Speeches by Blackman.

“Our candidates certainly experienced attack ads, as you rightly said—”

“I think it has changed. Personally, not in this election but in previous elections, I have been assaulted on the street. You have to take that into account and always think of your security. I for one would never be out and about by myself, and I am sure other candidates have been in the same position. There is a feeli…”

“I have circulated to colleagues and ex-colleagues the fact that we are having this hearing, and I asked them to send me details of anything that happened. We will compile that and submit it.”

“I would also single out, which might be controversial, HOPE not Hate, who produced a booklet of disgraceful slurs, particularly against female candidates in the Conservative party, but Conservative men as well. It was not deliberately aimed at stirring up trouble, but without doubt it had an impact on the abuse that th…”

“Without question, social media was much more abusive. Personally, the first thing I do in the morning is go through X, and mute or block anyone that is rude or abusive. I know that colleagues do that but, frankly, I have been doing it for donkey’s years, and I just take it as part of the normal experience that we have …”

“Personally, the campaign was very much directed in an orderly fashion in my constituency, but I am very well aware that candidates across the country had terrible times. I have to say that, in my experience, from the complaints I have heard, in the main, female candidates experienced terrible misogyny and abuse from va…”

“Our candidates certainly experienced attack ads, as you rightly said—”

“Clearly, they were out to cause a particular reaction in the voters’ minds, but that also created hostility towards those individuals. If we could eliminate that, it would be very good news, because it is unfair on candidates and probably on the electorate, who are going, “What’s this all about?” While I think it is fa…”

“I think it is fair to say that, internally, within the party, those actions are taken—probably in the Labour party as well—but they will not be publicised. Therefore, you would not have necessarily seen what action was taken, but as a board member of the party, we routinely see the results of disciplinary action and th…”

“We have a process by which, certainly close to general elections, everything that is going out with the party logo on has to be signed off. I am sure that it is a great frustration to candidates—my colleagues are nodding around the room. That is a process to ensure that nothing defamatory would actually be issued. You …”

“I am sure the whole House will express condolences to the victims at the Kumbh Mela in India who sadly lost their lives or were badly injured. In addition to the business announced by the Leader of the House, there will be a debate in Westminster Hall on Tuesday 4 February on apprentices and Apprenticeship Week. On Thu…”

“12. What steps he is taking to negotiate a free trade agreement with India.”

“I thank my constituency neighbour for that update. The previous Government had more than 15 rounds of trade talks with India before the general election, in both India and the UK. Will the Government ensure that we in the UK gain access to the services market in India, which has previously been denied to UK firms? That…”

“We saw horrendous scenes at the weekend of Hamas terrorists parading the brave hostages before they were returned, and shooting fellow Palestinians for alleged collaboration. Also, the Hamas leader and his team have vowed to return to rule Gaza, and to carry out repeated atrocities like those that were committed on 7 O…”

“Over the past 14 years, I have regularly raised the building industry and its failures to provide decent homes of decent quality. The one strand that follows all the way through is the failure properly to inspect independently work that has been carried out, to certify it, and to ensure that it is fit for purpose. Will…”

“In addition to the business announced by the Leader of the House on Backbench Business Committee time, on 6 February in the Chamber there will be a on Government support for coalfield communities, followed by the debate on financial education that was due to take place on Monday but time did not allow. The business in …”

“I understand that the Solicitor General wants to maintain the confidentiality of the Law Officers’ office, but the issue before us is whether there is a conflict of interest. For example, the Attorney General has advocated in relation to the policies of the Israeli Government, and then we have had a change of policy by…”

“It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Brent East (Dawn Butler). I wish her well in her recovery from cold and flu. I thank the Government for putting on this debate and for making sure that we continue to honour the victims of the Holocaust, and I thank the Minister for both the tone and content of his opening…”

“The clear issue here is why the previous chair resigned, and what remit the Minister has given the interim chair to change the policy and direction of the CMA. Can the Minister outline that remit for the House? He says he will do it later this year, but he has manoeuvred a position in which the previous chair has resig…”

“I welcome the Foreign Secretary’s tone, content and, above all else, caution. There are clearly concerns that Hamas are trying to resile from the commitments they have made in this deal. In fact, overnight, their leader praised the events of 7 October, vowed to keep repeating them until Israel is eliminated and called …”