Speeches by Harding.

“I thank the Minister for advance sight of his statement. Most Members of this House recognise that Vladimir Putin has no interest in securing a just peace for Ukraine. The only peace he will accept is one that carves up Ukraine and leaves it defenceless against future Russian invasion. I welcome the steps that the Gove…”

“Can the Minister confirm that elections in Surrey will go ahead in May 2026?”

“I pay tribute to the Minister for her work on violence against women and girls. I welcome what she said to my hon. Friend the Member for Chelmsford (Marie Goldman) about her commitment to holding tech companies to account for their behaviours. However, during the passage of the Online Safety Act, the Minister and the V…”

“May I wish you, Mr Speaker, and your team a very merry Christmas? I also put on record our thanks for the forbearance that your staff have shown to us new MPs over the past year. Sandown Park racecourse in my constituency, which was the late Queen Mother’s favourite racecourse, is bringing to a close a year of celebrat…”

“My constituents will be delighted that the Government are returning the UK to Erasmus+. One of my constituents wrote to me this morning: “It is a win for those of us who think that international learning should be open to all, not just the children of the rich who can afford international fees.” But, she said: “It is t…”

“Does the Minister agree that grassroots cricket clubs are essential to community integration? I give the example of Thames Ditton cricket club, which welcomed the Afghan refugee community to play in its youth team. They made solid friendships, which will last for life.”

“The Government say that they are committed to green belt protection—in fact, the Minister has said as much at the Dispatch Box today—but the reality is set out in his statement, which says there will be a default “yes” to settlements around stations on green belt land. In my constituency of Esher and Walton, we have se…”

“I welcome the Government’s sanctions on the RSF. Those are long overdue, given that the US imposed sanctions in January and the EU have gone wider. Why has the UK left out RSF leader Hemedti? Why has the UK left out the Sudanese armed forces who are bombing civilians and using starvation as a weapon of war? It is widel…”

“The experience of my constituents in Esher and Walton, served by South Western Railway—the first of the train operators to be taken into public ownership—is not that nationalisation guarantees a better experience. This autumn feels as bad as the last. I feel it on my way—or not—into this place, and I have a sack load o…”

“But surely a retreat by the British in places like the Sahel and other places in that region invites other actors to step in, such as Russia and China, which may not have our best interests at heart?”

“But there will be less funding, essentially?”

“As is the case throughout the country, young constituents in Esher and Walton are out of work due to mental health conditions. I welcome departmental initiatives such as the disability employment advisers and cross-Government work through the joint work and health directorate and WorkWell. However, fragile mental healt…”

“11. What steps his Department is taking to support people with mental health illnesses into work.”

“Will the hon. Gentleman give way?”

“I do not have the time. Older homeowners who have watched their properties’ value soar over the years will be hardest hit by this granny tax. They are asset-rich but cash-poor. They may be forced to sell up—at reduced asking prices—and more properties will get dragged into the mansion tax net. As that happens, a propor…”

“I am sure that the Chancellor is sick of hearing her own words from last year quoted back to her: “extending the threshold freeze would hurt working people. It would take more money out of their payslips”—[Official Report, 30 October 2024; Vol. 755, c. 821.] Yesterday, she froze income tax thresholds, dragging one in f…”

“I am one of those parents who scrambles for the driving test, and many of my constituents have written to me about this issue. For Martha in Molesey it took more than 15 months, and for Evan in Thames Ditton it took more than six months. Last week, one of the driving instructors in my constituency told me that a lack o…”

“I was pleased to see that Sudan was included in the G20 consensus. Will the Prime Minister set out what that will look like in practice, given that the atrocities of El Fasher seem likely to be repeated in Kordofan? What protections will be in place for the safe passage of civilians and humanitarian workers, what will …”

“Other countries in straitened fiscal circumstances did pledge to the Tropical Forest Forever Facility, so will the Secretary of State explain why the Government failed to commit a single penny, despite the fund being conceived and designed with British minds? There was even talk of it being headquartered here in the Ci…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Butler. This is an important and timely debate. I thank colleagues for their powerful contributions. I also thank the petitioners, including 479 of my own constituents in Esher and Walton, and those who have written to me about the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. Two…”