Speeches by Jogee.

“Thank you for being here. Thank you for bringing the sun with you, which is a very apt reflection.”

“Indeed. We are shining a light on these very important issues, so that is an important bit of symbolism that will no doubt feature in one of your films before too long, Trevor. I also want to thank you for your opening remarks and for the thorough setting out of the experiences you have been through personally and the …”

“I can tell that you are a man of the spoken and written word, and now “judicial striptease” has been written into the books—twice over.”

“Do either of you want to comment on this?”

“I can tell that you are a man of the spoken and written word, and now “judicial striptease” has been written into the books—twice over.”

“Trevor, you said that the initial report from June ’24 left more questions unanswered than answered. Can you give us a flavour of what those key questions would be? You have touched on it, but could you give us a clearer idea, because that would help influence how we respond?”

“Particularly when we call out that behaviour overseas.”

“The House will know that my family, like many others in Newcastle-under-Lyme, has been impacted by cancer in recent times, so I thank the Minister for his statement and his personal commitment to getting this right. On World Cancer Day, I join him in paying tribute to the charities he mentioned in his statement, and pa…”

“Sing it!”

“I too wish the shadow Minister a happy birthday. In October 2024, people from across Newcastle-under-Lyme came together for the unveiling of a wonderful statue of Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in Queen’s Gardens. There has been much talk of Heathrow airport in recent days. As our nation will mark the 100th annive…”

“For clarity, in Northern Ireland, you cannot do the up-to-three-year request for the postal vote. Each individual election requires a separate application.”

“Good morning. Welcome. It is nice to see you all. I have a couple of questions, Chair, if you do not mind, before I go into the substantive one, in relation to a couple of points that have been raised. I want to acknowledge the work that all those who work on council elections do. It is an intense period of time, endin…”

“When you ask for people to work at the count centres—and there are three in Northern Ireland—how are those roles advertised and how much are people paid?”

“In my view you cannot put a price on democracy, so that is helpful. On behaviour, you touched on particularly the police looking at issues of fraud at, potentially, polling stations. We have also touched, chief executive, on intimidation and abuse, and the experience of candidates. Can I ask what the experience of poll…”

“I would not mess with Big Gav; that is the man they need. I have two final questions. Mr Hughes, you touched on how 3% of eligible voters in Northern Ireland use the postal vote. Do you get 100% return on the postal vote?”

“Who determines the threshold on eligibility for those 5,000 people? I am just thinking. There was an article I read in the paper—I think it was today, but it may have been yesterday—that talked about Northern Ireland’s population getting older. Age was not one of the criteria that you referred to. In the context of the…”

“Lastly, chief executive, you said that there were a number of lessons that GB and more generally the rest of us could look to and pick up from Northern Ireland. Can you expand on what they are?”

“That brings with it the challenge of accessibility of course, but you are right. “United in our difference” speaks to the story of our kingdom, does it not? That gives us food for thought.”

“I thank the Foreign Secretary for his statement and the shadow Foreign Secretary for her response to it. It is important that the House speaks with one voice on these issues. In recent days, I have heard from constituents with family in Sudan, and to say that they are terrified and devastated does not describe it. Ther…”

“I am enjoying listening to the Minister’s speech, and I am learning quite a lot. Will she do me and the House a favour by sharing her thoughts on how I can best describe the benefits of this Bill to the people of Newcastle-under-Lyme when I go home tonight? I am sure she knows far better than me.”