Speeches by Harding.

“Are you aware of any programmes that are being cut by the UK?”

“I want to ask one more question on gold. Most people in the UK are not aware that the gold around their neck comes from conflict zones. How difficult would a campaign such as blood diamonds be for conflict gold? Obviously, you cannot easily trace the country of origin, so how difficult would that be for a public campai…”

“Hélène, that is really helpful, thank you. Specifically in terms of gold, you say that the UK can leverage its influence. What does that look like in practice?”

“So are you saying that the sanctions have been useful or not? Or could they be better?”

“How far did she have to travel?”

“Can I just clarify that? Are you saying that the gold goes via Dubai?”

“Hélène, that is really helpful, thank you. Specifically in terms of gold, you say that the UK can leverage its influence. What does that look like in practice?”

“And then it goes out of Dubai into Hong Kong and Switzerland and into—”

“Are you aware of any programmes that are being cut by the UK?”

“I want to ask one more question on gold. Most people in the UK are not aware that the gold around their neck comes from conflict zones. How difficult would a campaign such as blood diamonds be for conflict gold? Obviously, you cannot easily trace the country of origin, so how difficult would that be for a public campai…”

“Turning to armed actors, how can we hold them to account? What are the challenges there?”

“As the mother of four teenage and young adult children, about 50% of my parenting involves placing limits on my children’s phones or devices to limit the time they spend on them. In so doing, I am, like so many parents in my Esher and Walton constituency and across the country, doing battle with a pernicious, invasive …”

“Of course it is really important that we bring fares down, but we also need to make sure that the trains actually work. In February, 5.82% of all South West Railway services were cancelled on the main line that runs through my constituency. I wonder whether the Minister thinks those figures are accurate, but they are v…”

“This is such an important debate. My constituency is the single biggest contributor to the Exchequer of any constituency outside London, yet we were completely missed out from the tap in, tap out roll-out. I wrote to the Minister to ask why, and he did not tell me when we would be included. On behalf of my constituents…”

“I absolutely agree. Tech companies have billions of pounds, and the consultation also asks children 62 questions. How on earth can a child whose attention has been taken by a phone answer 62 questions? Meanwhile, the world is moving faster than the Government. Even if people think that we should wait, watch and learn f…”

“I had the opportunity to go out with the local police in my constituency on an operation to combat youth crime. One thing I found most distressing was the liberal ownership and unthinking use of knives among teenagers, which I know the police in my constituency are desperate to sort out. Following the Government’s cons…”

“Today, the US President impersonated Jesus Christ. Last week, he pledged to wipe out an entire civilisation. His warmongering in the middle east is piling on the pressure for my constituents in Esher and Walton, from prices at the pump to mortgage increases in the midst of a cost of living crisis. Given the disturbing …”

“The presumption in favour of development at transport nodes and on the so-called grey belt means that in my constituency of Esher and Walton, which is half green belt and has a disproportionately high number of stations—everybody lives within 15 minutes of a station—everywhere can be developed under the Government’s pr…”

“One of the most favoured spots in my constituency on a Friday evening is The Ferry in Thames Ditton, a wonderful Nepalese restaurant run by Cepe, who served with the Royal Gurkhas for 19 years. Around the restaurant are pictures of VCs, a proud reminder of the many Gurkhas who have served our country loyally and bravel…”

“I understand that, but will the money that you are saving come back to the ODA budget?”