Speeches by Slinger.

“To echo the comments of my hon. Friend the Member for Walthamstow (Ms Creasy), will my right hon. Friend consider taking a young person—perhaps from a sixth form or a university—along to the next COP meeting as an adviser, to remind our delegation and, indeed, delegations around the world that it is young people’s futu…”

“Will the Leader of the House join me in congratulating the Hope4 charity in Rugby on receiving the King’s award for voluntary service? I have seen on numerous visits the incredible work that it does to end homelessness and poverty in Rugby, through its Hope Centre and the Rugby food bank. Will she consider a debate in …”

“International Men’s Day UK seeks to promote a positive conversation about men, manhood and masculinity. I believe that we need to debate definitions of masculinity, because outdated social mores about masculinity still all too often permeate society and influence boys’ and men’s behaviour. We need to challenge stereoty…”

“May I associate myself with the expressions of condolence to Lord Prescott’s family and friends? Given that this is UK Parliament Week, does the Prime Minister agree that his statement should reassure young people, who need hope that global issues are tackled, and that his and Ministers’ efforts at international forums…”

“I should state that I am a proud member of the Co-operative party. Indeed, should more learning about our democratic system take place, I would hope that it would include more information about the co-operative movement and the co-operative models that I believe will help us to build a better Britain. To add practical …”

“I agree that we need to embed this learning in our system in a far more concrete fashion. To truly empower young people we must go further than merely teach standard subjects. We must ensure that they both understand and value our government and democratic system. For example, young people draw on their knowledge of st…”

“I agree. I will come to that when I complete my remarks. We are talking about empowering our young people to set the agenda in their schools and, we hope, in their lives. Learning standard subjects, such as history and science, enables young people to develop core skills, imbibe relevant knowledge and hone the powers o…”

“I agree wholeheartedly with my hon. Friend and thank her for that point. It is vital that we do everything we can in this place, and indeed in our constituencies, to listen to young people and empower them. We must not just listen to them but act on their concerns. Anything we can do, we must. Primary and secondary sch…”

“I wholeheartedly agree. It is critical that we educate our young people about the different tiers of government and the responsibilities of elected representatives within them. I will touch briefly on the history of citizenship in our education system. Since 2002, citizenship has been a statutory foundation national cu…”

“I will come to that point, because I think that the review is a golden opportunity. The commission confirmed what I and others here know: too many young people do not understand how to participate in our democratic processes, and their lack of motivation is due to a lack of knowledge about parties and candidates. If we…”

“I am grateful to my hon. Friend for making that point. It is a point I had to excise from my speech because I did not think I had the time, but it is very important. As new Members, constituents often bring issues to our attention that would be better dealt with by a councillor or another arm of the state, so it is an …”

“I beg to move, That this House has considered government and democracy education in schools. It is appropriate that I have secured this debate during Parliament Week. I want to put on record my praise for the education and engagement team for their brilliant work. Unsurprisingly, I am going to argue that there should b…”

“I hope that my hon. Friend the Minister will agree with me that, as we discuss the very important issues raised by the hon. Member for Clacton (Nigel Farage), we must acknowledge that all right hon. and hon. Members are doing what is in the best interests of our country; that right hon. and hon. Members on the Oppositi…”

“I thank the right hon. Gentleman for giving way in his entertaining speech. He makes several references to our manifesto, but I would like to make some references to the Conservative party’s manifesto—”

“It is related to references to reform of the House of Lords. There are no references to reform of the House of Lords in the Conservative party’s manifesto. There is one reference to peers but not to peers in the other place, and there are a few references to the constitution but not to our unwritten constitution. Will …”

“The right hon. Gentleman was keen to score my hon. Friend the Member for Bolton West (Phil Brickell). He gave him four out of 10, and I think he was rather unfair.”

“Significantly higher, let us put it that way—eight or nine, I would say. If I may, I suggest that I would give Opposition Members between seven and 10 out of 10 for being patronising.”

“1. What recent estimate she has made of the level of child poverty in Rugby constituency.”

“I associate myself with the comments of hon. and right hon. Members about Armistice Day. During the previous Government, the size of our armed forces shrank from 192,000 to 138,000—a 28% decrease. Does my right hon. Friend agree that it will take this Labour Government to put our defences back on the firm footing that …”

“An excellent climate adaptation world café event was held in Rugby town hall on Saturday, organised by my colleague Councillor Alison Livesey, officers and others. It was attended by the public, community groups and indeed the Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member f…”