Speeches by Lewin.

“Can I turn to the role played by algorithms? I am interested in both of your perspectives, perhaps starting with Marianna, on the extent to which algorithms are amplifying misinformation and disinformation, but also the extent to which they might be favouring one political agenda over another. I am keen to hear your ov…”

“I wanted to ask about online political adverts. To take you into my world as a Back Bench MP, I think they have an important role, £100 here on a campaign to reduce the speeding limit or £250 there on a petition for a new GP surgery. My experience has been that the amount of abuse and comments on targeted ads is far le…”

“Just quickly, I think there is a consensus on the value of a standalone body. My question is: can any of you cite any international examples of countries that have done this right and are further ahead than we are at the moment?”

“It is a real pleasure to see you back in the Chair, Madam Deputy Speaker—the model of calmness and authority. After the week my party has had, there is virtue in the stability you represent in that Chair. I am pleased to be back in this Chamber for the first time in this Session of Parliament to talk about policy and n…”

“These are my words, not yours, but I would characterise that as algorithms favouring outrage. I am interested in both of your perspectives on whether there is any evidence, any cause for hope that some people are seeing this and turning away. I have seen some commentary in the Financial Times that we may have reached p…”

“The right hon. Lady talks of absurd positions. I did a little research before the debate today. I went back to 21 May 2024, just before the last general election, and in this House, in her capacity as Secretary of State, she said that she believed in net zero. She said: “We are on track to reach net zero by 2050, and w…”

“Good morning. Andrew Lewin, MP for Welwyn Hatfield.”

“In advocating for the motion, the Leader of the Opposition—[Interruption.] She is just returning to her place; I knew she was waiting for me. Her essential argument, I believe, was that we in this House had not spent enough time debating this issue, and that perhaps just one more Committee would be the answer. Before w…”

“I appreciate my hon. Friend’s intervention. The Prime Minister was right and the House was right to accept the Humble Address, involve the Intelligence and Security Committee, and give the Foreign Affairs Committee all the scope it needs to ask questions of the key actors in the process. Just to remind the House, in th…”

“The right hon. Gentleman is very kind; I will see him on the cricket pitch in a week’s time. There is a serious point, in that there are a number of very senior civil servants, who I will come to, who have given evidence on that and have said that process was followed. That leads neatly to my next point about the impor…”

“I remember the debate vividly. Members from both sides made the case. I said in my remarks that that was an example of the House at its best, because we came to a good decision to involve the ISC. I raise the issue again today because I was fascinated by what the Leader of the Opposition said. She characterised that Co…”

“Tom, Lewis and I are from different political parties, but this is a really important question to get right. I appreciate that your role is strictly non-political. Would it then be fair to say that doing any pilots by parliamentary constituency would, in your view, be a fair and equitable way to go around this?”

“Going back to deepfakes, can I ask briefly about the resource that you have at your disposal to deal with this? What I am alarmed by, going back to the words that you used a moment ago, Vijay, is that the damage is sometimes already done by the time you have the ability to act. I remember seeing a report about the last…”

“I want to take us back to votes at 16 and automated voter registration and how the two need to work effectively together. I am a supporter of votes at 16. It is already in place in Scotland and Wales for devolved elections. I do not see any reason why voters in England and Northern Ireland should not have that same rig…”

“It strikes me that year 9 in the school year is the logical time to do this. That is before they start the GCSE syllabus, because most of those courses are two years, and that would then link with age 14. Please tell me if you have a different view, but that seems like an opportunity. I am interested in your views on o…”

“Good morning. I am Andrew Lewin, MP for Welwyn Hatfield.”

“The hon. Member is right to call us friends, but let us be honest: we are unusual people who were involved in politics at a young age. That perhaps reflects many of us on the Committee. I ask the hon. Member again to reflect on the example of a busy shift worker. Their door was knocked a few days before the election. T…”

“Let me indulge in an example. The hon. Gentleman is a persuasive man; he has knocked on a door in Hamble Valley on 2 May ahead of the local authority elections on 7 May, which he has talked about. At that point, the deadline for registering for the free ID has passed. The person who he has visited might have been busy—…”

“I am grateful for the tenor of the debate. The hon. Lady talks about the connection to society, but I ask that she considers the victim for a minute. Let us stick with my example. Very sadly, we are seeing cases of religiously aggravated assault rising in this country, particularly relating to the Jewish and Muslim com…”

“I just want to clarify my understanding of the Green party’s policy position. I have been looking at the Sentencing Council guidelines, and typically a person convicted of racially or religiously aggravated assault serves two years in prison. Is it the Green party’s position that those people should be allowed to vote …”