Speeches by Western.

“I congratulate the hon. Lady on securing this debate. To add to the point she is making, is she not shocked by the scale of what we are seeing across the country? Of the new homes built in 2021-22 by the 11 largest developers, 80% are subject to fleecehold.”

“As my hon. Friend says, productivity in this country has flatlined since 2008. It is great that he has secured this debate, because productivity is one of my pet subjects, and as he has said, the Manufacturing Technology Centre is doing some fantastic work. I am sure he will have seen the video last week of Chinese rob…”

“Does the hon. Gentleman not accept that, in the years between 2010 and 2023, steel production in this country fell by 50% —40% to 50%—and does that not underline the lack of strategy under the previous Government?”

“A recent PWC survey showed that the UK is now the second most attractive investment destination among global chief executives, ahead of countries such as China, Germany and India. That shows that the Government’s careful stewardship of our economy has led to stability within the global landscape. Does the Minister agre…”

“I was concerned to read about the cancellation of shipments of essential coking coal and so on for Scunthorpe. The Business and Trade Committee heard from British Steel and Tata about some of their needs. The Minister will be aware that an area where we have failed as a country over the last six years or so is not havi…”

“I thank the Secretary of State on behalf of my constituents, many of whom work for Jaguar Land Rover and Aston Martin. This update is very welcome news, especially the changes for small and micro manufacturers and for hybrid, too, particularly in the light of Washington’s tariffs last week. Electrification and hydrogen…”

“Had this been the right hon. Members for Salisbury (John Glen) or for New Forest East (Sir Julian Lewis), I would have stood in support of them, as I am sure many colleagues would have done too, because this issue affects us all. I therefore find the Leader of the Opposition’s comments extraordinary. We must not forget…”

“Madam Deputy Speaker, you might not be aware that there is such a thing as the RAC pothole index. It shows that something like four out of 10 incidents of damage to cars happen as a result of potholes. The owners of vehicles are paying road tax and fuel duty, but they do not have the road infrastructure to support them…”

“Last Saturday was the eighth anniversary of the sad passing of PC Keith Palmer, who died in the line of duty. He died securing this place and we should remember him. [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear.”] Up and down the country, as we saw last summer, police officers put themselves in harm’s way securing and making safe the pu…”

“Clearly, the absence of an industrial strategy in the past five years has had an impact, so I welcome the Government’s notion of a steel plan. Given that the industrial strategy features three major elements—construction, defence and energy infrastructure—will the steel plan look not at a 10-year horizon but at one of …”

“Obviously, the work of carers is important, as we have been hearing. Can the Minister help me with one constituent’s case? He is a carer, but is now suffering from long covid and would be due PIP. What will happen to him under the points system?”

“Will the Minister update us on the zero emission vehicle mandate consultation? When can the sector expect an outcome?”

“I am concerned. We have heard about the UK losing its virgin steel production capacity. Is this not an opportunity for us? I do not know whether it is possible for such sites to produce armoured steel, but, given the UK’s strength in the defence sector, is that not an opportunity?”

“I mean in your work with suppliers.”

“Is there anything that needs to be done to increase industrial capabilities, in terms of scaling up production and working with partners or start-ups?”

“When will that plan be published?”

“How are people adjusting to this?”

“Presumably, there is some process going on within the Department about how we can rationalise this in a wartime or conflict era.”

“We could be learning from this and simplifying the process.”

“There are parallels with the pandemic.”