Speeches by Shannon.

“Honourable would be enough for me. Does the right hon. Member agree that the elections are not just bureaucratic processes? They are how communities hold leaders to account, set local priorities and influence decisions that affect their everyday lives. If anybody tries to stop an election, it will backfire on them. Doe…”

“I commend the hon. Lady on securing this debate; she is right to praise St David’s day, and everyone is here for that purpose. While we can be Welsh, Northern Irish, Scottish or English, what brings us together is this great United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and our Gaelic cousins in Wales, Scotland…”

“I first of all thank the Chair of the Committee for the report. Sport is always a method of bringing people together, but on this occasion it failed miserably as a result of the conduct of certain police elements that distorted the occasion of a Maccabi Tel Aviv football match. What did the Committee say should happen …”

“I beg to move, That this House has considered the impact of VAT on independent faith schools. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Alec. I hope that this debate will go well. I welcome the Minister to her place and look forward to engaging with her. I have given her a copy of my speaking notes; the last …”

“I thank the Minister for his statement and for his strong words. I am reminded of a wee saying that my mother used to use when I was young: once bitten, twice shy. With that in mind, I must ask the Minister a question. As a nation, Northern Ireland finds itself a slave to European diktats, with our state aid hampered, …”

“During the recess last week, I had the opportunity to visit Iraq as chair of the all-party parliamentary group for international freedom of religion or belief, and I wish to take this opportunity to again raise the continuing plight of Yazidi families. More than a decade after the atrocities committed against the Yazid…”

“I thank the hon. Lady for her response. Trends seem to indicate that among the young people of Generation Z, attendance at churches is growing, which is good news. We all know that the greatest story ever told is the birth of the Lord Jesus on 25 December, and the fact that he was crucified and died to forgive us our s…”

“First of all, I thank the Backbench Business Committee for giving me the opportunity to speak on this issue, and I thank all Members for their contributions. I thank the hon. Member for St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire (Ian Sollom) for his contribution; the Liberal Democrat policy on this issue is quite clear, as I knew…”

“It is, as always, a special pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Vaz. You always seem to do the Thursday afternoon debates and, by and large, I seem to be here too—but that is by the way. Some might say, “Well, where else would you find him?” But there we are. It is a real pleasure to follow the hon. Member for B…”

“Respectfully, it is not about how the schools can do things; it is about the parents who make that sacrifice so that their children can get to those schools. I suggest—the Minister has it in front of her—a simple solution, which is to introduce a VAT registration threshold that is below the state funding benchmark. I u…”

“This debate is quite clearly on VAT on independent faith-based schools, but I do support that principle and have voted accordingly in the Chamber, as has been recorded. I am today putting forward the case for independent faith-based schools and asking for them to be considered differently, but I accept what the hon. Ge…”

“I thank the Minister very much for her answer. Indeed, I am always impressed with her answers. Those that she has given us this morning are equal to what she always gives to me and others in this House.—[Hon. Members: “Ah!”] Back home in Northern Ireland, we have the same problem with short-term lets. This is about pro…”

“Of course. I do not think I need to do the introduction again; I will leave it at that. I want to tell a story—the hon. Member for Bath already knows it—about one of my constituents. I was elected in 2010, and in 2012 two of my constituents, a mum and a dad, came to see me about their daughter. They were both police of…”

“It is a real pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Twigg—it is the third time today. I thank the hon. Member for Preston (Sir Mark Hendrick) for setting the scene incredibly well. I am also pleased to see the Minister in his place. He has, if I may say so, been a very busy boy today in the Chamber and Westminst…”

“I thank the Minister for his answers. As always, these problems have resulted because of a realisation that the small print does not really work. Many of my constituents take flights from Dublin because they can be more cost-effective, but the need to have a British passport can be incredibly cost-prohibitive. I am try…”

“I thank the Minister for his answers. If he were a goalkeeper, he would be exhausted at this stage. Maybe he has kept the ball out of the net—we will see how that goes. The Minister will forgive me for being a bit obtuse, but it was my understanding that the leasing of the base at massive cost to the working person in …”

“I commend the hon. Lady for bringing this debate forward. I spoke to her beforehand; she is certainly making a name for herself in this place for being assiduous and hard working. Does she agree that the consumer cannot afford greater cost-of-living increases through energy prices and that any levy cannot simply be han…”

“Everybody has referred to role models. Young boys look towards a man for a better role model, but we should recognise that a mother can also be a role model in the way she shapes us. When I was a wee boy, I was privileged to have a number of ladies from Ballywalter to guide me. Sometimes the ladies in the house—the mot…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Twigg. I want to say a big thank you to the hon. Member for Hinckley and Bosworth (Dr Evans) for setting the scene incredibly well. He and I are often in debates together. This time, he leads and I follow; it is usually the other way round. I thank him for the informat…”

“I commend the hon. Member for Ealing Central and Acton (Dr Huq) for bringing us this debate. She is right to say that this does not just happen in England; it happens across all of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Vehicles registered in Northern Ireland in 2015 were among those fitted with ille…”