Speeches by Brandreth.

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Lewell. As we have heard today, Parkinson’s is a life-changing, degenerative and deeply debilitating condition. I am grateful that we are taking the time to debate the issue and give voice to people living with Parkinson’s—people such as Matt Eagles, who lives in my…”

“I will continue because of time. For those who doubt this, let me set out the cost of the Secretary of State’s policies, with statistics sourced from his own Department. The UK now faces the world’s second-highest domestic electricity prices: four times higher than those in the US, with 12.1 million households struggli…”

“As we head towards winter, I am sure that, like me, many Members will have begun to receive emails from worried constituents asking how they will afford to heat their homes this winter. The reality is that they were promised by this Labour Government that their energy bills would fall by £300. Instead, they have risen …”

“Strangulation is an extremely common form of gendered violence: up to two thirds of women suffering domestic abuse report having been strangled. I have corresponded with the Minister about the need for the Institute for Addressing Strangulation to have funding certainty beyond March next year in order to continue its v…”

“I am sorry; I need to make progress. That policy would support around 250,000 businesses nationwide. As the Chancellor prepares her Budget for later this month, I say to her and her Ministers: “Step outside Westminster this Friday. Walk down your local high street. Speak to the shopkeepers, the publicans, the hairdress…”

“I will make progress. In Malpas, the post office recently closed with no notice at all. After sustained community pressure, thanks to the dedication of our hard-working local councillor Rachel Williams, and through further discussions with Post Office Ltd, it has thankfully reopened, although at present it operates wit…”

“My right hon. Friend makes an important point, and it is one that businesses have raised with me directly. They all want to do the right thing, but they need the flexibility to be able to employ in different circumstances. Just last week I met Richard, who runs several independent pubs across Cheshire, including the Bo…”

“I draw the House’s attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. Like so many people across Chester South and Eddisbury, I rely on our local high street for all sorts of everyday things, from popping to the shops for groceries, to grabbing a coffee with a friend, getting a haircut, posting a pa…”

“Absolutely; my hon. Friend makes an important point. Supporting pubs is vital, because they really are at the heart of many of our high streets. Since last year’s Budget, tens of thousands of jobs have disappeared across hospitality and retail. That is Labour’s record, and it shows exactly why we need a Government who …”

“I just want to go back to the question that Sir John asked about the Chinese embassy. A spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs seemed to threaten the UK last month, if their super-embassy planning application were not approved. They said, “We once again call on the UK to fulfil its obligation and honour …”

“But presumably he was also the Prime Minister’s employee.”

“We have discussed the fact that he was the person who made the decision to appoint Lord Mandelson.”

“Is that the same as your understanding, Sir Chris?”

“Perhaps you can say if you shared that information with anybody beyond yourself and the people that it was sent to.”

“But did somebody from the FCDO?”

“May I clarify? Did you share that information that you had received as an email with No. 10 in its entirety? Not in a conversation and not just, “There’s an issue”; did you forward or share that email?”

“I want to clarify exactly what information had been shared with No. 10. You have expressed that it was shared that there was an issue. As I understand it, a letter or email communication was received from Bloomberg that included excerpts of the emails between Mandelson and Epstein. Was that letter or email shared in it…”

“Did the FCDO have a different view about who should be recommended for the posting?”

“I just want to try to understand this a bit more, because to many people it feels like common sense was perhaps thrown out the window. Publicly available information about vetting says that the vetting interviewer will ask about friends and associations, so one might assume that, as part of that process—I appreciate yo…”

“So I think the answer is yes, really, then.”