Speeches by Blackman.

“That is absolutely true. I accept the rebuke, which is completely reasonable. It is not the parents’ fault—I should have been far clearer about that. I tend to think that poverty and a lack of privilege are caused by a lack of choices. Poverty means that people cannot make mistakes, while privilege means that they can.…”

“It is great to get a chance to speak in Committee on the two-child limit Bill. I am so pleased that this Bill is progressing and that this has happened. This is something we have stood from these Benches and argued about for so many years. It finally seems that it will be real. I got into trouble with a Government Mini…”

“On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. A number of news outlets are reporting, alongside comment from Downing Street, that the Cabinet Office has sent unredacted correspondence to the police regarding Peter Mandelson’s leaks of market-sensitive information to the sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein. Have you or the Spe…”

“Does the Secretary of State regret saying that whether the two-child cap on benefits causes harm is “open to debate”?”

“There is a very real human cost to the violence used by the Iranian authorities. As many as 6,000 protesters—people like me and you, Mr Speaker—have been killed and murdered and more than 10,000 have been arrested. There is a real risk of extrajudicial execution. Political prisoners, including children, are being tortu…”

“I will touch briefly on the Conservatives’ position and then turn to the Bill itself. The Conservatives have at least been consistent on this policy—consistently cruel. I would point out the level of detachment with the reality faced by so many families in my constituency. The reality for such a high percentage of fami…”

“I said I would not give way. Let me turn to where we are today. The Labour party is being a bit smug about the position we are in. The SNP has been absolutely consistent in calling for the removal of the two-child cap. Alison Thewliss stood in this Chamber and highlighted the rape clause at every possible opportunity; …”

“I will not. The reality is that the Conservatives’ position is a very entitled, privileged one, and it does not reflect the majority of our constituents.”

“Does the hon. Member share my concerns that the arguments that are being made by the Labour Government in cancelling the two-child cap were applicable 19 months ago, and that 61,000 children could have been kept out of poverty if the Government had agreed with us in debates on the King’s Speech, rather than waiting unt…”

“The Secretary of State’s colleagues stood with WASPI women holding boards saying, “We support the WASPI women” and “We support compensation for the WASPI women”. He now stands at the Dispatch Box holding his hands up and saying, “I am very sorry that the previous Administration forgot to send out a letter, but we are n…”

“It is an honour to represent the SNP in today’s debate on Holocaust Memorial Day. Six million Jews were murdered. I was trying to think about what words to use to describe it. The word “tragedy” was one of the first I thought of, but a tragedy is something that is unavoidable—in my head, anyway, it is something that wa…”

“I absolutely agree, and I know that a number of schools in Scotland take part in trips to Auschwitz. It is important that that continues, particularly given the theme of “Bridging Generations”. Fewer and fewer individuals can talk about their experiences, and it is incredibly important that we remember that history and…”

“I hope that we see that testimony shared more widely. I have a conflicting thought, however: while it is important that we hear testimony, listen to testimony and amplify that testimony, forcing people who may not necessarily want to relive that trauma to continually relive that trauma for us to learn is not always the…”

“It is 316 days since the Minister announced that consultation, and it is 560 days since the King’s Speech when the draft legislation was announced. The Minister has made it clear that she expects the draft Bill to be published during this Session. Please will she update us on whether that is still her promise and when …”

“Food and energy costs remain high, and a significant number of families are struggling—more than they ever have before—to try to make ends meet. Has the Minister given any consideration to matching the SNP’s Scottish child payment to ensure that more families with children can be kept out of poverty?”

“Thank you for keeping us all in line today, Mrs Harris—although I think this is a fairly good-tempered debate, because we are all in favour of our local science centres. I congratulate the hon. Member for Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr (Steve Witherden) on introducing the debate. It was really cool to hear about the CAT; …”

“This afternoon, I will present a Bill to strip Peter Mandelson of his peerage and kick him out of the House of Lords for continuing his friendship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Since tomorrow afternoon is now legislation-free, will the Government please schedule the Second Reading of my Bill for tomorrow a…”

“Will the Secretary of State consider adding AI responses to prompts by users to the definition of user-generated content, so that that is included in the scope of the Online Safety Act? Will she or one of her Ministers meet me to discuss my concerns about the risks posed to children of children being able to livestream…”

“We are thinking of all Ukrainians today, particularly the around 2,500 who found sanctuary in Aberdeen; they will be spending Christmas worried about their friends and family who remain in Ukraine. According to the Defence Committee, the most effective way to ensure long-term security for Ukraine and the strongest poss…”

“I back the Minister’s comments about the effectiveness of public health on BBC Radio 4 this morning. I agree about the importance of conducting a public health campaign for this. Women for Refugee Women has surveyed women in the asylum system with no recourse to public funds. It found that 38% of them had stayed in abu…”