Speeches by Downie.

“13. What steps he is taking to help reduce the cost of materials for arable farms.”

“I rise to present a petition regarding high fuel prices for people and businesses in Dunfermline. Prices in Dunfermline, Scotland’s historical capital city, are often as much as 6p per litre higher than in towns as close as 10 miles away. This cartel of pricing in and around Dunfermline is damaging small businesses, an…”

“3. What steps his Department is taking to help support trade with European countries.”

“I once again thank the Backbench Business Committee for allowing the debate and hon. Members from all parts of the House for their contributions, which were often emotional—I thank them for sharing those stories. A few themes came through, largely around the value of local volunteers and groups, beginning with the firs…”

“That was exactly my response when I heard that story. I imagined what it must be like for someone and their loved ones to sit with a suggested diagnosis of something so serious and significant, having to wait nine months before even seeing a specialist for the first time. To me, it felt like a clash between bureaucracy…”

“If Rory has already told my hon. Friend a little bit about the Parky charter, she is about to get a repeat. On World Parkinson’s Day, the Movers and Shakers group brought hundreds of people with Parkinson’s together in Old Palace Yard. Those people sang with one voice, in a reworked version of “I Will Survive”, their d…”

“The right hon. Gentleman has anticipated a point that I will make later, but I could not agree more about the need for volunteer support. Increasing the awareness of that volunteer support at the point of diagnosis is absolutely key, and I will refer to that later in my remarks. I thank him for the intervention. I foun…”

“I beg to move, That this House has considered Parkinson’s awareness month. I extend my gratitude to the Backbench Business Committee for granting me this debate, and I thank hon. Members for attending, especially given that local elections are taking place across some parts of the country—I know the pull of the doorste…”

“Before others were successfully and bravely completing the London and Manchester marathons, Brian Innes, a maths teacher at Queen Anne high school in Dunfermline, was completing the very difficult course of the Boston marathon in a little over three hours—a fantastic achievement, setting a great example to his pupils. …”

“The UK’s economic relationship with Sweden is among the most important of our economic relationships with our European partners, particularly with Sweden having recently joined NATO. As the Minister will know, Babcock is pursuing a partnership with Saab to build four Luleå-class corvettes for Sweden. That would involve…”

“In his statement, the Secretary of State referred to Russian attempts to support Houthi operations. Without compromising any information that he is unable to share, how would he rate the effectiveness of those Russian interventions, as well as the UK response? Does he agree that they show that we must continue to suppo…”

“The Scottish National party celebrated the closure and demolition of Longannet coal power station in my constituency without having a plan for its future. The former First Minister pressed the button on the charges herself. What conversations do Ministers plan to have with the site owner, Scottish Power, about the futu…”

“I understand why the procedure was a bit different for Select Committees and that you weren’t standing on a platform so much. What kind of questions came up at the hustings? Did you get any feedback afterwards that people had found them valuable?”

“Obviously, as you described, you had very different elections at different times. May I ask each of you briefly to describe whether you undertook hustings events, either inside or outside Parliament? What were they like, and did anyone find them useful?”

“May I pick up a small point, Dawn? You mentioned that previously it was the Whips who essentially chose the Deputy Speakers. Did either of you detect any kind of dead hand of Front Benchers or Whips still in your own selections, when they came through, either to stand or during the process? Obviously, you are bit diffe…”

“There could be mock Chamber sessions in future.”

“I understand why the procedure was a bit different for Select Committees and that you weren’t standing on a platform so much. What kind of questions came up at the hustings? Did you get any feedback afterwards that people had found them valuable?”

“To be honest, I think they have answered all of it, so I have nothing else to add to that.”

“Those points have been well made, but I have two questions. First, do you think there could be a hybrid system where you could prevent someone coming in for just their three minutes and then leaving again, so that the Chamber was still active? You could publish an advisory call list but keep the Chair’s right to move t…”

“Obviously, as you described, you had very different elections at different times. May I ask each of you briefly to describe whether you undertook hustings events, either inside or outside Parliament? What were they like, and did anyone find them useful?”