Speeches by Fortune.

“I thank the hon. Lady for her comments. I have tried hard to ensure that my new clauses are objective and would apply to anybody serving as mayor. If I could be cheeky, I can completely understand why she might not want to limit mayoral powers, being mindful of future ambitions that she might have. New clause 65 would …”

“Again, the Minister is giving an example of an area in which the Mayor of London’s powers are expanding. The point I tried to make earlier—in an objective, non-political way—was that as the powers of the mayor expand, the power of the scrutiny body needs to expand to match that. Can the Minister reassure me that she he…”

“I will speak today in support of new clauses 64, 65 and 66, all tabled in my name. As I said on Second Reading, my concern is that the Bill does precious little to strengthen accountability of existing devolved bodies, especially the Greater London Authority. It establishes simple majority voting in combined authoritie…”

“On that point, does my hon. Friend the shadow Minister agree that we need to give some thought to the rise of chatbots and their nefarious activity, especially where they encourage self-harm or encourage children to do worse?”

“Residents of Northpoint in Bromley have suffered eight years of disruption and uncertainty due to work to replace cladding on their building. There is a case of serious water ingress, and they have now been waiting four months for a response from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to see if any s…”

“This is a little parochial to London, but can we ensure that local authorities in London are consulted, along with the Mayor of London, so that their power to decide is not usurped by the mayor?”

“To touch on something that the Secretary of State alluded to earlier, one of the vital services that the BBC provides is supporting local media—an industry that I worked in for 10 years. It does that through its local democracy reporting scheme, which helps bring forward the next generation of journalists and reporters…”

“I too want to thank the Minister for the Armed Forces, for whom I have huge personal respect. Anyone who wants to take themselves to Wikipedia and have a look through his glittering career will be amazed. I made the mistake of looking earlier and finding out that he was younger than me, which was thoroughly depressing.…”

“I agree with my right hon. Friend. It is worth re-emphasising that the mayor has had responsibility for delivering housing in London for nine years and has fundamentally failed to deliver on his promises. On weakening green-belt protections, which matters so much to those of us representing outer London boroughs, it is…”

“Of course I will, Mr Mundell. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Old Bexley and Sidcup (Mr French) for securing this debate. I also thank my hon. Friend the Member for Harrow East (Bob Blackman) for his excellent speech, much of which I agreed with, especially about using the TfL space. The TfL chairman is Sadiq Kha…”

“My wonderful constituency of Bromley and Biggin Hill is also home to many SMEs, and they tell me that they are being punished because of the irresponsible decisions taken by this Labour Government. Does my hon. Friend agree?”

“My constituency has nearly 5,000 SMEs, all of which are facing increasing business rates and taxes, threatening jobs and growth. Will the Minister signal his support for SMEs by following the Conservative party’s lead and completely abolishing business rates for pubs and restaurants on the high street?”

“The Mayor of London is making £260 million of cuts to the Metropolitan police, axing 1,700 police officers and staff, removing officers from schools and magistrates courts, and now closing Bromley police station’s front counter overnight. That breaks his manifesto pledge to protect London’s police stations. Given that …”

“I agree with my hon. Friend strongly that the regulation will impact clubs both large and small, such as Bromley FC in my constituency. The financial impact will be quite onerous, with very little benefit. Would my hon. Friend agree that we should have a review of the impact of the regulator on smaller clubs such as Br…”

“Talking about the difference between the public and private sectors, does my hon. Friend agree that it is deeply concerning that, at a time of rising taxation and increasing Government debt, this Government cannot even tell us how much a digital ID scheme would cost?”

“Will the Minister give way?”

“I send my condolences to Chris and his family. Over the past five years, Bromley council has planted around 5,000 street trees and another 800 in parks, all working with residents and schoolchildren. Does my right hon. Friend agree that other local authorities could look to Bromley council for best practice in maintena…”

“My hon. Friend talks of pensioners. Does he agree that this is an extra pressure on them, following all the concern that was caused to them by the cut in winter fuel payments?”

“I agree that the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, is causing residents in Bromley and Bexley real financial hardship. However, I in no way believe that this will be the final straw—the final way that the Mayor of London can find to damage my constituents and those of my hon. Friend. I am sure that he has plenty more straws…”

“It is right that we continue to support Ukraine. Our support of Ukraine is keeping us safe in the west, and we need to redouble our efforts to make sure the brave soldiers and people of Ukraine are well defended. Drones are now an important part of supply chains and logistics, with Ukraine using ground drones to move a…”