Speeches by McDonald.

“Of course, my thoughts and those of the Government are very much with the workers and their families at what I know from personal experience is a very difficult time. We must recognise that the company has taken a commercial decision. Although we have explored every reasonable avenue of support, the firm faces signific…”

“The Government recognise the important role of the public sector and private sector working together to unlock these benefits, such as in critical minerals, as my hon. Friend mentioned. I thank him for his invitation to visit some of the companies that he mentioned in Cornwall, and I look forward to taking up that oppo…”

“I know from my time in industry that what business and industry need in order to invest is certainty, and this Government have provided that certainty. Over £52 billion of private sector investment has been won into clean power, thanks to the certainty of our clean power mission. That is why the Conservatives’ decision…”

“I can say with absolute sincerity that it is a real pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir John. I could not have wished for a more benevolent Chair for my first outing at the Dispatch Box here in Westminster Hall. I apologise to Members who may have been expecting the Minister for Climate, my hon. Friend the M…”

“Matters of tax are left to the Chancellor, particularly this close to the Budget. The Government’s approach to the transition is about incentives rather than punishments—it is about carrots rather than sticks. The economics are working in the direction of net zero, and net zero is no longer a political discussion, wher…”

“I am familiar with Power Roll. I have met the chief executive, and my hon. Friend has advocated extremely well for the company. I have also met potential investors in the business. I am happy to discuss that further with him after questions today.”

“I thank my hon. Friend for his continued advocacy for the Cornish critical minerals industry—in fact, I thank all our fantastic Cornish MPs. He knows that the critical minerals strategy is eagerly anticipated in Cornwall and across the UK. The minerals in Cornwall are crucial to the future of our critical minerals indu…”

“My hon. Friend is a fantastic champion for ceramics. This is only my second time at the Dispatch Box, but it is also the second time that he has asked me about this. He and I have already met to discuss it, and I am happy to have further conversations with him and industry about everything we can do, as soon as possibl…”

“We recognise the importance of the steel industry in Wales and of Trostre in particular, which has more than 70 years of tinplate production and is the only tinning line in the UK. I met the chief executive of Tata Steel this week to discuss this very issue. He referred to a softening in market demand, but fundamentall…”

“I was pleased to address a meeting of Hydrogen UK just last week, where I reaffirmed Government support for the sector, which we have recognised through our industrial strategy and the clean energy industries sector plan. I would be happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss in particular Luxfer’s ambitions to invest more…”

“BCW in my hon. Friend’s constituency is an extremely important engineering firm not only for Jaguar Land Rover, but for our manufacturing supply chains. The concerns he has raised about access to finance for companies lower down in the supply chain are ones that I have raised with both Jaguar Land Rover and banks—I had…”

“All Jaguar Land Rover’s UK factories have restarted and the company is offering a financing scheme to qualifying suppliers. UK Export Finance has also provided a partial guarantee for a £1.5 billion loan from commercial lenders to help JLR manage its businesses and pay its suppliers. I am grateful for my hon. Friend’s …”

“I am determined that this Government’s grand ambition for building will ensure that we supply more UK bricks, have fewer imports, and increase the productivity of our brick kilns around the country, including at Ibstock. The key is getting energy prices down, and that is what we are working on for our industrial strate…”

“I am so pleased that, due to a quirk in the timings, we have almost two hours for the discussion of cement. I will endeavour to make the best use of the time available. I very much thank my hon. Friend the Member for Derbyshire Dales (John Whitby) for raising the issue of cement manufacture in the UK. I share his conce…”

“My hon. Friend raises an important point about the scope of the supercharger, which we are going to look at in 2026. He will be aware that some parts of the ceramics supply chain can access the supercharger, but I too am concerned about the impacts of high energy costs on the ceramics sector. I will meet the head of Ce…”

“I commend Asahi, which I know is an important employer in the hon. Member’s constituency, for its work on decarbonisation and also for being my favourite Japanese beer. In a previous life, I worked as a fitter’s mate in a brewery, and I know how difficult it is to decarbonise the process there. Maybe it is something I …”

“We want to make sure that businesses benefit from our clean energy mission, especially those in vital industries such as brewing. Our forthcoming carbon budget and growth delivery plan and our refreshed industrial decarbonisation strategy will help to provide further clarity for such businesses, including on how we int…”

“I would like to thank the Minister for reminding the House of the litany of errors that we had to pick up when we came into office. My portfolio is filled with companies that have struggled so much over the past 10 years, but those companies now find that they have a partner in Government who will work with them to att…”

“It is no wonder that there is so much laughter around the Chamber, because the policies of the previous Conservative Government saw industry decline. They were prepared to let industry decline because, fundamentally, they do not believe in industry, and now we find that they do not believe in climate science. We on thi…”

“The hon. Member said that thousands and thousands of jobs are at risk in this country; they are at risk from the climate-denying policies of Reform. The Institution of Chemical Engineers reported last week that there are 800,000 jobs in the green economy in this country—thousands and thousands in the constituencies of …”