Speeches by Jardine.

“I echo those who have thanked the Foreign Secretary for the tone that he has taken, and the way in which he has reflected the relief of the whole House that there is at last some hope for the families of the hostages, members of which are here today, and for the population of Gaza. He spoke of the need for a political …”

“I remind Members that they should bob if they wish to be called in the debate.”

“There has been a lot of controversy in Scotland about the law, about how it has been framed. I just wondered if you felt that it would be useful? I can see Irene nodding her head, you have probably seen a lot about this. Are there lessons that we could learn in bringing the laws together for the rest of the UK, from wh…”

“I have been working for my own party on LGBT policy and discrimination. One of the things that came up, and something you said struck a chord there, was about a generation now going into care, or having social care at home, and coming across discrimination again. You mentioned people being worried about elderly parents…”

“There are mixed views on whether there should be a formal definition of Islamophobia. What is your own view on that?”

“It certainly does. Would everyone agree with that view?”

“On that note, it is already an offence to target a person on the grounds of their religion or race. Would I be right in interpreting that having a definition would help the police or the Crown Prosecution Service very much?”

“Baroness, you mentioned the Law Commission earlier on, and I wondered, should the Government commit to introducing a Hate Crime Act to bring all hate crime legislation together, as it has been in Scotland and has been recommended, as you said, by the Law Commission? How important would that be?”

“It is a pleasure to speak on your first occasion as Chair, Mrs Lewell-Buck; I hope you have enjoyed it. I am grateful to the hon. Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (John Lamont) for securing this debate. The variation of complaints we have heard shows how serious the issue is, and I sympathise. It is a plea…”

“Q10. May I associate myself with the remarks of the Liberal Democrat leader and others today? I wish a happy new year to everyone, but 2025 is already proving a challenge for many of my constituents—pensioners, families, small businesses, the hospitality industry, GPs and social care providers, as others have said. The…”

“Will the Minister give way?”

“It is a pleasure to serve under you as Chair, Ms Vaz. I congratulate the hon. Member for Livingston (Gregor Poynton) on securing this debate on the impact of the UK Budget on Scotland. I welcome the increase in investment for the NHS and the vital cash boost for Scotland, but with all due respect to the hon. Member for…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Roger. I wish you and everybody else a happy new year, and hope that in 2025 we do again make progress in this area. I thank the hon. Member for Brent East (Dawn Butler) for securing this debate because, for me and I am sure everybody in this room, closing the gend…”

“Will the Minister give way?”

“Will the Minister give way?”

“Merry Christmas, Mr Speaker. Violence against women and girls takes many forms—verbal, physical, emotional, financial—and at all ages, but one of the most insidious forms is online abuse. With technology developing faster than legislation can respond, the ways it is being used, such as deepfakes, are also developing fa…”

“One of the very first constituents who came to me after I was elected in 2017 was Helen, whose decision on her financial future was taken just before she received the letter, which came late—so it did have an impact on her. It also had an impact on the thousands of WASPI women in my constituency who have contacted me o…”

“On Friday I will be visiting the delivery office in my constituency. Like other Members, I am concerned to reassure those who work there about what this privatisation will mean for them. We have talked a lot about services and universal obligations, but what reassurances can the Minister give that jobs will not be lost…”

“I thank the right hon. Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Sir Iain Duncan Smith) for securing this urgent question on a crucial issue for all of us in this place, because we are looking for robust action from this Government to keep our politics and democracy safe from the influence of foreign Governments. We sho…”

“I agree with the Minister: it is very disappointing. For many parents, current maternity pay is too low, and the leave system is not flexible enough. A recent report by the BBC said that almost half of new fathers were unaware of what was available to them. The system is skewed, and the take-up is lower among lower ear…”