Speeches by Olney.

“I welcome the Government’s increased funding for the Metropolitan police, but this commitment does not go anywhere near far enough to deliver what is required for safe policing on the streets of London. The Labour party was elected into office on the mandate to restore community policing, which was gutted by the last C…”

“My hon. Friend is absolutely right. When I speak to my local police officers—the officers patrolling the streets of my constituency—I find very often that they actually live quite some distance from the communities they serve. That is obviously a direct result of the cost of living in London, but it creates a real prob…”

“The hon. Gentleman is precisely right. Having had conversations with local police teams, what I find frequently is that there is a large turnover of police officers in neighbourhood policing, which really affects the ability of police officers to develop a relationship with their local communities. That lack of experie…”

“A constituent came to see me last week who had not eaten for four days. Her state pension had increased in line with the triple lock but this took her over the threshold for pension credit, which then took away her entitlement to a range of other benefits including the winter fuel allowance. What are the Government doi…”

“People across the country are fed up with first past the post. The 2024 election was the most disproportionate in history, with the Government winning two thirds of the seats on one third of the vote—the second biggest majority of seats for any Government since the second world war on the lowest share of the vote ever …”

“I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Hazel Grove (Lisa Smart), the hon. Member for Leeds Central and Headingley (Alex Sobel) and all members of the all-party parliamentary group for fair elections for securing this important debate. It has been an exciting few months for the cause of fair votes in Parliament, and I am…”

“Q Dr Price, I am really glad that we are able to have the Royal College of Psychiatrists in front of us today; thank you for making the time. I want to ask you about paragraph 11 of your written evidence, which states that it is the royal college’s view that the Mental Capacity Act “is not sufficient for the purposes o…”

“Where are all the Conservative representatives?”

“Your Back Benchers could have spoken in this debate. There are many urgent and pressing challenges facing the UK today, but it is essential that the vast majority of its citizens actively support the mechanisms by which decisions are made to address them. Increasing levels of disengagement threaten our ability to respo…”

“There was no Back-Bench speech from any Member of your party, and you will have your opportunity in a minute.”

“I will not give way.”

“It is no surprise that we are seeing record levels of disillusionment with the political process, with citizens becoming increasingly disengaged. This is reflected in the fact that turnout at the 2024 general election was the second lowest since 1918, at just under 60%. More than 40% of registered voters in the UK thou…”

“Thank you for answering that.”

“Q The Chair has given me permission to ask a very quick follow-up, Pat, since you mentioned that. I am really sorry to ask this, but do you think that if it had been administered by a doctor, she would have chosen to live for a little longer? Pat Malone: I cannot speak for her, but there were many, many problems. Bizar…”

“Q Thank you all for coming today and for sharing these really personal recollections. I have one question, but to both Liz and Julie, if that is okay. According to the notes that I have here—apologies if I have got this wrong—in both your brother’s situation and your husband’s situation, it was administered by the doct…”

“My hon. Friend is absolutely right about the Erasmus programme. Our young people—those aged under 30—have struggled more, I think, than other age groups to overcome the impact of the pandemic and lockdown on many of their formative experiences. The Government should be looking for every opportunity to offer them the ki…”

“I am passionate about opportunities for young people; that is why I am talking about a youth mobility scheme in this debate, but we also need to get behind a whole range of policy interventions, including apprenticeships and funding for further education. We need also to look at barriers to employment, particularly for…”

“I am glad to hear these words about the Labour Government’s commitment to improving our relationships with the European Union, but what the Liberal Democrats would like to see is some action. We think introducing a youth mobility scheme is a valuable and necessary first step and there is no reason why we cannot crack o…”

“My hon. Friend is absolutely right— I wish that the Chancellor, who I gather is somewhere in Oxfordshire, had been here to hear her intervention. She is so right to say that a youth mobility scheme of this kind would make a real, substantial impact on growth in the UK; more than—dare I say it?—the expansion of Heathrow…”

“First, our four-step process was about a much more comprehensive programme of engagement with the EU than what we are solely calling for today, which is a youth mobility scheme. Secondly, I put it to the Minister that since our manifesto was published back in June of last year, there has been substantial change in the …”