Speeches by Adam.

“No.”

“I was not aware of that.”

“It is still very important, because Select Committees are one aspect of a huge fraternity here. Therefore, it was so many other things you see before a Select Committee when you wish to be elected. I am sure somebody does get elected primarily just to be on a Select Committee, but there are a lot of other representatio…”

“I knew that, but I still stood.”

“I was aware.”

“I have tried in one and I was not accepted.”

“I am part of multiple APPGs, which I find very useful, and that creates cross-party alliances as well, but for Select Committees it feels we are not able to contribute the expertise that we bring. We are still as elected as any other individual from any political party. We hold the same mandate, so I feel that is one a…”

“When I submitted initially, I probably did not have as many parliamentary colleagues that I knew across the parties and the Chamber. I think that has changed now. I have not cognisantly felt that reticence on these issues at all up to this stage.”

“No.”

“I have applied for a Westminster Hall debate—I think possibly two, but definitely one. I have not been selected, but again I don’t know what the ratio is for other people. I have not applied for an adjournment debate. At the moment I have not been selected for a Westminster Hall debate, but I have not seen a pattern fo…”

“That is one area where I feel that I am not asking the right questions because they keep being returned to me from the Table Office: “How is it that you want this question to be articulated?” We have submitted multiple written questions, and we get that response back the majority of the time. As for putting my name dow…”

“I feel that we do overall. I have never felt that I have been ignored. The feeling that I get—and this is a judgment I am making on my experience, because I spend quite a lot of time in the Chamber—is that I am called relatively late on in a debate. Maybe everybody feels that, but it is sometimes two, three, four hours…”

“One day or was it two days?”

“I concur with my colleague. I think the most common question I get asked is, “Is it difficult being an independent?” My answer is, “It is, but I don’t know any different.” Is it any more difficult than being a new parliamentarian from a particular political party? What I found very useful is that in the beginning in ou…”

“Thank you. I am Shockat Adam, the independent MP for Leicester South.”

“Likewise. I was aware of it prior to that but, thankfully, have not had the need to use it. But if there is, now we are part of the alliance, we would be able to navigate that quite comfortably, I think.”

“I think it has been comprehensively covered.”

“I feel that we do overall. I have never felt that I have been ignored. The feeling that I get—and this is a judgment I am making on my experience, because I spend quite a lot of time in the Chamber—is that I am called relatively late on in a debate. Maybe everybody feels that, but it is sometimes two, three, four hours…”

“Again, we could definitely have done with a little bit more assistance on that.”

“Sorry?”