Speeches by Maynard.

“My first question is to Brian. I am just trying to get my head around the Federation of Master Builders. I think you represent small and medium-sized businesses. Does that include Barratt, Taylor Wimpey, Persimmon, Bellway and Vistry?”

“Does that quarterly basis make sense for small businesses? It seems like a very big burden. It is great for HMRC, but it is not great for all these small business owners, who will have to do something every quarter that they did not have to do before.”

“Paul, you mentioned HMRC. If I think about Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, I have heard locally in Witney that businesses are really worried about this. It is going from 50 grand this year through to 20 grand or something like that in a couple of years. Quarterly reporting feels like an awfully big burden for a lot …”

“As an executive member of planning, very briefly, in a previous district council, I have felt the pain. You have national Government of whatever stripe, frankly, saying, “You have to build 1,000 houses this year; otherwise you are for the high jump”, along with a five-year housing land supply and everything else. In te…”

“Maybe the public has some nostalgia about this. Where have all the small and medium-sized builders gone who were building houses? Has that just gone? Is it just because it is an incredibly unbalanced playing field? If so, why are they being squeezed out?”

“Is there another trade body for them? How does it all fit together?”

“Heading towards crime, the numbers are really bad. There were 500,000 shoplifting offences reported in 2024. Based on the British Retail Consortium’s crime survey, the incidence tripled between 2021 and 2023. Jonny, what is behind this? What do you think about the Government’s activities to improve it?”

“I appreciate the Minister’s words of support for the workers who are facing such horror and shock, and the Liberal Democrats will work hard to hold him to those words. I have two questions for him. The carbon border adjustment mechanism leaves UK refineries at a disadvantage when it comes to the trade in international …”

“The Guardian says you have 60% of primary concert ticketing. You are saying that is not true.”

“There are lots of ways to make money apart from the ticket, are there not? You have all sorts of ways of making money.”

“With respect, you are cherry-picking those points. I will park it there.”

“Dealing with another entity, what is your relationship with SJM Concerts?”

“Are you partners or are you competitors?”

“How many companies do you co-own with SJM?”

“Really?”

“Phil, you say you are a promoter, but Live Nation manages artists, festivals and venues. It sells tickets. It does that more than anybody else in the country. You are saying, “Oh, I am a promoter”, but the reality is that you are part of an enormous corporate group that wraps itself around the consumer in all these dif…”

“Any other sides?”

“You name it, anything.”

“I will give you a hand. There is DF Concerts. Moran holds a 20% stake. There is a stake in Boomtown festival. You, Gaiety and SJM each hold stakes there. There is Camp Bestival; there is V Festival; there is Academy Music Group.”

“LN-Gaiety purchased stakes from the founders, including Simon Moran, making them co-owners. That is what I have.”