Speeches by Esterson.

“The previous Government were warned before the election, including multiple times in this Chamber, about the damage they were doing to the car industry. The constant changes of policy on net zero, missing targets on the roll-out of charge points and the failure to even allocate the rapid charging fund have all undermin…”

“From what you have seen of this Government’s warm homes plan, do you think there will be a greater degree of certainty and that that will make a difference?”

“I look forward to it, thank you. The previous Government had a target of 600,000 heat pump installations and we are doing about a 10th of it. Do you think that that target is realistic, all things being equal?”

“Is that one of the recommendations that you would make?”

“It sorts itself out. Okay. That is very helpful.”

“In your report you talked about the supply chain, and you talked about manufacturing. How important is it that we have a strong domestic supply chain?”

“Ultimately, as we are using less gas and we want the same amount of levy collected from gas, that is going to mean very expensive gas bills.”

“It is the importance of the fabric first approach. Of course, you have just advocated potentially putting extra—I did say it was the last question. I was not telling the truth, of course. If we move the levies off electric bills, but you also want us to use less gas, what happens there?”

“Great. This will be my final question. You spoke a lot about how expensive electricity is, you spoke just now about the extra costs of electricity. If they do not go on electricity bills, where should those extra costs go?”

“May I gently say to the shadow Secretary of State that she really should not believe dodgy headlines in The Daily Telegraph? In fact, I am not sure whether headlines in The Daily Telegraph are ever not dodgy, based on what she was quoting. More importantly, though, let me congratulate the Prime Minister on his leadersh…”

“Further to that point of order, Mr Speaker. As you well know, John had many connections with the north-west of England. He went to school on the Wirral. He was a parliamentary candidate in Southport, and he returned there to campaign in the 2017 general election. He was a seafarer out of Liverpool, and he was presented…”

“Some farmers benefited from international trade agreements under the previous Government. Unfortunately, it was mostly Australian and New Zealand farmers, not British farmers, who benefited. Will my hon. Friend confirm that this Government will prioritise British farmers who want to export, not least those who want to …”

“11. What steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to ensure that future international trade agreements support the farming sector.”

“3. What progress he has made on achieving clean energy by 2030.”

“The last Government held a consultation on electricity market arrangements, but despite having said that that was their flagship policy in this area, they did not publish the results of that consultation. Does my hon. Friend agree that electricity and, indeed, energy market reform is crucial to achieving the Government…”

“There is a shortage of technical skilled workers across our economy. It is a chronic problem, not least in sectors such as clean energy. For example, there are only 3,000 registered heat pump installers, but to deliver the last Government’s target of 600,000 installations a year we would need 27,000 of them. That is re…”

“4. What steps she is taking to link the school curriculum with skills needed in the workplace.”

“It is extraordinary that a small number of wealthy landowners have been using agricultural property relief to avoid inheritance tax. What is more extraordinary is how the Conservatives have defended tax avoidance in the way that they have. Will my hon. Friend confirm to the farmers in my constituency and across the cou…”

“8. What assessment he has made of the potential implications for his Department's policies of the outcomes of the international investment summit.”

“As my hon. Friend quite rightly said, the Labour party is now the party of business without any question. Does she agree that the measures committed to in yesterday’s Budget on clean energy, carbon capture and storage and hydrogen—which were backed up, by the way, with a commitment from a Canadian investor of another £…”