Speeches by Thomas.

“While aligning myself with the concerns expressed by the shadow Home Secretary, I am happy to take the Minister at his word. In the last decade, the previous Government badly misjudged Vladimir Putin’s aims regarding the United Kingdom, and his exploitation of our naivety. So that the current Government do not make the…”

“I am delighted to hear that the Government will give 16 and 17-year-olds the right to vote. Do the Government intend to appropriately educate 16 and 17-year-olds about the right to vote?”

“The hon. Member made an interesting point about the role of companies, and specifically referred to Reform UK. Will she join me in putting on the record that Reform UK is not a political party like most of ours are, but in fact a limited company registered at Companies House, with the primary shareholder being the hon.…”

“It is an honour to serve under your chairship, Mrs Harris. Conservative Friends of Russia, later renamed the Westminster Russia Forum, was founded in 2012 as a lobby group, posing as a think-tank, with absolutely no research published. It was founded at the Russian embassy in London by, among others, Vladimir Putin’s m…”

“15. What steps her Department is taking to support police forces in Gloucestershire.”

“I thank the Minister for her response. In 2015, Baroness May of Maidenhead, the then Home Secretary, accused police forces of “crying wolf” over funding cuts. In the decade since, police services across the country, such as mine in Gloucestershire, have never truly recovered from her scandalous cuts to their numbers. G…”

“The Government recently announced a UK-silicon valley project linking Oxfordshire, Milton Keynes and Cambridge. There was no mention of Gloucestershire, with its burgeoning cyber-tech and engineering sectors. From Gloucestershire, our primary arterial road eastward to Oxfordshire is the A40 and it is woefully inadequat…”

“13. What assessment she has made of the adequacy of eastward transport links from Gloucestershire.”

“General practitioners in my constituency have consistently restructured over 10 years of constant systemic and economic pressures. How will the Minister convince the Treasury to exempt GPs from the increase to national insurance contributions, and show my GPs that he has their back?”

“It has already been mentioned, but the EAC recently visited the Netherlands, where the benefits of long-term and joined-up planning were highlighted, and where sustainability and future-proofing are central to the usage of the land. In Rotterdam we went up a three-storey structure and you have orchards, allotments and …”

“Minister, the Government seem to be betting the economy on growth. To what extent are your Department’s environmental protection policies seen by the Government to be blocking the path to growth?”

“You mentioned streamlining for developers. My constituents in Tewkesbury might be concerned at that language and that we might end up with what we have had for the last 10 to 20 years—piecemeal developments all about the constituency with very little oversight and ability to plan for that from the local authority. What…”

“A lot of industry professionals have concerns that planning reforms are going to have an impact on jobs across the sector and across regulations. What would you say to them?”

“Is there a plan for DEFRA to get around the table with those Departments and have that discussion about a relationship?”

“Yes, it is that joined-upness that works so well in the Netherlands.”

“The hon. Member makes a valid and important point about schools having a young carers lead, and I am proud to say that every school in Gloucestershire has one. My constituent Christian, who I met yesterday, has been caring for his grandmother from the age of six, but it was not until he was 11 that he was identified by…”

“It is an honour to serve under your chairship, Dr Murrison. I thank my hon. Friend the hon. Member for South Devon (Caroline Voaden) for securing this debate. Tewkesbury is home to the fastest-growing borough outside London, but almost half of my constituents have the worst 30% of broadband connectivity in the UK. Mobi…”

“Gentlemen, how are nature recovery timelines factored into planning for port operations or marine aggregate activities?”

“I hope the hon. Member for Portsmouth North (Amanda Martin) will pass on my thanks to her son for his service. I do wonder how Lord Nelson would feel about the increasing necessity for us to align with our English channel neighbours. Labour’s national insurance hike will hit small businesses, social care providers and …”

“Do you have any points on that, Andrew?”