Speeches by Smith.

“For me, navigating that while holding a four-month-old baby brought a whole range of other challenges that I believe we will come to a bit later, given some of the things that you are keen to learn from this session. When I reflect on what I can remember of those first two weeks—frankly, I was barely sleeping, so forgi…”

“I was exceptionally fortunate—not everyone was—to find staff in the constituency quite quickly, because the Labour MP in the neighbouring seat lost and some well-qualified staff were looking for a job. Down here, I had nothing. It would have helped to have pool staff available from day one to hire for two months, with …”

“I had been a councillor in local government for a short period. I became the candidate a month before the general election, at which point my baby was three months old. The preparation I was able to do as a candidate was very little in that final period. I had obviously thought previously about what the reality of bein…”

“We had some of that. I think we were recommended to do this, but I arranged to sit down with my predecessor; she got approval to transfer some cases over to us, and we did go through that process. But there were other cases that came to us where they had had some previous experience, and maybe had not seen the email to…”

“Absolutely. If we are going to have the most diverse and representative Parliament, we have to continue to make the case for families for people from all walks of life as to how being in this place can work for them. We know that the statistics on the impact that this place has on people’s mental health, their families…”

“As I said, I was fortunate to have someone experienced come into my constituency team, but it was a massive fight for them, even though they had the experience of doing it before. We had to move office from the previous one, due to location and a few other things. The biggest challenge we faced was finding an accessibl…”

“As I said, I was fortunate to have someone experienced come into my constituency team, but it was a massive fight for them, even though they had the experience of doing it before. We had to move office from the previous one, due to location and a few other things. The biggest challenge we faced was finding an accessibl…”

“We had some of that. I think we were recommended to do this, but I arranged to sit down with my predecessor; she got approval to transfer some cases over to us, and we did go through that process. But there were other cases that came to us where they had had some previous experience, and maybe had not seen the email to…”

“I am going to indulge slightly in explaining what the first couple of weeks were like for me. I was elected on the Thursday and we had to work out by the Monday where we were going to stay. There are some specific allowances that need to be considered for anybody who might come in, in the future, in my position: someon…”

“I am going to indulge slightly in explaining what the first couple of weeks were like for me. I was elected on the Thursday and we had to work out by the Monday where we were going to stay. There are some specific allowances that need to be considered for anybody who might come in, in the future, in my position: someon…”

“On the buddying opportunity, for me, the way it was set up with staff did not work on this occasion. It was theoretically for one day. I wasn’t there on time that day because I was breastfeeding or something. I really think that we need somebody from the House side who is more freed up to do a little bit more with us o…”

“We could get into a whole other discussion on that.”

“Absolutely. If we are going to have the most diverse and representative Parliament, we have to continue to make the case for families for people from all walks of life as to how being in this place can work for them. We know that the statistics on the impact that this place has on people’s mental health, their families…”

“While our brave servicemen and women were defending our national interests over the weekend, today it has been reported by the BBC that Russian state operatives were linked with arson attacks on our Prime Minister. Just last week, Stephen Yaxley-Lennon was meeting Errol Musk in Russia, and the hon. Member for Great Yar…”

“I have similar fond memories, as I was also a member of the Tower Hamlets constituency Labour party for many years. I am sure that my hon. Friend remembers the important role Jo played there, not least because it has frankly been a difficult place to do politics for many years. Having the light of someone like Jo was s…”

“Does my hon. Friend agree that we would be wise to heed the warning of what happened in the run-up to the first world war in Germany? Fundamentally, radio was a new media then, and there was no regulation of it. Where we landed was the first world war. If we do not recognise that history is in many ways repeating itsel…”

“It is an incredible honour to speak today in this debate on the life and legacy of Jo Cox, and particularly challenging to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Milton Keynes Central (Emily Darlington) and her incredibly moving words. It just makes those of us who were not Jo’s best friends incredibly jealous. We all ca…”

“T2. I welcome the Government’s commitment to defence procurement that supports British jobs. However, Mr Speaker, tens of thousands of jobs in Lancashire are reliant on fast jet production. Britain needs new jets, and we need to maintain the skills for the next generation of jets. Will the Secretary of State commit to …”

“T6. My constituent Debbie Duncan set up a petition calling on the Government to tackle tragedy trolling, which has attracted over 18,000 signatures. Does the Minister agree that it is time for action, and will she support a debate to help take this forward?”

“Good morning. Two of the major reforms in the Bill are automated voter registration and votes at 16. What assessments have you made of the impact that these changes will have on your work?”