Shadow Secretary of State for Transport
ConservativeMP for Basildon and Billericay
“Opposition Members genuinely wish the whole Transport team well ahead of the weekend and next week—although if they are moved up, along or down, at least they will not have to answer the many written parliamentary questions that we have put…”
“First and foremost, I offer my condolences to the family of Shaun Burton. In addition, our thoughts are with all those injured, some of whom are still in hospital with very serious injuries. I and all my colleagues on the Conservative Bench…”
“Since coming to power, the Labour party has increased the bus fare cap by 50% from £2 to £3. But one area that has not seen that rise is Greater Manchester where the last Conservative Government gave over £1 billion to support its mass tran…”
“I do not know what my honourable Friend the Member for Broadland and Fakenham (Jerome Mayhew) and the honourable Member for Selby (Keir Mather) are going to do when they are not spending so much time together, week in, week out. We are gath…”
“On a point of order, Mr Speaker. I seek your guidance on two matters relating to the completeness of ministerial answers to this House. On 24 April, in answer to a written parliamentary question tabled by my honourable Friend the Member for…”
“Over the past few decades there has been a consensus in politics that disability should not prevent people from living fulfilling and successful lives. However, I recognise that, despite strong standards and the implementation of new measur…”
“We still do not know how or what the Government want to achieve with state control of the railways. They say that there will be simpler fares, but the public are seeing simply more expensive fares. They say that passenger growth is necessar…”
“I beg to move, That this House believes that it is wrong to increase the main fuel duty rates on 1 September, then again on 1 December 2026, with a further increase on 1 March 2027, by a total of five pence per litre, as global oil prices a…”
“On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. In written parliamentary question 99967, I asked the Department of Health and Social Care to publish training modules and guidance related to first cousin marriage and genetic risk. The Minister re…”
“On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker.…”
“I thank the Minister for advance sight of the statement, although obviously some of it was reported in The Times earlier this week. I welcome the fact that the Government have published the road safety strategy, and I welcome the broad ambi…”
“Happy new year to you, Mr Speaker, and to the Government. Yesterday, the Minister for nature, the honourable Member for Coventry East (Mary Creagh), told the House that there was no national bus fare cap under the last Conservative Governme…”
“I beg to move, That this House declines to give a Second Reading to the Railways Bill because it prioritises putting the rail system under state control, rather than prioritising passengers and taxpayers, and the effective and efficient run…”
“The real issue here is hiding in plain sight. It is on the annunciator. This is all about bearing down on inflation, because this Government have already catastrophically failed to keep it at 2%, where the Conservative party left it at the …”
“On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. At Transport questions, my honourable Friend the Member for Bridlington and The Wolds (Charlie Dewhirst) asked the Transport Secretary whether a pay-per-mile charge would be introduced, as had been…”
“There is no passenger growth commitment in the Railways Bill, just the expectation of inflation-busting fare rises in the Budget. Holidaymakers are being used like a piñata, with a 13% rise in air passenger duty already in prospect, and air…”
“On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. The Cabinet Office guide to parliamentary work is very clear that “Every question should be approached with a predisposition to give relevant information fully. There should be no inconsistencies b…”
“I am grateful to the Secretary of State for her statement and for advance sight of it. The statement should have been brought to the House months ago. The Secretary of State surely recognises that today marks a delay and an acknowledgment o…”
“Thank you very much indeed, Mr Speaker. I also thank the Secretary of State for her welcome last night, and welcome the Under-Secretary of State for Transport, the honourable Member for Selby (Keir Mather) to his new role. I associate mysel…”
“The Minister should see how committed we were in office, because I gave more than a billion pounds to Manchester for that scheme and for setting it up. Indeed, the National Audit Office recently praised our £2 bus fare scheme, saying it “ac…”
“The shadow Chancellor is making an excellent speech. Does he agree that the danger is that if Governments do not have a prudent financial position, they end up in the situation that we are now seeing, with the interest on Government debt go…”
“People across Basildon and Billericay, and indeed across the country, want to see more jobs in energy production and to see cheaper energy. What they do not understand is why the Government are backing some but not all forms of energy. Why …”
“Does the Leader of the House agree that it is wholly unacceptable for a senior official at His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs to refuse to respond to repeated reasonable requests from me on behalf of my constituents? We have correspondence g…”
“Heads of Departments have said that 60% attendance in the office is the best balance for civil servants working in Government Departments, but in an answer to a recent written parliamentary question from my honourable Friend the Member for …”
“The jury system is essential to protect us against oppressive judges, malicious individuals—sometimes malicious police officers—or even Governments. The Minister speaks of the most serious cases. Is it not a fact that the most serious impac…”
“One of the most important things we can do, as the Lord Chancellor seems to indicate, is reduce the number of cases going into the system by reducing reoffending where possible, including intergenerational reoffending. Given that 65% of boy…”
“Who does the Chief Secretary to the Treasury think is most responsible for the extra 276,000 people unemployed since the time of the Budget? Is it the national insurance jobs tax, is it the business rates increases, or is it the attacks tha…”
“Whether at Asda in Basildon or Waitrose in Billericay, there have been real issues with shop thefts, particularly by organised gangs, which often come from outside the local area. They come in, ransack stores and then drive away. What is th…”
“5. What steps she has taken to promote British musical acts internationally.…”
“This is another issue where the Conservatives can perhaps give more information to those on the Government Benches. We have real issues in many parts of rural Britain with the energy infrastructure that has to go alongside solar farms—for e…”
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