Speeches by Western.

“We have always had a culture of short-termism in this country, versus Japan or Germany. Are you saying it has got even worse?”

“We have been around the country, talking to businesses in different parts, and they just say, “No one’s interested in talking to us.””

“Correct me if I am wrong, but we have a huge sector, in terms of our financing base with venture capitalists, private equity and so on. Why is there such a gap in this country?”

“You do not think they have been damaged?”

“Mr Cummins, when you are talking to businesses and investors, what feedback do you get on the UK’s relative strengths and weaknesses in terms of investing here, but also scaling up?”

“Ms Bell, since the election we have seen a whole raft of announcements: the Stellantis closure at Luton; then, most recently, the AstraZeneca decision in Liverpool; and then some difficulties that Harland and Wolff has been experiencing over in Belfast. Do you see that as indicative of a wider malaise in the UK economy…”

“The Government has announced a whole raft of reforms to help drive growth. Which do you think are actually going to accelerate growth and which do you think might hold back growth?”

“Order. I remind hon. Members to refer to each other as “the hon. Member” as opposed to “you”.”

“I remind Members that they should bob if they wish to be called in the debate.”

“The current ceasefire is clearly welcome, but it is fragile, given that Israel seems determined to pursue a policy of expansionism. We have seen the bombings in Jenin and the expansion into southern Lebanon, as well as into the buffer zone of the Golan heights, and Israel will only be emboldened by the irresponsible ra…”

“In a week when we are reminded of the tragedy of Grenfell Tower, we have also learned about the scandal of companies issuing false fire safety certificates, or EWS1—external wall system—forms. I understand that there is no official register of those certificates, yet tens of thousands of homeowners are affected by the …”

“On that point, Mr Lusty, do you think it is reasonable that the elderly, the less mobile and younger students who do not have access to a vehicle have to pay a price premium for the same brand store in a town as opposed to an out-of-town store?”

“Just to be clear, you use the term dynamic pricing and you mean dynamic pricing; you do not mean variable pricing or drip pricing. Or are you looking in the round at all elements where there may be differences in price being offered to a consumer?”

“Mr Lusty, in terms of the scope of work that the CMA is doing, how is your work compared to that of the Government, and how do you think it is aligning?”

“We need some sort view of across Government, do we not?”

“I am sure many of us would agree with your point that historically there has been variable pricing. We heard earlier from the hospitality sector—I think you were in the room—that there has been differential pricing such as on different days, different parts of day, different parts of week. But they are advertised and t…”

“Minister, in the first panel you heard consumer groups saying how important transparency and predictability in market pricing are for consumers. How do the Government plan to get the right balance between consumer protection and a fair and reasonable objective of profitability on the part of a provider?”

“What have you done as a result?”

“In the last three years I have done a basket comparison of goods between an out-of-town and an in-town retailer, and the difference is about 20% between the two Tesco stores. Have you done analysis of that in the last three years?”

“What about airline companies and so on? We have heard a lot about groceries, and you seem to be quite strong on and feel comfortable talking about groceries, but what about airlines?”