Speeches by Darlington.

“In Lincolnshire, nearly six out of 10 people faced wait times exceeding four hours to be seen in A&E in 2023. That is a 42% increase. Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that the investments made today will help reduce those waiting times in Lincolnshire?”

“Does my right hon. Friend recall that the previous Labour Government oversaw the fastest economic recovery from the international incident? The economy was back in growth by the time of the election because of investments like over £20 billion for research and development, so our economy could compete in the race to th…”

“Our message from across the House today is thank you: thank you to those who served, to those who died in combat and to the families who supported our armed forces. In Milton Keynes, the city council is proud of its armed forces covenant. As city council cabinet member for housing, I ensured we fulfilled that covenant …”

“Constituents in Milton Keynes voted for change because they see the consequences of the Conservative economic policy. They are suffering from the cost of living crisis and have seen this in their crumbling schools, the lack of GP appointments and the use of food banks just to make ends meet. Will the Chief Secretary re…”

“I appreciate the Foreign Secretary coming here to make much clearer our views on China, and particularly human rights abuses there. People from Hong Kong living in Milton Keynes are still fearful of intimidation and concerned about China’s influence on some of our universities. What assessment has he made of that, and …”

“An entire generation of Milton Keynes children with SEND needs has been let down by the previous Government. In addition, the cuts to local councils and schools have made the situation much worse, particularly in respect of high-level teaching assistants, who are crucial to ensuring early detection of and ongoing suppo…”

“15. What steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to implement the Government’s five missions.”

“I congratulate the Government on trying to use the missions to stop the siloed working between Departments in order to achieve the change that the country needs. On the housing mission, it is important that we link in the Treasury and the Departments for Health and Social Care, for Transport, for Environment, Food and …”

“As someone who has started and run a business, I should like to know the hon. Gentleman’s opinion of the views of the former Business Secretary, the right hon. Member for North West Essex (Mrs Badenoch), that the minimum wage is a burden, that statutory maternity pay is excessive, and that equal pay protection in respe…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for securing this debate, which is so important not only for taxi drivers but for safety, particularly for the safety of women and girls at the end of the night, when too often things happen. Does he agree that deregulation has led to a decrease in their safety—especially for councils such as Mil…”

“I wish the Leader of the House a happy birthday, and reassure her that life begins at the age she has turned. This Government have made a huge effort to combat violence against women and girls, both through policing and the courts, but underlying attitudes are more difficult to tackle. In Milton Keynes, I partnered wit…”

“To return to a subject close to the Secretary of State’s heart, does he agree that people’s actual experience is how we will measure whether the NHS has been improved? One of my children’s grandparents, who was diagnosed under a Labour Government, had 12 great years of cutting-edge treatments and 12 years with their gr…”

“We have been talking quite passionately in this debate, but we often lose sight of the stories of those who were actually affected. I think not least of a woman—she shall remain anonymous—who bought her flat as a way to ensure that she and her husband would be debt-free in their retirement. Unfortunately, her husband h…”

“On strong political leadership, will the Minister join me in congratulating those councils that, as soon as the new building regulations came out, took immediate action to put in a waking watch? I am talking about the wider regulations—not just the ones about cladding, but the ones about compartmentalisation. In Milton…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for raising that point about the impact on the HRA. We had two such buildings where the council had to deal with compartmentation with no support from the Government, and had to rehouse 300 families in just under a year, per best practice. Does my hon. Friend agree that the pressure on councils h…”

“I welcome the shadow Minister’s comments about working cross-party. One thing we need to do is establish the facts, the reality of what is going on, and the confusion left by the previous Government. People are being told by mortgage providers that they need an EWS1 form, but by freeholders that they do not. They are s…”

“I welcome my hon. Friend to her new position; I know that she will be a firm advocate for those thousands of people who are still waiting for remediation to be done on their buildings. While we need to have partnerships with the big housing builders to meet our target of 1.5 million, some of those same developers are s…”

“As Departments are preparing their spending review submissions, will the Chancellor and her team consider allowing the international development budget to be on the same footing as the research and development budget, and looked at over 10 years, so that we can get back to the 0.7% figure? Will she be willing to meet m…”

“I congratulate those on the Front Bench on their speeches tonight. Does the Minister agree that councils are very important in this area? When I was the cabinet member for health, my council signed an agreement with the Open University to become the first dementia-friendly city, which involves not only medical technolo…”

“As the new MP and a former cabinet member for housing for what is arguably Britain’s most successful new town—Milton Keynes—I welcome today’s statement, which is exactly what we have needed to hear. The struggles and conflicts that we have had in trying to deliver the housing that people in Milton Keynes need have been…”