Speeches by Downie.

“Two questions, the first one following on from that. When you were forming the alliance, was the purpose of that focused on the procedures inside the Chamber, inside the House of Commons, or was that something you felt was more important focused out the way that you were working together in some way?”

“I will just pick up on the point you made there about Short money, Iqbal. If it makes you feel any better, none of us understand what it is either. Certainly, I did not before I was elected. It is available to all opposition parties in the House that secured two seats or one seat and more than 150,000 votes at the prev…”

“Did you feel that the benefits in forming the alliance were to improve how you were represented inside the House of Commons? Or did you feel the projection of that was outside that you were working together? I am trying to get a sense of the purpose of forming that alliance and what it was hoped to achieve. Was it insi…”

“Two questions, the first one following on from that. When you were forming the alliance, was the purpose of that focused on the procedures inside the Chamber, inside the House of Commons, or was that something you felt was more important focused out the way that you were working together in some way?”

“There is a convention in the House that the third largest party has a responsibility to protect the rights of smaller parties and independents. Were you made aware of that during some of the induction? Slightly related to that, there have been some instances in the past where independents have sat on Select Committees …”

“Iqbal, do you have anything to add to that?”

“Does the Minister agree that this announcement should not affect the support of this House and the UK for Ukraine, and will she work with our armed forces and our defence industries to do everything possible to support Ukrainian forces on the frontline?”

“This week, the UK Government announced positive changes to apprenticeships that will cut red tape and increase collaboration between businesses and skills providers, setting more young people on a path to successful careers. In Scotland, by contrast, the last two years have seen delays and freezes on modern apprentices…”

“US navy officials have reported increased Russian and Chinese patrols in the High North. Last week, the Danish navy announced plans to acquire three new Arctic patrol ships, and March will see one of the largest Exercise Joint Viking operations in NATO’s history. With these concerns in mind, will the Secretary of State…”

“T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.”

“In response to a number inquiries that I have had from constituents over the last couple of months, will the Minister say whether reforms to the Child Maintenance Service will include consideration of the paying parent’s capital assets and voluntary pension payments when calculating the rate at which unpaid payments sh…”

“Before Christmas, I received a lovely letter—as opposed to an email—from Maisie Fox, a six-year-old pupil at St John’s primary school in Rosyth. Maisie was very concerned about the safety of her walk and her route to school, as she was unable to use her scooter or bike while crossing the busy A985 in Rosyth. I accompan…”

“As someone who grew up in Warrington and who was friends with Tim Parry who was murdered by the IRA, I subsequently had to do public affairs engagement work in Northern Ireland, so I am well aware of some of the difficulties that can come from the outcome, shall we say, of some of the violence suffered in Northern Irel…”

“I thank the Secretary of State for such a strong statement, which makes it clear to Vladimir Putin that this aggression will not be tolerated. Recently, Ministers were kind enough to answer a series of written questions from me on quick reaction alert, subsea cables and defence of the high north, all pointing to additi…”

“I am very much enjoying the right hon. Member’s remarks from the Dispatch Box, as I always do, but he is discussing an issue that is definitely not within the scope of the Bill. Perhaps it would be better to move on to the areas where—hopefully—we have cross-party consensus.”

“I congratulate the new Government on introducing the Bill so early in their term. It was a pleasure to serve on the Committee, along with friends on both sides of the House, and to hear from the existing Service Complaints Ombudsman as well as from charities such as Poppy Scotland and the Royal British Legion. I thank …”

“My hon. Friend is entirely right. Housing issues are critical to ensuring that we recruit and retain the personnel we will require for the success that we want our armed forces to have.”

“I agree that housing is one of the issues that the commissioner will want to consider, and I hope that they will, in Scotland and throughout the United Kingdom, but I do not think it helpful to be prescriptive. We must ensure that the commissioner is fully independent and can determine their own priorities, and we shou…”

“Will the right hon. Member give way?”

“Does the hon. and learned Gentleman agree that it is to the discredit of the Opposition that they do not even have a shadow Veterans Minister who could bring up the issues he is raising?”