Speeches by Fox.

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Alec. Britain’s coastal communities are among the most beautiful parts of our country, but behind that picture postcard image lies a reality that too often goes unnoticed—isolation, hidden deprivation and a lack of opportunity. As an MP representing a number of coa…”

“I want to give the Minister the opportunity to comment on how the right to guaranteed hours affects seasonal workers. We are enjoying some beautiful weather in Somerset. If that were followed by a period of rainy weather when some businesses have no need of staff, the Government’s legislation would compel employers to …”

“The Leader of the House is a decent and honourable man, and the fact that he is so clearly rattled this afternoon shows how uncomfortable he is with the statement that he has delivered to us. As he knows, the purpose of that Opposition day debate was to have a vote to delay recess by one day to scrutinise the new Prime…”

“Bridgwater high street has many excellent independent businesses, such as Styles Menswear, Soda & Rye, and Alise and Louie, but there are also too many dodgy Turkish barbers and criminal enterprises selling illegal cigarettes. Will the Home Secretary outline what additional funding she will give Avon and Somerset c…”

“I am the Member for Bridgwater. I am a former solicitor, and my interests are on the Register.”

“My hon. Friend will know that the right to guaranteed hours contained in the Employment Rights Act is of great concern to hospitality and leisure businesses. In Burnham-on-Sea in my constituency, they are worried that if they enjoy a period of good weather during which they engage more casual staff, followed by a perio…”

“I want to touch on the impact assessment that the Government have published. I do not know whether you have read it because it is over 100 pages long, but it sets out the scale and timing of any benefits associated with this reform. It says that that remains unclear and that the associated costs are uncertain. In fact,…”

“I agree with the hon. Lady: I think those volunteers have been poorly treated. The payments were never a salary, but they made it possible for people to continue volunteering. One officer of many years, who shared his thoughts with me, said: “Call Outs never come at a ‘convenient’ time. The money we earn would never re…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Alec. I thank theright hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael) for securing this debate and introducing it so very well. In Burnham-on-Sea, we have a fantastic coastguard team and rescue officers. They are dedicated volunteers who respond to incidents a…”

“I thank the Minister for advance sight of her statement, and for our recent conversations about flooding in Somerset. Flooding is a huge challenge for areas across the country. Some 6.3 million properties in England are currently located in areas that are at risk of flooding, including many in my constituency. When flo…”

“Will the Minister give way?”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Alec. I thank the hon. Member for Aberdeenshire North and Moray East (Seamus Logan) for securing this important debate. Fishing is not just an industry; to many it is a way of life, passed from one generation to the next. It is why so many people in our fishing com…”

“The Minister is drawing to the end of his time allocation, but could he explain to fishermen the benefits, as he sees them, of his Government signing away to the EU 12 years of access to our fishing waters?”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Vickers. This statutory instrument amends provisions within the Education and Inspections Act in relation to new schools. Let me start by acknowledging the one positive aspect of these regulations, which is to make it easier to create new pupil referral units. The p…”

“It seems a remarkable coincidence that, with this controversial case, someone forgot to ask the Attorney General in time.”

“Mr Parkinson, there have been many thousands of arrests linked to Palestine Action, but a much smaller proportion resulting in charges. What explains that gap? How confident are you that similar standards are being applied across all offence types? I am talking in particular of antisemitic hatred.”

“Some of the Palestine Action demonstrations have been very large indeed and resulted in thousands of arrests, but apparently very few of those arrests have been referred to the CPS. Would you comment on that? Do you have any explanation for that?”

“Does the hon. Lady agree that the Government’s failure to publish the impact assessment means that NHS authorities across the country do not know how much this deal will cost them? My constituents in Somerset cannot get a GP appointment or see an NHS dentist. That is far more important to them than this obscure deal.”

“Do you think it was an accident or was it accidentally done on purpose by someone somewhere in the chain who did not want this prosecuted?”

“You spoke earlier about prosecutors being with the police at the time that they policed certain demonstrations. Are your prosecutors present when there are Palestine Action demonstrations and when there are chants of antisemitic hate? Do you take a similar approach to those demonstrations? Do your prosecutors involve t…”