Speeches by Cooper.

“Derek French is a constituent in my neighbouring constituency of Harpenden and Berkhamsted —I just want to put that on the record. Harpenden very proudly defends its independence from St Albans and I do not want anybody to be inadvertently offended by my trying to secure some recognition from the Minister in the House,…”

“I associate myself and my party with the remarks of the Deputy Prime Minister in calling for de-escalation in the middle east, the release of hostages and urgent aid to get into Gaza. We Liberal Democrats oppose the Government’s cut to personal independence payments and carer’s allowance. With a growing rebellion on th…”

“It is disappointing that the Deputy Prime Minister could not give that cast-iron guarantee, but if the Government pursue the Bill next week, we will pursue this matter on behalf of carers. Given the reports that the Government are giving a green light to President Trump’s demands for a state visit to be brought forward…”

“We Liberal Democrats warmly welcome this statutory instrument, which will introduce long-overdue consumer protections. We particularly welcome the fact that buy now, pay later will fall under FCA regulation, as well as the fact that consumers will have access to the independent complaints system under the Financial Omb…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Vickers. I congratulate the hon. Member for Mid Leicestershire (Mr Bedford) on securing this important debate. It is a pleasure to wind up on behalf of the Liberal Democrats. As we have heard from a number of colleagues, small and medium-sized enterprises are the heart…”

“Will my hon. Friend give way?”

“Will the right hon. Gentleman give way on that point?”

“Will my hon. Friend give way?”

“Every medical college has retained a neutral position. By my count—[Interruption.] I will go on. By my count, two or three medical colleges have said expressly that they welcome specific amendments to the Bill, and all MPs will have received the letter from senior psychiatrists, who include a former president of the co…”

“On that point, will the hon. Gentleman give way?”

“On behalf of my party, may I associate myself with the Deputy Prime Minister’s remarks about the Air India crash? In a week that we remember the murder of Jo Cox and David Amess, our party’s thoughts are with their friends and families and all those in this House who lost their beloved friends. We also remember those w…”

“I am grateful to the Deputy Prime Minister. We support those efforts. Today, the Government are set to unveil their plans to cut personal independence payments and carer’s allowance, a prospect that one of my constituents described as “terrifying”. Liberal Democrat analysis of the Government’s own data suggests that 1.…”

“indicated dissent.”

“It has been almost a year since Labour swept to power with the promise of change, but we are still not seeing the scale of ambition needed to turn the country around. We welcome the announcement of investment in the NHS, but it will not work unless the Government invest in social care too. We welcome the investment in …”

“I congratulate the hon. Member not only on securing this debate, but on leading the charge on this issue in the House and commanding such enormous and widespread cross-party support. Does he agree that justice delayed is justice denied? We all agree with what he is calling for, and we hope the Minister may agree with i…”

“An honour.”

“It is not unusual in this House for Ministers to say that things are actively under consideration. In a previous Parliament, I have been in this room when Ministers have said that repeatedly. If it is under active consideration, can the Minister please say when that might conclude? Is he in a position to give us a dead…”

“I know that the Minister is just about to respond to the fact that we have heard powerful testimony. I understand that he is not in a position to set out any deadlines today, so I implore him to make a different commitment. Will he please commit today, in front of the many people who have joined us, to use his good off…”

“This is an absolute travesty; we have heard of this situation time and time again, with many different examples. I personally pay tribute to Philomena—my constituent—and to her daughter Jane and her grandson Josh, who are here today, for their courage in speaking about their story. I repeat my congratulations to the ho…”

“We Liberal Democrats believe that when the economy is growing, every nation, every region and every person should feel and see the benefits, so we are pleased to see investment in public transport and public infrastructure, but I must ask the Minister: where is the plan and the money for rural areas? He will remember t…”