Speeches by McDonnell.

“There might be some literary offences, definitely. I am not arguing for that. I think that when people stand for election, the descriptor that they use then to the electorate is the one that they should hold to.”

“I think there is a role for the party to have a say. I would expect, particularly in my situation, the Labour party would want clarity, which is that I am Labour, and I am suspended. If the party wants to go further than that, I think that does imply that it is furthering the disciplinary process. If that is the case, …”

“The way the House operates at the moment is party labels. I think that is the best way to do it. If people want to describe themselves, because they were elected as independents and they want to describe themselves as independents, that is fine, but I think for clarity purposes the party labels are useful. That is why …”

“I don’t think people are interested in the record of crimes against the party. It is as simple as that. All I am asking for—I think Ian agrees—is I don’t think people are interested in the ins and outs; they just want to know your status. At the moment, is John McDonnell independent? Well, that is not the case. Is John…”

““Labour or innocent”, or something like that. No, I am being silly. When I wrote to the Speaker, just to clarify things, I said “Labour suspended”, and that is what we are. I just wanted to reflect the reality of it because it has caused confusion, and it does undermine your position within the constituency itself. Thi…”

“Yes. I think the examples in the past have been usually simultaneous. If it is so serious, you will have the Whip withdrawn and you will be expelled as well. With us it was suspension, but you continue on as normal as a party member.”

“I think the withdrawal is on a permanent basis. The suspension is a temporary one. When we were suspended, we were given six-month sentences—simple as that.”

“I thank the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary for their efforts to secure the release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah, the British human rights campaigner who has been imprisoned in Egypt for over 10 years. The Prime Minister will know—he has met the family—that his mother is on the 150th day of her hunger strike and her …”

“I don’t want to waste your time. The reason I have raised this through the Speaker is because it is exactly that. The accuracy of the depiction of me and my role, as I play it and as I have always played it.”

“I feel a bit of a fraud being here because the only reason I am here is because I wrote to the Speaker and said, “I am classified when I vote, and the media have picked this up as well, as an independent”. I am not. I was not elected as an independent MP. I was elected as a Labour MP. I have had the Whip suspended, not…”

“I am John McDonnell, the Member of Parliament for Hayes and Harlington.”

“Why not? Go on!”

“The hon. Member for St Ives (Andrew George) should not be so self-deprecating. The Groceries Code Adjudicator was brought about by an excellent piece of work and a good campaign. It was possibly the only thing of any worth that the Lib Dems did in government with the Conservatives. I just want to make a couple of brief…”

“The Minister talks about heartbreaking stories. My hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool West Derby (Ian Byrne) and I have just come off a Public and Commercial Services Union picket line outside a Department, and one of the issues that was raised with us was the cost of living, particularly fuel poverty, because those …”

“Will the Minister give way?”

“I am grateful for the Minister’s statement about the British Government complying with international law, because a number of us are concerned about complicity. Mark Smith, the diplomat who resigned because of his concern about arms sales to Israel, wrote three days ago: “I saw illegality and complicity with war crimes…”

“I simply wish to make one request and propose one amendment to the Bill. I have listened to the whole debate. There are more asylum seekers in hotels in my constituency than in any other constituency in the country. I have two detention centres, one of which was the last to imprison children, so I understand. I tour th…”

“I do not want to repeat what has been said by others, but I will share my perspective on the Bill. It is in two parts, and there is almost unanimity about the first part, which deals with how we tackle fraud carried out through contracts and so on. I thank the hon. and learned Member for North Antrim (Jim Allister) for…”

“That is why the code of practice is going to be interesting. The code of practice needs to be published as rapidly as possible to see what mechanisms will be available for us to protect our constituents. I have one area of experience with regard to the flagging up of sums of money that raise concerns: in the debates th…”

“There is so much to be welcomed in the statement, but sadly it has been tainted by the decision on the third runway at Heathrow. When such a decision is made by the Government, it is important that there is full openness and transparency so that we can explain the Government's thinking to our constituents. Will the Min…”