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Tag: Mark Pritchard

  • Mark Pritchard – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Mark Pritchard – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Pritchard on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will raise the release of political prisoners in Eritrea with his Eritrean counterpart.

    Mark Simmonds

    We remain deeply concerned at the continued arbitrary detention of political prisoners in Eritrea, including some detained without trial since September 2001. Our Ambassador in Asmara and EU counterparts regularly raise this with the Eritrean Government, calling for their release. I have raised human rights issues with the Foreign Minister and, most recently, FCO officials raised the issue with the Eritrean Ambassador in March 2014. We will continue to do so at every opportunity

  • Mark Pritchard – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Mark Pritchard – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Pritchard on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will discuss sexual violence against women in India with his Indian counterpart.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    We are committed to working with the government of India and international partners to address the problem of gender-based violence, human trafficking and child exploitation in India. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) has invited the government of India to attend the End Sexual Violence in Conflict Summit and has already discussed the initiative with the new Indian Foreign Minister.

  • Mark Pritchard – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Mark Pritchard – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Pritchard on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will hold discussions with Ministers in the Welsh Government on the possible implementation in Wales of a ban on the use of wild animals in circuses.

    George Eustice

    We remain committed to discussing with counterparts in all the Devolved Administrations whether a bill introducing a ban on the use of wild animals in circuses could be a Great Britain or even United Kingdom Bill.

  • Mark Pritchard – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Mark Pritchard – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Pritchard on 2014-04-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will instruct UK diplomats resident in Japan to raise the human rights case of Mr Iwao Hakamda with the Japanese authorities.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    British Ministers have made clear to their Japanese counterparts on numerous occasions the UK’s hope that Japan will move to abolish the death penalty. This is in line with UK policy towards all countries which continue to use the death penalty. Most recently, on 12 December 2013, EU Ambassadors in Tokyo wrote a joint letter to the Japanese Foreign Minister on , expressing their concern at executions which took place the same day, and deploring the eight executions authorised by the Minister of Justice since the beginning of that year.

    The FCO part-funded a study by the NGO Death Penalty Project in 2013, the conclusions of which argue that aspects of Japan’s use of the death penalty – including the sentencing and detention of Mr Hakamada – amount to breaches of its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The British Embassy in Tokyo has disseminated this report widely in Japan, including to all Members of the Diet, and we continue to raise the points in the report with the Japanese authorities. The British Embassy in Tokyo will continue to follow closely the case of Mr Hakamada, and will work with like-minded partners to raise its profile. The Embassy and the FCO put out messages on social media about the case on 28 March following his release for retrial.

  • Mark Pritchard – 2022 Comments on Boris Johnson Returning as Prime Minister

    Mark Pritchard – 2022 Comments on Boris Johnson Returning as Prime Minister

    The comments made by Mark Pritchard, the Conservative MP for The Wrekin, on Twitter on 21 October 2022.

    The Conservative Party is the most successful political party in history. The next election can still be won but we need a proven winner and someone who has broad appeal – someone who gets the big decisions right #BringBackBoris Boris can lead the fightback and puts fear into Labour.

  • Mark Pritchard – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II

    Mark Pritchard – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II

    The tribute made by Mark Pritchard, the Conservative MP for The Wrekin, in the House of Commons on 9 September 2022.

    I rise to pay tribute to our late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on my behalf and on behalf of all my constituents throughout the Wrekin constituency. Queen Elizabeth visited Shropshire many times over her long reign, and her visits to the Wrekin, in particular, are still remembered with abiding fondness and deep affection: her visit to Wrekin College in 1967, her visit to the 13th-century Butter Cross in Newport in 1981, her visit to Donnington during the Falklands war in 1982, the occasion she passed through High Ercall and nearby villages, and her last visit to the Wrekin, in 2012, when she visited RAF Cosford as part of her diamond jubilee pageant and a huge crowd of over 35,000 people turned out to greet her.

    The late Queen Elizabeth was the personification of duty, integrity, selflessness, steadfastness and resoluteness, and always with a superb sense of humour, observation and wit. Yes, that was born out of her own decency and exemplary character, but it was also born out of her deep and abiding Christian faith—something that she quietly attested to throughout her long reign, and that was so often heard in her comforting and unifying Christmas day messages, which we will all miss.

    The Wrekin loved the Queen. Shropshire loved the Queen. She will abide in all our hearts and memories. May she rest in peace and rise in glory. Long live the King.

  • Mark Pritchard – 2020 Speech on Covid-19

    Mark Pritchard – 2020 Speech on Covid-19

    Below is the text of the speech made by Mark Pritchard, the Conservative MP for The Wrekin, in the House of Commons on 11 May 2020.

    I welcome the Government’s support for businesses in Shropshire, Telford and The Wrekin, and commend Secretaries of State from different Departments for their speed and flexibility in getting many schemes off the ground. I am also conscious that, of course, at some point in the future all of this will need to be paid for. In that regard, I ask Ministers that they do not tax the surviving businesses that I believe will actually help economic recovery in this country. Yes, borrowing and fiscal stimulus can and should play a role in bearing down on any recession, but ultimately it is incentive and reward through bespoke tax cuts that will revive the economy and reduce the nation’s debt once this virus has passed. In my view, increasing taxes on sole traders and small businesses, if the Government were so tempted, would be self-defeating and counterproductive.

    Again, I welcome the Government’s furlough scheme and commend the Chancellor for the speed with which he and his Department, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, and HMRC and DWP staff have responded. It has been first class. However, I have concerns that the Government could be paying the wage bills of thousands of companies that are still making considerable profits, perhaps waiting until the end of the furlough scheme only to make their staff redundant. I also have concerns that the various schemes, particularly the furlough scheme and some of the business schemes, could be open to significant fraud. Further, the Government have said that they will do whatever it takes. Of course that offers huge reassurance to my constituents and to millions up and down the country, but I also hope that means what is realistic, what is proportionate, and, ultimately, what is affordable.

    On local government, I commend the Government for the financial support—nearly £30 million of new funding—they have given to Shropshire Council and to Telford and Wrekin Council. However, may I ask that that funding is also cascaded down to town and parish councils, which are also under pressure? The Shropshire Association of Local Councils is absolutely right to ask that the Government consider relaxing regulations around the use of capital receipts and consider extending business rate relief for councils that run markets, car parks and sporting venues. Can I also ask the Minister if the Government will move quickly on issuing guidance on how to administer the discretionary business grant, which is absolutely vital to many local businesses in my constituency?

    On quarantine, Shropshire relies very heavily on tourism—not just UK tourism but international tourism—and many jobs rely on it as well. If this measure is to go ahead, may I appeal to the Government to ensure that it ​is reviewed on a regular basis, perhaps every two weeks, and that there is a sunset clause so that it will be removed as quickly as possible?

    Ultimately, may I stand in support of the Prime Minister in saying that the Government should always be led by data and the science, and with public health in mind?