Speeches by Anderson.

“The hon. Member spoke about the Labour Rural Research Group. Will it stand with the Opposition in rejecting Ukrainian eggs coming into the UK and undercutting British farmers?”

“Will the Minister give way?”

“I thank the Minister for giving way. Only 40% of my constituency has gigabit broadband and that has a major impact. Does the Minister understand how detrimental it is to move the 2030 target to 2032? I will have many constituents who will still not be able to connect to the internet.”

“Across South Shropshire, we will see pub after pub close with that rate revaluation. Does my hon. Friend agree that unless the Government look at the rate revaluation, there will be next to no pubs left?”

“Living in a rural community is a brilliant way of life. It is beautiful, but it comes with remoteness and other issues. I have lived in an urban area and a rural area, and they are different, although there are things that connect them. I want to point out a few really important things that I have found in rural commun…”

“My right hon. Friend raises a brilliant point. There are so many good things that can be done on animal welfare, but a trail hunting ban is not one of them. Let us look at the facts that support trail hunting and at the incidents over the years. From 2004 to 2023, there were 44 convictions involving trail hunting, and …”

“I welcome the Secretary of State coming to the House to update us on the commitment made by the Prime Minister last night, but I put on record my serious concerns about the commitment to put British troops on the ground. Over the past 30 years, we have not learned enough lessons on how to pull troops out of locations f…”

“On that point, will the Minister give way?”

“I thank all the South Shropshire farmers and businesses for their tireless campaign. They were continually told by the Government that they were wrong, but they have now been proved right. They are still telling me that this tax is wrong. The family farm tax is not right. Will the Minister apologise for the heartache, …”

“On a serious note, on this work towards retention and recruitment, I have not found one person in my entire military network—those I served with during the troubles and after—who supports the Bill. I welcome the rise in recruitment—one of those recruits is my son, which is great to see—but can the Minister confirm whet…”

“Thirty per cent of the US naval fleet is positioned off the coast of Venezuela, those vessels having been redeployed from many locations. They include the fifth fleet from the joint UK-US deployment in Bahrain. We will be left exposed in certain areas—90% of data cables between Europe and Asia are in that region—if thi…”

“On 12 November, I raised with the Prime Minister the alarming statement from nine former generals who attacked the Government’s approach on lawfare against our armed forces, which they said would erode trust in the justice system and is a threat to national security. Can the Secretary of State confirm whether the Prime…”

“Does my hon. Friend agree that farmers across South Shropshire have been devastated by the family farm tax? It is going to impact them far beyond what the Government are even considering, and it will impact national food security.”

“The world is rearming and rebuilding the defence industrial base at a rapid pace, and it is fair to say that the UK is starting to fall behind some of our NATO allies. Does the Secretary of State believe that the spending planned for 2027 to 2030 and onwards meets our needs and prepares us for war, should it arise?”

“Everybody knows that South Shropshire is the most beautiful rural constituency, but that rurality brings remoteness, which brings challenges with an ageing population, and with additional strikes there is concern about whether adequate healthcare will be provided this winter. Will the Secretary of State set out how tha…”

“I have unfortunately met constituents—women and girls—who have suffered extreme violence and sexual assault, and I have seen at first hand the devastating impact that it has on them. They have said to me that they want tougher sentences and that they want this issue dealt with, because it is destroying lives. Can the M…”

“If I might, I want to pick up on Rob’s point around the role of Helen McCarthy. We have been very clear as an organisation for some time around the need for devolved representation on central Government ALBs and particularly, in this context, the Industrial Strategy Advisory Council. It is really important that we have…”

“When it comes to the interaction between the Executive and central Government, there has been some really good work done, particularly around the restoration of the Executive. The five parties have come together around the interim fiscal framework. I know those conversations are ongoing. That is a positive indication o…”

“I will come back to the initial question around where Northern Ireland is in terms of industrial strategy or economic strategy, call it what you will. It is our No.1 overall ask, as an organisation, of the Executive that they would develop an economic strategy with a long-term outlook. We really need to think about wha…”

“Again, that is a very good question. It is a real issue in terms of accessing the guidance. The only difficulty we have is that there has to be a recognition that, while the arrangements we have are unique, they are also deeply complex. I have a bit of a reluctance around the notion of better guidance being put up as t…”