Speeches by Slinger.

“I will not give way; I will make a little progress. The Conservatives paint themselves as economically competent and as the party of low taxes. Well, Liz Truss blew the first claim out of the water. On the second claim, the tax burden under the Conservatives reached a record high of 36.3% in ’22-23.”

“I will not give way. The Conservatives broke their triple lock promise in 2022 and 2023.”

“That £47 billion seems rather like a number plucked out of thin air. Frankly, I do not think that that number holds any credibility. The previous Government cut national insurance in 2024, which was deliberate sabotage. They cut public services from 2010 onwards, which was deliberate ideological recklessness and is sti…”

“I absolutely believe we should implement the manifesto that we stood on, and I am proud to do that.”

“I absolutely accept that the previous Labour Government took difficult decisions towards the end of their tenure in office following the global financial crisis. What happened from 2010 onwards was unnecessary and reckless, and we are all still paying the price to this day.”

“I will not; I may give way in a little bit, but let me make some progress. We will ensure that we avoid another decade of under-investment in public services and infrastructure. I am sure we all agree that we owe it to future generations to ensure that the economy we hand down is secure, with debt under control. I woul…”

“I am for doing absolutely everything we can to reduce child poverty. One way in which we can achieve that is by ending the two-child cap—there are other measures. However, that is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Chancellor; it is not for me to decide right now in the Chamber. Our approach is paying off. We were t…”

“I am saying to this House that my right hon. Friends in the Government have to take very difficult decisions to deal with the problems this country faces, many of which were caused by decisions taken by the Conservatives. They left mines in our national finances, our public services, our system of taxation, and more be…”

“Frankly, it took 14 years for the Conservatives not to apologise for any of the decisions they took, so I do not think we need any lectures from the hon. Member or from other Conservatives. Contrast our values with the values of the Conservatives: austerity, financial recklessness under Liz Truss, and a dodgy Brexit de…”

“We should be rigorous in holding the BBC to account, especially when it makes mistakes, but does my right hon. Friend agree that some of those who jump on any infraction with glee may have ulterior motives? Does she further agree that the BBC is a beacon of fearless, impartial journalism here and abroad, and that as mi…”

“I commend my hon. Friend for bringing this important debate to the House. Does she agree that organisations such as Change Grow Live, which I have visited in Rugby, are doing superb work with people as they recover after the problems that they have been facing, and that it is incumbent upon all of us to do everything w…”

“I warmly welcome the further support for creative arts subject teaching, the new national centre and the £25 million for new instruments and much more. Right hon. and hon. Members with a musical background, such as the Prime Minister and I, know the transformative power of the creative arts— the soft and hard skills ar…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Dowd. I previously served as a councillor in the New Bilton ward on Rugby borough council, and I campaigned partly on a petition on HMOs. I called for an article 4 direction, and other councillors, including Councillor Richard Harrington, have since taken up the baton.…”

“I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on securing this very important debate. He has mentioned Srebrenica and the Bosnian conflict twice. Does he agree that in years gone by, conflicts causing immense humanitarian suffering, death and carnage resulted in international, UN-mandated military forces protecting civilians and h…”

“Will the hon. Lady give way?”

“Does my hon. Friend agree that one of the central reasons for public disillusionment and outrage is that there are no successful prosecutions, or very few, in cases of egregious state failure? Does he agree that unless wrongdoers pay a price and are seen to pay a price, this impunity may persist, and that the duty of c…”

“One crucial factor in achieving the current ceasefire was the unprecedented declaration at the end of July by all 22 members of the Arab League, calling on Hamas to release the hostages, lay down their arms and give up power in Gaza. That was hugely important in showing Hamas that they had run out of road. What role do…”

“While I do not doubt for a second the right hon. Lady’s impassioned belief in the need to keep dangerous offenders off our streets, does she agree that it was actually the Conservative Government that cut funding to our prisons? There was a 24% real-terms cut from 2010 to 2015, resulting in 30% cuts in staffing. That h…”

“I will do my best, Madam Deputy Speaker. Conservative Members are being nothing short of opportunistic and are playing political games with our national security. It is, of course, their job and their right to oppose what the Government are doing, but on issues of national security I would have thought there could be m…”

“T3. I declare an interest as chair of the all-party parliamentary group on the Kurdistan region in Iraq, and as I led a delegation there. The 2005 federal Iraqi constitution agreed in a popular vote to underpin Kurdish rights. We were told that Baghdad deliberately withholds salary payments to public employees in the r…”