Speeches by Cooper.

“Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. It is an honour and a novelty to follow my near neighbour, the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon). The cost of a new year’s dinner in Russia is up over 11%, interest rates are up, taxes are up and the rouble is down. That is largely down to the fact that the previous Government in…”

“I congratulate this Front-Bench team and the wider Government on landing this deal in the face of what the Secretary of State has euphemistically called the “headwinds” —I would call them a full-force gale—created by the Budget. Did Navantia raise concerns about the forthcoming Employment Rights Bill? It swings the pen…”

“I wish you a merry Christmas and a good new year when it comes, Mr Speaker. I was astonished that the vacillating Prime Minister did not take the opportunity to definitively rule out blasphemy laws, which have no placed in modern British society. This is the land of “Monty Python’s Life of Brian” after all. Will the Mi…”

“As a former journalist, I am intimately familiar with the gold standard copyright laws that we have in this country. Does the Minister agree with the News Media Association, which is very concerned about the current situation faced by its members, where things are already being scraped and taken into these AI machines?…”

“What do you think about these new changes, then? What do you think about the joined-up thinking, if I can use that old cliché? How do you think the Government’s changes are affecting the overall atmosphere for business in the UK? Is it better or worse?”

“My father is a marine engineer, but I get seasick in a bath, so boats are not my favourite thing. I just wonder whether the position is slightly different for you because defence spending is increasing, given international events at the moment. I wonder whether you are insulated a little bit from some of the difficulti…”

“It is clear that the demand and the customers are there. What is your view of the environment in which you do business, the rules you must abide by and things like that? Is it a hostile environment? Is it becoming a hostile environment? Has the pendulum swung away from you, towards the employees rather than the employe…”

“You have talked about the past and how you have had 25 good years here. In the light of the changes, what do you think the future is in the current circumstances? Do you think that is changing? Do you have another good 25 years here?”

“We have heard a lot today about balance and the need to offset the rights and responsibilities on both sides of the equation—employees and employers. Taking into account recent changes in the Budget, what is your view of how things are for employers in this country? Is Britain still a good place to do business?”

“You say that you are quite confident that your hiring programme is going to continue, but in the light of recent fiscal changes, are you facing more difficulties with that hiring programme?”

“Turning to JLR, I have heard a lot in my rural constituency about the changes to national insurance contributions and the effect that that is having on small and micro businesses. What is it like in a very large business? What difference are the changes to NICs making? You will obviously not necessarily be party to det…”

“Dominic, at Scotstoun on the Clyde, BAE Systems is putting together your applied shipbuilding academy, which is part of an enormous investment in training and skills for young people. I believe that you might top £1 billion since the start of the decade, with something like £230 earmarked for next year. Is there anythi…”

“There was a mention of raising all boats. Is this raising BAE’s boats? You literally make boats—warships, more accurately.”

“Beverley, do you want to add anything to that?”

“Soon, many of us will be held rapt by television’s “SAS Rogue Heroes”, which returns to screens soon. The series will focus on the elite unit as, back from initial success in the desert war, it faces the much sterner challenge of Ayrshire, where it was briefly based until it went into action in Italy and occupied Europ…”

“Both the Scotland Office and the Northern Ireland Office tell me that the Northern Ireland enhanced investment zone is still alive and still in play, and has not fallen into the fictitious £22 billion black hole. However, there is no indication of when it will actually be delivered. Given the multiple agencies involved…”

“This is a multiheaded hydra of a problem; there is no doubt about that. One of the ways in which we could begin to tackle it is by using the proper language. Can we please stop talking about irregular arrivals and irregular journeys? That sounds like a coach tour that has taken a wrong turn. It is illegal immigration t…”

“On that point, you are describing a process that is looking at export licences across the whole gamut then; it is not just purely Israel and Gaza you are looking at. I assume you are constantly reviewing conflicts elsewhere, such as the one the Saudis are involved in. This is not a process that is designed specifically…”

“I agree that it is important that the voices of people directly involved in the industry, both onshore and offshore, are heard. On the TCA negotiations, nothing—not quota or anything else—should be exchanged for automatic access for EU boats. War could not choke off our fish suppers; can we ensure that legislation does…”

“I was involved with the seafood industry in the early days of Brexit as a special adviser with the Scotland Office, and we found that much of the problems with live export, particularly of shellfish and things like langoustines, actually lay on the far side of the channel, rather than our side. I do not know whether it…”