Speeches by Morello.

“What I am driving at are the policies and the worldview outlined in the US national security strategy document, and that, on its publication, the Kremlin spokesperson welcomed it as “largely consistent” with their view of the world. How reliable a partner is the US to the UK, given how different our worldviews are?”

“On the US approach to Europe, the strategy talks about European “governments’ subversion of democratic processes.” It says that the US will “promote…the…influence of patriotic European parties” and cultivate “resistance to Europe’s current trajectory”. Do you think it is acceptable for the US to meddle in the democrati…”

“Respectfully, I suggest that they don’t respect our democracy if they are willing to meddle in it.”

“Foreign Secretary, I want to ask about the US national security strategy published earlier this month. The document talks about “restoring Europe’s” civilisation “and Western identity”. It talks of Europe facing the “prospect of civilizational erasure” and “loss of national identities” and becoming “majority non-Europe…”

“As in, the Government will commit to allowing time in the Chamber to debate the treaty?”

“Frankly, Foreign Secretary, the “normal process” at the moment is that we have weekly urgent questions on Chagos in order to be able to discuss this, because proper time has not been allowed for scrutinising the treaty. I am wondering whether the Government want to commit to allowing time to scrutinise the EU-UK-Gibral…”

“Finally, do you foresee any situation in which the McGrail inquiry report will delay the completion of the negotiations over the UK-EU treaty?”

“As the Minister said, the UK is the penholder on Sudan at the UN. There clearly need to be comprehensive arms embargos and sanctions against those actors who are fuelling the violence in Sudan. Given that one of those is Russia, which is a permanent member of the UN Security Council, will the Minister ensure that the G…”

“Tourism is vital to the economy of West Dorset and hospitality is one of the largest employers. Our population soars by 40% during the summer months and those businesses require seasonal workers. Given all the headwinds my hon. Friend outlines that face the high street and UK hospitality, does she agree that the Govern…”

“The Minister says that rural schools receive more funding per pupil than urban schools, but one of my local headmasters, who previously taught in London, tells me that he received £10,000 per pupil in London but only £5,000 in West Dorset. That suggests that the Treasury funding model simply does not reflect the increa…”

“T6. The cost of delivering public services in rural Britain is higher than in urban areas. The cost to access services is higher for communities in rural places like West Dorset than it is for those in urban Britain. Will the Treasury commit to reviewing the funding formula, so that local government, integrated care bo…”

“My hon. Friend talks about water abstraction and using water in the right places. The Independent Water Commission’s recommendation 10 suggested using pre-pipe solutions. Does he agree that mandatory rainwater harvesting on new homes and major renovations would allow us to capture water and use it at source, reducing p…”

“I am looking forward to serving on the Public Bill Committee, because this Bill is a long-awaited opportunity to reshape our rail network for the better. It is an opportunity to deliver real value, reliability and affordability for passengers across the whole of the country, but especially in underserved rural communit…”

“In terms of the rainforest fund, was the decision not to provide a guarantee in that case directly linked to the fact we had already topped out the amount we were willing to—”

“The budget outlines plans to rationalise the overseas estate. What and where are we losing?”

“Before we move on, on the point about guarantees, is the FCDO writing cheques on behalf of UK plc? If so, what level of exposure do we have there? Is a decision made on the risk profile of each guarantee, or do you have a total cap on what you are allowed to commit on behalf of UK plc?”

“Out of interest, since the switch to more of a guarantee-based model, what has been the uptick? With that £8.2 billion, is 90% achieved over the last five years?”

“I do not disagree. I am trying to understand the scale of rationalisation that is going to be envisaged. I take your point that there is a difference between the front of the shop, which might need to be retained, and the rest of the 6,000 footprint, but the numbers are pretty stark. The Public Accounts Committee says …”

“You agreed at this Committee in June that there is no silverware left to sell to fund maintenance, as was done previously with the sale of Bangkok and so on. I still do not feel like I am homing in on the scale. If only 27% of the overseas estate is owned, you can extricate yourself from leases, but you are still going…”

“I agree 100%. I very much hope that the Bill will give us the opportunity to improve that level of service. End-of-the-line stopping services should not be defined by graffiti, broken heating, limited seating and high fares. What we want are modern trains with reliable wi-fi, working toilets, clear visual and audio inf…”