Speeches by Bailey.

“I congratulate my hon. Friend on his recent appointment. It is important, right at the outset, that we understand that there has been almost no change in position. I refer him to the comments of the right hon. Member for Braintree (Sir James Cleverly) in 2023, when he stated that his “primary objective is to ensure the…”

“Will my hon. Friend give way on that point?”

“Will the Minister place that £101 million in context? Perhaps the US or other nations have entered into such agreements. Will he make reference to the value for money that we received for the deal?”

“I rise today not to upset a Speaker or Deputy Speaker—let us see how this goes, Madam Deputy Speaker.”

“Not yet. Allied naval, aviation and communications assets will be able to protect UK interests across a vast area of the western Indian ocean and beyond throughout the next century, no matter the change, turmoil or insecurity that the coming decades may bring. The agreement provides the UK and our allies with the freed…”

“More than 200 service families lost loved ones during the troubles in Northern Ireland. Will the Minister set out how the forthcoming legislation will enable closure for those families, who have had their wounds continually reopened for too long?”

“This Labour Government have committed £13 million to tackling food poverty, supported by an expansion of free school meals and a drive to get fresh produce from farms to families’ tables. After 14 years of Tory economic failure, too many families are still struggling and food banks remain indispensable. In Leyton and W…”

“According to the UN, nearly 800 Palestinians have been killed near the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid points. The UK sending £129 million in aid is nearly pointless given the denial of the UN’s aid system, and Israel’s cruel blockade is choking off supplies to the people who need it and looks very much like starvatio…”

“Twenty years ago, after the horror of the 7/7 bombings, we joined up how we work on security threats of all kinds, creating an enduring multi-agency approach. Now, with the added challenge from far-right extremism and the rapidly mounting threat to Europe from malign Russian activity, we need to bolster our responses a…”

“19. What steps her Department is taking to counter hostile state threats.”

“E-bikes are a key enabler of mobile phone theft. This week, we held ASB forums in Redbridge and Waltham Forest. We heard about the great work being done by Councillor Jo Blackman to address the problem of illegally adapted e-bikes. Simple measures we could implement, such as ending the off-road sales loophole, would ha…”

“Cadets are a wonderful source of social mobility in our country, and played a key role in last weekend’s Armed Forces Day celebrations. I want to recognise my brilliant local air cadets: 12F Walthamstow and Leyton squadron, and 241 Wanstead and Woodford squadron. Will the Minister set out the Government’s approach to i…”

“Nearly 30 years ago, when I was at the University of Exeter, I argued vociferously to make sure that our armed forces were allowed to recruit from our campus and that they got people like us into the military, so that we could create a military that was receptive and reflective of our society, so that people from LGBTQ…”

“What has been happening at BBC Persian over the past few weeks is a case in point, as my hon. Friend said. It has been narrating events in an accessible way and providing insights that are free from the talking points of the propaganda regime into how people in Iran really feel, and how they are experiencing the confli…”

“We must be very proud of our cadets. I was a cadet myself, and it kept me on the straight and narrow and out of trouble. In my constituency I have two amazing squadrons: 12F, based in Waltham Forest and Leyton; and 241, the best air cadet squadron in the country. Behind them is a corps of volunteers who really do not g…”

“I served for 25 years. At times—for almost 10 years at a stretch—I had month-on, month-off deployments, where I was away from my family. During this Armed Forces Week, we must remember, give praise to and celebrate our armed forces families, who, as my hon. Friend describes, suffer unseen pressure and burden.”

“I welcome the Prime Minister’s leadership in recognising the need for a strategic response. It has been 35 years since the Options for Change defence review began bringing down defence spending from 4.1% of GDP. We have spent that dividend, gambling that we would not need to defend our values, and a generation has bene…”

“In Armed Forces Week, will the Deputy Prime Minister join me in paying tribute to my former colleagues at RAF Brize Norton? I know she will share my horror that some on the Opposition Benches responded to the appalling attack on that base not by recognising the consequences of 14 years of Conservative under-investment …”

“I welcome the announcement and, on behalf of the Defence Committee, I welcome the additional detail that has been added to the SDR. It is imperative that we recognise and close some of the gaps in our national defence, including the size and shape of our combat air force, and this announcement does part of that. But 14…”

“I join the Foreign Secretary in thanking our brave service personnel from RAF Brize Norton for repatriating British citizens from Tel Aviv. In this Armed Forces Week, we are all grateful for their courage and sacrifice. On Iran, let us be clear about the regime: it has killed thousands upon thousands; upheld the brutal…”