Speeches by Kirkham.

“Ofwat changed the rules, did it not, about the dividends? So Thames could no longer pay dividends to Kemble, and then it defaulted on that £400 million loan in April 2024. What impact did that then have on Thames?”

“Have the creditors played any role in the preferred bidder process?”

“With no discussion at all with the creditors?”

“Yes, as well as Thames Water, and you stepped down. Why did you step down? There were issues pointed out that there was a conflict there because of the debt, is that why you stepped down?”

“Was the board aware that the Class A bondholders were being offered this large stake? And was the board aware whether any of the other bidders were doing something similar?”

“That then does make it look like there is a conflict. If they are the ones basically invested in and essentially economically controlling the company, and they are going to end up with a large stake if this deal goes through, as Barry was saying earlier, it rings alarm bells.”

“Yes, I am going to ask about ownership. I was not here at the last Committee, I know that you did deal with this then, but if you could just go through the structure a little with me? You said last time, Sir Adrian, that you would love to simplify the opaque and complex structure but I am looking at it now and it seems…”

“Yes, because Thames Water pays dividends: not to the shareholders, but to Kemble, did it not?”

“Just quickly to go back to the other people who work for Thames Water—the water engineers and others—I have just had a quick look on the website and there are numerous vacant roles there, so would the same not apply? As Helena was saying, you need those talented people to work on the ground as well. So why is so much a…”

“The shadow Chancellor spoke about public sector workers benefiting from this kind of investment. Before I came to the House, I was the chair of the Cornwall local government pension scheme, which very successfully invested 7.5% in local and social impact investments—in local renewables and local affordable housing. Wil…”

“Violence in prisons rose sharply as investment and staffing fell under the previous Government. I spoke to a prison officer who got an award for his bravery in dealing with one of the many incidents at the prison. He took his daughter to receive the award, and afterwards she begged him to stop doing the job. He no long…”

“T7. I must thank the Land Army, too. I am only here because my grandma met my grandad on his farm when she was working in the Land Army. Cornwall has a successful horticultural industry, specialising in cauliflowers, daffodils, potatoes and courgettes. The industry welcomed the extension of the seasonal worker visa sch…”

“Does my hon. Friend agree that transport in rural and semi-rural areas can often be much more expensive than in urban areas, where it is subsidised to a far greater extent?”

“Q4. I start by congratulating Truro City football club, who have gone from homelessness to league champions in one season. In Cornwall, clean energy is a huge opportunity. We are fortunate to have vast natural resources, with onshore and offshore wind, geothermal and tidal. We have a strategically vital port and a work…”

“I sit on the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, and we are also making submissions to the Cunliffe review. I do not believe ownership of water is outside the scope of the review. It will be looking at how our water is owned—maybe not nationalisation, but certainly other methods of ownership.”

“Does the Minister, in contrast with the last speaker, agree that the future of this country is in clean power, safely produced from our own natural resources, such as floating offshore wind in the Celtic sea, and ultimately in our infrastructure being built out of green British steel, not steel imported from China?”

“Cornwall is a big rural legal aid desert. We have many volunteers who would be prepared to help and Citizens Advice could act as an umbrella organisation. Will the Minister meet me to discuss how we can get some of that funding for access to legal aid in rural areas into Cornwall?”

“I am grateful to the hon. Member for South Devon (Caroline Voaden) for securing this debate. Since I first wrote on social media asking my constituents whether they had been affected by fleecehold, I have had hundreds of messages, showing how much of a problem this is across the country. The way we build, own and manag…”

“I wish to add my voice as an MP from Cornwall to say that some of the actions the Government have taken so far on second homes have been really helpful. The Renters’ Rights Bill will help with those evictions when people are flipping their houses. I also ask that we look at the loophole between council tax and business…”

“The Renters’ Rights Bill will help to curtail the use of section 21 evictions to flip houses to holiday lets in Cornwall, but we still have a massive issue with second homes, and with holiday lets in particular. Can the Leader of the House find out what progress the Government are making on bringing in a registration s…”