The comments made by Steve Baker, the Conservative MP for Wycombe, on Twitter on 22 November 2022.
I wouldn’t think for a moment of claiming for a staff Christmas party. What new hell is this?
Tag: Comments
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Chris Bryant – 2022 Comments on IPSA Guidelines Allowing MPs to Claim for Christmas Parties
The comments made by Chris Bryant, the Labour MP for Rhondda, on Twitter on 22 November 2022.
I don’t know of a single MP who asked for this or intends to use it. It is totally inappropriate and I shall certainly not be taking it up.
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Jess Phillips – 2022 Comments on IPSA Guidelines Allowing MPs to Claim for Christmas Parties
The comments made by Jess Phillips, the Labour MP for Birmingham Yardley, on Twitter on 22 November 2022.
Just want to say no one asked for this, no one I know will use it. The guidance wasn’t made by MPs and yet we will be pilloried for it. I think it’s really irresponsible to issue this guidance as if MPs have been clamouring for it when I’ve literally never heard anyone do that.
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Tony Lloyd – 2022 Parliamentary Question on the Situation in Afghanistan
The parliamentary question asked by Tony Lloyd, the Labour MP for Rochdale, in the House of Commons on 17 November 2022.
Tony Lloyd (Rochdale) (Lab)
It is not so many months ago that any international conference such as the G20 would have been seized with the situation in Afghanistan. Afghanistan has now gone off the agenda, but the humanitarian crisis there is moving into absolute tragedy as people are facing starvation. Can the Prime Minister tell us what conversations took place about Afghanistan? In any case, will he now reconvene the kind of donor conference that could make a material difference to starvation in that country?
The Prime Minister
The hon. Member is right to highlight that Afghanistan continues to experience one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. That is why earlier this year we co-hosted a UN pledging summit, together with Germany and Qatar, that helped to raise over $2 billion for Afghanistan, but he is right to put it on the agenda. I will make sure that we continue to do what we can to support the people there.
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Gillian Shephard – 2022 Comments on Announcement of Chloe Smith Standing Down
The comments made by Gillian Shephard, the former Education Secretary, on 22 November 2022.
Chloe Smith has been an outstanding Member of Parliament for Norwich North since her election in 2009, when at only 27 she became the youngest member of the House of Commons. Since then she has served as a minister in the Treasury, the Cabinet Office, as Minister for Disabled People, and finally as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. She has worked tirelessly on behalf of her constituents in Norwich North, and in Norwich and Norfolk as a whole, while at the same time bringing up a young family with her husband and successfully fighting breast cancer. She will be enormously missed by the many, many people she has helped in her time as a local MP, by her constituency members and her local colleagues. Nationally, her quiet competent presence will also be greatly missed. We will all miss her support and loyal friendship.
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Gordon Brown – 2022 Comments on Afghan Girls Attending School
The comments made by Gordon Brown, the former Labour Prime Minister, on Twitter on 22 November 2022.
All who are travelling to the World Cup in Qatar should come together to protest the Taliban’s ban on Afghan girls attending school. The Muslim world outside Afghanistan welcomes and encourages girls education. By coming together, we can change millions of lives for the better.
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Toby Perkins – 2022 Parliamentary Question on the Australian Trade Deal
The parliamentary question asked by Toby Perkins, the Labour MP for Chesterfield, in the House of Commons on 17 November 2022.
Mr Toby Perkins (Chesterfield) (Lab)
The Prime Minister laid out his approach to trade deals in his statement. He will be aware that while he was at the G20 the right hon. Member for Camborne and Redruth (George Eustice) was describing the trade deal with Australia as
“not actually a very good deal for the UK”.—[Official Report, 14 November 2022; Vol. 722, c. 424.]
Does the Prime Minister agree with the right hon. Member, who was formerly the Environment Secretary, and if so what will the Prime Minister do about it?
The Prime Minister
Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. Maybe not as important as what is about to come from the Chancellor.
All trade deals involve give and take on both sides. The Australia trade deal will open up new markets for 3 million British jobs, which is fantastic, reduce prices for Australian goods and make it easier for young people to move back and forth between the two countries. Going forward, we will ensure that our trade deals work for the UK. That is what we will deliver.
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Kevin Brennan – 2022 Parliamentary Question on Solving Problems with Northern Ireland Protocol
The parliamentary question asked by Kevin Brennan, the Labour for Cardiff West, in the House of Commons on 17 November 2022.
Kevin Brennan (Cardiff West) (Lab)
On Northern Ireland, it is reported today in The Times that the Prime Minister promised President Biden that the issues surrounding the Northern Ireland protocol would be solved by next April. Did he give that commitment to President Biden? The people of Northern Ireland face a long hard winter without a Government in place there, so should there not be a greater sense of urgency from the UK Government to sort it out?
The Prime Minister
As I have said publicly and clearly, I want to see a resolution to this issue as soon as possible. That is why I spoke to my counterparts in Ireland and the European Commission, and others, on almost the first day I took office. I am working very hard to try to bring about a negotiated settlement to the challenges we face, but those challenges on the ground are real: businesses, families and communities are suffering as a result of the protocol. I have made that point loudly and clearly to all our counterparts, and I have urged them to show flexibility and pragmatism in their response so that we can get the situation resolved on the ground and get the Executive back up and running, because that is what the people of Northern Ireland deserve.
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Michael Fabricant – 2022 Parliamentary Question on Excluding Russia from the G20
The parliamentary question asked by Michael Fabricant, the Conservative MP for Lichfield, in the House of Commons on 17 November 2022.
Michael Fabricant (Lichfield) (Con)
The Leader of the Opposition correctly said that Russia is losing this war. Like a wounded animal, it is now lashing out with weapons from, we believe, Iran and North Korea. Was any consideration given to additional sanctions on those two countries and possibly excluding Russia from membership of the G20?
The Prime Minister
The G20 is not like the G7. It is a broader grouping of countries that works by consensus, so it is not possible to expel Russia in the same way, but my hon. Friend will take comfort from our using the opportunity to unequivocally condemn Russia’s actions. With regard to sanctions on Iran and others, he will be aware that we have recently imposed new sanctions on Iran that relate specifically to the treatment of protesters in the recent demonstrations. That is the right thing to do as the behaviour of the Iranian regime is not acceptable and we should hold it to account.
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Chris Bryant – 2022 Parliamentary Question on Sanctioning of Carrie Lam
The parliamentary question asked by Chris Bryant, the Labour MP for the Rhondda, in the House of Commons on 17 November 2022.
Chris Bryant (Rhondda) (Lab)
Putin’s aggression was allowed to prosper for too long—ever since 2008, one could argue—so I completely support what the Prime Minister has said and done in support of Ukraine against the barbarism of the Russian Federation. On China, I understand the realpolitik of the past week, but the concentration camps in the Xinjiang province continue, as does the genocide, and the suppression of human rights in Hong Kong continues. May I ask the Prime Minister to do one thing, which the United States of America has already done: sanction Carrie Lam?
The Prime Minister
I am pleased that the United Kingdom has led efforts to hold China to account, including by imposing sanctions on senior Chinese officials and mobilising international support to hold China to account at the United Nations. As hon. Members have heard, we will use dialogue as an opportunity to raise the concerns that we have on Xinjiang and other human rights abuses as we see them.