Speeches by Morris.

“I rise to speak about the need for the Bill and the continued assault by the Conservative party on public trust and the public finances. When I go out in my constituency, I speak to people who are appreciative of the “bin fire”—that is the term that one of my constituents used—facing Treasury colleagues when we assumed…”

“My hon. Friend eloquently makes the point that I have been trying to make when I have tripped over my words. I am extremely proud that the Government are committed to achieving economic stability, being frank with the public about the choices that we face and not simply taking the easy options. We need to implement the…”

“As the hon. Lady well knows, when one inherits a difficult context, one has to take decisions that one did not want to take. The public understand that the NICs rise was important and was needed because of the circumstances that we inherited and to repair the black hole that we found in the public finances. Spending th…”

“I have never turned down an opportunity to slag off the Opposition. I am always happy to do so. The ultimate reason that the Budget was necessary was to raise the extra money to invest into the NHS. The extra infrastructure investment will support our rural communities, our rural GPs and our care homes. That is the fun…”

“I thank the hon. Gentleman for his guidance on the correct form of words to use. The reason that I used the term “ultimately” is that it is the fundamental goal of Government to improve the lives of our constituents. That is why I choose to use the form of words that I am using, and why I am focused on the eventual out…”

“I was not sure if the hon. Member would take interventions during that. Ultimately, we need to support the NHS, our care homes and our GPs. It is very rich of the Conservative party to lecture us on supporting GPs and care homes. I have been out speaking to GPs in rural communities, who have been consistently undermine…”

“Will the hon. Lady give way?”

“Representing a large and rural constituency, I am constantly contacted by families who are concerned that members of their youngest generation are having to leave Northumberland to find the homes they need. That is just one example of the Conservative party’s war on the countryside. Will the Minister confirm that the n…”

“I am frequently contacted by biodiversity, nature and climate groups across my Hexham constituency that are encouraged by our commitment to climate, nature and biodiversity. They are concerned, though, about the timescale for the Government’s ratification of the global oceans treaty. Will the Leader of the House give s…”

“The hon. Lady is making an eloquent speech and has been generous with her time. I have talked before about the need for a banking hub in Haltwhistle, in the west of my constituency. It has, unfortunately, lost banking services. Local businesses tell me that the Post Office van that stops there infrequently is simply no…”

“Northumberland has been battered by storms in recent years, most dramatically and devastatingly by Storm Arwen. Can the Minister assure me that she and her colleagues are taking proactive steps to protect communities in some of the most isolated places in my constituency from the devastating impact of these storms?”

“10. What steps she is taking to reform skills training.”

“I want to echo the calls welcoming the downfall of the brutal and evil Assad regime, and just to press the Foreign Secretary a little. What steps will the Government take to preserve all the humanitarian routes available, and to ensure that a moderate, prosperous and, indeed, multi-polar Syria emerges from the present …”

“When I speak to small businesses in my constituency of Hexham, they regularly decry an inability to recruit young people from the area, who want to remain in the area where they grew up. Will the Secretary of State assure me that we will be working with small and medium-sized businesses to ensure that young people can …”

“I am frequently contacted by constituents of mine in Haltwhistle who are outraged by the empty buildings that pockmark the town. Will the Leader of the House commit to a debate in Government time on how we can re-energise towns such as Haltwhistle so that they can fuel the growth that this country desperately needs?”

“The legacy of 14 years of the Conservatives in government and a century of Tory complacency in Hexham is seen in how police numbers in Prudhoe fell under the last Government, and indeed in Callerton and Throckley. They have also fallen in our most rural communities. Rural crime is unfortunately brought up with me regul…”

“When we start a new job and find that the previous person in that job had not paid invoices for the previous year and deliberately withheld financial information, we have an honest conversation with the public about what is achievable. In any business, we have to be honest with people about deliverables. [Interruption.…”

“The hon. Member is welcome to come and take a look at my diary at some point. On the Saturday after the Budget, I went to a farm. On the second Saturday after the Budget, I went to a farm. I then met with NFU members at my office in London. Believe me: Labour Members work their constituencies a lot harder than Tory Mem…”

“They absolutely do; my hon. Friend is right. What people—not just farmers—speak to me about is the need for that growing, stable economy. They are infuriated with the Conservative party for pretending to jump on a bandwagon after taking farmers for granted for 14 years while in government.”

“I thank the hon. Member for her intervention. She and I must have a slightly different view of a very long time. A few weeks ago is not a very long time for me. I am talking about years in which local farming communities were ignored. The botched Brexit deal that the Conservative party secured did not do any farmer any…”