Speeches by Cross.

“The Prime Minister has today said that the independent ethics adviser will now investigate. Is this not another example of how poor his judgment is? Initially saying that the Cabinet Office could investigate someone who is now a Cabinet Office Minister was ludicrous; that was never going to be independent or comprehens…”

“The Minister said that he and the Government want to comply fully, transparently and as quickly as possible with the Humble Address. I think we can all agree that is exactly what they should be doing, but when things will be released is a vital question. The documents should be released as quickly as possible, as he sa…”

“Thank you, Mr Speaker. “Our Governments seem stricken, almost delusional, in the face of onrushing disaster,” and we are seeing “arguably the most destructive industrial calamity in our nation’s history”. Those are the words of the GMB’s Scotland Secretary about the Government’s determination to tax and regulate the oi…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Murrison. I thank the hon. Member for Southport (Patrick Hurley) and congratulate him on securing this important debate. Getting people into work should be a core priority for any Government and I know Members across the House share that view. I, and the Conservativ…”

“T5. Girls were raped and abused by grooming gangs in Scotland just as they were in England and Wales, yet girls in Scotland are excluded from the grooming gangs inquiry. Girls, no matter where they are in the UK, must get justice, and rapists, no matter where they are in the UK, must face the consequences. In response …”

“They will be built anyway, whether they are used less or not, but that will probably mean they are less efficient if we use them less. What I am basically getting at is: will the speed and the price we are paying for renewable energy now have a net positive or net negative impact on bills in the next five, 10 or 15 yea…”

“You say it will stay higher for a wee while if gas is there as well. We will still need gas-fired power plants, so we will be building those anyway.”

“That was an even higher price.”

“Whether in the short term or the long term—ideally both—how do you see the impact of renewables changing as more wind comes on? The average electricity price last year was about £80 per megawatt-hour. We have just signed on to AR7 at £95 per megawatt-hour for wind, but that does not include things such as the grid, bal…”

“Does that £20 a year include the impact of having to pay for curtailment payments? We paid £1.5 billion last year in curtailment payments.”

“In your opinion, how will the expansion of renewables across the UK and within our energy mix impact either electricity pricing or industrial electricity pricing going forward?”

“My right hon. Friend rightly talks about trust in politics and in politicians, but the issue is that the Prime Minister put so much blind trust in a proven liar that he was willing to forgo process and judgment when appointing him to one of the top diplomatic roles in the country. Why does my right hon. Friend think th…”

“As my hon. Friend says, the Prime Minister knew, but he also stood at the Dispatch Box in September and said that he had “full confidence” in Peter Mandelson—Lord Mandelson—knowing what he knew. Does my hon. Friend not find that extraordinary?”

“So it is not a plan with a plan behind it. You just think the debt should be written off, but who pays for that, and where the cost ultimately lands, has not been considered.”

“Does my hon. Friend agree that, if she struggles today to get answers to those very basic and straightforward questions, we can draw our own conclusions as to the answers?”

“Let us suppose that the Minister was appointing a new member of staff and he knew that a candidate had twice lost his job in the past because of misdemeanours. If he also knew that that candidate had continued a relationship with a convicted paedophile, would the Minister give him a job?”

“Who would cover the cost for the proposed debt write-off?”

“China is helping to fund Russia’s war on Ukraine via the shadow fleet and Russian oil. First, can the Prime Minister unambiguously confirm that he brought up Russian oil and the shadow fleet, because they are not mentioned specifically in the statement? Secondly, what steps will China now take to end its importation of…”

“Does it support the ambition of reducing bills?”

“Obviously, the ability to use public transport is vital to allow disabled people or others who are less mobile to access work. Inverurie station in my constituency has just been removed from the Access for All programme, which provides mobility aids in stations—in this case, a lift will now not be installed. I complete…”