Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill: Committee (6th Day) (30 Jan 2012)
Mon, 30 Jan 2012 17:15:00 +0000
Lord Bach: My Lords, in opening this group of amendments, I shall do my best to be as brief as I can. The Committee is obviously in very tolerant mood this afternoon, as was shown to the noble Lord, Lord Thomas of Gresford, who made an excellent speech in favour of his amendments in the first group. His speech was almost as impressive as the report of Lord Justice Jackson in its completeness and, I was...
Taxation: Avoidance — Question for Short Debate (26 Jan 2012)
Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:19:00 +0000
Lord Phillips of Sudbury: My Lords, it is perhaps a measure of how the subject of this debate is viewed that only around 10 Members of the House are present, apart from the speakers. I fear that the whole issue of tax avoidance or evasion-I do not see the difference-is of the most fundamental importance to this country at this time. Some of the greatest traditions of our country revolve around integrity and equality...
Pension Funds (Fiduciary Duties) (20 Jan 2012)
Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:58:00 +0000
Steve Webb: May I begin by congratulating the hon. Member for Dagenham and Rainham (Jon Cruddas) on securing this debate, which raises issues that I know are of real concern for many people? As he pointed out, it is just over a year since we were both here debating the same subject. One of my colleagues who observed our last debate said that she felt that agreement was breaking out violently all over...
Opposition Day — [Un-allotted Day]: Rail Fares (11 Jan 2012)
Wed, 11 Jan 2012 15:49:00 +0000
Julie Hilling: I start with the point that I wanted to make to the Secretary of State during her speech. There was a global financial crash; although the previous Prime Minister may have been a very powerful man, he did not cause a financial crash in America, Japan, Germany, Europe and the rest of the world. In my postbag and in my surgeries I increasingly encounter stories from ever more desperate...
Backbench Business: Debt Advice and Debt Management (1 Dec 2011)
Thu, 01 Dec 2011 16:58:00 +0000
Nicholas Boles: This has been a fascinating debate and I congratulate the hon. Member for Stockton North (Alex Cunningham) and my hon. Friend the Member for Chatham and Aylesford (Tracey Crouch) on managing to secure it now, in a week when we have learned from the Office for Budget Responsibility, the Institute for Fiscal Studies and others that real disposable incomes for most people in Britain will not...
Backbench Business — [Un-allotted Day]: Manufacturing (24 Nov 2011)
Thu, 24 Nov 2011 16:51:00 +0000
Iain Wright: My hon. Friend is correct, and to conclude this part of my speech, I shall quote the director-general of the CBI with specific regard to that decision on feed-in tariffs, which was taken without notice to the industry. In keeping with our football metaphor, the director-general said: “Moving the goalposts doesn’t just destroy projects. It creates a mood of uncertainty that puts...
Members of Parliament (Change of Political Party Affiliation) (23 Nov 2011)
Wed, 23 Nov 2011 13:34:00 +0000
Chris Skidmore: I beg to move, That leave be given to bring in a Bill to provide that any Member of Parliament who changes voluntarily his or her political party affiliation described on the ballot paper at the time he or she was elected is deemed to have vacated his or her seat; and for connected purposes. This Bill seeks to ensure that any Member who decides to change parties-in other words, crosses...
Northern Ireland Assembly: Private Members’ Business: Mobile Phones: Roaming Charges (15 Nov 2011)
Tue, 15 Nov 2011 15:15:00 +0000
Mike Nesbitt: First, I acknowledge Mr Newton’s point that this is not a matter over which the House has any control. Indeed, were we to be discussing European matters, perhaps we might be better set to take a look at the implications for cohesion funding for 2014 and beyond, because I believe that that has very serious implications for the development of our economy. However, we are where we are. We...
Protection of Freedoms Bill: Second Reading (8 Nov 2011)
Tue, 08 Nov 2011 17:38:00 +0000
Lord Henley: My Lords, respect for individual freedoms and civil liberties is one of the cornerstones of our parliamentary democracy. It is the duty of the coalition Government, as it is of any Government, to protect civil liberties and hard-won freedoms. Of course, it is also our duty to protect the security of the public. It is undoubtedly the case that we live in a dangerous world. We have to contend...
University Technical Colleges (2 Nov 2011)
Wed, 02 Nov 2011 19:30:00 +0000
Rob Wilson: I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Harlow (Robert Halfon) on securing this important debate, and thank him for encouraging me to contribute to it, albeit very briefly. I am a great admirer of the work that he has done to promote education, both in the House and in his constituency. In the short time for which he has been a Member of Parliament, he has made an enormous contribution...
