Speeches by Simons.

“Hopefully, what I am about to say will answer the hon. Gentleman’s point. [Interruption.] If it does not, he is welcome to come in. Let me make clear the principle behind the reforms that we are debating today: those who need support to heat their homes must get it. Nobody should be cold at home because they cannot aff…”

“I thank the hon. Gentleman for his intervention. Conveniently, I shall be responding to exactly that point in a few minutes, but if he feels that I have not done so, he is welcome to intervene again. Given that the state pension has risen by £900 and will rise again by as much as £1,900 over the course of this Parliame…”

“I will not give way at this point. In towns such as Hindley Green and Hindley, Abram and Platt Bridge, Ashton and Orrell, pensioners who have worked all their lives are facing acute and sometimes painful challenges.”

“I will not, at this point.”

“If the hon. Gentleman will allow me a few more minutes, I will come to the exact question of the threshold at which pension credit is awarded and at which, therefore, someone is eligible for the winter fuel payment. In order to reach the most vulnerable people, who are often the hardest to reach because they are not on…”

“In Ashton, Orrell, Platt Bridge, Hindley and Hindley Green, one issue dominates life for so many: antisocial behaviour. For months, I have been promising my constituents the measures in the Bill, and I thank the Home Office team for the hard work required to bring it to the House so quickly. To my mind, the Bill is one…”

“Mr Speaker, rugby league fans like you and others in the Chamber will know and love my most famous constituent, Billy Boston. Before I came into the Chamber, I was informed that Billy is not well. Local councillors in my constituency have started a petition to ensure that he receives a knighthood while that is still po…”

“In recent months, the Conservatives, who apparently lack the stamina that the Prime Minister displayed over the weekend, have confidently and repeatedly pronounced to the Prime Minister what the President of the United States will and will not do, all of which has turned out to be bluff and bluster. Does the Prime Mini…”

“As a newly elected Member of this place, I try to visit a school in my constituency every week. Time and again, parents tell me, as they did last week at Hindley All Saints primary, that having a child in this country is too expensive and too exhausting, which is why I really welcome the programme that the Secretary of…”

“It is an honour to follow that great contribution from the hon. Member for North Norfolk (Steff Aquarone), much of which I will echo. Like him, before I was elected to this place I worked a lot with data—understanding it, using it, deploying it—in tech companies, academia and then politics. I am a huge supporter of the…”

“T6. Last month, I hosted the annual dinner for former servicepeople in my constituency, where I met scores of people who served our country proudly and bravely, like Councillor Clive Morgan. I will ask the Secretary of State the question they asked me, which becomes ever more urgent by the day: what are the Government …”

“As others have spoken about the specific measures in this Bill, I will take a step back and talk about the ideas that underpin it. There have been grumblings tonight that we are aping Conservative Members and that we are being asked to pretend, to delude ourselves and to dupe the public somehow into thinking that we su…”

“I was proud to set up the Labour growth group, now ably chaired by colleagues, to demonstrate that we on the Labour Benches are the party of builders, not blockers. I was struck to hear the Leader of the Opposition say it herself today: she said, almost mockingly, that the Conservatives could have taken all the decisio…”

“I am a strong supporter of making sure that we reach 2.5% of GDP on defence. However, may I remind Conservative Members that one of the first things this Government did was to scrap a £40 million contract with a helicopter company that transported Conservative Ministers around the country? Does the Minister agree that …”

“As a Jewish person, Mr Speaker, may I take this opportunity to thank you for everything you have done to help the House to remember my ancestors and those of other Jewish people whom we remember today? Welcome funding was announced for Abram Bryn Gates school in Bamfurlong, in my constituency, in the last free school f…”

“18. What steps she is taking to increase the number of children achieving the early learning goals.”

“I thank the Home Secretary for updating the House, and welcome the uncompromising inquiry that she and the Prime Minister have announced. I would like to ask about social media and the digital information environment. I worked in a technology company for a long time, and I concur with the Home Secretary’s comments: the…”

“T7. On new year’s day, hundreds of my constituents woke up not to hangovers and warm homes, but to floodwater rushing into their houses. I watched as families with young children were pulled from their homes in Platt Bridge, and there was flooding in Ashton and Bickershaw. I welcome the £2.4 billion that the Government…”

“16. What assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes to the mineworkers’ pension scheme on the living standards of recipients.”

“In my constituency of Makerfield, more than 500 people stand to benefit from changes introduced by this Government to the mineworkers’ pension scheme. For years, those people and their families stood by and watched as the Conservative Government stole their pensions and disrespected their work. I want us to celebrate o…”