Speeches by Pakes.

“I certainly recognise from door-knocking in rural communities and talking to rural workers that food poverty has gone up in my constituency. People have found it harder to get a bus to go and work on a farm, and people working on farms are struggling with the result of Liz Truss’s mini-Budget, which crashed our economy…”

“Will the hon. Lady give way?”

“There is a lot of talk from the Opposition, who are getting very excited by this debate, about farms, but we have to remember that farms rely on farm workers. In the name of accuracy, could my hon. Friend put on the record a reminder of which Opposition parties, including the Lib Dems, voted for the abolition of the Ag…”

“That was quicker than I expected, Madam Deputy Speaker, so thank you. It is a privilege to speak in the debate. Nothing goes to the heart of the health, wellbeing and prosperity of a nation more than being able to feed and look after ourselves. Britain’s farmers and our farming workforce are part of the essential infra…”

“I thank the right hon. Member for being a champion in this House of skills and trade unions, which are sadly too rarely championed by Conservative Members. I recognise his points on our common wealth and the work that goes into looking after and protecting our land, but I also recognise the impact of the last Governmen…”

“I think there is an unwritten rule in this House that whoever asks the last question gets to be top of the pilot list. Given its beautiful cathedral and wonderful diversity, Peterborough city centre is the jewel in Cambridgeshire’s crown, as I am sure that county colleagues present will agree, but we are being let down…”

“Therefore, what we could see is a phoenix from the ashes. Could we see a new Thames Water come through a special admin process, being launched for investment?”

“Do you think that it is acceptable, given that you measure performance and the expectations of companies, to say that some of those expectations should be about a bonus for having met them, whereas for most of us doing our job is the expectation?”

“No, that was a very good line. In most other walks of life, having a criminal conviction would get you sacked, not just losing your bonus. Do you think that the public will accept the verdict that you are giving, that it is just about bonuses?”

“Would it be better, given the recent history of playing off bonuses and others, just for directors to be paid a salary for the job that they do?”

“You talked about some of the powers that the new Bill would give you. In what circumstances should water companies be able to pay large salaries and bonuses to its executives, and do you think that any companies are meeting those standards?”

“I have a couple of questions on that. First, Thames Water’s boss took a £195,000 bonus for three months’ work at the end of March. Do you understand why the public is angry?”

“Therefore, what we could see is a phoenix from the ashes. Could we see a new Thames Water come through a special admin process, being launched for investment?”

“Thank you. One of the frustrations that may be coming through some of our questions is that we seem to have a lot of discussion on how things could be done differently when looking in the rearview mirror but very little about a sense of urgency about what we are driving towards. That may be a sense of frustration. If t…”

“Are you comfortable with the level of debt loading?”

“Do you think that debt loading by Thames Water and maybe some other companies has enabled some of them to get out of some of the responsibilities that they have?”

“You have described some of the catastrophic failures of privatisation around the Thames Water model. Do you recognise that some people will also say that it is not just a failure of Thames Water, it is a failure of Ofwat to have allowed it to get to this point?”

“This is a momentous White Paper by a momentous Secretary of State. Yesterday, I had the great privilege to take my right hon. Friend to Peterborough college to meet excellent businesses and apprentices doing brilliant work, including EML, Baker Perkins, Taylor Rose, Codem and Gen Phoenix. Those businesses and learners …”

“I have a few questions about Thames Water, and I presume you may have expected that there would be some. I represent a city in the Anglian Water area and it strikes me that something has reached significance when in community and other meetings people in my patch recognise the national significance of what is happening…”

“You have described some of the catastrophic failures of privatisation around the Thames Water model. Do you recognise that some people will also say that it is not just a failure of Thames Water, it is a failure of Ofwat to have allowed it to get to this point?”