Speeches by Morrissey.

“This has been an excellent debate, with some outstanding contributions. I congratulate the hon. Member for Gorton and Denton (Hannah Spencer) on making her maiden speech, which was significantly better than mine. Her empathy, honesty and generosity of spirit will serve her well in this place, and her genuine pride in M…”

“I feel that if one has received sanctions, it is a badge of honour. First, to honour the international scope of the debate, I would like to take this moment to think about the women of Afghanistan, who have suffered under the Taliban. The life of all human beings is intrinsically valuable and should always be remembere…”

“I thank the hon. Member for that very nuanced contribution. I also thank her for being the first female of colour at the Dispatch Box, leading the way, and Chairman of a Select Committee. She is someone who all Members of this House, from every party, respect and admire; I thank her for everything she does. As we try t…”

“It is a privilege to respond to the International Women’s Day debate and to follow the Minister for Equalities. It is wonderful to hear her talk about her passion for fighting inequality, fighting for rights and fighting the gender pay gap. I hope very soon to see her in shadow Cabinet—[Interruption.] Yes, I mean the r…”

“I wholeheartedly agree about praising the unpraised volunteers—the community organisers and those who make our towns and villages what they are. It is so important that we highlight their contributions today. In my constituency of Beaconsfield, Marlow and the south Bucks villages, I see inspiring and dedicated women ev…”

“I absolutely agree. I support the hon. Member in pursuing this wonderful statue for Madge and lend my full support to that campaign. It is fitting that the UN’s theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is “Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL Women and Girls”. Those are three important words—rights, justice, action—…”

“I thank the hon. Member for that point. Many women from all kinds of different ideological perspectives have contributed to this debate, and I thank them.”

“You have answered most of my questions, but on the skills system versus skills needed, what would you like to see from Skills England to improve opportunities for young people and has Skills England interfaced with your sectors to help improve its outputs? Do you have a close working relationship? I liked all the thing…”

“Kate, you mentioned the challenges of not being in the industrial strategy and this effect. Is there anything else that you would like to add on that as the final comment?”

“Will the Lord Chancellor give way?”

“The Minister mentioned that there is no set budget, so is this a blank cheque for Government spending? What will be the end point? Is this a white elephant, a black hole or just another project that will fall by the wayside? Why are the Government having a people’s panel when we have Parliament, and when people across …”

“Will the Lord Chancellor give way?”

“That is very poor.”

“Thank you for your report, because it is very useful and helpful. Your review found that the operational guidance on averaging earnings published in 2020 appeared to not have been developed with testing or input from the DWP policy or legal team. Do you think that this is reflective in how the DWP has approached carer’…”

“On the back of that, they are saying they will modernise the IT system, and this would provide foundations for earnings and treatment for carer’s allowance. How confident are you that DWP will make those timely changes and that their IT system will reflect that?”

“On the back of that averaging earnings, do you think that that is in co-ordination with the 46% of the issue with the penalties? Do you think the lack of a joined-up, regulated approach to averaging earnings is accounting for the penalties that we are seeing?”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Alec. This issue is very close to my heart, and I am grateful to the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) for bringing it to Westminster Hall. I see how the issue affects my constituents, and the Conservatives care very much about it because it goes to our fund…”

“I am sorry—you are right, Sir Alec. The impacts of this policy are something that we have to continue to raise throughout our time in Parliament, until the next general election. We cannot forget that this should not stand; we need to reverse the legislation.”

“Will the Leader of the House give us the forthcoming business?”

“It is a pleasure to be doing business questions and responding to the right hon. Gentleman. He was a Chief Whip—a Whip, like me, but more grand—and he was much respected, revered and sometimes feared by Members of this House. I will be honest and say that even I was terrified of him, and we are not even in the same par…”