Speeches by Rushworth.

“The hon. Gentleman mentions the local pharmacist. The local pharmacist in my constituency is my twin sister. She put herself through a degree in pharmacy while on universal credit as a single parent of three children. That was not her choice; it was a position that was thrust upon her. What would the hon. Member say to…”

“Will the shadow Minister give way?”

“Will the shadow Minister give way?”

“It is a privilege to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Vaz. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Southgate and Wood Green (Bambos Charalambous) for his excellent speech and for the excellent event he hosted this week with Send My Friend to School. It was very moving to see so many young people and children coming to P…”

“While the hon. Member is on that point, we are all aware of a letter that he wrote in 2020, in which he urged President Elect Joe Biden to do exactly what the Government are doing. Will the hon. Member say why his opinion has changed on the matter?”

“As one of the Back Benchers pushing the Government in this direction, I feel that the Secretary of State is taking the right approach in looking at the evidence and having a broad consultation to make sure that we get this right. However, what we can do to ensure that the voices of children and young people and parents…”

“One of the other conceptual shifts that I think we are seeing is from bilateral aid to multilateral aid. I do not know if that is a philosophical shift or if it is just an inevitability when aid cuts are as drastic as they are. Can you tell us about the philosophy behind it and also speak to that in the context of UK s…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for mentioning Bishop Auckland. On Friday, we are having a big meeting for people helping to launch our bid to be the town of culture. Does she agree that culture is what people do together? That is what makes County Durham such an incredible and vibrant place: the people who do stuff together. T…”

“Yes, but I suppose what they do not want is interference. I understand that, but many of the poorest places in the world are also weak and fragile states with weak governance, and the population does not always have a say in running their country. None the less, do you see an importance in making sure that we get aid t…”

“I am delighted to hear that. I was not aware that pushing to more local was one of the shifts.”

“Just a couple of follow-up questions. I appreciate what I thought was a very good defence of the multilateral system, and there is no question about the value of that. When it comes to bilateral UK relationships, what is likely to have more impact: a UK aid programme and partnership with a country or simply telling the…”

“I am delighted that my hon. Friend mentioned where it started. In Shildon we recently unveiled a world origin site plaque, showing that the world’s first commercial railway started in the Bishop Auckland constituency. Does she agree that we should do more to celebrate some of the world firsts in the wonderful place we …”

“If I may ask just one more on this, I understand your point that often an African Government, for example, will tell you that they do not want aid.”

“I think that is my concern, though. Where the USA and the UK have vacated spaces and China and other actors have moved in, they are the ones building not just the aid relationships but the trade relationships with those countries where we have pulled out. Given that we have values of democracy and treating workers with…”

“Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker; I am often last with my contributions, but hopefully not least. I also thank my hon. Friend the Member for Cumbernauld and Kirkintilloch (Katrina Murray) for an excellent opening speech, as well as other colleagues—in particular those from new towns—who have spoken. I represent a town t…”

“I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Halesowen (Alex Ballinger) for securing this debate, and warmly welcome the opportunity for Bishop Auckland to bid to become the UK’s town of culture. Bishop Auckland is the town that gave birth to the calendar. It was Bede who stood on a local hillside, looked at the cosmos and wr…”

“Merry Christmas, Mr Speaker. As we are all sleeping in or children are opening their stockings on this Christmas morning, farmers in Teesdale and Weardale will be up tending to their sheep and cows, and we thank them for that. As the Minister knows, at the moment only 25% of subsidies go to just 4% of farms. Smaller up…”

“1. What steps she is taking to help increase the profitability of farming.”

“I have a question about resourcing. With regard to the women in DRC lying and waiting to be raped, it is not a passive act. It is most likely a protective act.”

“It protects the village. That, more than anything, highlights this point that I think we are all in agreement on about the vital role that women play, and particularly women at grassroots, where there is inter-communal conflict. I have sat with women in the Central African Republic who said to me, to paraphrase, “I was…”