Speeches by Rankin.

“When I visit primary and first schools, teachers tell me that when given a book, more and more children starting school are swiping it, rather than knowing how to turn the page. If the Secretary of State is serious about raising phonics standards at key stage 1, will she act now to empower parents and get screens out o…”

“I am not sure that I recognise that statement. At the risk of pointing out the obvious, I was not born in the parliamentary seat of Windsor. I grew up in Ashton-under-Lyne and was the kind of child the hon. Member probably has in mind. My passion at school was history but I did maths and physics at university. That was…”

“I do not want to talk about each plan individually, but this does need to be looked at in the round, as the hon. Lady is quite right to say. Returning to the hon. Member for Ilford South, I am glad that he recognised—which some of his colleagues did not—that the beneficiaries of student loans should be asked to contrib…”

“I agree, but would gently say that we want to ensure that people take the highest-quality creative courses imaginable, which we can honestly say will have economic benefits for them. That is the nuance and balance. Because of the time, I will move on to my substantive remarks, though hon. Members having two minutes and…”

“I will, but I am aware of time.”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Lewell. I thank the hon. Member for Ilford South (Jas Athwal) for securing this important debate and highlighting one of the major challenges facing many young people in this country today: student loan repayments. Despite my youthful looks, I can clarify that I am …”

“The hon. Gentleman makes a powerful point about Leonard, which builds helicopters in his constituency, and I am sure the Minister has heard his pointed remarks. Parties of both colours have pledged to increase defence spending. This Labour Government have committed to an uplift of 3% in the next Parliament, but when wi…”

“I beg to move, That this House has considered the impact of environmental, social and governance requirements on the defence industry. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms McVey. I thank the Minister and hon. Members for making time to attend what I hope will be a consequential debate. Last week, we al…”

“Of course the hon. Member is right. We have a collective responsibility to advocate for these businesses, as he just did, but as a nation we must also face down this pernicious culture. To return to the point about financial institutions, the culture we set in Parliament influences them. We do not need to look too far …”

“I am delighted to correct the record; it is good to see that parties of all colours are backing increased defence spending in a more uncertain world. The ESG system implies in some sense that defence investment is unethical, but there is nothing less ethical than sending British sons and daughter into battle under-equi…”

“I thank all hon. Members from across the Chamber for their considered contributions, and particularly the hon. Members for York Outer (Mr Charters), for Strangford (Jim Shannon) and for North Durham (Luke Akehurst), as well as my hon. Friend the Member for Weald of Kent (Katie Lam). Speakers have emphasised slightly di…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Western. I thank the hon. Member for Woking (Mr Forster) for securing this important debate, and for his powerful and thoughtful contribution, particularly in relation to the tragic case of Sara Sharif. We have heard thoughtful contributions from right across the Ho…”

“On the same theme, on our visits and in our oral and written evidence, the pipeline issue often comes up. I think particularly of the comment from the Society of Maritime Industries that the industry needs “predictable pipeline visibility”. That is key to attracting and retaining skilled workers. Does the industry at t…”

“You were both understandably diplomatic, but there was implied criticism of at least the effect on public sentiment of the Scottish Government’s posturing on the Israeli Government’s robust response to Hamas’s 7 October pogroms. I want to ask about broader public perception. Babcock, Thales and others have said that po…”

“I was tempting you.”

“I thank the hon. Member for Newbury (Mr Dillon) for securing this important debate and for his wider efforts on this issue, including his private Member’s Bill and his early-day motion, which 44 Members from right across the House supported. That is the gold standard for how to champion an issue in Parliament, and cred…”

“This is a comment rather than a question, but that is a point we should make to Treasury. You can understand why these things come in dribs and drabs but, if you want to drive the cost per bolt of these things down and drive productivity, this seems to me to be a much more sensible approach, not just for skills, but fo…”

“I am afraid you paint quite a depressing picture there. Can I just say, at least for my part, how sorry I am to hear that? The defence industry is the core of defending the democratic values that the west needs. For anyone who wants to get on their high horse about this stuff, you guys are on the frontline, so thank yo…”

“I intend to get to the implications of plan 2 loans—both the freeze in the threshold for repayment and the freezing of the interest rates in a falling-interest-rates environment. I think the hon. Gentleman will find in the Budget papers that that raises about as much money as the mansion tax does, for example. I think …”

“I beg to move, That this House has considered the impact of the Autumn Budget 2025 on graduates. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Turner. I thank the Minister for taking time from his busy schedule to attend the debate today. I will start by painting a picture of two graduates at two different poin…”