Speeches by Baldwin.

“I am talking about yesterday’s Budget. The Chancellor herself announced that she was freezing the thresholds for a further three years, and I dare say that the hon. Gentleman will be asked to vote for that in the Aye Lobby next week. I disagree with him, because the Chancellor has just announced that the thresholds wil…”

“It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Rochdale (Paul Waugh). I will be picking up on some of the points he made later in my remarks, but I will start by characterising the whole Budget in the way that we heard from the Leader of the Opposition, which is that this was the “Nightmare Before Christmas” Budget. Af…”

“I liked the introduction to the shadow Chancellor’s speech. Would a better film analogy perhaps be “The Nightmare Before Christmas”?”

“I thank the Minister for advance sight of his statement. Critical minerals are vital to our national security. In submarines, missiles, jet fighters and radar, we need critical minerals for our national defence. Critical minerals in electric vehicles and wind turbines are also vital for clean energy generation. It is s…”

“On behalf of residents in flood-prone West Worcestershire who approached Storm Claudia with trepidation, I convey our sympathies to people in Monmouthshire. Experiencing a flood like that is one of the most terrible things that can happen a community. Could I ask the Minister to ask the Minister for Water and Flooding,…”

“Would that include someone here in the UK who wanted to buy the Trump meme coin at $60, for example?”

“You heard the previous panel. One thing that I tried to probe with my questions was whether there is anything that my constituents are missing out on in terms of their ability to access cryptoassets. The FCA data is that now 7 million UK individuals have at some point owned or still hold a cryptocurrency. Perhaps start…”

“In the interests of fairness, I shall start with my first question again. Have you ever owned or do you now own any cryptoassets? Can you just put up your hands, if you have?”

“It was whether you ever have.”

“We have a 50/50 split on that. The market participants there perhaps have a bit of an interest in the Bank not doing it.”

“May I ask a quick yes/no of the panel on whether the Bank of England should launch its own central bank digital currency?”

“You would have to buy—”

“You said she would not have a bank account.”

“On Mr Butterfill’s use case of the Iranian woman fleeing violence, she would have to have either been given a wallet or paid for a wallet. Presumably these are exactly the same characteristics that would make it valuable to someone who is an ISIS fighter, for example.”

“Yes, it is down to $8 now.”

“I appreciate what the definitions are. I wondered whether you wanted to comment on Russia being the leading market in Europe.”

“It is a medium of exchange.”

“You are talking about bitcoin. As I understand it, in Russia, Professor Broby, crypto is the biggest market. It has taken off there presumably because other mediums of exchange are not as well trusted by the general population. Is it really such a badge of honour for us to aim to be the biggest market for cryptoassets …”

“It is a finite commodity, is it not?”

“You are not in line to be the next UK ambassador to the United States, so don’t hold back.”