Speeches by Reader.

“I just want to clarify something with Ian. I think you said 40% of adults have experienced misinformation and deepfakes, but only 4% experienced misinformation and deepfakes related to climate and energy. Is that right?”

“We have heard clearly during our inquiry that there is a drop in trust in the media and what some would call mainstream media. Do you think that Ofcom has been an effective regulator to support trust in the media? Surely one of the key functions of a regulator is to maintain trust in the services that it regulates.”

“Sorry, Madam Deputy Speaker. The farming productivity review is very clear: if we want a sustainable rural economy, we can do much more to unlock its potential. Planning is one of the areas that we can look to tackle. A farmer can spend millions of hours filling in mountains of paperwork to build new sheds, slurry pits…”

“I am not familiar with the Northern Ireland protocol at all, but I am learning more about the SPS agreement in my role as the chair. I hope that Nick Thomas-Symonds will come to see us very soon to explain—”

“I wanted to contribute to this debate to celebrate the brilliant food producers in Northamptonshire and across the UK, some of which you sampled on Northamptonshire Day, Madam Deputy Speaker. As chair of the all-party group for food and drink, I have seen first-hand how rural communities play a critical part in our sup…”

“I travel through Bletchley on my way to London, and have done so while commuting for many years. It has been amazing to see the station grow with the arrival of East West Rail and the high line. Does my hon. Friend agree that a fourth benefit of the proposal is that it sends a message that the Government are serious ab…”

“Does the Secretary of State agree that, despite Reform UK banning the showing of support for Ukraine in my county of Northamptonshire, my constituents and those across the whole of the UK should be proud of the extraordinary skill of our British men and women who are involved in this operation?”

“I think the Bill goes some way on that, and it is clear that future legislation and guidance will start to frame those issues. There are other ways that we can drive businesses to improve their business resilience planning. It is part of the standard Government procurement process to require business continuity plannin…”

“I start with a story; it is a real story, but I have changed the names for obvious reasons. It was a Tuesday afternoon and I had a call from our CEO, David, who said to me, “Mike, I am jumping on a plane, but I need you to speak to a law firm we have been working with. This lady called Sandra will ring you from A&A…”

“We have heard in previous evidence sessions that, because the UK was at the forefront of other technologies, such as wind, we paid a premium to develop that technology. Taxpayers paid a premium and we did not see the manufacturing base built out. Is this not the same? Again, we are talking about subsidies paying a prem…”

“Doug, nuclear promises low energy costs nationally. What thresholds determine whether a local community can block infrastructure that may deliver benefits far beyond its borders?”

“Could we copy other people who have proven technology?”

“Sam, my final question is to you. Is the road map clear enough around how Government are going to stimulate the manufacturing and engineering that we need around these developments? The evidence that we have seen in other sectors, such as wind or solar, is that we have had the technology, but we have not had the legacy…”

“Fiona, AMRs and SMRs are expected to create fewer jobs through their efficiency than some of the nuclear infrastructure that we have from the past. Should we be delivering this programme, given that it is going to deliver fewer steady well-paid jobs in communities, like my colleague’s, that desperately rely on them?”

“Do you think we are relying too much on ETS and having CBAM realignment? The evidence I have heard is that for Europe it is not a priority, and it would put their bills up so why would they want to agree to it? The UK seems very certain that we must have better UK-EU alignment, get CBAM-aligned and our bills come down …”

“Tom, this is obviously a priority for the UK. Is it a priority for the EU to get a better arrangement with the UK? We have heard evidence that in France cross-border trading is blamed for higher prices.”

“Michael, I will come back to the questions in front of me and I will talk about cross-border trading. We heard from Make UK, the Chemical Industries Association, and the Energy Intensive Users Group that rebalancing and a better relationship with Europe in terms of energy is the number one thing that would reduce their…”

“It is a very quick one. Tom, in reading, you are an expert in market arrangements, regulation and policy. Do you think that Ofgem is an effective regulator in controlling the energy markets and controlling the cost to the consumer?”

“Tom, I might as well give you one as well and then I will go on to my real questions. [Laughter.] Everyone else is up to it today. Tom, you are an expert—”

“We have talked about the windfall tax, for example. We have implemented it, but all the energy companies will do is find a way round it and keep making their millions of pounds of profit. We will still see record debt in the UK. Are we not agile enough as a Government to deal with this market? Are they running rings ar…”