Speeches by Obese-Jecty.

“We are now fast closing in on two years—maybe they meant day one of a new Government.”

“I have asked the Government on no fewer than eight occasions when the manifesto pledge would be delivered and what progress towards delivering it has been achieved, and answer came there none. Last week, I asked the Minister responsible for migration and citizenship whether he could estimate the number of spouses and c…”

“Sure. We should bear in mind that both the Home Office and the Ministry of Defence claim to be working on delivering this, but as they have no idea about the current impact, it is safe to assume that no impact assessment has been conducted.”

“I asked the Minister responsible for migration and citizenship what the planned timetable is for delivering the manifesto pledge that the Government are so committed to delivering. He told me:”

“What cross-Government decisions? I would be grateful if the Minister outlined in her summing up what decisions are awaiting finalisation.”

“I do not believe that there is a timetable for delivering on this commitment, for no more complex a reason than the Minister telling me when she was the Veterans Minister that there was not. On 19 January, she told me:”

“Better yet, despite the fact that the Home Office and the Ministry of Defence have allegedly been working on resolving the issue and remain committed to delivering it, the Government’s new earned settlement model will pull the rug out from under their feet. If the Government do not introduce a carve-out for service per…”

“The new clause is watertight. All the issues raised by the Armed Forces Minister on 2 June have been addressed. There is nothing left to oppose. It now has more support from more parties—including those on the Government’s own Benches—not to mention the slew of tactical abstentions last time round. There is a reshuffle…”

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“I congratulate the new Defence Secretary on his battlefield promotion. He will remember from his time in command that the best way to prove himself to his new team is to take them out tomorrow morning and thrash and phys, so I look forward to that. On the DIP, it was widely reported last week that the funding settlemen…”

“The Minister will know that we have been stalling on signing the full international contract for the global combat air programme since last year, and in April we signed the interim funding contract for Edgewing, which was £686 million. That runs out in just two weeks’ time. Yesterday the Prime Minister met Sanae Takaic…”

“We already know that the Defence Secretary is going to make an announcement in Swindon on Friday morning. Given that the Japanese Prime Minister is going to turn up on Saturday, I suggest that some of that announcement will probably relate to global combat air programme funding, given that the Defence Secretary is unde…”

“We already know that the Defence Secretary is going to make an announcement in Swindon on Friday morning. Given that the Japanese Prime Minister is going to turn up on Saturday, I suggest that some of that announcement will probably relate to global combat air programme funding, given that the Defence Secretary is unde…”

“Last week, the Government voted against my amendment to the Armed Forces Bill, new clause 5, which would have waived visa fees for the spouses and children of armed forces personnel and veterans. That was, of course, a Labour manifesto pledge—as it was a Conservative manifesto pledge—to ensure that the families of thos…”

“I am Benjamin Obese-Jecty, the Conservative Member of Parliament for Huntingdon.”

“I am well aware that the quantity of questions, even probably just those that I ask, places a strain on the system. I know that the Clerks have to put together the Order Papers and table all the written and oral questions that come in, and I appreciate that they work on a skeleton crew. I have had a number of meetings …”

“I have a notes page on my phone with headings for each Department, and as and when something comes up in the news or gets mentioned in Parliament that is of particular interest, I will make a note and come back to it later. Also, I work as a PPS across two Departments, so when a new document comes up, I will read throu…”

“I have found WPQs to be an incredible source and resource for information. Given the number of new Members who came to Parliament in 2024, it is very competitive to get your voice heard in the Chamber or to get an opportunity to ask a Minister a question, particularly via OPQs. We found that my success rate at applying…”

“I am well aware that the quantity of questions, even probably just those that I ask, places a strain on the system. I know that the Clerks have to put together the Order Papers and table all the written and oral questions that come in, and I appreciate that they work on a skeleton crew. I have had a number of meetings …”

“I do not use AI at all. I do not use AI in the formulation of questions. I have obviously tabled quite a lot of questions, and I have had a lot of rejections back as well, but I have now learned the language that the Table Office like to write questions in, to the extent that it is actually just quicker for me to write…”