Speeches by Morton.

“My right hon. Friend makes a really important point. Whether in rural North Yorkshire or on the edge of the west midlands where we have some fantastic rural landscapes, surely the fact of the matter is that we have a Labour Government who really do not understand the countryside or the countryside way of life. They are…”

“Q8. The Prime Minister promised not to bulldoze the countryside, but under Labour, green fields in Aldridge-Brownhills on Stonnall Road, Birch Lane and Bosty Lane are now under threat. Does he accept that his housing target can be met without destroying our farmland and countryside by reusing empty homes and brownfield…”

“Despite many opportunities to do so, the Minister simply refuses to apologise. Despite warnings from so many organisations that this tax would do real harm, farmers, including those in my constituency, have been forced to live with fear and uncertainty for more than 14 months. Can the Minister explain what support his …”

“Is not the truth that we have a Government with no business experience who think that they can simply push the costs down to businesses, squeeze and squeeze them, and they will pass the price on to customers? They will have no customers. There will be no businesses. There will be no jobs.”

“We have made our position very clear when it comes to the defence budget. Obviously, as we get nearer to another election, we will set out more detail. Today—International Human Rights Day 2025—is an important day. It is a really good opportunity for us all to come together, not just to highlight some of the many cases…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Butler. I start by thanking the hon. Member for Penrith and Solway (Markus Campbell-Savours) for securing this debate, and for his thoughtful and reflective introduction, marking International Human Rights Day 2025. Every year on 10 December we pause to reaffirm the…”

“Great British Railways is not an entirely new concept, but what the Government present as a “modernisation of our railways” is, when we strip away the glossy language, a centralising piece of legislation that advances Labour’s drive towards nationalisation. It risks creating a structure that is powerful, sprawling and …”

“My hon. Friend is absolutely right. What is worse is that time after time I cannot get a straight answer out of Ministers as to whether they will support open access. The Bill also weakens the independence of the ORR. When a body that runs services also shapes the rules against which those services are judged, the Hous…”

“To be clear on accountability, how and where can a Member of Parliament hold a directly elected mayor to account for his or her decisions when it comes to railways?”

“I welcome the Minister to the Dispatch Box. On the specific point of answering our questions, can he give us clarity on accountability? Where does accountability lie? Where will we as Members of Parliament see accountability for the actions of Ministers and mayors?”

“Does the hon. Gentleman think that mandatory ID would realistically stop these problem shops on the high street?”

“Will the hon. Member give way?”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Western. I thank the Minister for his explanation of the draft order. As he will expect, I have a number of questions on which some further clarity would be helpful for the Committee. His Majesty’s Opposition recognise the long-standing role that the UK has played i…”

“I will keep my intervention very short, Sir Edward. An unheard-of 4,400 of my constituents signed this petition. They are very clear that they do not want the imposition—which is what it will be—of digital ID. As we heard from my hon. Friend’s history lesson, time and again it has been the Conservatives who have said, …”

“I am grateful to the hon. Member for Bicester and Woodstock (Calum Miller) for securing this urgent question. Venezuela may be thousands of miles away, but instability there has a direct impact on the safety and prosperity of the British people here. The restoration of democratic institutions is essential if Venezuela …”

“We all want to see Ukraine, a country that has made huge sacrifices to defend its freedom, secure a peace on its own terms, but to put pressure on Putin and weaken his ability to wage war, we must go harder after the money that is fuelling his war machine. We have seen reports that Lakshmi Mittal’s company has been buy…”

“We have heard Ministers in this House and elsewhere make claims about Israel and aid. Does the Foreign Secretary recognise the Co-ordination of Government Activities in the Territories and the Civil-Military Co-ordination Centre figures, which show that 4,200 trucks of aid are entering Gaza a week, meeting the targets …”

“I am sorry, but it is simply not good enough for the Foreign Secretary to dismiss questions by saying that sanctions are not discussed on the Floor of the House. This is a man who has profited, and a business that has profited, by buying Russian oil, thus fuelling Putin’s illegal war—a war that has caused death and des…”

“A game of strategy, tactics and sometimes outright brinkmanship might sound familiar to the Cabinet at the moment, but I am actually talking about chess. Meadow View primary school in my constituency has qualified for the London chess classic, which takes place tomorrow. Will the Education Secretary join me in congratu…”

“It is deeply damaging and, dare I say, unprecedented that we find ourselves here today, listening to this statement about OBR forecasts, midway through the debate on the Budget. It raises more questions, not least because the Chancellor chose not to be here today to answer those questions. Why?”