Speeches by Morello.

“Too many disabled people in West Dorset are living in fear: fear that the PIP support they rely on will be taken away or that loved ones might not qualify. In recent weeks, I have heard from 190 constituents each sharing their distress about the plans. One of my constituents, Barbara, is 65. She has lived with juvenile…”

“Professor Whitman, the same question: does the UK have to choose between US and EU foreign policy priorities when it comes to Russia and China?”

“I would like to go back to Dan’s point about the EU versus the US, and potential relationships. We have heard in previous evidence about the potential economic benefit of a UK-US trade deal versus closer alignment with the EU, which is no doubt arguable one way or the other. In terms of the timeframes, you have talked …”

“Just to expand on that slightly, yes, there is AI and defence co-operation, but when it comes to defence, national security and especially foreign policy, we have a Trump Administration that has signalled a radical shift in its relationship with Russia and its expectations for what allies do around China. In terms of t…”

“I agree with all the points that my hon. Friend has made so far. This morning, I spoke to the headmaster of the Thomas Hardye school in Dorchester in my constituency. His previous job was at a London borough school in Croydon, where on average he received £10,000 per pupil; in West Dorset, that figure is £5,000. Does m…”

“In rural areas such as West Dorset, public transport is limited. Unfortunately, a car is not a luxury; it is a necessity. Our current approach to parking is outdated and increasingly unfair. At Dorchester South station, a lack of parking provision has become a source of real frustration, with drivers forced to park in …”

“I agree 100% with my hon. Friend’s point. I have no doubt that in her constituency, as in mine, there is a similar problem: when the Government talk about a fully funded pay increase, it is based on a school average. In many rural places, we do not have the average because we have smaller class sizes, or we have single…”

“I thank my hon. and gallant Friend for his intervention. From someone who has in fact put himself in harm’s way, that is a wonderful sentiment. There is also the broader issue of how we treat those who work on the frontline of global emergencies, often representing this country’s values abroad. That includes how we fun…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Lewell. I add my thanks to my hon. Friend the Member for Cheadle (Mr Morrison) for securing this important debate. As a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, I have been fortunate in meeting those on the frontline of humanitarian responses, often in some of the most…”

“I am interested, Professor Paton, in returning to Ms Smith’s point about the reliability of partners. Obviously, in President Trump’s first term he ripped up NAFTA and created a whole new trade agreement—the US-Mexico-Canada agreement—and in his second term he has effectively ripped that up with the introduction of tar…”

“What does popular look like? Are we talking 42%?”

“Trade declines with distance, which is certainly something that I have repeated. Can we actually evidence that?”

“I take the hon. Lady’s point about the need to strengthen safeguards, but passing the Bill would mean that we would be extending the powers of the Department for Work and Pensions before we had the opportunity to look at the independent review of the carer’s allowance overpayments scandal and see what reform of the Dep…”

“As has been mentioned by colleagues on the Foreign Affairs Committee, yesterday we met the Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority. He outlined to us their plans for the running of Gaza once the conflict is over. However, the Palestinian Authority are also in desperate need of long-overdue reform. Hamas’s rule of G…”

“The Minister outlined that the Government have been in communication with both India and Pakistan, and the risk of escalation. Given that risk, has the Foreign Secretary been in communication with any other regional powers, such as China?”

“I agree entirely with the hon. Gentleman on the need for investment outside of hospitals, but does he agree that we also need smarter investment? Dorset NHS foundation trust, along with Somerset NHS foundation trust and university hospitals Dorset, has submitted a business case for an integrated electronic health recor…”

“In West Dorset, we are proud of our natural environment, but that pride is undermined by the relentless dumping of raw sewage into our waterways. In 2024, there were 4,196 sewage spills in West Dorset. Across our rivers and coastlines, that added up to more than 48,000 hours of raw sewage discharge. In 2019, just four …”

“I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. As I said, those 5,200 jobs in West Dorset represent hundreds of families who depend on visitors choosing to come to Lyme Regis, West Bay, Burton Bradstock, Abbotsbury and any of the other numerous beautiful towns and villages that we have. How can those visitors do that with con…”

“All of which we have heard a lot of evidence about, but what do you believe the aims of the Government are in Gaza at this time?”

“In terms of how the IDF or the Government are perpetrating the conflict in Gaza—how they are carrying out the war in Gaza—how effective is that at delivering those outcomes? If, as you have stated, the only outcome is a sense of security and the return of the prisoners—”