Speeches by Hobhouse.

“The UK has a lot to be proud of in our record on climate change, such as halving our greenhouse gas emissions since 1990, being the first EU nation to phase out coal, and massively scaling up renewable energy. It is no coincidence that many of these accomplishments came against a background of cross-party consensus on …”

“Can I quickly take the hon. Gentleman back to when he said he was proud of the action his Labour Government have taken? For a long time while they were in opposition, his colleagues advocated making misogyny a hate crime. I assume it was in their manifesto, but I am not quite clear about that. He mentions misogyny as o…”

“Nearly half a million pensioners living abroad will miss out on the state pension increase because we do not have reciprocal agreements with countries such as Canada and Australia. Several former Bath constituents have raised this issue with me. What discussions has the Minister had with departmental colleagues to rect…”

“I will not; I am sorry. More than 40 charities and experts support this approach. Our constituents have made their views clear too. I have been inundated with emails, the overwhelming majority of which support a ban. Now is the time for action. The Government could accept this cross-party amendment and give children an…”

“There is now overwhelming evidence that addictive algorithms and harmful content are deeply damaging to our children’s wellbeing. We Liberal Democrats support Lords amendment 38, which would ban social media for under-16s, although our preference is for online regulation with film-style age rating of user-to-user servi…”

“I sincerely hope that was not AI-generated; it was a very special effort. Follow that, Minister!”

“The Energy Security and Net Zero Committee is running an inquiry into the costs of energy, as we have already heard from its Chair. With all due respect, I cannot understand how the Conservative Opposition can with a straight face deplore the cost of energy for bill payers while at the same time advocate prolonging our…”

“One of my Bath constituents who is a leaseholder in a housing association-managed development has received sudden and extremely high major works bills without warning. There is currently no statutory requirement for landlords or housing associations to operate sinking or reserve funds to spread the costs of major works…”

“It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Ms Lewell. What a wonderful debate we have had this afternoon. From Egyptian mummies and vampires to castles and royal pump houses, from the history of textiles and shipbuilding to Captain Cook and the Cutty Sark, the whole colourful history of our country has passed thr…”

“Since we have a little time, we should congratulate the whole sector for making museums so much more engaging and fun. I remember being dragged to museums when I was young. They were boring places to be, and I could just about survive for half an hour. These days, museums are places where people really want to stay, be…”

“What did you say? How much profit did the networks make between 2021 and 2025?”

“We have different evidence from different people, and some people were saying, “How do I recognise that?” It seems to me not very clear at all. Since it does impact consumer bills very much, first of all, shouldn’t there be much more transparency? How much profit is made by the generator or by the networks? How much is…”

“Should we?”

“Forgive me if I did not quite hear it, but the consultation you were talking about is coming soon and at pace. Is that correct? Will you consult on policy options on energy systems cost allocation and recovery?”

“But again, are you confident, from everything that we have heard, that there will not, in future, be excess energy sector profits?”

“How much profit are energy companies allowed to make before they push their costs on to consumer bills? They are making quite a lot of profits that we do not really see. We have heard that there might be as much as £500 per household in profits across the energy system. Could Ofgem be more transparent on where these pr…”

“Do you recognise the figure of £500 per household bill?”

“Some people might be interested.”

“We are particularly talking about the network charges—the network and profits. I want to know more about the network cost and the profits that the network—”

“Should that be itemised on your bill particularly to explain that to customers? Rising energy bills are obviously a big political thing. Should that not be explained better and what particular part of the charge is profit?”