Speeches by Nandy.

“I apologise; I could not make head nor tail of that, but this Government are absolutely determined to support bingo. It is something that I immensely enjoy—it is very popular in my home town—and will continue to do so.”

“Let me reassure the hon. Member on this point: we understand not just the joy that horseracing brings to millions of people in the UK and across the world but the huge economic benefits that it produces. We are absolutely determined to back British horseracing to the hilt. The Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Medi…”

“I know it is the wrong sort of rugby as far as you are concerned, Mr Speaker. We are really proud of this incredible achievement for the UK. It is fitting that my hon. Friend asks this question with exactly 50 days to go until the women’s rugby world cup kicks off. We want to make it the biggest ever. So far, 275,000 t…”

“My hon. Friend is an incredible champion for sports in general and rugby in particular—”

“We are absolutely committed to securing and delivering the biggest and best major sporting events, building on the UK’s global reputation. I was delighted to announce recently over £500 million to support the delivery of world-class events, with an additional £400 million going to grassroots facilities across the UK, s…”

“I thank the hon. Gentleman for that question, because I know this has caused considerable concern to many people in this House and the other place. We are absolutely committed to bringing forward legislative change that provides certainty and clarity both for AI and tech companies and for the creative industries, and t…”

“My hon. Friend makes an important point. It is absolutely fitting that Oasis are returning to Greater Manchester, and Bury is a very fitting venue, not least because my hon. Friend has long championed live music and also indulged—or should I say inflicted?—live music on many of us for years. He will know that this Gove…”

“May I take a moment to echo the shadow Minister’s comments about Diogo Jota? We received the heartbreaking news before we came into the Chamber that he tragically lost his life at just 28 years of age. The whole House and my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool Wavertree (Paula Barker) in particular will be heartbroken…”

“That is some brass neck from the Opposition given the appalling state of what we inherited—not only years of neglect of theatre in particular, but also the lack of investment in the infrastructure and the buildings, which left us with a situation where our great national institutions were struggling just to stay open. …”

“We are very aware of the importance of the arts in Northern Ireland, and my hon. Friend the Minister for Creative Industries, Arts and Tourism has had discussions directly with our counterparts. It is a devolved matter, but it is the clear view of this Government that arts and culture belong to everybody. We are workin…”

“I pay tribute to my hon. Friend and throw the Government’s full weight behind the work he is doing to support this area? I have seen it for myself at Shakespeare North in Knowsley, where young people are developing communication and oracy skills that they would not otherwise have had, through the amazing work that thos…”

“Arts and culture were erased from both our classrooms and our communities for 14 years, and we are wasting no time in fixing that. I am really pleased that in February we were able to announce the £270 million arts everywhere fund, which will help a whole generation of young people to access theatre and the arts that t…”

“We are working on a plan to bring forward more philanthropy in the UK, as well as social impact investing. We think there is enormous untapped potential, and we are looking at all aspects of that. We will bring more detail to the House shortly.”

“This Government’s view of Hamas is clear: they are a terrorist organisation. They are banned in the UK and there is a good reason for that. We will continue to be outspoken about that and robust in relation to them. I was very concerned to hear that there may have been imagery, symbols and graffiti in support of Hamas …”

“I feel the strength of feeling, anger and emotion behind what the hon. Gentleman says. I felt that from the Jewish community over the weekend, and from all of us, including myself, who feel very strongly that this should not have been allowed to happen, and it certainly should not be allowed continually and repeatedly …”

“I agree with the hon. Gentleman’s sentiment that much of this was foreseeable; none of us could know precisely who was going to say what, but even a cursory glance at Google would show that this particular artist has a history of provoking extreme statements and behaviour, particularly in relation to events in the midd…”

“I share the right hon. Gentleman’s concern about how this was able to happen, and I am sorry to hear that he has had no response to very serious concerns, which were raised in his capacity as a democratically elected Member of Parliament for people in the area who deserve answers. I am happy to follow that up on his be…”

“The hon. Gentleman’s views about the BBC are very clear, but those of us who support the BBC and believe it is an incredibly important institution will know that it should and does, in some instances, play an important role for all communities to be heard and to feel valued as part of our public life. That is the stand…”

“I deliberately included some words about the festival itself in my statement, because I agree with the hon. Lady: we all have a responsibility to uphold the highest standards, and to ensure that people are safe, welcome and included at our shared national events. The reports I have had over the weekend, and this mornin…”

“In the last few minutes before we came into the Chamber for this statement, the police announced that there is an ongoing criminal investigation, and it is important that we allow the police to do their work. Of course, I would not hesitate to call the director general of the BBC and ask for an explanation. I expect th…”