[John Robertson in the Chair] — Parliamentary Lobbying (2 Nov 2011)
Wed, 02 Nov 2011 09:30:00 +0000
Paul Flynn: Thank you for calling me to speak, Mr Robertson. “It’s an issue that crosses party lines and has tainted our politics for too long...an issue that exposes the far-too-cosy relationship between politics, government, business and money. I’m talking about lobbying-and we all know how it works. The lunches, the hospitality, the quiet word in your ear, the ex-ministers and...
Backbench Business — [34th Allotted Day]: National Referendum on the European Union (24 Oct 2011)
Mon, 24 Oct 2011 21:29:00 +0100
Martin Vickers: Many Members have referred to the part that they played in the 1975 referendum, and sadly I am one of those who is old enough to have participated. It is interesting to note that that referendum followed a renegotiation of our terms with the Common Market, as it then was, and the question put to the electorate was: “Do we stay in or do we leave?” I voted to leave, and I am pleased...
Public Bill Committee: Public Bodies Bill [Lords]: Schedule 5 - Power to modify or transfer functions: bodies and offices (11 Oct 2011)
Tue, 11 Oct 2011 12:30:00 +0100
Charlie Elphicke: That is a very good question. How do we know that an indicative pledge will turn into a real and funded one? As my hon. Friend will know, having been to the City of London and spent time with the chief executive of the London stock exchange, the London stock exchange was excited about the idea of having bonds on its exchange and excited about the port of Dover-just as it was excited...
Public Bill Committee: Public Bodies Bill [Lords]: Schedule 1 - Power to abolish: bodies and offices (13 Sep 2011)
Tue, 13 Sep 2011 16:45:00 +0100
Lisa Nandy: I am troubled by being on the same side of the argument as Michael Heseltine. As far as I am aware, that has never happened to me before. I suppose in the spirit of coalition politics, I ought to accept it. However, I absolutely agree with the remark he made in The Times, referred to earlier by my hon. Friend the Member for Leicester South: that the abolition of the RDAs and the announcement...
[Mr Charles Walker in the Chair] — Flood and Water Management (8 Sep 2011)
Thu, 08 Sep 2011 16:47:00 +0100
Jamie Reed: I am grateful for your guidance, Mrs Main. I fear that I would have strayed for some considerable length. The report highlights a series of concerns surrounding the reduction in funding available for flood defences. It states that “to maintain the current level of protection in the face of increasing flood risks requires increased investment and the significant CSR cuts will increase...
Business without Debate: Public Confidence in the Media and Police (20 Jul 2011)
Wed, 20 Jul 2011 18:36:00 +0100
Ivan Lewis: The gravity of the issues we are debating cannot be overstated. They raise fundamental questions about our society and our democracy. A story-at-all-costs, no-limits culture at one newspaper and almost certainly beyond started as a means of getting private information about public figures and culminated in the tragedy and horror of Milly Dowler’s phone being hacked, with yet more...
[Mr Charles Walker in the Chair] — Future of CDC (14 Jul 2011)
Thu, 14 Jul 2011 14:30:00 +0100
Malcolm Bruce: I certainly agree that we want a partnership that looks at the best way of optimising and maximising production from which the community can benefit. I know that the Government have said that they are unwilling to direct CDC into particular sectors, but I hope that the Secretary of State will indicate that he will also not be telling it not to go into particular sectors. I hope that the...
Opposition Day — [19th Allotted Day — Half Day]: Rupert Murdoch and News Corporation Bid for BSkyB (13 Jul 2011)
Wed, 13 Jul 2011 17:02:00 +0100
Edward Miliband: I beg to move, That this House believes that it is in the public interest for Rupert Murdoch and News Corporation to withdraw their bid for BSkyB. The motion stands in my name and those of right hon. and hon. Members across the House: the former leader of the Liberal Democrats, the right hon. and learned Member for North East Fife (Sir Menzies Campbell), the leader of the Democratic Unionist...
Employment (North-West) (6 Jul 2011)
Wed, 06 Jul 2011 15:34:00 +0100
Iain Wright: I am particularly pleased that we are serving under your chairmanship today, Mr Bayley. For my sins, I was campaign manager for the Oldham East and Saddleworth by-election earlier this year. I have fond and vivid memories of driving through the snow on the M62 to deliver the keynote speech for the celebration of achievements at a spectacular and ambitious college called York college. I...
Finance (No. 3) Bill: New Clause 12 — Report on capital allowances (4 Jul 2011)
Mon, 04 Jul 2011 20:30:00 +0100
Robert Smith: I support amendment 51, tabled by my right hon. Friend the Member for Gordon (Malcolm Bruce). I remind the House of my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests as a shareholder in Shell and a vice-chair of the British offshore oil and gas industry all-party parliamentary group. The key aim of the amendment is to introduce damage limitation and to rebuild the confidence and...