Speeches by Murray.

“I am pleased to respond to this Adjournment debate. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Colchester (Pam Cox) on securing it and wish her a very happy Essex Day. That is something I never thought I would say from the Dispatch Box, but I wish everyone a happy Essex Day none the less. As my hon. Friend laid out, …”

“I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention, because it is true: as we have already heard from my hon. Friend the Member for Colchester, our heritage is about our future, but it is also about learning about our past. It is good for social cohesion, but it is also tremendous for education, and Burghley House and the Jo…”

“It is a pleasure to speak with you in the Chair, Dr Murrison, for my first Westminster Hall debate in my new role. I thank the shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Old Bexley and Sidcup (Mr French), for his welcome. May I say that my hon. Friend the Member for Kettering (Rosie Wrighting), with her long track record and…”

“I visited RoslinCT in my own constituency last Friday. The life sciences sector in Scotland is indeed buoyant and flourishing. There are lots of opportunities for it to expand. It is probably a dividend of the Union.”

“Very simply, the life sciences sector plan has been set out to give the industry certainty over the longer term that this Government are serious about the investment that both we and the industry will make in the sector, with £2.5 billion a year from this Government and, at £86 billion, the largest settlement for R&amp…”

“The hon. Member talks about yet more spending but with no idea of how the revenue would be increased. This Government had to make some incredibly difficult decisions in order to balance the books to give that stability in the economy so that we could invest in R&D, including in the life sciences. The NHS 10-year pl…”

“I am very happy to do so. I think that is my third invite already this morning. The question and the invite to Newcastle-under-Lyme demonstrate the thriving life sciences sector all across the country. I can give my hon. Friend an assurance that we intend to back the life sciences sector. Although the decision from MSD…”

“There is no doubt that spending on NHS medicines has fallen from 15% to 9%, which is part of the problems in the pharmaceutical industry. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care made a £1 billion offer to the pharmaceutical industry over the summer, but it chose not to vote on that, so he…”

“I congratulate the hon. Gentleman’s wife on what she does in the sector—she is the only one in the family with a real job. That shows the depth and breadth of the sector across the country; everyone will know someone who works in it. We have £86 billion from the spending review going into research and development, and …”

“I would say to life sciences students in the fledgling part of their career that it is a career they should be in for the long term. Life sciences is the future, which is why it is one of the eight key sectors in our industrial strategy. The news the Government have had today on MSD’s commercial decision is incredibly …”

“I am tempted to say no, just to see what reaction that gets! But of course I will meet any hon. or right hon. Member across the House to discuss the life sciences sector. Whether we are talking about the north, south, east or west, including in my own constituency, the life sciences play a key role and will continue to…”

“I have just been working with the Department of Health and Social Care to try to bring that forward. I do not know the exact answer to the right hon. Lady’s question. If I knew the answer, I would give it. I do not, so I will write to her.”

“I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for her work, unpaid, at the research institute. It will be good to hear from her about what she sees from inside the sector. She raises, I think, the most important point in any debate about science, research and development and life sciences in particular in this country: we have world…”

“At this stage, I am not aware that there will be any downside to the entirety of the ecosystem that revolves around the King’s Cross area of London. This decision has obviously come very late to the Government, and we will work with MSD on the future. However, as we have heard from my hon. Friend the Member for Gravesh…”

“The right hon. Gentleman was a Treasury Minister, so he understands some of the issues involved here. I would merely point him to the report MSD released to its shareholders for the first quarter, in which it said that it had to divest from $3 billion a year in operating costs—that is a huge part of its operating agend…”

“I say to the right hon. Gentleman, for whom I have the utmost respect, that in the first part of his question he quite rightly promotes the wonderful work that is going on in his constituency at the Discovery Park and then says that everything is doom and gloom. That is not the case. This Government are investing in re…”

“In the interests of time: yes.”

“Our workforce are the very best in the world, and our world-class institutions are made world class because of that world-class workforce. This is the best place in the world to invest at the moment. We are in discussions with the US in respect of the pharmaceutical industry and the tariffs in the EU-US economic deal. …”

“I am grateful to my hon. Friend and would be happy to take him up on that meeting to hear about his experience directly. He raises the big issue around the legacy left by the previous Government after 15 years of underinvestment in medical pricing. The Health Secretary made a £1 billion offer to the pharmaceutical indu…”

“I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for his work with the university in his constituency in a whole number of areas. All who represent university towns— I do as well—know that there is significant investment going into research and development and the life sciences, because that is the future for this country. This country…”