Speeches by Cooper.

“I had two separate questions. The first was whether any of the 173 active substances have faced sustained calls to be banned already. I recognise that none are banned, but have any of them faced calls to be banned because of potential damage to biodiversity or human health?”

“These regulations ensure that potentially harmful chemicals are carefully controlled, and will provide greater certainty for business, so we Liberal Democrats will not seek to divide on them, or to oppose them. However, I do have two short questions for the Minister. First, the Minister said that this SI applies to 173…”

“I thank the Chancellor for advance sight of her statement. The Chancellor should have come here today to explain how she was going to use the £20 million extra that the Treasury is pulling in every single day through higher VAT, a higher energy profits levy and other taxes, to tackle the immediate cost of fuel crisis t…”

“I thank the Secretary of State for advance sight of his statement. Our country is in a very fragile state. We cannot defend ourselves, we cannot feed ourselves and we cannot power ourselves. Our national security, our food security and our energy security are deeply interconnected, and the Government’s response is far …”

“Broadly speaking, the Liberal Democrats support this measure. However, we note that an assessment by the Department for Work and Pensions suggests that 77% of NEST members are likely to change their behaviour: a huge number of people will be looking for advice. As the Minister will be aware, one of the many amendments …”

“I thank the Chancellor for advance sight of her statement. Our thoughts are with our brave armed forces at this time. I agree that the last Government’s failure to invest in energy was a failure to protect our country. Today we face the stark reality that we cannot guarantee our national security, our energy security o…”

“Small businesses are the backbone of our economy, but the Federation of Small Businesses is warning that they will face a cost cliff edge in April because of the cumulative impact of all the new taxes and responsibilities put on them at the same time. During the course of the Finance Bill, we Liberal Democrats have rep…”

“In times of crisis, the UK Government have often had to spend more on energy support for households and small businesses than other comparable countries, because our energy market is so broken. Hospitality and small businesses tell me that some suppliers simply refuse to supply hospitality businesses at all. If the Gov…”

“I am grateful to the Chancellor for advance sight of her statement, but it does not include a single concrete announcement, and in itself will not provide the reassurance that householders and businesses are looking for as they hear reports that energy bills are about to escalate. Last week, the Liberal Democrats asked…”

“The country is paying the price for two anti-growth Labour Budgets. Growth has flatlined, youth unemployment is up, and the cost of living crisis grinds on, pushing people and businesses to the brink. So we plead with the Chancellor: please, for the sake of our country, put a laser-like focus on getting a better trade …”

“Specifically on this point, I am grateful that the Minister is willing to comply with the terms of this motion and that he is trying to manage expectations about the speed with which the Government may act. None the less, he will know that there will still be some members of the public who will view that with some susp…”

“One point that has been raised this afternoon is that even while the police go ahead with their investigations, there is still a job for this House to do. It strikes me that some of the most basic principles that we assume when we come to this place are being questioned. Does my hon. Friend agree that it is worth resta…”

“Many people are talking about the different elements that could be examined during an inquiry, but I have heard some people say that an inquiry could become too big and take too long. Does my hon. Friend agree that there is precedent in this country for having public inquiries in two or more parts? The Government and G…”

“Will the Minister give way?”

“A few moments ago, my hon. Friend referred to a comment that I made earlier in the debate. I am mindful that the Minister was not in his place at the time, so I wonder whether I could be indulged. [Interruption.] No, it was a separate point that I made later, when the Minister was out of the room for a second. Because …”

“My hon. Friend is being very generous in giving way. It has been a Liberal Democrat policy for a very long time to have an office of the whistleblower, and we very much hope that the Government take up that proposal. We have tried a number of times to introduce it through pieces of legislation in the other House in thi…”

“I am grateful to the Minister for giving way, but I want to press him on that point again. There are some specific allegations that an inquiry might want to look at, but there is the broader point about culture, which my hon. Friend the Member for Oxford West and Abingdon (Layla Moran) mentioned. He will know very well…”

“One of the things that I have been struck by as we have heard more and more revelations is that it is difficult for some members of the public to keep up, and that many of them—particularly a number of women—want to turn away from what they see on their screens. Does my hon. Friend agree that what we see unfolding befo…”

“Will the Minister give way?”

“On behalf of my party, may I join the Deputy Prime Minister in marking Holocaust Memorial Day? We will not forget. We also honour the service of Captain Philip Gilbert Muldowney, who died on Sunday. While the Chinese regime still holds British citizen Jimmy Lai captive in prison, and while the Chinese regime continues …”