Speeches by Leishman.

“The last Government hiked up prison officers’ pension age to 68, and then walked away from negotiations that were set up to partially reverse that unfair and unrealistic policy. This devastated morale, which is now worse than ever, especially with violence against staff at record highs. Are this Government prepared to …”

“6. What recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of lowering the pension age of prison officers on prison officer morale.”

“I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Salford (Rebecca Long Bailey) for bringing forward this debate, and for her contribution, which was excellent, as usual. It was quite the sight yesterday to see female parliamentarians don green, white and purple sashes in commemoration of 97 years since women won the vote. It seem…”

“It is an honour to serve under your chairship, Mr Turner. Thanks go to my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow North (Martin Rhodes) for securing this vital debate. Sixty-one years ago, Tony Benn wrote: “Of all the weaknesses that beset those in authority, blindness to reality is always the most crippling and usually the…”

“The hon. Gentleman is a champion on this topic, and his parliamentary record stands up there with the very best—although I did not vote for him to be my MP. I thank him very much for his contribution, and I agree with him. It looks as though refugees will have to argue for an exemption to the blanket denial of citizens…”

“I beg to move. That this House has considered refugee citizenship rights. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Butler. Refugees should not be reduced to statistics. After all, refugees are human beings, and every human being deserves to be treated with dignity, respect and compassion, and with empathy for…”

“I thank the hon. Member for his contribution; I can appreciate the political nature of what he has said. Yes, Scotland is a nation, and it has its own unique needs. This is something that both Governments need to collaborate on, to try to thrash out something for the benefit of Scotland. The United Nations High Commiss…”

“T4. I want to ask about the £200 million national wealth fund commitment for Project Willow. How will it be accessed? What is the minimum and maximum amount that can be accessed by an applicant? If it is exclusively for businesses, will it be based on being positioned within the existing footprint of the Grangemouth si…”

“I thank the Minister for her comprehensive response and many hon. Members present for their wonderful contributions. Refugees are victims of war, famine, oppression and environmental catastrophes. The previous Government failed in their international obligations to refugees, and to allow people to exercise their right …”

“I thank my hon. Friend for his contribution. Absolutely: more safe routes are a necessity, in the name of human decency. British citizenship is a key building block of integration, but there are also significant pragmatic considerations. Without it, people do not have the right to vote, to stand for election to this pl…”

“I am glad that the root cause of the problems that we face has been identified. We have touched on it, but this is what happens when private capital is in charge of such a key piece of infrastructure. We saw that play out at the Grangemouth refinery in my constituency, and it is good to hear my hon. Friend the Minister…”

“I draw attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests, which details my membership of Unite the union. Once upon a time, Scotland was an industrial powerhouse—we made things—but last week, Alexander Dennis started a 45-day consultation with employees. As it stands, hundreds of jobs will be lost f…”

“8. Whether she has had recent discussions with Alexander Dennis Ltd on the potential impact of the proposed closure of its Falkirk and Larbert bus manufacturing sites on her targets for public transport decarbonisation.”

“The war criminals of Benjamin Netanyahu’s Government are carrying out the most vile human rights abuse and genocide. At the same time, the UK carries out the training of Israeli military personnel and facilitates almost daily spy flights that provide intelligence, and there is continued exporting of military equipment …”

“7. What assessment he has made of the adequacy of the Government’s policy on arms trade with Israel.”

“I very much thank the Minister for that correction—I appreciate the intervention—and for subtly dropping in my mispronunciation of south Wales. By the end of the strike, the LGSM had raised over £20,000. As the Welsh mining communities had made the Londoners feel so welcome, the LGSM organised a return visit, with a fu…”

“As a straight man, I cannot speak from personal experience about the prejudice that LGBTQIA+ people have been the victim of, nor have I been a coalminer and experienced the feeling of having the source of my livelihood snatched away. However, in this Pride Month debate, I wish to share with the House a collaboration th…”

“With his 25 years of parliamentary service, the Foreign Secretary will no doubt remember when Tony Blair told us that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and was a grave threat to international security. Of course, we then followed America into an illegal war in the middle east, and if the Prime Minister were to go do…”

“I completely agree. I am glad the hon. Gentleman brought up the subject of local authorities and the added burden on them of picking up the pieces from this horrendous proposal. As I said, I will be voting for something else. I will be voting against the cruel welfare reforms that the Government have put forward. A Lab…”

“It is an honour to serve under you in the Chair, Ms Jardine. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Poole (Neil Duncan-Jordan) for securing the debate. Fourteen years of austerity, followed by a global pandemic and then a cost of living crisis, has led to out-of-control inequality in Britain. People and communities have…”