Speeches by Thomas.

“I welcome that last point about there being a balance, ultimately. I absolutely recognise—as would my constituents—the cultural and economic value of Cheltenham Racecourse and the national cultural contribution of Tottenham Hotspur.”

“I hope my hon. Friend does not mind if I join in on his last point, which adds to the comments made by our hon. Friend the Member for St Ives (Andrew George) about the branding that Lloyds uses to portray itself as “By Your Side”, as though it is a member of the community. It uses the powerful image of the black stalli…”

“It is an honour to serve under your chairship for the first time, Mr Western. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for St Ives (Andrew George) for introducing this debate on a subject that is so important to his constituents and those of so many other Members. Lloyds Banking Group recently informed me, with only four mont…”

“I thank the hon. Member for the advice; I will certainly take that forward. I am glad to hear that his constituents are served by a banking hub. I close by welcoming the formal review of access to cash that the Financial Conduct Authority is undertaking, although, as my hon. Friend the Member for St Ives pointed out, i…”

“I recently learned about the work of my constituent Claire Brown from Prestbury, who supports families with seriously ill children. She founded the charity Team Charlie, which raises funds to ensure that families with sick children can take holidays, after having raised £200,000 to fund brain cancer treatment for a boy…”

“I might have followed up on the same point. It is the same reason I cannot get my schools to come here. It is the cost of coach travel.”

“Yes, I would hope so. There is then the matter of touring in the EU. We recently had a session on performing arts touring in the EU. We heard that changes to orchestra tax relief now block orchestras from claiming key EU touring costs, causing losses of up to £400,000. You highlighted the same issue. What steps should …”

“Would you be in support of a customs union between the UK and the EU, or do you think there is another measure by which you might—”

“Good answer.”

“That was quick. Thank you. For those organisations that are already on the brink of stopping touring altogether, is there anything immediate that you think might—”

“Your review highlighted the severe challenges facing touring, such as rising costs, reduced touring capacity, and tax relief structures that no longer reflect the reality of touring. What is the most important intervention needed to ensure that touring remains viable?”

“The hon. Member for Clacton (Nigel Farage) has described a gentleman, George Cottrell, as “like a son” to him, despite that individual being a convicted money launderer. Does my hon. Friend share my suspicion? What does she make of the potential connection between money laundering and cryptocurrency?”

“I absolutely agree, and I look forward to the Rycroft review hopefully making some recommendations along those very lines. The case of Bradshaw and others v. the United Kingdom at the European Court of Human Rights judged in 2025 that the UK’s decision to leave the European Union was subject to Russian interference, bu…”

“It is an honour to serve under your chairship, Mr Pritchard. I hope that the hon. Member for Clacton (Nigel Farage) enjoyed the email that I sent him this afternoon. Carl von Clausewitz described war as a continuation of politics by other means. In the Kremlin, the reverse is true and every lever of statehood is a mach…”

“The hon. Gentleman is probably quite right to note that there were significant failings by the previous provider. Does he accept that there were clear failings by the previous Government?”

“I am grateful to you for allowing me to continue, Madam Speaker. The hon. Member for Great Yarmouth declined in his intervention to declare his interest: he is, in fact, bought and paid for by Elon Musk.”

“Madam Deputy Speaker, I withdraw the remark that the hon. Member for Great Yarmouth was bought and paid for. I regret the tone that I used.”

“On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. We have heard this evening from the hon. Member for Great Yarmouth (Rupert Lowe), who celebrated Elon Musk—rather tactlessly, I believe—in this debate. Notwithstanding the fact that like Mandelson, Musk had a relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, and in fact was found to have bee…”

“It is an honour to serve under your chairship, Ms Lewell. All credit to the hon. Member for Blackpool North and Fleetwood (Lorraine Beavers) for securing this important debate. She can so often be found calling out injustice. As is clearly the case for many MPs, recent weeks have brought forth an abundance of correspon…”

“It sounds as though, particularly if you do not have money to put up front, it is quite a big gamble if you might be looking at seven months to get paid.”