Liberal DemocratMP for Honiton and Sidmouth
“Natural England proposed that overall livestock grazing limits should be reduced to reduce overgrazing, and it was not specific to ponies—it was about overgrazing by sheep and cattle. Ponies can help to graze invasive grasses and promote bi…”
“Will the honourable member give way? Of course I will. I'm grateful to him. And in recognizing the challenge of planting enough trees on the land, I wonder whether he has thought more about capturing carbon in the ocean. He and I share the …”
“Madam Deputy Speaker, I would like to pay tribute firstly to the honourable member for Tunbridge Wells for making this debate happen this afternoon. I've been to see his bookshelf and the trust me, the books on on strategy and military affa…”
“I'm grateful. I have a constituent who is an official, a civil servant, who worked in support of that inquiry, the inquiry, and he cannot fathom having had emotional interviews with so many victims of the crimes that we're discussing today.…”
“Much of the commentary on the defence investment plan is on the threat to the UK mainland, our interests and our assets. First, does the Secretary of State think that it is more useful to think about the Russian threat to NATO in general te…”
“Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. It was barbaric that 185,000 babies were taken from young mothers across a quarter of a century until just 50 years ago. And the Prime Minister is right to say how wrong that was. And in apologising on behal…”
“Madam Deputy Speaker. A government consultation on changes to the planning system closed on the 10th of March, and that included consulting on weakening flood protection in planning guidance and could lead to greater housebuilding on land p…”
“In June last year, the UK sanctioned Israeli far right minister Bezalel Smotrich for inciting violence against Palestinian communities. In recent weeks, Smotrich has issued an order to displace the Palestinian Bedouin community. The UK posi…”
“The real choice before us is whether we prepare our economy for the future or watch other countries seize the opportunities that we allow to pass us by. The UK has every reason to be proud of its record on international climate leadership a…”
“The Great South West pan-regional partnership produced an agrifood growth plan which I commend to the Secretary of State. It was launched by Baroness Batters back in February. The south-west region accounts for one third of England’s dairy …”
“Q14. Tony Blair suggested that at the beginning of his premiership he was at his most popular and least capable, and talked about ending his time in office at his least popular and most capable. For the sake of people in the south-west and …”
“So far, the debate has been about how much funding should be found for defence. We should also think about the resignation speech by the former Minister for the Armed Forces, the honourable Member for Birmingham Selly Oak (Al Carns), who sa…”
“A week ago, the Prime Minister said that the UK would support the deal between the United States and Iran by standing up a “defensive, independent, multilateral mission”. At the planning stage, that was designed to restore freedom of naviga…”
“I am grateful for the opportunity to raise the issue of sewage pollution in the River Otter, a river that flows through many of the Devon communities that I represent. I should say at the outset that, this morning, I declined an offer of ho…”
“Earlier today, I and other members of the Foreign Affairs Committee met the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross’s regional delegation to the UK. The ICRC makes the point that while it is not a non-governmental organisation,…”
“At the end of March, the Foreign Affairs Committee published a report into disinformation diplomacy. We investigated how malign actors are seeking to undermine democracy in the UK from overseas using information manipulation and interferenc…”
“I pay credit to my honourable Friend the Member for Yeovil (Adam Dance) for working with the Backbench Business Committee to secure this debate. He knows that the south-west is the worst-affected region for NHS dentistry—according to NHS da…”
“I congratulate the Secretary of State for Defence on his appointment. Given his experience as Security Minister, few Members of the House understand the threats better than he does. It was welcome to learn last Friday that the Government ha…”
“President Trump spoke to the BBC yesterday and said that his relationship with Prime Minister Netanyahu was such that: “If I tell him to do something, he does it.” It is all very well for the British Government to make contingency plans, su…”
“US sanctions on Cuba have been stepped up since Marco Rubio became US Secretary of State. Will the Minister talk about what representations the UK Government have made in Washington about the so-called Donroe doctrine as it relates to Cuba?…”
“In 2023, South West Water was fined little more than £2 million for seven pollution incidents dating back seven years at South West Water facilities, including at Kilmington. Now we learn that it has been fined less than £2 million for supp…”
“The honourable Member will recall that the Conservative Humble Address motion required the sharing of all communications “between ministers and Lord Mandelson, in the six months prior to his appointment”, and all communications among “minis…”
“Many young people get their first job on the checkouts. The boss of Next, Lord Wolfson, said that two years ago Next received 10 applications for every job vacancy, but that number has since risen to 19 applications per vacancy. He said not…”
“I am grateful to the honourable Member for giving way and for securing this debate and choosing this topic. He is so right that there are older and vulnerable people who are not able to access banking services or to access cash because of h…”
“On the point about Ukraine, we learned today about the delay to a ban on jet fuel and diesel made from Russian crude oil and refined in places like India and Turkey. Does the Secretary of State accept that the British people do not want to …”
“Last week in the Gracious Speech, the Government pledged to introduce a new Representation of the People Bill. Constitutional issues such as the electoral system can seem far removed from people’s daily lives, but that could not be further …”
“When Olly Robbins appeared before us on the Foreign Affairs Committee, he was asked why he did not view the summary document produced by UK Security Vetting. He pointed to the sensitivity of the vetting interviews—what the Minister calls th…”
“I am grateful to the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister for his statement. He said that, “in line with the process agreed by the Intelligence and Security Committee, the Government will not publish information that undermines or threaten…”
“My honourable Friend mentions the business of medical decisions. In most cases, MPs and our caseworkers do not have the medical knowledge to be able to determine somebody’s fitness to drive. Although it is lovely for us to be able to restor…”
“Q7. Leaders can delegate responsibility but cannot delegate accountability. Lord Carrington learned that in the Army, and he lived it as Foreign Secretary when Argentina invaded the Falklands. In 1982, he held himself accountable for the fa…”
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