Speeches by Arthur.

“I rise to oppose the amendments, but I thank the hon. Member for Christchurch (Sir Christopher Chope) for tabling them, for engaging with the Bill and for our conversation yesterday, which I really appreciated. I understand the stated intent of the proposals, although I am not minded to support them. Over the last 10 m…”

“I thank the hon. Member for that question. Of course, the review will not start on day one after passing the Bill. It will take time to get up and running. The existing workload of those staff members will have to be reallocated, and I hope and expect there to be some initial engagement with the sector—both charities a…”

“I beg to move, That the Bill be now read the Third time. What a joy it is to say that! Madam Deputy Speaker, it has been 10 months since you pulled my little ping-pong ball out of the goldfish bowl and I started this journey. It is worth remembering that part of the reason behind this Bill was the death of my father-in…”

“I just want to make a gentle point to the hon. Member. He points out that the process feels rushed, but sitting here, I observe that there is not a lot of demand to speak from Members from any of the other parties on the Opposition Benches: just two Conservative MPs, no SNP MPs and no Reform MPs. Does he share my disap…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Stuart. I was happy with the unanimous cross-party support that the Bill received on Second Reading and look forward to examining it in detail today. The term “rare cancer” might imply that this is a relatively niche issue that is unlikely to have an impact on many of …”

“I am grateful for all the contributions to debate. The charity partners carefully picked the Committee members, given their interest in this subject, and we can see the benefit of that. I thank the hon. Member for South Antrim for his efforts to make sure that the legislation works in Northern Ireland. I am also gratef…”

“I have to admit that I am rather confused, because I am sure that the shadow Foreign Secretary was in the Cabinet when the decision was made to start these negotiations. Too often, we focus on the military aspects of this deal, but can the Minister confirm that it will also end a dangerous, irregular migration route in…”

“Will she give way?”

“Can the hon. Gentleman confirm what he thinks is the extent of the cut, because my understanding is that spending is still going to increase? Can he also confirm if the cut, as he sees it, is even bigger than the cut his party forced on the poorest in this country when in coalition?”

“On that point, why should they be like Wales, when they could be like Edinburgh? Will my hon. Friend join me in paying tribute to former councillor Lesley Hinds? One could never meet a more humble Labour councillor, but back in 2016, she rolled out Edinburgh’s city-wide 20 mile per hour zone. In 2022, independent peer-…”

“Although she lives in Edinburgh South West, my constituent Amanda wrote to me about a power that English councils do not have when it comes to road safety, namely the power to deal with pavement parking. Is that something that the Minister has considered?”

“Following on from the previous question, I have to declare that I have flown an F-35—[Hon. Members: “Ooh!”] It was a simulator. Dramatic pause there. There are companies in Edinburgh that are involved in the supply chain and I was keen to see what they were constructing. I welcome the Minister’s leadership on this. It …”

“I have Dreghorn and Redford barracks in my constituency, so I can only welcome the biggest uplift in defence spending since the cold war. However, many people will be concerned about the cost. I wonder whether there is an opportunity here: if our NATO allies are increasing spending along with us, is there an opportunit…”

“I refer Members to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. I thank the Secretary of State for his pragmatic approach. Opposition is easy, but Opposition Members know that if they were in his shoes, they would be doing exactly the same thing. Huawei has been mentioned a couple of times in passing. The …”

“I have a substantial military footprint in my constituency, not least Redford and Dreghorn barracks, so I welcome the statement. I have two questions. The first is on the situation overseas. I really welcome the comments about force protection, but it would be good to hear whether the families back home are being kept …”

“I thank the Foreign Secretary for the energy he has invested in de-escalation, because it is the only moral route out of this conflict. I thank him also for reassuring us that UK forces are not involved and that we have not given up on the plight facing ordinary Gazans. There are 90 million people in Iran, just under 1…”

“Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. The hon. Member and I must look alike. I refer Members to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. Not that long ago, we had a Scottish Government in which some Cabinet members did not even believe in economic growth, so the contrast with what we have heard today could …”

“It is a privilege to serve under your chairship, Ms Lewell. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Wrexham (Andrew Ranger) for introducing this important debate, and I welcome the thoughtful contributions that we are about to hear from across the Chamber. I make my speech within the context of my entry in the Register o…”

“As a civil engineer, I absolutely welcome the Minister’s statement, but I want to respond to it within the context of my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. If he does not mind, I will start by giving him some advice. If he is going to meet his counterpart in the Scottish Government, do not mention S…”

“The very best thing about this job is the people we meet. Last Saturday, I met Lisa Fleming and her team at the opening of the House of Hope in Edinburgh South West. It is Scotland’s first breast cancer wellbeing and support centre, and it is absolutely amazing. It is a sanctuary for people facing a diagnosis but also …”