Speeches by Glover.

“I thank the Secretary of State for clarity on what the this is and what it is not. It is welcome that it is about Northern Powerhouse Rail and its Manchester to Liverpool core—a scheme that the Liberal Democrats continue to support. We hope this time that the dreams for Northern Powerhouse Rail will become a reality, g…”

“My hon. Friend makes a good point about salaries and how income levels are not necessarily a good predictor of usefulness to society and economic contribution. We have heard that point made clearly about social workers, but does he agree that in high-tech sectors such as space, biotech and robotics, we need global tale…”

“As the shadow Minister said, amendment 210 is our attempt to strengthen the ORR’s role in access decisions, so we agree with some of the Conservative amendments, but not all of them. Let me explain the context. In an ideal world, I would not want to see competition between passenger services decided by the ORR, for two…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship once again, Mrs Hobhouse. Liberal Democrat amendment 252 is intended to strengthen the freight target in the Bill, which—as I have previously said—is something that we welcome. Amendment 149 on freight electrification and the need for a freight strategy highlights the fact…”

“One moment, Mrs Hobhouse.”

“I should have said earlier, Mr Western, that it is a pleasure to once again serve under your chairship as we debate another exciting group of amendments. I want to make some brief remarks on the Conservative amendments in this group. I eagerly await the Minister’s polite but withering put-down. Amendment 26 is a matter…”

“I shall not then, Mrs Hobhouse. Thank you for your guidance. Question put, That the amendment be made.”

“I apologise, Mr Western; I had forgotten I was due to speak, because we started to discuss this group the other day. I do not have too much to say. I can understand some of the Minister’s points, but I certainly disagree with others. There is, of course, a balance between being too prescriptive and something being so w…”

“The hon. Gentleman is quite right to rebuke me, albeit very politely and gently. I should have worded the amendment in a non-exclusive manner, to make sure that I did not forget any other form of transport. He is right to highlight, as I know he is about to, the critical importance of the integrated transport terminal …”

“We seem to be losing track of the words that have been tabled. Either that or, like a group of management consultants, we are in danger of getting plans confused with strategies and tedious things such as that. Amendment 207 is neither intended nor drafted to encourage or enable the micromanagement of timetables. It is…”

“There is a “Yes, Minister” episode along those lines.”

“The question is simple but the answers probably will not be. What would you most like to see in the upcoming integrated national transport strategy to support more joined-up journeys? We are eagerly awaiting it in the near future. We have been awaiting it in the near future for some time, but maybe it will come.”

“A lot of the evidence we have received, and it has come up in the conversation so far, has emphasised the need to put transport users at the centre of the design and delivery of integrated transport, and of the need to make sure we engage those users and design the integrated transport networks to meet the needs of the…”

“Are you basically saying that it helps with the first and last mile, or in that case kilometre?”

“In my Oxfordshire constituency, pubs including the Fox Inn in Denchworth, the White Hart in Harwell and the Fox and Hounds in Uffington are vital to their village communities, yet they face significant business rate increases from April. Given that the chief executive of the Valuation Office Agency told the Treasury Co…”

“I understand the shadow Minister’s point, but I put it to him that the fact that our Parliaments tend to be four or five years long is precisely why the strategy needs to be very long term, so that we avoid subjecting our railway to the political cycle and the whims and whimsies of the Government of the day. But perhap…”

“We have reached a rather long group of amendments at this point in the afternoon. I would generally have liked to have used that as an opportunity to be concise. However—[Laughter.] No, no, the substance is too severe for that to be the case. Let me start off on a positive note: this rail strategy is perhaps the strong…”

“10. What assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to business rates on the hospitality sector.”

“May I correct an earlier omission, Mr Western, by stating that it is a pleasure to serve under your chairship? First, I want to make some general comments about this part of the Bill, which appears to be based largely on the existing five-year control period framework for rail industry planning and funding. Overall, th…”

“Oh right—okay. I seemingly stand corrected. Well, there we go; this probably will not be the last mention either. It is good that an element of the Bill enables us to have some hope of reaching the glory of the marvellous rail network in Switzerland, which genuinely merits admiration. We so often assume, lazily, that r…”