Speeches by Wood.

“The attempted murder of Stephen Ogilvie in Belfast last month shocked people throughout the country. The man accused of this horrific attack is thought to have crossed into Northern Ireland illegally from the south. People from all communities are asking what more can be done to prevent people from coming into the UK i…”

“As I said on the application, sepsis claims the lives of more than 48,000 people in the UK each year. I know that you are a Tottenham Hotspur fan, Chair, so if 48,000 is difficult to conceptualise, the number who will die in a typical year in the UK is roughly the combined capacities of the south stand, the north stand…”

“If we had to. As I say, there was a Westminster Hall debate two years ago, so I think there would be less value in having another one, whereas having the first Chamber debate on this issue would obviously be rather more valuable in terms of actually getting something done.”

“I don’t think we are going to have a problem, in that, to be honest, this was very much a last-minute attempt to get an application in before the recess. We had the AGM of the all-party group, last Tuesday I think it was, and we floated vague ideas. I think it was last Wednesday or Thursday when I just happened to bump…”

“Of course. Mr Toby Perkins made representations.”

“I could not agree more. It is particularly important that infected and affected victims and their families, who for many, many years were not listened to, heard or believed, and who faced officials who denied what all the evidence later proved to be the case, now feel that they are being treated with respect and sensit…”

“I would like to start by thanking the Paymaster General for bringing forward these important regulations and also to say thank you to the former Minister for Public Health, the hon. Member for West Lancashire (Ashley Dalton), for her valuable work when she was in office. This debate takes place in the shadow of one of …”

“I thank the Minister for advance sight of his statement. Nobody in this House should be in any doubt about the anxiety and hardship being felt by retired public servants and the grieving families left stranded by this operational collapse. We are talking about more than 6,700 outstanding pension quotations and more tha…”

“Fundamentally, I think it comes down to the employment relationship. Obviously, as Members of Parliament, we are elected to represent constituents. It is then a question of judgment as to what activities conflict with that and prevent us doing that role as well as we need to. I think most people would agree that some o…”

“I thank the hon. Member for making the point that I was about to move on to. Some of the jobs that I have mentioned are better remunerated, so it is incredibly difficult to know where a formal line should be drawn in explicit rules. If medical jobs are acceptable, why not the legal work that some Members have legally a…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Western. I congratulate the hon. Member for Leeds East (Richard Burgon) on securing this debate. This is a vital discussion that goes to the very heart of how our democracy functions, how our legislature connects with the public and how we maintain institutional int…”

“I thank the Minister for that answer, but the latest figures show that the average custodial sentence for an adult knife or offensive weapon offence is just over eight months. Under the Sentencing Act 2026, there has been a presumption since March that any sentence below 12 months should be suspended, so what action is…”

“12. What assessment he has made of trends in the number of people receiving immediate custodial sentences for knife crime offences.”

“I think everybody will have heard that the Minister has again refused to give any indication as to what he thinks would be an acceptable bill. The Government used the cover of the Prime Minister’s resignation on Monday to sneak out a written ministerial statement to say that the Turing scheme was being cancelled—a good…”

“The Minister has submitted in answers to written questions that there will be no substantive vote in this House on UK association to Erasmus+, even though the Government plan to tie us into a multi-year programme without saying what it will cost after the first year. The Defence Secretary resigned because the Chancello…”

“The hon. Gentleman gets to the heart of the issue, as he so often does. Protest stops being peaceful protest when it involves using weapons to harm and intimidate those who hold a different view. To suggest that open and transparent advocacy by British citizens and established communal organisations constitutes an impr…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Harris. We are here to debate e-petition 752646, which calls for a public inquiry into what the petitioners term “pro-Israel influence” on UK politics, party policies and public debate. I thank the petitioners for raising concerns about foreign influence, transpare…”

“Will the hon. Member give way?”

“The hon. Gentleman did not have the courtesy to give way to me, but I will give way to him.”

“The difference is that every day of every week of every year there are concerted attacks from Russia and China on our democratic system, on communities around the country and across online media, to try to set one part of our community against another, and they do not care who wins. When the hon. Gentleman spoke earlie…”