Speeches by Shannon.

“Monday 27 October marked International Religious Freedom Day. In the UK, we are fortunate to enjoy the freedom to believe or not to believe without fear of persecution, but sadly in countries such as Nigeria and Sudan, which was mentioned this morning, many religious minorities continue to suffer appalling daily discri…”

“I thank the Chair and the Committee very much for their report, and I think what they are saying is positive. The United States of America, the United Kingdom, the EU and many Arab states have all pushed for peace. They state collectively that Hamas cannot have any part in the future of Palestine, that Hamas is the obs…”

“I thank the Minister very much for his well-chosen words. I thank the right hon. Member for Oxford East (Anneliese Dodds) for securing this urgent question. Other MPs and I have long been highlighting the atrocities taking place in Sudan, including stomach-churning terrorist attacks, and rapes and murders taking place …”

“I welcome the Minister and, indeed, the whole Front-Bench team to their places—well done! On the industrial strategy, what steps have been taken to fund high-quality workforce apprenticeships in sectors such as technology, manufacturing and hospitality, to provide young people with opportunities for employment and live…”

“I wanted to be here at the beginning, but unfortunately I could not because I had other things to do in the Chamber. I declare an interest—like the hon. Member for South Norfolk (Ben Goldsborough), I am going to get one of mine done very shortly, but in Northern Ireland the wait list is 56 weeks. If it is red-flagged, …”

“The hon. Member is absolutely right. Politics aside, I want the Minister and the Government to do the job. It does not matter who the politician or the political party is; let us just give our people some hope. That is what I wish to see come out of this. What assessment have the Government made of the need for a natio…”

“The hon. Lady is absolutely right—by the way, that is one of my seven points. We have spoken, but not exactly about that. The debate brings us together with our requests for the Minister and the Government; we are thankful for that. Only 38% of those who died aged 85 or older received care from palliative care speciali…”

“I thank all Members who have taken part in the debate, including the right hon. Member for New Forest East (Sir Julian Lewis), and the hon. Members for Carlisle (Ms Minns) and for Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme (Lee Pitcher). The hon. Member for Shipley (Anna Dixon) brought her knowledge to the Chamber, as did …”

“I find in my constituency, and I think the right hon. Gentleman will find the same, that the extra responsibility of filling in forms, such as for personal independence payments, universal credit, employment and support allowance and disability living allowance, falls on the GP. Has he found that providing the evidence…”

“I welcome the Minister to her place and wish her every success and happiness in her role. I will try not to be too hard with my questions. She referred for the contracts for difference scheme. I know it is something that Northern Ireland has to do itself, but at this early stage will she please engage with the relevant…”

“I thank the Minister very much for his answers, his tone and his well-chosen words; we appreciate them. The moment that there were reports of shots fired at Israeli soldiers in Rafah and of an IDF soldier being murdered, my heart sank—as the hearts of many others probably did—because I knew that the tenuous peace had b…”

“I commend the hon. Lady for bringing this forward. She is right to mention the four regions. Back home in Northern Ireland, wet wipes are a major cause of what are referred to as fatbergs of non-biodegradable waste in local sewers, which leads to pollution and costly clean-ups. Although the regional Administrations sho…”

“It is always a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Harris. I commend and congratulate the hon. Member for Hamble Valley (Paul Holmes) on bringing this debate to Westminster Hall and thereby giving us all a chance to participate. As the MP for a coastal constituency with a very large length of coast—the name of …”

“I commend the right hon. Gentleman for securing the debate; he was right to do so. Although no win, no fee seems like the only reasonable option for those seeking compensation in the civil courts to fund their cases, they can be easily taken advantage of, so does he agree that we need a framework that allows for a reas…”

“It is always a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Harris. I commend the hon. Member for Crawley (Peter Lamb) for setting the scene so very well. This is an important issue as road safety is important to us all. Keeping ourselves, as well as other motorists safe, is part of that. There have been reports of conc…”

“I thank the Minister for his answers and his dedication to finding the answers that we need. While it was good to hear that there is a plan to house asylum seekers more cost-effectively, the Government must ensure that those areas do not become states within this state. What steps have been taken to ensure that law and…”

“I thank everyone involved in producing the report and the Leader of the House for bringing it to the House for us to consider. I recall very well where I was on that fateful day when the news came through. It has always been very important to me, and indeed to everyone in this House, to ensure that justice is done. I w…”

“I spoke to the hon. Lady before the debate and explained the connection between her constituency and mine, and why it is so important. I also want to encourage the hon. Lady, who has been a great friend of mine in the House in all the time I have been here. We share many things, including an interest in this subject ma…”

“Will the hon. Lady give way?”

“I thank the Secretary of State very much for her responses. The peace plan can succeed only if Hamas are not part of it. Hamas need to return the dead hostages to the families, and they need to be disarmed. We also need to ensure that they are not carrying out summary executions of fellow Gazans, as they are currently …”