Speeches by Thompson.

“My constituents have not forgotten following the rules during lockdown only to find out that the then Government, who set those rules, were having raucous, drunken parties in the corridors of power. I greatly welcome this Government’s strengthening the ministerial code and ensuring that our nation’s leaders are properl…”

“T4. Much of Erewash is on a floodplain, so the Flood Re scheme is an enormous help to my constituents, particularly those who were catastrophically affected by Storm Babet in 2023. However, local businesses have told me that there is no similar scheme to support their properties. What steps is the Minister taking to su…”

“Q12. Since this Government massively boosted the national minimum wage for young people, my Erewash constituents earn far more than the £3.40 an hour that I was paid in my first job just 17 years ago. What is the Deputy Prime Minister’s response to the people, including Conservative and Reform Members, who claim that £…”

“Like people around the country, my constituents are tired of watching their high streets decline. They are tired of seeing good, local businesses close, replaced by dodgy barbers, vape shops, betting shops, or worse: nothing at all, with the shop left to rot. The decline in our high streets is a political choice that w…”

“In my area, the Conservative administration brought in a parking charge after Labour campaigned extensively for free parking. I was reassured by the local council recently, because the data showed that parking charges actually made no difference at all to footfall. Could the right hon. Gentleman comment on the fact tha…”

“When the shadow Minister’s party came into government in 2010, I was working in the Animal store in Queens Arcade in Cardiff, which was an anchor institution there: it brought people in, and ensured that retail was thriving in the community. When his party left government 14 years later, the Animal store was closed, as…”

“I thank the hon. Gentleman for that very reasonable point, although I think it is probably more a question for the ministerial team than for me. I am extremely proud to work with Labour-controlled Erewash borough council, which has been taking a lot of firm action recently on our declining high street. Since taking con…”

“This evening, I will join Long Eaton’s Men Walking and Talking group, who meet every Thursday to go for a walk in the park and discuss life and their mental health. The group gives men a safe space to open up about their mental health and provide each other with judgment-free support. Will the Leader of the House join …”

“I will speak in favour of new clauses 13 and 14 and the expansion to clause 3. I served with some colleagues in Committee, but may I begin by thanking all Members who have contributed tonight? We have had a series of impassioned speeches from across the House, and I particularly thank my hon. Friends the Members for Bo…”

“I must say I remain concerned, if I am honest, John, by a lot of the answers that we are going through today. A last question from me before I hand back: with hindsight, would you do anything differently?”

“Should there be?”

“Grand. As for the implementation of those recommendations thus far, can you comment on how far that implementation has gone so far and whether any of the 14 recommendations have not yet been implemented? How do you think it is progressing?”

“Sure. In that case—and I accept that—is there a road map between where we are now and the position where every single person in the organisation can say, “Yes, this is the right way to do it”?”

“With respect, John, on the question that I asked, I appreciate you said you are not aware necessarily of the exact technology available, but if you cannot answer the question of what the appropriate route is and that is not embedded throughout even your own response, how can we have confidence that that is going to per…”

“Using this particular breach as an example—30,000 lines on a spreadsheet shared with an external organisation and then disseminated through that organisation, accidentally or otherwise—I think we all broadly agree that that is not an appropriate way to share the data. In your view, what is an appropriate way to share t…”

“More broadly, what do you think the Government need to do to address the concerns and, to go back to the data breach, to ensure that such data breaches do not happen again? What else do the Government need to do beyond what they are doing at the moment?”

“Do you have intentions to hold such a meeting?”

“Have you yet had the opportunity to interface with the new Chancellor, who took over a few days later, to examine whether continuity exists on those points?”

“Just before the reshuffle; interesting.”

“At the tail end of July you wrote to the previous Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. I think you requested a meeting with him at that point. Did that meeting go ahead, and what were the outcomes? Were you reassured by what you heard?”