Speeches by Vickers.

“I thank the Minister for her statement and for the updates that she has provided to me in recent weeks. As she said, there will be increased anxiety among the workforce today, and we look to the Government to provide maximum support. For the sake of clarity, will the Minister confirm that the Government do wish to main…”

“In reply to an earlier question, the Leader of the House said that the BBC should serve all local communities. It is around 18 months since we had a shake-up of BBC local radio, and the result is that it is much less local. Could we have a debate in Government time on how the BBC could be held to account for that and c…”

“(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade to make a statement on the future of Scunthorpe steelworks.”

“I remind Members to bob if they wish to speak. I intend to call the Front-Bench spokespeople at 10.28 am; if Members bear that in mind, we can probably manage without a formal time limit.”

“A cloud hangs over the economy in northern Lincolnshire at the moment with potentially significant job losses at the Scunthorpe steelworks. In view of that, can the Chancellor assure us that funding will be available not only to look after any redundant workers, but to attract new business and provide retraining for ex…”

“I join others in sending my deepest sympathy to the shadow Leader of the House for his loss. I recently attended the awards for the Grimsby and Cleethorpes scout group, and the hon. Member for Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes (Melanie Onn) and I were glad to give up our Sunday afternoon to attend the event. When we go to …”

“It is a tragic fact that wherever they occur, military conflicts result in the death of innocent civilians, among them many children—we witness this day in, day out on our TV screens. Israel has an absolute right to take action to recover the hostages, but I agree with the Foreign Secretary that the continuing bombardm…”

“I just want to declare an interest. I supported the application, and I did so because I have dealt with a number of cases in my constituency. I run a campaign with colleagues to try to prevent suicides from the Humber Bridge, so I am fully supportive.”

“My hon. Friend is making a powerful speech and I agree entirely with the points he is making. As I recall from the coalition days, one of the reasons for the Lansley reforms was to make the NHS more independent of Government, which clearly failed. My personal view is that all these arm’s length bodies, quangos and so o…”

“Earlier this week, I had a meeting with the UK Chamber of Shipping. Coincidentally, it was the day of the incident in the North sea, so obviously we discussed that, but the main point of the meeting was to discuss the impact of shipping on the UK economy and my constituency in particular. May we have a debate in Govern…”

“The one thing in the Minister’s statement that farmers in my constituency would agree with is that they are not making enough money. When, as I hope, the Minister takes up the invitation from the Father of the House to visit Lincolnshire, will he meet my farmers face to face and explain to them exactly what his Governm…”

“I am fully supportive, because I am dealing with two such cases at the moment. [Laughter.] And you are absolutely right—they are impossible people to deal with. The continuing interest charges, late payment charges and so on mount up. I am very supportive, Chair”

“I join others in praising the emergency services, and I also praise Martyn Boyers and his colleagues from Port of Grimsby East, who supported the emergency services. Obviously, the concern at the moment is extinguishing the fire, but there will be a potential longer-term impact on the local community, inasmuch as there…”

“As the Minister knows, the North sea renewables sector has been very beneficial to my Brigg and Immingham constituency, and I support proposals that will enhance and speed up the development of that sector. However, many businesses in the constituency are struggling because of energy costs, as my hon. Friends have ment…”

“On Tuesday, I took part in the Westminster Hall debate on market towns, which was heavily oversubscribed. Although Members across the House did their best to canter around their constituencies and highlight places such as, in my case, Brigg and Barton-upon-Humber, time was very limited. Our market towns face a host of …”

“It is good to see you in the Chair this morning, Sir Jeremy. Since last year’s election, I have added another market town to my constituency—Brigg in northern Lincolnshire. Along the beautiful paved streets of Brigg there are a number of excellent independently owned shops and boutiques, as well as a fantastic range of…”

“I wish to declare an interest. I have signed the application. I naturally wanted to give some cross-party support to my Member of Parliament.”

“Unlike other Members who have been reflecting on recent visits to the region, although I have visited the region more recently, I visited both Gaza and Israel as long ago as 2012. My reflection when I returned, particularly from Gaza, was how appalling the conditions were. How much worse they are now. I wrote an articl…”

“The hon. Gentleman is making a powerful speech. Speaking as a member of the Church of England and someone who has served on parochial church councils and as a church warden, I recognise how important it is that we move forward. He mentioned moving forward a moment ago, but in order to do that, is it not necessary for t…”

“Order. I remind Members that they should, bob if they wish to take part in the debate.”