Speeches by Slinger.

“Does the Minister agree that access to the creative arts, particularly music—I speak as a musician, so I am biased—should be available to everybody and especially young people, and that such access could be provided through the Best Start family hubs? The evidence is abundant of its positive effect on cognitive ability…”

“I am sure all hon. Members will want to praise British diplomats for all they are doing on this difficult issue. The potential catastrophic loss of ever more civilian life—not merely in the armed conflict, but in the resulting humanitarian catastrophe—means that the conscience of the world must lead to action, first an…”

“Will the Minister give way?”

“In the spirit of listening, I would be very grateful to know which of our investments in the public sector the right hon. Gentleman would cut.”

“Of course they go out to work. I believe that my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury answered that point earlier in the debate, but I thank the hon. Lady for her intervention. To add to my list, non-dom status is being largely scrapped, capital gains taxes have increased, and stamp duty on second home…”

“Will the hon. Member give way?”

“I thank the right hon. Gentleman for allowing me to intervene. I am certainly not drinking Kool-Aid. I do believe what I say, and I believe it firmly. I respect the right hon. Gentleman as a colleague, even though he is from a different party, but there is no Kool-Aid for me.”

“This is all rather desperate from the Conservative party. I had thought that pantomime season was in the winter, but clearly it is not. I will defend the decisions taken by this Government to help working people, grow the economy and fix the mess we inherited from the previous Government, and we are doing so with faire…”

“15. What steps she is taking to build more social and affordable homes.”

“Rugby borough council and Warwickshire Wildlife Trust are hosting a “Nature in Focus” event this Sunday, and partnering together to buy trees for farmers to plant. In December 2024, my right hon. Friend joined me to visit the Urban&Civic-led Houlton development, where we saw Francis Jackson Homes fitting air-source…”

“Planning authorities such as Rugby borough council are working hard to ensure that new housing developments contain as much affordable and social housing as possible. They work in partnership with housing developers, Government bodies such as Homes England, and others to that end, though it is not always an easy proces…”

“You will therefore take note of, respond to and take very seriously the conclusions of this Conference, as we discuss the way in which social media companies are enabling people to undermine the democratic process, and to do so in a way that they could not do in the offline world. Do you accept that you would take that…”

“I appreciate those answers, and I am glad that you mentioned responsibilities, because that clearly has to be part of it. Do the platforms that you represent wish to become more or less engaged in the political debate that we have here, and in the democratic process that we have in this country? Or are you content with…”

“Thank you very much for coming in to give evidence. What do you consider the role of X, Facebook and Instagram to be in the political process? What responsibilities does that mean that you have, in your view?”

“Q3. In the light of recent events, will the Prime Minister update the House on the work of the covid corruption commissioner? Does he agree with my constituents in Rugby, Bulkington and the surrounding villages that there should be no place in public life for people who exploited the pandemic and defrauded the taxpayer…”

“I have called for a responsibility revolution in which all businesses, organisations and individuals play their part in the national interest. I have seen that in my constituency on a visit to the National Gas station, which is a part of the critical infrastructure, and when talking to the Wolston and Brandon flood act…”

“When I visited HMP Onley, the nearest prison to my constituency, I had the great privilege to be given a tour by the governor, Mark Allen and to see the excellent work of the staff. I wonder whether the Secretary of State would comment on the importance of offerings by organisations and companies such as Greene King wh…”

“I thank my hon. Friend and his diplomats in the FCDO for their work and the emphasis on diplomacy. Does my hon. Friend agree with me about the importance of soft power in this situation, and that the BBC Persian service is doing excellent work in explaining news in a truthful way? Does he agree further that we ought to…”

“Does the Chief Secretary agree that it is the very decisions made by the Chancellor at the time of the last Budget, including those on the fiscal rules, that have enabled this Government to invest £190 billion in day-to-day spending and £113 billion in long-term investment, and that this simply would not have happened …”

“I warmly welcome my right hon. Friend’s statement. Although new and fit for the modern age, it harks back to an era not only when great bands were in their infancy, but when a Labour Government were investing in our young people in their infancy. Back at that time, I attended the dads club at the Sure Start centre in R…”