Speeches by Simmonds.

“Does my hon. Friend agree that a good example of how the money could be better used is to support the Hillingdon Outdoor Activities Centre, which sits directly on the border between our constituencies, and which our constituents have used for many years. As a result of Hillingdon council’s proactive work in granting pl…”

“I am incredibly grateful to my hon. Friend and constituency neighbour. Does she agree that there is a positive that could come out of this process, and from her trenchant efforts to secure an upgrade to the status of Colne Valley Regional Park? Granting the park a higher degree of planning protection would be a signifi…”

“On that point—”

“I put on the record my thanks to the Minister and colleagues in her Department for the constructive spirit in which they have approached the negotiations around the Bill. It remains the official Opposition’s view that the Bill’s overall direction of travel is a centralising one: it brings into effect many new powers fo…”

“My hon. Friend is absolutely spot on in what he says. Members across the Chamber have been surprised to hear Reform say that it wishes to tear up London’s green belt as part of the local election campaign. I am grateful to the Minister and her colleagues for recognising, in the fine tradition of many Labour councils, t…”

“I put on the record my thanks to the Minister and colleagues in her Department for the constructive spirit in which they have approached the negotiations around the Bill. It remains the official Opposition’s view that the Bill’s overall direction of travel is a centralising one: it brings into effect many new powers fo…”

“My hon. Friend is absolutely spot on in what he says. Members across the Chamber have been surprised to hear Reform say that it wishes to tear up London’s green belt as part of the local election campaign. I am grateful to the Minister and her colleagues for recognising, in the fine tradition of many Labour councils, t…”

“I am going to make a little progress, if I may. The key point is to ensure that our local authorities can set out their governance arrangements in a way that reflects the needs of their community. The Government have already accepted the argument that we need to ensure a degree of nuance in the Bill for rural and coast…”

“Suffice it to say that I was significantly slower than the hon. Member for Harlow (Chris Vince), whose outstanding efforts will, I am sure, leave him a little bit sore when bobbing today. The hon. Member will know the benefits of an effective leader and cabinet model, because he has a good Conservative local authority …”

“My hon. Friend is absolutely right. People in Old Bexley and Sidcup—just like those in Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner and, indeed, in many of the constituencies that are represented by Conservative Members—are concerned about a Reform party that is championing tearing up the green belt across our capital in pursuit of h…”

“I now turn to Lords amendment 89B on prioritising brownfield sites for development. The concern that we as an Opposition are setting out clearly is that, taken alongside many of the other changes to the planning system that the Government are introducing, there is a risk that at the end of this Parliament—the end of th…”

“Despite the Minister’s centralising zeal, I detect a slight weariness on her part as we once again go toe to toe on Lords amendments. It remains the position of the Opposition that the Government are bringing forward in this Bill overall a set of centralising measures that are fundamentally about extending control from…”

“9. If she will suspend the process to ratify the UK-Mauritius treaty.”

“The Chagos islands are even further from my constituency than they are from Mauritius, which is saying something, but this is having a significant local impact. Hillingdon council is now caring for hundreds of Chagossians fleeing to this country through Heathrow airport to escape the consequences of the Government’s pr…”

“I first crossed paths with the Prime Minister when he and I were both working to improve the way our country deals with cases of child sexual exploitation. One of the principles that was enshrined in law across our society as a result of that was accountability—the golden thread between the leaders, managerial and poli…”

“My constituency is home to many Jewish communities, as well as a significant number of Iranian refugees. This morning I met David Summers, a volunteer who co-ordinates security at one of our synagogues, and Jeremy Havardi of B’nai B’rith, a well-known national Jewish organisation. Given the number of incidents in north…”

“I am sympathetic to the point that the hon. Member is trying to make. I have listened carefully to what she said about new clauses 2 and 3. With respect to new clause 3, it would be helpful to consider the treatment of those who may have been opponents of an oppressive foreign political regime who have been convicted i…”

“Does my hon. Friend note, as I do, that the international gold standard for the conduct of elections is set by the Venice Commission: a group of academics and people with political experience from countries across the democratic world who meet to consider measures including voter identification, the conduct of polls, t…”

“One of the issues that this proposal creates is that if we are seeking to assess the accessibility of politics for candidates from a range of backgrounds, we need to know not only about those who make it through and are nominated as candidates, but about the broader range of the public from whom those candidates are dr…”

“My hon. Friend is making an excellent speech. A consistent theme that has emerged from his points, and from the evidence and debate in this Committee is that we can have all the rules we like, but enforcement is a major challenge. In particular, it highlights inconsistency. Because there is an element of vagueness in t…”