Speeches by Lamont.

“If bad actors were to come into prominent positions within government do you believe the current standards regime is sufficiently strong to deal with that?”

“Is it not ultimately the Prime Minister who is responsible for the standards of the people he appoints as Ministers and the people he appoints to represent our country?”

“You suggested as part of this discussion about bad chaps being a feature of our political system and changing the standards regime that was part of the suggestion of changes you were going to make.”

“Apart from being a liar and having to resign from Government twice.”

“Minister, the CSPL raised concerns about the complex and confusing system based on conventions, lacking independence and subject to the whims of the Executive back in 2022. How are the Government addressing that?”

“I am grateful. As I said earlier in my short comments, in my constituency I am inundated with wind farms, solar farms, battery storage and data centres. I now formally object to each of them. Previously, in my life as an MSP and an MP, I did not formally object to such applications, but the situation has gone so far an…”

“My hon. Friend is making an excellent speech and rightly highlighting the concerns about these developments. In my constituency in the Borders, we have wind farms, battery storage proposals and solar farms. As my hon. Friend said, developers talk at length about the supposed environmental benefits, but that is no more …”

“I am concerned that we do not serve more British-sourced food in our schools. Indeed, it is estimated that between 20 million and 40 million chickens are imported each year from China. That number has gone up 172% since the general election. What are the Government doing to ensure that our young people are eating Briti…”

“Good morning. The Government had a very clear commitment to replace the CSPL with the Ethics and Integrity Commission. What is your view on that change? Obviously you have moved over, but was that something you were advocating for or believed had to happen beforehand?”

“Should it also be that standards are higher? All that sounded very procedural to me, but surely the ultimate goal should be ensuring that standards in public life are significantly higher than what they are now, or the perception of that is higher.”

“What were the greatest achievements of the CSPL?”

“That was my next question. The inquiry work and other achievements of the CSPL will be carried forward. It is not going to be lost?”

“If you fast-forward the clock 10 years, how would you measure the success or failure of the EIC?”

“May I ask the Prime Minister about one particular consequence of this war in the middle east, namely the rising cost of heating oil, diesel and petrol? Everyone is struggling—I have spoken to many businesses and people who are really struggling to pay their bills—but the support from the UK and Scottish Governments is …”

“I continue to hear from residents and businesses about the timetable changes at Berwick-upon-Tweed station, in particular the loss of many direct services from Berwick down to London. What economic assessment is the Department undertaking of how those changes are working?”

“I begin by echoing your remarks, Mr Speaker, about our former colleague, David Winnick. I pay my respects to him. We must all condemn the antisemitic arson attack against the Hatzola ambulances in Golders Green on Monday morning. It was a sickening attack on the Jewish community. Antisemitism has no place in our countr…”

“Will the Leader of the House give us the forthcoming business?”

“Q2. Last week, I met my constituents Rob and Lizzie at the Kings Arms hotel in Melrose, which they run as part of a family business of 10 hotels across Scotland. They employ over 250 people, but their national insurance bill is going up by £280,000 because of Labour’s tax on jobs. We need to get Britain working again, …”

“T9. It has been reported that under the SNP, Police Scotland has written off 25,000 crimes without investigation, including shoplifting, theft and vandalism. Does the Minister agree that that is a surrender to criminals which leaves people wondering why they report crimes in the first place and shows that life in Scotl…”

“This was a horrific attack on the Jewish community. While Jewish communities experience disproportionately high levels of antisemitic incidents, offences targeting Jewish victims are statistically far less likely to result in a prosecution. Does the Minister accept that the Jewish community does not trust that the law …”