Speeches by Fox.

“I am grateful to the Minister for his answer. Bridgwater has a mixture of urban and rural areas, and many of my constituents in the rural parts complain of almost non-existent signals. The O2 signal in Burnham-on-Sea is non-existent. In Pawlett, the Vodafone and EE signals are non-existent. In Chedzoy, the EE signal is…”

“I would vote in favour of the removal of the hereditary peers as part of a package, but not so that the Government can remove them and then do nothing, which is what they did 25 years ago. I would like the Minister to explain how he believes his reform will improve the functioning of Parliament. Who will the Government…”

“I am happy to give way to the hon. Member for Central Ayrshire (Alan Gemmell).”

“Therein lies the problem, in that we now want to talk about stage 2. Although the Minister promises a second stage of reform, that is exactly what you promised 25 years ago, and then you did nothing. Our fear is that you will get rid of the hereditary peers and that the issue of further reform will then get delayed bec…”

“The House of Lords plays an important part in our legislative process. It revises legislation and, just occasionally, causes us in this House to think again. I support reform of the House of Lords, but I want that reform to lead to a better upper Chamber. This Bill does the opposite. In 1999, the Labour party sought to…”

“We are scrutinising the Government’s proposal. That is the job of the Opposition. The Minister said in his opening speech that hereditary peers are indefensible, and I agree, but so is granting 26 bishops the right to vote in our legislature. For some reason, the Minister does not seem quite so opposed to their presenc…”

“I would not dare to answer on behalf of my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond and Northallerton. I fear that this Government are not motivated by a desire to improve the legislature, and that they have brought this measure forward for party political advantage. They want to be rid of the hereditary peers because…”

“I will leave the Minister to answer those points, if I may.”

“The hon. Lady anticipates the next part of my speech. As a new MP, it is tempting to believe that this change of heart by EDF is entirely due to my persuasive powers, but that is not the case. All credit must go to the Pawlett Hams Action Group, a genuine grassroots campaign that sprang up to defend the Hams. The group…”

“I beg to move, That this House has considered the environmental impact of the proposed salt marshes at Pawlett Hams and other sites. It is an honour to serve with you in the Chair, Mr Twigg. I welcome the Minister to her place. I am grateful to have this opportunity to move the motion, which concerns an issue of great …”

“The last Government announced the biggest expansion in nuclear power for 70 years, including the commissioning of Hinkley Point C in Somerset. Does the Minister agree that a new nuclear power plant at Wylfa is vital to the UK’s energy security, and can she give a timeline for its development?”

“8. What the Government’s policy is on the proposed nuclear power plant at Wylfa.”

“I speak on behalf of 19,300 pensioners in my constituency who are set to lose their winter fuel allowance. Some 23% of my constituents are aged 65 or over, which is well above the national average. Many retired people in my constituency have done the right thing: they have worked all their lives, paid their national in…”

“My hon. Friend makes an important point. It just emphasises the fact that when the Chancellor says that it is a tough decision that has to be made, she is actually making a political choice. She has chosen to give train drivers earning £60,000 a year a pay rise of 15%. She has chosen to cut the income of retired people…”

“Small and medium-sized enterprises are the lifeblood of our high streets, and there are many such businesses in my constituency of Bridgwater. I understand, though, that SMEs now face paying thousands of pounds in fines if they do not uphold the Government’s new French-style employment reforms. Will the Minister consid…”

“There are 141,000 children living in kinship care in England and Wales. Some 47% of those children have special educational needs and disabilities. Will the Leader of the House ask a Minister in the Department for Education to make a statement on improving support for children in kinship care?”

“Q14. If he will visit Haygrove School in Bridgwater.”

“I thank the Prime Minister for his answer. Haygrove School is one of the top-performing schools in Somerset, but it is unfortunately one of those built by Caledonian Modular and now condemned as unsafe. I am grateful for the meeting with the Schools Minister, but can the Prime Minister give Haygrove and the other schoo…”

“The Chancellor’s decision to cut the winter fuel payment is forecast to save £1.5 billion. Can she advise the House what other options she considered for making savings in the Department for Work and Pensions budget before deciding to make this cut?”

“Does the hon. Lady agree that the most pressing problem is delays in the system, particularly in making decisions, in creating an EHC plan and in assessing what the contents of that plan would be?”