was the Government who…19 Jan 2026HANSARDLocal Elections: CancellationOn a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. The Minister referred earlier, and did so again in her final comments, to the cancellation or delay of the 2020 local government…19 Jan 2026HANSARDTopical QuestionsI am sure we all agree that we cannot have sustainable communities if we do not have sustainable high streets. Would the Secretary of State agree that a fourfold increase in…12 Jan 2026HANSARDTopical QuestionsSo many words, yet no answer. I asked the Secretary of State specifically about a fourfold increase, like the one that the White Lion on Streatham High Road in his constituency…12 Jan 2026HANSARDTopical QuestionsAll the Secretary of State had to do was repeat his earlier commitments. He chose not to do so. Labour’s unfair funding review shows that the party is consciously starving…24 Nov 2025HANSARDTopical QuestionsThe Prime Minister, the Chancellor and even the Secretary of State himself have said that they will not touch council tax bands in this Parliament. Does he not recognise that a…24 Nov 2025HANSARDProperty Service ChargesI start by putting on record my gratitude, which I suspect echoes the views of many right hon. and hon. Members, to my hon. Friend the Member for Reigate (Rebecca Paul) for…30 Oct 2025HANSARDStamp Duty Land TaxYes, pretzel-like. One after another, the speakers on the Lib Dem Benches stood up and said, “We agree that this is a bad tax. We agree that this is a counterproductive tax. We…28 Oct 2025HANSARDStamp Duty Land TaxI thank my right hon. Friend the shadow Chancellor for setting out the opening case for the Opposition’s position on stamp duty. I feel particularly passionate about this policy,…28 Oct 2025HANSARDStamp Duty Land TaxMy hon. Friend is spot-on. That point was very well highlighted by my good friend, my hon. Friend the Member for Bridgwater (Sir Ashley Fox), who said that official Opposition…28 Oct 2025HANSARDStamp Duty Land TaxIn a minute—I have a punchline to get to. That is not what we heard. What we heard was, “We think this is a bad tax that should be got rid of, but we are not going to vote to say…28 Oct 2025