Contributions
1,953 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDProperty TaxesNo, I will not give way. The hon. Member had his chance. This is the point: the Government love putting up taxes. We in the Conservative party put up taxes when we had to; this…03 Sept 2025HANSARD English Devolution and Community Empowerment BillMy hon. Friend’s point goes to the heart of these proposals. For all Labour’s warm words about community engagement, community voice and communities actually having a say, that is…02 Sept 2025HANSARD English Devolution and Community Empowerment BillI beg to move an amendment, to leave out from “That” to the end of the Question and add: “this House declines to give a Second Reading to the English Devolution and Community…02 Sept 2025HANSARD English Devolution and Community Empowerment BillI think the hon. Member said the quiet bit out loud: this is about putting up taxes on local people. That is what this legislation is fundamentally about; we know that to be true.…02 Sept 2025HANSARD English Devolution and Community Empowerment BillI will mention Paul Bristow later in my speech. The difference is that under Conservative mayors, we keep costs down. Ben Houchen, for example, is delivering a zero precept. If…02 Sept 2025HANSARD English Devolution and Community Empowerment BillThe hon. Gentleman really does need to keep up. I addressed those comments at the time. I have been to Stockton. I have campaigned with my good friend and colleague the…02 Sept 2025HANSARDBritish Indian Ocean Territory: SovereigntyThe hon. Gentleman, for whom I have a huge amount of respect, keeps saying that the Government had no choice but to do this deal. I do not believe that to be true. My successor,…02 Jul 2025HANSARDDefence Spending: Cross-party TalksThere are Members on the Government Front Bench who know a thing or two about leadership—I can say that with confidence, because the Prime Minister is not in that place. The…30 Jun 2025HANSARD G7 and NATO SummitsI welcome the element of the Prime Minister’s statement where he explicitly links defence, diplomacy and domestic security. He is absolutely right to highlight that…26 Jun 2025HANSARD Armed Forces DayDoes the Minister recognise that the UK’s armed forces are a visible manifestation of the philosophy and values that underpin the country? If society does not value the armed…26 Jun 2025HANSARDTopical QuestionsDame Karen Pierce is one of our most senior and experienced diplomats, and I very much welcome her appointment as an envoy to the western Balkans, but since her appointment, we…24 Jun 2025HANSARDMiddle EastWill the Foreign Secretary now concede that the international community’s unwillingness to take robust action through things like the snapback mechanism and the JCPOA is part of…23 Jun 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) BillI have no doubt that the vast majority in this House—probably every single hon. and right hon. Member—is sympathetic to the underlying motivation of the Bill, which is to ease…20 Jun 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) BillI will refer to the hon. Gentleman’s point later in my speech. I will try not to take too many interventions, because many people have not had the chance to speak in the debate…20 Jun 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) BillThe hon. Lady asks me to speculate about a set of circumstances that are personal and painful. I suspect that she and I both know that the outcome could have been very different,…20 Jun 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) BillThe hon. Lady makes an incredibly important point, and I will touch on that briefly in my remarks. I am minded to take no more interventions, because otherwise I will be stealing…20 Jun 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) BillI need to make progress. A number of professional bodies have said they do not have the capacity. They do not have enough people to fill the slots that this Bill demands of them.…20 Jun 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) BillThe hon. Lady makes an important point, but I refer her to my second question. Those bodies say that they do not have the people to populate those panels, yet that is what the…20 Jun 2025HANSARD GibraltarThe right hon. Gentleman will know—and he will not take this personally —that for the most part I think his Government’s ability to negotiate is appalling. The only reason I have…12 Jun 2025HANSARDChinese Embassy DevelopmentThe Prime Minister, the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Foreign Secretary have all had recent, high-level interactions with Ministers of the Chinese Communist party—the…09 Jun 2025