Liberal Democrat Spokesperson (Europe)
Liberal DemocratMP for Surrey Heath
“Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. And can I draw the House's attention to my register of interest? Having had the privilege of visiting Gibraltar in July of last year, I warmly welcome this agreement and congratulate the Minister. The govern…”
“Mr. speaker, it's clear that the UK, EU reset summit that was initially scheduled for July and now delayed to October, that that cancellation has not cancelled the problems, that that summit was, at least in part, designed to address. So I …”
“Thank you very much.…”
“Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. And can I thank the Prime Minister for his statement today and for the apology on behalf of the state? And can I also acknowledge the visitors that we have in the gallery today and the extraordinary testimon…”
“Question number one. Question number one. Mr. Speaker.…”
“Since we have been in the Chamber, it has been reported online that senior military personnel are deeply unhappy with the DIP and, indeed, that the Chief of the Defence Staff asked the Secretary of State to remove a line that suggested that…”
“During a recent bombing of Tehran, a power outage hit that city and 20,000 bots promoting the cause of Scottish nationalism turned off instantaneously. I say that not to question in any way the legitimacy of a political position—admittedly …”
“It is a pleasure to speak in this debate at the start of Armed Forces Week, and as a member of the armed forces parliamentary scheme—it has been the honour of a lifetime to be a member for the past couple of years. It has been wonderful to …”
“The Government lauded the EU-UK reset deal as potentially delivering a modest yet none the less material 0.2% uplift to GDP per annum. That equates to about £6 billion per year, or £500 million per month. Given that the EU has announced a d…”
“On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. As you and Members across the House know, there has been widespread speculation in the press and this House over the last 24 to 48 hours that either the Prime Minister or the Secretary of State for…”
“6. What steps she is taking help improve safety at road junctions.…”
“I associate myself and my honourable Friends with the condolences paid to the families of the crew who died in the tragic helicopter crash last week. The defence investment plan is still not published, and after nine months, industry waits …”
“The reports from Kinnaird Avenue are deeply distressing. My thoughts are with the victim and his family. I pay tribute to the residents who did the extraordinary thing of running towards danger, intervening to restrain the attacker and help…”
“I should like to quote a few words from the honourable Member for Huntingdon (Ben Obese-Jecty), speaking just a couple of months ago in this Chamber: “This month marks 20 years since I returned from serving on Operation Telic 7 in Iraq. Whi…”
“10. What recent discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on the UK’s participation in the EU’s internal electricity market.…”
“1. What steps he is taking to reform the family courts.…”
“I congratulate the Conservative Lords on insisting on amendment 37. However, I wonder whether the shadow Secretary of State might have a word with the Surrey Heath Conservative Association, which has campaigned vigorously against parish cou…”
“When the Prime Minister asked his officials in January 2025, as he surely did—perhaps with an element of surprise in his voice—“So, Peter actually passed his security clearance, did he?”, what was the scenario that then unfolded? Did Sir Ol…”
“My question follows on perfectly from that of the right honourable Member for Dwyfor Meirionnydd (Liz Saville Roberts). Lord Robertson said that we are ill prepared for the threats of today, never mind tomorrow. While Britain may not be und…”
“I thank the honourable Member for Farnham and Bordon (Gregory Stafford) for calling this important debate. Like him, my inbox has overflowed since I was elected last year, with concerned parents writing to me about the state of special educ…”
“I genuinely thank the Minister for his statement, for advance sight of it, and for his long engagement with me on these issues. The process for negotiating this treaty has been, I am sorry to say, utterly shambolic, from its beginning under…”
“The Prime Minister is right to suggest that the tremors provoked by this conflict will reverberate long after the kinetic fighting has finished. There is perhaps no better example of that than Cyprus, where Government officials, all the way…”
“From the first moments that the attempted rocket launches towards Diego Garcia were reported over the weekend there has been growing speculation, fuelled mainly by Israel, that Iran’s strike capacity now stretches far beyond what we previou…”
“It is abundantly clear to any fair-minded geopolitical observer that the US-Israeli actions in Iran were commenced without the cover of law and without a plan to follow the initial impulse of kinetic violence. But it is equally clear that t…”
“Given the vital role of Lloyd’s of London in underwriting global trade and providing war risk cover to vessels currently stuck in the Persian gulf, what conversations has the Minister had—or what conversations is he aware of—with Lloyd’s to…”
“Following the drone attack at RAF Akrotiri earlier this month, there has been growing disquiet within Cyprus and the Cypriot community about the continuing existence of the sovereign base areas. Given the absolute necessity of this defence …”
“In 2019, an attempt was made to physically attack me during the general election campaign, when a beer glass was thrown at my head. That was intimidating, but I recognise that it was nothing compared with the experience of those who are com…”
“Frimley Park hospital in my constituency is due to be rebuilt as part of the Government’s new hospital programme, but it has recently transpired that the cost of upgrading vital local transport infrastructure has been neither costed nor bud…”
“Since we came to the Chamber, a senior Iranian commander has said that they would seek to bomb Cyprus to force out US aircraft from our sovereign bases. As a guarantor of Cyprus’s security and as a sovereign presence on the island of Cyprus…”
“I am acutely aware that this urgent question comes in the aftermath of the attempt by the honourable Member for Clacton to land on the Chagos archipelago last week, and although I might admire the honourable Member’s audacity, I am deeply c…”
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