Speeches by Minns.

“Q9. James Rennie is an outstanding specialist school in the heart of my constituency. Having converted every spare corner into classrooms and exceeded its published admissions numbers, and already having 43 applications known for this September, it is bursting at the seams and cannot expand any further. What is clearly…”

“In the north of my constituency, between the Scottish border and Hadrian’s wall, lie the debatable lands, but in the centre of Carlisle lies a forgotten land along the River Caldew. It is forgotten because of the incompetence of the Conservatives, who failed to deliver the flood defences along the Caldew that were prom…”

“T7. Too many disabled people reported being unable to vote at last year’s general election. Will the Minister ensure that electoral administrators are reminded of their obligations under equality law to ensure that disabled people can exercise their right to vote independently and in secret?”

“As the MP for England’s most northerly city, and one of five MPs representing the most northern area selected for devolution, I warmly welcome today’s announcement. I keenly look forward to the elections for the Mayor of Cumbria, but my excitement is eclipsed entirely by the fevered speculation and contest that has bee…”

“I thank the right hon. Member for that intervention. We are having a debate on apprenticeships, and the fact that I put forward is that, under the last Government, they fell by 31%. I think it would be welcome if Opposition Members started to own their record in government. This Government, by contrast, are committed t…”

“I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Peterborough (Andrew Pakes) for securing this important debate. Bendalls Engineering in my constituency of Carlisle can trace its route back to 1894. Founded as a family-run business, Bendalls can lay claim to having manufactured the body parts of Donald Campbell’s Bluebird cars an…”

“Four Carlisle men, Rae Daly Armstrong, Ivan Cooke, William Lewis Johnston and Charles Ross, were among almost 500 casualties from the Photographic Reconnaissance Unit who served in the second world war. The casualty rate for that very small unit was the second highest in the war. When planning the debates and events in…”

“Having listened to the shadow Minister, I am slightly tempted to suggest to the Minister that our women’s health strategy include provision for the treatment of collective memory loss. The shadow Minister completely ignored the fact that the Tories let our NHS fall into disrepute over the past 14 years. I want to ask s…”

“Thank you for accommodating me, Dr Huq. Education should not be this devastating or exhausting, but that is what all our constituents feel when it comes to finding adequate provision for their children with specialist needs. I will talk about one specific aspect. It is not about the exhaustion of actually getting an EH…”

“I beg to move, That leave be given to bring in a Bill to require the provision of audio and tactile measures at polling stations for the purpose of enabling blind voters to vote independently and in secret; to require the Secretary of State to take steps to identify, develop and implement new accessible voting solution…”

“I thank the hon. Member for Epping Forest (Dr Hudson) for his concern and passion on this subject. Like him, I know only too well the devastation that was caused in 2001. Of course, he previously had the privilege of representing a large part of what is now the Carlisle constituency. Cumbria was the worst affected part…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Dowd. Hidden River Cabins is a wonderful local business in my constituency that offers secluded wooden cabins, tucked away in the beautiful Cumbrian countryside to the north of Carlisle. It is, quite frankly, a breathtaking place. As well as providing the perfect sp…”

“Happy new year, Madam Deputy Speaker. Before I begin, I declare an interest, in that my daughter is an NHS nurse. My Carlisle constituency includes Cumbria’s only city, but it also has a vast rural hinterland stretching from Rockcliffe in the west to the outer edge of the Northumberland national park in the east. Altho…”

“I have been personally affected by flooding. In 1985, our family home was flooded when the River Caldew in Carlisle burst its banks. I can testify, as we have already heard, to the terror and powerlessness that people feel when their home is invaded by water. Although over the past few weeks we have escaped flooding in…”

“On the eve of this year’s general election, hundreds of Carlisle residents woke to find that brown water was coming out of their taps. Some might describe the stained water as a metaphor for 14 years of Conservative failure but, for most of my residents, it was just another reminder of the poor service they have had to…”

“Q10. In centuries past, the three rivers that converge in the centre of Carlisle made the city highly defendable against invading armies. However, in 1985, 2005 and 2015 those same rivers overpowered the city, leaving thousands devastated by flooding. What assurances can the Prime Minister give my constituents that the…”

“When I was a child in Denton Holme in Carlisle, PC Kevin Scott was a very familiar figure. He knew us and we knew his name. Does the Minister agree that not only does society exist, but it is woven from thousands of communities such as Denton Holme, and that our commitment to reintroducing named community police office…”

“It is a pleasure to speak under your chairmanship, Mr Dowd. Some 20 years ago, I started a new job with an as yet unbranded mobile network operator. At the time, the network had no masts, no handsets and no customers. Text messaging was just catching on, the BlackBerry was in its infancy and wireless application protoc…”

“Further to that point of order, Mr Speaker. I will share two particular memories of Lord Prescott. The first is from my time working for the disability charity Scope. We had decided as a campaigns team to use the 1997 general election to highlight the many obstacles that disabled people faced when exercising their demo…”

“I will give way first to my hon. Friend.”