Speeches by Akehurst.

“It is an honour to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Christopher. I was going to make some points about the industrial case, but those have been made very well by Members with a direct constituency interest in this programme, so I will talk about the role of Typhoon in air and missile defence. I have a strong interest…”

“Because of our proud history and our commitment to the rule of law, the UK is a global leader in legal services, with our courts garnering respect across the world. What does the Lord Chancellor think would be the impact on our reputation should we begin ripping up our international agreements and our commitments to th…”

“Will the hon. Lady give way?”

“Obviously, the pandemic was a factor, but the right hon. Gentleman cannot blame every Government policy failure on external factors. All Governments must deal with external factors. Unpaid carers are having to leave their jobs because the Conservatives never fixed social care. Behind every one of those 800,000 people w…”

“It is beyond belief that Conservative Members have chosen today to shine a spotlight on the subject of welfare, when their record on it is one of failure, chaos and incompetence. Under the previous Conservative Government, welfare spending ballooned out of control. The final Office for Budget Responsibility forecast on…”

“Will the hon. Lady give way?”

“I thank the right hon. Gentleman for giving way at such an early stage in his speech. I want to highlight another positive example of the use of litigation funding. It was essential in helping 52 former franchisees of Vodafone—essentially, small business owners, including one in Chester-le-Street in my constituency—to …”

“Two pro-democracy parties in Hong Kong have disbanded recently, activist Joshua Wong was rearrested and faces further charges under the national security law, and Jimmy Lai remains in prison. Does the Minister agree that the national security law continues to be used to erode the rights and freedoms of Hongkongers, and…”

“T10. Sacriston academy, a primary school in my constituency, has ceilings held up by scaffolding joists. The classrooms, built in 1910, are unusable due to water penetration through the ceilings and walls. Can the Minister say when the funding might be available to repair the school, after 14 years of Tory neglect?”

“16. What steps she has taken to increase economic growth through the 10-year infrastructure strategy.”

“Can the Chancellor outline the impact on economic growth in the north-east of England she expects from the record-breaking £1.85 billion spending package awarded earlier this year for transport infrastructure in the region?”

“I welcome the leadership displayed by the Prime Minister and Defence Secretary and our commitment to the historic 5% pledge. What steps will NATO take to further strengthen our response to growing Russian aggression?”

“I am looking forward to visiting Bloemfontein primary school in my constituency, where a new school-based nursery is about to open. Can the Minister outline what the measures announced today will mean for hard-working parents in North Durham who are trying to juggle work and family life?”

“I welcome the shadow Home Secretary’s concern about crimes linked to the asylum system—that is a concern held across the House. Why does the Minister think the Conservatives and Reform voted against the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, which allows the tagging of asylum seekers who pose a threat to public …”

“It is a shame that no one is here from the Reform party to explain its proposals for the water companies; its Members might have managed to be more eloquent than their leader was on TV yesterday. Reform’s unfunded spending commitment would send mortgages through the roof and take money away from the NHS, schools, polic…”

“Does the Minister agree that upgrading this fleet of aircraft would be easier if there were five airframes? That would allow one of the five to be taken out of service for an upgrade. It is logistically more difficult if we stick with three airframes.”

“I am coming to my conclusion, but I give way.”

“I welcome the hon. Gentleman’s intervention and agree with him about the importance of ISR capability.”

“I welcome the right hon. Member’s making that point. From my reading of the timelines of who was in office and when, I am very clear that this decision came after his time as a Minister and during the time in which he was scrutinising decisions by other Conservative Ministers. The extraordinary, destructive and irratio…”

“I agree to some extent with the points that the Chair of the Select Committee makes. Given that the production line is in Birmingham, west midlands rather than Birmingham, Alabama, I do not think we are dependent on the US going ahead with its order. There are other international customers: from memory, the Koreans, th…”